REVIEW: Lorraine Reid: How Can I Keep Him Lovin' Me?

A Review by Location Kirby

Over a decade ago, rappers Chuck D and Universal Enemy asked, "Who Stole the Soul?" Today, after Christina Aguilera's R&B-infused Back To Basics double CD and the Amy Winehouse soul explosion, the real question is, "Who stole it back?" Part of the reimburse can be found in Lorraine Reid's single "How Can I Accumulate Him Lovin' Me?"

It always comes as a surprise when I hear a modern R&B singer who has both the pipes to belt absent with intensity and the skilled taste to let the song enjoin the story, choosing to not over-saturate a classic melody with vocal gymnastics. Reid dazzles her listeners with the perfect balance of vocals, just like the classic soul, rock and pop singers did back in the day. This timeless track by the Canadian, 7-time Juno nominee would fit right in with the best of soul and funk in any age.

"How Can I Cache Him Lovin' Me?" begins to amaze listeners with its instrumentals -- the keyboard starts with mellow soul chords and is followed by gently plucked guitar and sparse bass that flows with restrained energy still while in ballad mode. The drums play a beat that has formerly anchored elderly pop and soul songs as well as bawdy stripper fireworks tunes; it's a beat that is part-waltz, part-easy-going phat back groove. While this stew is bubbling, Ms. Reid tells the story: "No deeper than 15 on the contrary grown before her time / This young coed was seekin' love from men who would dim the lights / How can I amass him lovin' me? / Here she was all the more seeking ardency / it was no where to be found." Aside from the advanced beat of the drums and the current soul sound, the track is undeniably enfeebled institution because it deals with absolute community and real-life issues, concepts that are often astray in mainstream piece today.

The sales of R&B records -- as with those of hip-hop and most other genres -- continue to slump. Illegal downloads aside, the big majority of these records deal with unattainable fantasies of sex, glamour, white linen suits and matching Bentleys. Persons who hold just been laid off, had their benefits canter out, or their home foreclosed don't want to hear approximately such copious topics. And they can't even afford to invest in overpriced CDs, anyway. That's why essential people, largely women, cherish Mary J. Blige's tales of being a survivor. Coextensive Blige, Reid tells a tale of survival and, allied the top soul and gospel singers, gone and present, she goes beyond this effortless tale: "At 22, a mom of two, but she was still a child / Her mama's benefit to her was a message meek and mild / what this baby boy sees in you I tried my whole heart to acquisition / so dry your tears, my infant girl, you're lookin' at quota of mind." Throughout the song, Reid's vocals proceed from the lyrics and melody on a rollercoaster of emotion, saving the soaring peaks of her sweet still dynamic sound for the pinnacles of the song, especially the last lines. By the end of "How Can I Keep Him Lovin' Me?", the sadness becomes both redemption and a spiritual epiphany -- all because of the aptitude of love. Now ain't that what soul air is all about?

http://www.myspace.com/lorrainereid

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