It’s humpday, and when there’s a party album available for humpday I’m going to just shutout the whole album. Soul, motown, dreamer, dancer, lover, it’s all here in a 42 minute set of pure party. The dance starts with Sure Hope You Mean It, which marvingayes me back to a wonderful spirit. The bass opens a sensuous smokey flavor on the next cut, 100 Yard Dash, “light me a smoke so I can sing some jazz.” Temptations start the smiling of Keep Marchin' – which is cutely programmed right fter the 100 Yard Dash of Love. Should give you a hint that you will be sweating a lot every time you decide to listen to this album because there’s no way you can hear this sitting down.
I won’t walk you through each cut – it simply needs to be heard to be believed. Well programmed, with some slow dances snuck in for old folks who need a few moments to catch their breath. Raphael puts on a great show, but you might be further enticed to listen in when you find out that there are guest appearances by Joss Stone & Stevie Wonder (both sounding amazing here). Which is okay, but trust me – with the great band that keeps the grooves going, no guest stars are needed to feel the joy. They’re just slight sprinkles of sweetness on a fantastic eight course soul-filled meal. Raphael Saadiq
