ALBUM REVIEW: On Debut ‘Back to Us,’ Alex Harris Breathes New Life into Soul Music
Grant Britt
Posted On April 9, 2024
Alex Harris’ shoes don’t fit in the footprints of most soul singers. His steps have led him into philanthropist territory as well as singer-songwriter domains with his nonprofit Arts Conservatory for Teens, which helps prepare at-risk young people for higher education and job opportunities through development of their artistic interests.
Born in rural Manchester, Georgia, the Pentecostal preacher’s son was steeped in the sounds of revered gospel icons including Shirley Caesar and the great Willie Neal Johnson & the Gospel Keynotes from an early age. As the lead singer of the family band, A-7, at the age of 7, Harris developed his skills as young entrepreneur promoting the band. After completing a master’s degree in theology and social work, he studied adolescent counseling at Harvard prior to founding his Conservatory.
Back to Us is Harris’ first full-length release, and it’s a stunner. Harris cites Al Green as one of his major influences, and his voice sounds as if Green’s vocal cords were grafted on, with Sam Cooke’s spliced in as well.
Alex Harris (photo by Kevin “KT” Terrell)
There are no Green covers on this outing, but Harris brings Green and Cooke into the mix on Otis Redding’s “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,” with a celestial rendition that’ll shake you down to your sinnin’ bones. Oddly enough there are no traces of Otis, just Al and Sam fighting for the lead, with Al beating Sam down on the verses and Cooke sneaking in on the choruses.
Harris’ take on Solomon Burke’s “Cry to Me” sounds like it was recorded in the front parlor of a funeral home. Slowed down from Burke’s original, sounding as raw as Redding, backed by Alonzo Harris’ B-3, this is bleeding soul, staining the carpet with tears, worthy of being sealed in the same timeless capsule with Burke’s more upbeat, seductive 1962 version.
“Millionaire” was an odd cover for Solomon Burke. A Burke song with a fiddle on it? But for 2006’s Nashville, the venerable soulman loped into territory previously explored by other R&B purveyors, notably Ray Charles, whose Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music broke new ground in 1962. Harris’ take on the Kevin Welch tune is more churchy, with a B-3 burbling softly in the background as Harris lays down on the gospel carpet and rolls around in religious ecstasy.
His own stuff’s just as soulful. “Lose My Religion” is an old-school R&B-flavored tune that sounds lifted from Green’s Hi Records recordings in Memphis in the early ’70s.
“Something Gotta Change” sounds like an updated version of that sound, Green-ish soulful gospel keenings draped all over the upholstery.
Back to Us is another reminder that soul is not dead, it’s just been hiding in the shadows, waiting for the right time for a resurrection. Thanks to Alex Harris, that time is now.
Alex Harris’ Back to Us is out April 12 on Shanachie Records. Listen to the whole album before its release below:
