Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Lari White (vocals); Jerry McPherson (guitar); Conni Ellisor (strings); Jim Horn (flute, saxophone); Mike Haynes (trumpet, flugelhorn); Barry Green (trombone); Tim Akers (keyboards); Michael Rhodes (bass guitar); Dan Needham (drums). | | After scoring numerous country hits and one pop hit ("Stepping Stone") in the 1990s, Lari White fell silent for seven years before returning with an album likely to stun most fans. The acknowledgements for GREEN EYED SOUL open on the line "God bless the Reverend Al Green" and the R&B connection is confirmed from the first notes of "Nothing But Love." A soul-drenched gospel number co-written by White, the track could have been swiped from the songbook of the aforementioned Memphis minister. | | While Green is certainly the starting block, and the album channels him further on the groove-laden "We Got It Goin' On," GREEN EYED SOUL is a remarkably diverse record. White shifts with ease from "Right Here Right Now," a Patsy Cline-esque slice of country, to "Eden Before the Fall"'s lustrous trip-hop to "Groove with Me Baby," a neo-soul spoken-word track that sounds like Jill Scott by way of Gil Scott-Heron. White's vocals tread the tightrope between country and soul, evoking the bottomless sadness and rapturous joy both styles embody, which makes GREEN EYED SOUL a fresh, enjoyable listen. |
|
CD
