Sooner or Later in Bloomington, MN

Nearly two decades after the breakup of
the Average White Band
-- whose success was largely due to
Hamish Stuart
's
blue-eyed soul
vocals and songwriting -- comes his first solo album. But remarkably,
Sooner or Later
sounds like it was recorded near the group's prime. Although the harder edge of
Average White Band
has softened into a mid-tempo,
jazz
/
blues
adult pop
approach not far removed from
Michael McDonald
,
Stuart
's instantly recognizable,
R&B
-drenched voice hasn't changed. His vocals slide into a beautiful, effortless falsetto croon as the low-boil
funk
urges him on. This album could use a few more
"Cut the Cake"
groovers to keep it from slipping into snooze-ville, but during the
ballads
that dominate the track listing,
pays homage to
Philadelphia International
's rousing '70s output. In fact,
"New Kind of Fool"
could be this album's
"Me & Mrs. Jones,"
even though his singing isn't as engaging as
Billy Paul
's. Taken individually, these are fine examples of
's talent and
soul
vision. But collectively, by track nine, the song quality gradually levels off and the romantic, easy-rolling groove gets redundant. Some compacting would also help, since nearly all the tunes topple the five-minute mark and many meander in their final minutes. Still, those wondering when the vocalist from
would finally cut an album will find much to enjoy here.
's best songs could easily have come from a classic on the order of
Soul Searching
, which is high praise indeed. ~ Hal Horowitz