There’s always been a significant relationship between R&B and jazz music. One of my favorite saxophonists, Boney James, has many collaborations with R&B singers such as Donell Jones, Mario, Dave Hollister, and Jaheim. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday selection, I wanted to highlight Boney’s 2006 collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire’s lead vocalist Philip Bailey.
The duo collaborated on the elegant ballad “Love Song” from Boney’s tenth studio album, Shine. When the album arrived in stores in September of 2006, I was on a deployment. Spending time in the sandbox, I had tons of time to digest music. I was already familiar with Boney’s work, but there was something special about “Love Song.”
James opens the song with his signature sax skills before the buttery smooth vocals of Bailey come through for a blissful four and half minutes.
“Any time that we’re together
I can’t keep my eyes off you
Did you know it’s you I treasure
Doin’ anything you want me, anything you ask me to
I never ever had a love so true
Someone as warm as you
All I know is that I love you
Give all my love to you, that’s all I wanna do
Gonna write a little love song, yeah
Gonna tell you how I feel
Gonna write a little love song
Show you how I care for you, I’ll keep on loving you.”
The lyrics in the song come across with emotion as Bailey croons his feelings. I think anyone who has ever been in love will relate to what Bailey is singing about. If you’ve never heard the track, I recommend checking it out.
Final Grade: A
“Love Song” from Shine is available on all streaming platforms.
One wonderful aspect of supporting physical media is that I never run short of albums to choose from when deciding what to cover for Second Listen Sunday. Often, I’ll head to the man cave, browse through my CD collection, and an album will pop out at me. This week’s pick is T-Pain’s fourth album, “Revolver.”
One of my favorite singers, Mr. Eric Roberson, is performing this weekend at America’s legendary music venue, The Birchmere. To show Eric some love, I want to highlight something longtime R&B fans have always known: he’s had remarkable songwriting talent.
It’s been nearly a decade since Daley released a full-length album, but the British soul singer hasn’t lost the sound that made me a fan in the first place. His latest project, Strange Nature, finds the Manchester native returning with ten tracks of smooth R&B while sounding older, wiser, and comfortable with where his music fits in today’s landscape.