I went back and forth about what song to pick for the final Slow Jam Saturday of 2022. Initially, I thought of collaborating with my guys Thomas Leo and Kyle Ng from YouKnowIGotSOul.com or big bruv Edward Browser from Soul In Stereo. In the end, though, the answer was evident when I looked back at the foolishness, heartbreak, and accomplishments of 2022 and what I want to carry into 2023.
I decided to go with “Pure Gold” from the elements known as Earth, Wind, and Fire. Initially appearing on the group’s nineteenth album Illumination, “Pure Gold” was produced by the legendary Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Co-writing the song with Jam & Lewis were The Avilla Brothers and Tony Tolbert.
The legend Philip Bailey leads the song and elegantly sings about living your life with substance and not focusing on keeping up with the joneses or becoming the center of attention. In addition, “Pure Gold” has a strong message of self-worth, and true love is conveyed through the lyrics. Throughout the song, EWF encourages and reiterates to the listener that nothing is more valuable than true love and self-worth.
A message of peace and strength is conveyed in the song that urges its audience to take some time to find their inner strength and light. This theme is to choose a path of truth and light over worldly desires. As a result, love, above all other possessions, is the only thing that will always remain valuable and never fade away.
Final Grade: A
“Pure Gold” from Illumination is available on all streaming platforms.
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.
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.