Victim Of Love

Soul
Charles Bradley is 64, and this is his second album. Here the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” focuses on love songs, mostly moving away from the social and personal themes that gave his debut much of its cathartic gravity. Still, the backing of the Menahan Street Band and Bradley’s devastating vocal delivery make this a powerful set of performances. Favorites: 1, 3, 4, 7. No FCCs.

1. *(3:43)—Slow, funky, sunny, longing. “Let’s go somewhere / where I don’t care.”
2. (3:49)—Mid-tempo, bouncy, swinging, joyful. “All I need is you.”
3. *(3:59)—Really slow, nocturnal, sad, overflowing with reverb.
4. *(3:29)—Slow acoustic guitar, shaker, reverb-heavy background group vocals. Bradley’s in pain. Some real screaming here.
5. (3:00)—Slow, funky, spy movie sound. Sort of silly but fun.
6. (3:21)—Medium-slow instrumental. What a fantastically melancholy funk (in both senses of the word).
7. *(3:45)—Mid-tempo. Really trippy intro. Gnarly bass, lots of echo. Kind of a space-noir feel.
8. (3:11)—Medium-slow. Retains a bit of the spaced-out sound from the previous track.
9. (3:55)—Medium-slow, lush, bluesy, bombastic, tear-jerking ballad.
10. (3:32)—Slow, funky, and crisp. Handclaps and prominent backing vocals.
11. (4:42)—Slow, driving. Shimmering electric guitar and fingerpicked acoustic.