To account for the fact that I have been very neglectful of this idea sharing space, I have decided to come back in full force.
Look out for posts every day during the month of December.
You'll never know what the topic will be, but I am considering it a "Favorite Things December", as an homage to our lady of Oprah Winfrey. Anything that is lovely to me at that moment will be heavily featured, as we celebrate the holidays and count down to the end of 2015! (Excuse me while I have a minor panic attack.)
(Okay. I'm back.)
Today, I have already jumped into my first listen of a yearly December tradition, the lovely Thomas Newman score to Little Women. Even though I may be fulfilled with my unofficial soundtrack to Christmas, I still have another musician lad on my mind.
Every day for the last month I have been crushing hard - I'm talking about big time love for an album that should have been on my radar way back in the spring of this year.
Well, late is better than never as they say, and an old timey phrase like that is perfect for the excellent throwback sound coming out of the mouth of Leon Bridges.
Fans of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding will especially feel like Bridges could have been one of their peers. Maybe some guy that was left under appreciated for years and then in 2015 was plucked out of obscurity by some rando shopping in a record store. Then, after becoming bewitched with the songs, felt compelled to share these old glorious tunes with the world and uploaded it on YouTube.
That fantastical tale isn't true, but the real story is just as wonderful. Bridges, at 26-years-old, is making that long lost sound relevant again.
Head to toe, from his shoes to his smooth voice, from that big band backing him up to his black and white music videos, this boy is a vintage dream. Even the nostalgic album artwork makes you feel like you are picking up a $.50 album single from a 1950s record store.
Every song, from the one focused on his number one gal ("Coming Home"), to the sweet ditty about his mother's life ("Lisa Sawyer"), and the gorgeously soulful album ender ("River"), there is a consistently sweet theme about relationships and family. Subjects that seem simple, but we all know are actually vast as we each reach our highs and lows in life. It's something everyone can relate to. A good tune that hits on these points, with a beautiful melody to boot, will always leave listeners weak at the knees.
Just like the immensely talented men he is compared to, Bridges is proving that a solid love song never gets old or feels dated. It can even last a lifetime.
He also covered my favorite Sam Cooke jam. I wish the audio was better, but be still my heart anyway.
You too could check out Leon Bridge's album, Coming Home. Early prediction: I will be listening to this one for years to come. It just has that classic, timeless feel.
Until next time.
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