Soul Messengers - Vision and Faith

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 17 / 1 / 2018

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Review

This Sydney-based band previously went under the name of Chich and The Soul Messengers and has changed their rhythm section but, those two changes apart, it’s business as usual for one of the most soulful bands on the planet. The core of the band remains; lead singer and songwriter Richard Aljinovic together with guitarist Simon Morel have featured on all previous releases by Soul Messengers, and this time they are joined by Dave Kirby on drums and Hadi Ansell on bass. Additional musicians on the eight-track mini-album are Michael Rohanek whose keyboards grace and add warmth to the songs (especially his flourishes of Hammond) along with Jason Bruer’s sax and Adrian Veale on trumpet. Amanda Easton returns along with Juliane DiSisto to provide outstanding, soulful backing vocals. While the talents of both Aljinovic and Morel obviously steer the band mention is made of the other contributors to the album purely because, as with the other sets released by Soul Messengers, the playing is so tight, the band is so together with all members working towards the same goal. There is a lovely, warm and intimate feel surrounding all these songs. The sound that was captured during the sessions at Q Studios in Sydney is truly magical. Aljinovic is blessed with an outstanding singing voice. It matters not if he’s plunging the depths of deep soul or funking it up as that voice never wavers. There is little doubt that Aljinovic is one of our best contemporary soul singers. His voice just drips with emotion but with this new set of songs he once again blows the listener away. Then there’s Morel. We’ve sung the praises of this extraordinary guitarist before and he doesn’t disappoint here. His playing is the perfect compliment to Aljinovic’s emotional vocals. ‘Vision & Faith’ is an eight-tracker, six originals from Aljinovic plus a studio version of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ that the band had already tackled (and won) on their ‘Live at the Vanguard’ EP. The album is completed by the bands take on ‘Need Your Love So Bad’. It’s not really fair to call these two non-originals covers as the band really do take the songs to places they haven’t been before despite both being well-covered in the past. As with the band’s live take of the Beatles classic, the Soul Messengers add a funky slant to the song and gospel backing vocals, Morel’s guitar playing on this song is exceptional while Aljinovic injects each line with a shot of soul that was never hinted at in the original. ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ is going to be known by many from the Fleetwood Mac version. It’s almost needless to say that Aljinovic’s vocals are the most soulful you’ve heard so far on a version of this song while both Morel and Rohanek take the song into unchartered territories; it’s case of Soul Messengers yet again taking an old classic and owning the song. Morel’s lead guitar will leave the listener breathless; he wrings as much emotion out of those strings as Aljinovic does out of his voice. But it’s not the bands take on old classics that are the highlight here, Aljinovic’s originals shine brightly too. The album kicks off with ‘Let’s Go to Bed’, an infectious, funky little soul gem with Rohanek’s keyboard touches vying for attention against Morel’s guitar and Aljinovic’s vocals; the song sets Soul Messengers stall out nicely and accurately. This is followed up by ‘It’s Too Late for Tears’, the introduction of the horns hammering home that this band know where to turn to for inspiration. The new rhythm section also get a chance to show just why they were selected for this band on this particular track. They put in a solid, stunning performance. Then it happens, third song in and ‘Don’t Let Them Tell You’ has you checking the writing credits. We know by now that Aljinovic is a talented songwriter but this song just takes his songwriting to a new level. The soul ballad opens with just Aljinovic’s voice and Morel’s guitar before the subtle introduction of keyboards and the rhythm section and it’s an absolute soul classic. Perfection in fact. The backing vocals from Easton and DiSisto are stunning and just one of the ingredients that make this song an absolute must hear for any soul fan. Morel’s guitar once again tugs at the heart strings, the subtle use of keyboards adds warmth to the song and the result is one of the most breathtaking performances of this year, no make that any year. This one song is worth the price of the album alone. ‘Wake Up ‘17’ is Aljinovic commenting on the current state of this crazy world we live in, another funky cut perfectly executed by the band, stabbing horns hammering home the message and those backing vocals once again grabbing the listener’s attention; so many bands have tried to achieve this sound and failed but Soul Messengers seem to get there with ease. Although ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ is presented here in possibly the best version so far released and it’s good to have a studio version of the band’s take of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ finally on disc it’s Aljinovic’s originals that steal the show on ‘Vision & Faith’. This is the sound of a group of musicians who gel perfectly together performing a set of songs that are simply some of the best soul songs recorded in recent years. And in ‘Don’t Let Them Tell You’ the band have delivered a timeless soul classic that deserves to be in any soul fans top ten of all time.

Track Listing:-

1 Let's Go to Bed
2 It's Too Late for Tears
3 Don't Let Them Tell You
4 Whiplash
5 Need Your Love so Bad
6 Eleanor Rigby
7 I'm Your Dog
8 Wake up '17

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/SoulMessenger
http://www.soulmessengers.com.au/
https://twitter.com/chichmusic
https://plus.google.com/10817774748079
https://www.youtube.com/user/chichmusi
https://www.instagram.com/soulmessenge