Jamie Lidell

Accomplished artists have worked under alter egos before.  (Garth Brooks’ "Chris Gaines", anyone?)  But while English soul sensation Jamie Lidell asks us on this, his third outing, "To call him Jim," he isn’t quite playing such a name game.  Rather, the switcheroo seems made more in the pursuit of a rowdy good time, wherein Jamie, someone somewhat composed, becomes Jim, the guy at the party who jumps on the coffee table to get the party started.

Then again, perhaps "Jim," simply a familiarization of "Jamie," is solely a reference to how this album grasps a much more straight-ahead heart and soul sound compared to its predecessor, Multiply.  Either way, instead of dabbling with the electronic elements that made previous tracks, like the highly commercial "A Little Bit More", so ubiquitous, JIM chooses to retro rock out—and harder (“Hurricane”) than ever before.  Pounding piano artistry, throbbing electric guitar riffs and Lidell's powerhouse voice punctuate each of Jim's tracks in the hallowed memory of Sly Stone and Little Richard.  This is not new school soul; it’s old school soul—with a gritty kick.   

Lead single "Little Bit of Feel Good" is a hot, cutting toe-tapper that picks up where Multiply's "A Little Bit More" left off.  "Figured Me Out," where Lidell utters a blazing "Please!" in the chorus, begs for some funky dance floor recognition.  And the album opener, "Another Day," is a cheery, birds-in-the-background tune made for hip swaying and hand waving.  This is music you feel in your bones.  The steel wool-voiced James Morrison, 2007’s British pop-soul darling, comes to mind on "All I Wanna Do," but JIM on the whole remains a louder, polished and more soulful older brother throughout.  Fans of the former will certainly gravitate to the sounds here though—and probably hope James returns calling himself Jimmy.

—Matthew Allard
05.15.08

Some electronica producers spend their entire careers building up a roster of instruments, legions of samples, and more gear than any bedroom studio could possibly fit. Jamie Lidell has apparently been reducing not only his equipment list to its basics, but his production style so it includes a minimum of things that you need to program (much less plug in). Of course, that jives with his gradual blossoming as an unhinged soul singer on 2005's Multiply, which has only blossomed further for 2008's Jim, a neo-soul record that sounds like it was recorded live in a studio that each of the seven to eight musicians actually could fit into. Part of this is the result of Lidell and co-producer Mocky's ability to record so well that the production doesn't stand out by itself, but simply works as a vehicle for the songs. On a performance level, Lidell mostly avoids the pitfalls of Multiply, where he sounded faithful but not always sincere. On Jim he's not only writing better songs, but performing them as though he's lived them (this is where a good hands-off production can improve the proceedings). It doesn't really matter whether Lidell's rebirth as a soul singer is an example of an artist following his muse or simply looking for a way out of electronica, when the results motivate your body as well as "Out of My System" or move your heart as well as "All I Wanna Do." Jim is most reminiscent of the Southern deep soul of the late '60s, although recorded so well (and so dry) that it betrays its lineage. That sound is a good complement to the other British soul stalwarts with retro-soul and -funk leanings, from Lewis Taylor to Jamiroquai to the Cinematic Orchestra (and, for that matter, including Joss Stone and Amy Winehouse as well). Add to that an assortment of unobtrusive guests (including Nikka Costa, Gonzales, Peaches, and Alex Acuña) doing great work, and the result is a record that reveals soul and sincerity. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide