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An ongoing renaissance
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This review first appeared in Living Blues in November / December 2022.
As with his other recent outings, "Sentimental Fool" is a slice of undiluted vintage soul; it's as if rap, hip hop, and neo soul simply never happened. The songwriting, the arrangements, the harmony vocals – all sound as if they were laid down in Memphis, Muscle Shoals or Philly circa 1967.
And it's no shtick – this isn't retro soul, or some kind of throwback vibe. It's the real thing, the music Fields grew up on and cut his teeth on – just as Sinatra's two late-in-life Duets albums were nothing more than the master drawing from his own wellspring.
Fields' first release for Daptone Records – the former home of the late Sharon Jones – comes right out of the gate with as strong a song as he's yet laid down.
"Forever" opens with a short horn chorus before Fields' rough-hewn yet quivering tenor vocal dives straight into the kind of all-encompassing passionate love song of the type that Steve Harvey waxes so poetically about in "The Original Kings of Comedy." This is mature, adult music about enduring married love. The horn interludes between vocal choruses are tight and bright – don't be surprised if you momentarily think you're listening to a lost Stax side.
Victor Axelrod's southern-flavored piano frames Fields' hurting vocal on "I Should Have Let You Be," while the background vocals are understated yet add depth and richness. The title track features a call and response between Fields and his backup singers that hearkens to the way Gladys Knight interacted with The Pips.
Fields is at his most plaintive on "Just Give Me Your Time," with his tale of a wounded heart punctuated by smart horn choruses and drums, the harmony slowly picked out on guitar. The swirling organ and strings underpinning Fields' soaring vocal on "The Door" are arranged in a way not in vogue in soul music in four decades – yet have lost none of their ability to build the song's sense of drama. The Latin-tinged rhythm and organ fills on "Without a Heart" likewise lend a vintage feel, while "Your Face Before My Eyes" sounds a bit like a show tune from the same period.
As with all great rhythm and blues, the foundation of Fields' latest recording is the rhythm section: drummer Brian Wolfe and bassist Benny Trokan. The horn section of Neal Sugarman (tenor sax), Dave Guy (trumpet) and Ian Hendrickson-Smith (reeds), and organist Jimmy Hill, combine with the other players credited above to create a unique sound – one woven from threads drawn from different classical soul sources.
The result is a tremendous album, with most of the dozen songs likely to lodge in your head.