My Review of 'Labelle - Back to Now' - A Return To Classic Labelle Soul, Funk & Glam!

Labelle Back to Now
2008
www.labelleisback.com
www.ververecords.com


Labelle is back!

Released on October 21st, 2008, Labelle's Back to Now is the first reunion in over thirty years and the seventh and latest studio album by this legendary soul/funk group.

Labelle's other 6 albums include:

Labelle (Warner Bros. Records, 1971)
Moon Shadow (Warner Bros. Records, 1972)
Pressure Cookin' (RCA, 1973)
Nightbirds (Epic, 1974)
Phoenix (Epic, 1975)
Chameleon (Epic, 1976)

Back To Now (Verve, 2008) reunites Patti Labelle with original Labelle members Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash.

The Tracklisting for Labelle's Back to Now is:

1. "Candlelight" (produced by Lenny Kravitz)
2. "Roll Out" (featuring Wyclef Jean)
3. "Superlover" (produced by Lenny Kravitz)
4. "System" (produced by Lenny Kravitz)
5. "The Truth Will Set You Free" (produced by Kenny Gamble)
6. "Without You In My Life" (produced by Kenny Gamble)
7. "Tears for the World" (produced by Gamble & Huff)
8. "Dear Rosa" (produced by Nona Hendryx)
9. "How Long" (produced by Kenny Gamble)
10. "Miss Otis Regrets" (produced by Kit Lambert)

Some of the stand out tracks are: 'Roll Out', 'Superlover' - (has that classic Patti, classic Labelle sound! nice! plus you can hear Lenny Kravitz drum work all on this track - nice touch!), 'The Truth Will Set You Free' - (love that horn section! funky!), 'Without You In My Life' - (sweet love, strong vocals), 'Tears For The World' - (good lyrics, current isues, global warming, Katrina, hunger, poverty, the wars, politics, shedding tears for the world, the children of the world), 'Dear Rosa' - (nice tribute to Rosa Parks), Miss Otis Regrets' - (they saved the best for the last - great song!)

This album is filled with that classic original soul sound of the 1970s. Soul music that will make you want to tap your foot, dance, sing, groove, or sit back in your comfy cushion easy chair, close your eyes, bob your head, and think back on a time when real Soul Music was real Soul Music and much aplenty everywhere you could turn in the 1970s especially. Back to Now successfully sounds like the original Labelle sound we have all come to love over the years.

This album takes me back to a time when we used to put the needle to the groove of our 33 LPs, and wherever you put the needle, you could not miss! It was all good!

Labelle will be performing live on Friday, December 12th, 2008 @ 8:00 PM at the historic Apollo Theater in New York City, NY.
~LT