Last year when United Reggae asked the venerable Junior Murvin which younger artists he admired he had high praise for Singing Melody – who likewise acknowledged the older man’s influence on his voice. As if on cue, for 2012 the member of the harmony group L.U.S.T. has released his first solo album in ten years.
In the early 1970s singers like Jimmy Cliff, Nicky Thomas and Alton Ellis sang songs that paid tribute to American soul music. ‘They Call Me Mr Melody’ is a continuation of that tradition except its subject draws on the more sophisticated contemporary balladeering styles that “rough and ready” old soul purists eschew. There’s straight up 2000s R&B in the mode of an R Kelly or Calvin Harris (opener No More) post Dropleaf one-drop-pop (radio friendly single Collide) supper club smooth lovers (Never Get Over You) and slick gospel (closer Call On His Name).
Read more…