Soul Speak

by Michael McDonald

Overview

What's left for Michael McDonald after two albums of Motown covers? Plenty of soul standards that weren't recorded for Motown, plus several other songs that are "soulful" but not strictly soul, and that's just what he offers on Soul Speak, his 2008 sequel to his Motown sequel, 2004's Motown Two. Soul Speak shares the same basic sound and feel as the two Motown records -- it's all sleek, glassy grooves powered by pros -- and if it lacks the hint of looseness that made Two a superior record to its big brother, that's because Soul Speak isn't designed to be a party record like the Motown albums. As the covers of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" suggest, Soul Speak is a bit moodier and more contemplative than either of its Motown cousins, but that's a relative term: there are still plenty of sprightly, classy pop-soul grooves here, nice versions of "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" and Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" and "For Once In My Life" that keep Soul Speak moving. But where these brightly elegant grooves dominated on the Motown albums, they're used for coloring here, shading the covers of Cohen, Marley, and Van Morrison ("Into the Mystic") and three solid new originals from McDonald ("Only God Can Help Me Now," "Enemy Within," "Still Not Over You (Getting Over Me)"). Despite the soul in the title, this album recalls the warm soft rock that was his specialty in the early '80s as much as it does his recent soul, particularly because it does rely a little bit more on soft ballads (such as the excellent closer of the standard "You Don't Know Me"), and that is not a bad thing at all. Indeed, it could be argued that of his albums of the new millennium, Soul Speak comes the closest to capturing the sound and feel of Michael McDonald at his peak, all without ever sounding like a conscious re-creation of that time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	12/18/2020
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031401064
Rank:	7195

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Michael McDonald   Primary Artist,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Nicky "Misschief" Shaw   Drums,Percussion
Drea Rhenee   Vocals (Background)
Out For Souls Choir   Vocals (Background)
Rian Peters   Vocals (Background)
Tim Carmen   Organ,Piano
Sharon White   Vocals (Background)
Audrey Martells   Vocals (Background)
Tim Lauer   Accordion
Vinnie Colaiuta   Drums
Debi Selby   Vocals (Background)
The Kick Horns   Brass,Brass Band
Toby Baker   Keyboards,Synthesizer
Michelle John   Vocals (Background)
Denise "Nissi" Allen   Vocals (Background)
Denise Allen   Vocals (Background)
Doyle Bramhall II   Guitar
Nathan East   Guitar (Bass)
Michael Thompson   Sitar,Guitar
Abe Laboriel, Jr.   Drums
Stevie Wonder   Harmonica
Calvin Nowell   Vocals (Background)
Rachel Oteh   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Tom Bender   Mixing Assistant
Nicky "Misschief" Shaw   Arranger,Producer
Joel Evenden   Engineer,Audio Engineer,Digital Editing
Philip Rose   Assistant Engineer
Debbie Johnson   Production Coordination
Grady Walker   Assistant Engineer
Dee Harrington   Project Coordinator
Simon Climie   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Audio Production
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Leonard Cohen   Composer
Bob Marley   Composer
Ken Takahashi   Assistant Engineer
Sandy Brummels   Creative Director
Carl Wolfolk   Composer
Christopher Kornmann   Design,Art Direction
Mo Hauzler   Assistant Engineer
Barry Despenza   Composer
George Nixon   Assistant Engineer
Ronald Norman Miller   Composer
Eddie Gip Noble   Composer
Gip Edward Noble Jr.   Composer
Alan Douglas   Engineer
The Kick Horns   Orchestration
Toby Baker   Programming,Synthesizer Programming
Cindy Walker   Composer
Nick Ingman   String Arrangements
Tony Swain   Executive Producer
Shannon Forest   Engineer
Carl William Smith   Composer
Dennis Morgan   Composer
Linda Womack   Composer
Van Morrison   Composer
Danny Clinch   Photography
Orlando Murden   Composer
Raynard Miner   Composer
Michael McDonald   Composer
Mick Guzauski   Mixing
Isobel Griffiths   Orchestra Contractor
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Gary Jackson   Composer
Cecil Womack   Composer
Brendan Dekora   Assistant Engineer
Hal David   Composer
Eddy Arnold   Composer
Don Murray   Engineer