Cadillac James – Restoration

Cadillac James

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

You can take the man out of the quartet, but you can’t take the quartet out of the man.

“Cadillac James” Cotton of the famed Cotton Brothers quartet, a group known for the New Year’s Day perennial, “Another New Year,” has been on his own for quite some time. He has released several solo albums and Restoration is his latest. James’ quartet-hewn voice leads a dozen songs, all given distinctive arrangements, though they maintain a modern quartet vibe throughout.

James mines the quartet repertory for a few selections. His “I’ll Never Forget” is a relaxed reworking of the Soul Stirrers’ “Jesus, I’ll Never Forget,” with an autobiographical litany of ways in which Jesus has lifted him out of the miry clay. On “Three Pictures of the Lord,” James preserves the high harmonies, doo-wop chord structure, vocal arrangement, and rhythm of the Violinaires hit from the 1960s.

“Your Love and Grace Saved Me” picks up where “I’ll Never Forget” left off. James sings passionately about being redeemed, like the Prodigal Son, from a life of sin. By “The Invitation,” James is in full-fire preacher mode, calling on the audience to turn all problems over to the Lord, whether the issues are abuse, molestation, financial woes, or job security.

The best track is James’s modernistic “God Will Take Care of You.” He gives the hymn, made popular by the Gay Sisters in 1951, a driving, handclapping backbeat.

Most of the cuts on Restoration blend southern-fried quartet and old-time religion with pop ambitions, the synth working overtime on the latter where the simplicity of guitar, drum, and bass would have made the backdrop even better and more authentic. Nevertheless, Cadillac James demonstrates how gospel, quartet, and blues are bosom buddies south of the Mason-Dixon.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “God Will Take Care of You,” “Three Pictures of the Lord”