Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Foy Vance, Warner Music UK 2019.
This album is my introduction to Northern Irish singer/songwriter Foy Vance and it’s a good one.
Foy has an excellent soul-drenched voice in keeping with the best Irish soul from bands like The Commitments.
The album was recorded at the legendary Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals and was co-produced by Vance and Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes, John Paul White, Nicole Atkins) and is the first of two companion albums.
It will be followed in September by a second album, To Memphis, which was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Studios in Memphis.
The two albums pay homage to the deeply rooted soul and American music traditions that have been so influential in Foy’s music.
The albums came about as Foy was seeking inspiration for his fourth album. He was going through his collection of demos when he came upon a tape he’d titled ‘Soul’ and ‘Americana’.
From Muscle Shoals is the soul half of that equation and he’s even included two of the original Swampers, who were the Muscle Shoals house band that played on so many soul hits of the 60s and 70s.
The 10 tracks penned by Foy on this album beautifully recreate the southern soul sound that the Muscle Shoals Studio became famous for.
The production team have put together a crack group of session musicians to work on the project.
Swamper David Hood’s unmistakable melodic bass lines propel the songs along and the keys of fellow original, Spooner Oldham, revive all the memories of Sam and Dave, Wilson Picket, Percy Sledge, Etta James and the many famous soul performers who plied their trade in that studio.
In a way, what Foy is doing in this project is penning a musical letter of appreciation to the two recording studios that did so much to create the music that became the backdrop to his youth.
He comments that “When I found this collection of songs I knew immediately where I needed to go to document them.”
It was an inspired decision and I’m looking forward to the second instalment in September.
