Peter Lavender And The Limbo Souls have released this masterfully recorded soul CD, Sugar. Lavender and his Limbo Souls offer numerous takes on the soul genre, and their ability to expand on that genre, to weld it to pop and rock and roll, is the sugar that makes all of these song sound so sweet.
Opening track “Turn Back Time” is a breezy, jaunty drive into the more pop side of soul. Lavender’s vocal sounds more white middle class than blue eyed soul here, yet he makes his voice fit perfectly onto this mid-tempo hike through a relationship landscape. His chorus is lively and catchy, in that wide, mellow way that pulls anything in its wake into his song. A piano melody furthers the engaging quality of this tune as Lavender ushers the listener in with an easeful, floating, and emotive vocal line.
Second track, “Grounded,” pulls the listener in with Lavender’s almost conversational vocal approach. Singing it just fast enough to keep pace with an moody, expressive lead guitar line beneath his voice, he shows that there is a lot going on in this song, both emotionally and musically, and Lavender milks each gentle verse for all the soul its worth. Light touches on the keys and a rhythm section that takes it down tempo help create a backdrop for Lavender to unfurl his personal tale with a mellifluous flow.
“What I Want To Say” jumps right out of the stereo speakers from its first notes. It’s a full tilt boogie number in an Earth Wind &Fire kind of way with a swaying horn section, funky groove, and high pitched lead vocals that fill the soul quota with relative ease. It’s uncanny how Lavender’s timbre can be stretched to fit right into each kind of soul song he writes. Here, he’s singing in an endless flow, moving with the R&B groove while unfurling a fine, smooth vocal line that feels like he could sing this song for all eternity, if he didn’t need to stop and catch his breath from time to time.
A lower register in his vocal lets Lavender do his best Marvin Gaye-Barry White style crooning on “So Natural.” His voice is seductive and soulful, like he’s taking his partner by the hand and leading her onto the dance floor or leading her wherever she’d like to go. A wah-wah effect guitar line winds its way through his hearty love ballad with a cool persistence and it makes one sense that love is in the air.
“All Because Of You” has the guitar snap and organ swirl of a 1960s pop-soul ballad. Its groove, as well as the organ jive over it, carries one away like a soft cloud on a summer’s day. Ear candy from beginning to end, even though it’s about someone who has left him.
“Don’t Take Us For…” boogies right on into the listener’s consciousness with a danceable groove, peppy percussion, and a busty horn section. Just when you’re starting to dig the pulpy, knobby bass line, the wah-wah guitar kicks it even higher. Lavender croons this one with the necessary bounce in his steps. He flies his voice high over a myriad of fun instrumentation to arrive at something that sounds like an R&B anthem.
The saddest song on this Lavender CD, “She Is,” won’t leave a dry eye in any room his sings it in. It’s a someone’s dreaming of someone he cannot have song. Lavender milks the rainy day feeling for all it’s worth, imbuing this song with tender understanding and compassion, which, in turn, gives more insight and perspective, and that makes the listener feel it all that much more. And boy, does Lavender sing out that feeling of sorrow. He has a lot of wind under his sails as well as a sensitive touch for the little nuances here and there.
“Time Warp” is a rocking R&B number. Its beat is driving. Its electric guitar races with edge. The horn section supplies plenty of horn shots. Barreling down the sonic highway, this number moves with spring action. Lavender belts in a more rocking style here, though he does take it in for an R&B landing on the chorus. In a song with fiery lead guitar and aggressive horns, Lavender holds his own with his mighty pipes. He is raw and raspy, feisty and free spirited. As vocalist, he leads this song through its three-dimensional party vibe with confidence and class.
Closing with “Oh, How I know,” Lavender and his Limbo Souls offer a soulful, down tempo ballad. Lavender wrings a lot of feeling out of this with his natural vocal tone, in every verse. His band mates wrap his voice in a warm, supportive embrace. They carry the message as much as his voice with their fine interpretation of the emotional content of this song.
Lavender and the Limbo Souls have come up with another fine CD with Sugar. Their ability to use soul, funk, and R&B as a base that they expand into wider musical expressions is uncanny. While this music could easily find a home on any radio station that plays traditional R&B material, it is also easy to imagine it finding a home among pop and rock fans too. Lavender and his boys meld it all together with their strong musical personalities and that makes their music work.
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