I had read the reviews, seen the pictures, saw that he was on Stones Throw and all I could think was, great...another ironic artist copping a classic musical genre so he can be funny. I was wrong. Mayer, regardless of his initial motivations, has made a picture perfect piece of undeniable pop music that shines as a reminder of how sorely we need real music back on the radio. I would personally send my "hit" local radio station a dozen roses if they replaced the repetition of things like "Do the Stanky Leg" ..
As a singer/songwriter/bass player in a pretty popular local RnB band I'm always being deluged with albums of "neo-soul" artists that some today think are pretty good, or "the real deal". Having grown up the "golden age of Soul Music" as a kid in New York City I saw and heard every Motown Review, Stax Volt Review and Independent show that came in town to the Brooklyn Apollo, the RKO Alden in Queens and of course, THE Apollo Theatre in Harlem. So I'm just a wee bit skeptical when someone say "this guy's th..
The evolution of "neo-soul" and the reinvention of funk and R & B has been the unspoken blessing of the past decade. The slow mutation from Jill Scott to the British throwback queens of Duffy and Amy Winehouse have shown you don't have to reinvent the wheel, just take the old one and paint it a different color. Mayer Hawthorne's debut on Stones Throw Records, thankfully, finds an untapped niche in this genre with great results."A Strange Arrangement" isn't your older brothers booty-shaking R & B, your uncle..
