Reviewed by George Luke

At last year's Greenbelt I was privileged to have a chat with Carleen Anderson. I've always been intrigued as to why someone with all the soul diva cred points she has (what with her parents having sung and played with James Brown) would choose to relocate to the UK to further their singing career, and she told me that soul in America had kind of stagnated, whereas the UK version is constantly evolving stylistically. Listening to this Leeds-based crew in action, I now understand what she means. Even the much hyped "neo-soul" element in gospel music (your Lisa McClendons et al) haven't come close to creating something as organic and free-spirited as Earl Tutu and his cohorts have. Earl's blues/slide guitar work reminds me of Little Axe, with Inder "Goldfinger" Matharu providing some deft touches on the tabla. I particularly liked the title track with its "Lay it at the altar" refrain. "Mr Real Guy" gives a candid wife's-eye view of the difficulties married life can throw at a couple, with a determination to work through them. And on "Tsunami Reach Leeds", Earl's Santana-esque guitar and Inder's gentle tabla playing fuse with strings to create an ambience that had me going "far out, man!" Yes, this definitely sounds good - but it's probably too eclectic and ahead of its time for the average black gospel fan to handle, in the same way that Lewis Taylor and Van Hunt can sometimes be a bit too much for regular soul fans to take. I'm a fan, at any rate.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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