Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves: Roll With You

Elly Roberts reviews

Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves: Roll With You
Distributed by
Q Division RecordsCover

  • Released: June 2008
  • Rating: 10/10++
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Self-styled Soul man stirs up a storm.

If Otis Redding was alive now, he’d be drooling over this CD. So come on youSoul fans, fork out for this gem. You won’t be disappointed. Honestly.

Not only does Reed have a remarkably shaped voice coping with shrieks and falsettowith equal measure, he’s got this ‘hot as hell’ band – The True Loves who usea tight rhythm section – two drummers at his disposal – Attis Clopton andNoah Rubin and acoustic bassist Mike Montgomery.

With them there’s Ryan Spraker guitarist/back-ups/piano. Brass section is madeup of Ben Jaffe on tenor sax, Patriq Moody on trumpet and Gabe Birnbaum ontenor/baritone sax, and eight other supporting musicians: you can imagine theoverall sound.They’re a mix of James Brown meets little Richard meets Memphis Horns.Considering their age (all in their 20s) they do a stunning job backing the Boston-basedblue-eyed soul boy.

Their aim, no doubt, was recreate a throwback feel across all the songs,which they’ve done with credibility, style and gusto, creating genuine authenticitythat’ll, if it reaches soul aficionados, keep the spirit of the genre well andtruly alive.


They storm into action on a dance groove with the infectious Stake Your Claim.Reed leads the pack with punctuated squeals while The True Loves swing withstyle-horn blasts and wiry guitar licks aplenty. Am I Wasting My Time issomething Sam Cooke would have delivered during his early 60s heyday and It’sEasier, a smooth ballad, might have made the cut for Otis Redding’s OtisBlue album, sitting proudly alongside Change Gonna Come.

For The Satisfier, Reed blows up a James Brown blast on R’n’B dancer in theSam and Dave mould, again whipping up a measured squeal when needed. NorthernSoul freaks would be happy enough to dance the night away to the sizzlingTake My Love With You. Roll With You is classic Stax soul. Thisgentle ballad proves Reed is comfortable with dance and balladeering. He doesa similar job on She Walks and penultimate (Am I Just) Fooling Myself.

He returns to the dancefloor beats on the rasping adrenalin rush of I Won’tGive Up, bringing back images of The Blues Brothers on fire. He takes onJames Brown at his own game to end the album: the cut and thrust of funk-fuelled(Doin’ The) Boom Boom rubber stamps a man, and only 20 something remember,who’s destined to make his mark in Soul history.

File under: Astonishing.

Weblinks:elipaperboyreed.com /myspace.com/elipaperboyreed /qdivision.com


The full list of tracks included are :

1. Stake Your Claim
2. Am I Wasting My Time
3. It’s Easier
4. The Satisfier
5. Take My Love With You
6. I’ll Roll With You
7. She Walks
8. I’m Gonna Getcha Back
9. Won’t Give Up Without A Fight
10. (Am I Just) Fooling Myself
11. (Doin’ The) Boom Boom

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