Neal Francis – Changes (LP Vinyl)
Product Details
Neal Francis came up through the Chicago blues and gospel world, learning piano the hard way, absorbing the city's deep well of rhythm and soul before addiction nearly derailed everything. *Changes* arrived as a debut that felt less like an introduction and more like a reckoning, the kind of record that sounds like it was made by someone with something serious to get off their chest.
I just wanted to be honest about everything, from my musical influences to my story," muses Neal Francis. After years of dishonest living-consumed by drugs, alcohol, and addiction-such sincerity is jarring from the 30-year-old Chicago-based musician. Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms, Chicago blues, and early 70s rock n' roll. There is a deep connection between Francis's childhood-his obsession with boogie woogie piano, his father's gift of a dusty Dr. John LP-and the songs he's created. The result is an astonishing collection of material without parallel in the contemporary funk and soul scene. The influences are unmistakable: the vocal stylings of Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell; the second line rhythms of The Meters and Dr. John; the barroom rock 'n' roll of The Rolling Stones; the gospel soul of Billy Preston; the roots music of The Band. Francis pays tribute to the masters but has his own story to tell: "It's the life I've lived so far.
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
UPC: 674862654222
Label: Karma Chief
Release Date: 9.20.19
Format: LP Vinyl