This is one very tasty new soul effort from Albuquerque, New Mexico, native Jaxon. Baptised by the soulful sounds of Motown, Prince, James Brown and Earth Wind and Fire and Tower Of Power, this gentleman went on to open for megastars such as James Brown and The Dazz Band. An impressive resume, all things considered. This CD is very today but also very quality. If you love tracks such as "Pretty Baby" by Marcel and "Tonight" by Bruce Gardiner from a few years. For me there are no fillers and the album flows very smoothly. You will find some rap on here but do not be put off by this, please. The music and whole feeling totally supports the rap and completely makes it acceptable. Fans of Eric Benét should very much find themselves to be very agreeable to this album. The first cut, "I Get High", really does fit in with the Eric Benét bag, and imagine if you will an electric guitar break a la Van Hunt then this pieces together a tasty combo indeed.A slight freaky funk and a Horace Brown vocal approach greets the ear with "Beautiful U", but this is no swaggering testosterone filled Uptown jam. It has plenty of soul and more than a slight jazzy edge courtesy of some very nimble key work. Similar can be praised with "All I Feel Is U", a very tasty and haunting keyboard rides atop a hi-hat beat, warm Rhodes and a bass kick with more rumble than my speakers can stand! Sheer sexiness dominates the guitar-led soulful jam "Let's Get Wild" - one can appreciate the soulful upbringing this young man has had on tracks like this. Great stuff. "Heart's Barricade" could easily be lifted from a jazzy album - think Greg Karukas and suchlike. Great number and one to really savour. The rap track, "Whatcha Got 4 Me" is one I actually like - I ADORE the 80s keys he uses here. The groove is very much in today's bag yet upholds it's own standards. "Lay U Down" and "Rain" returns to a gentler, sexier theme and reminds me much of Mario Winans' sterling work on his excellent yet overlooked "Story Of My Heart" album for Motown back in 1997. My final cut, "Feelin' Kinda Freaky" is also a super effort. I can't recommend this set enough. It's modern, it has a street swagger but is so much more than that. Classy new Y2K soul.
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
The Vibe Scribe
