Soul Speak - Michael Mcdonald Album Review

Michael McDonald

Album Review

Soulful master struggles with a bad idea.

In my books, Michael McDonald can’t do any wrong, as a singer.

His amazing soulful voice hit my ears with the Doobie Brothers’ hit What A Fool Believes way back in 1979. Truth is, no other white man can sing soul music quite like McDonald. In recent years we’ve had Motown and Motown Two, so for a third time in a row he’s delved into the soulful-side of things with poor results, overall.

So we’re left to think that McDonald’s songwriting juices have finally run dry as it’s been some time since the ex-Doobie got writing seriously. As blue-eyed soul is his forte, there seems to be a plethora of material to plunder, but how long will frustrated fans have to wait for something new and more adventurous I wonder? Will there be yet another covers album in the near future, is the big worry? Hopefully not.

Here he doesn’t go for the deliberate replication, perhaps watchful producer Simon Climie wouldn’t allow that, though in places it’s simply unavoidable. So despite some average renditions like the lacklustre Love T.K.O and limp Walk On By, he redresses the problem with the Stylistics sounding Still Not Over You, written by McDonald, Climie and Dennis Morgan with that immaculate voice at its best. The two Stevie Wonder songs – Living In The City and For Once In My Life are no more than a stroll in the park. Van Morrison’s Into The Mystic is a strange choice and doesn’t fit the concept at all, as great as song it is.

When you compare Jeff Buckley, KD Lang and Rufus Wainwright’s outstanding renditions of Leonard Cohen’s anthem Hallelujah, McDonald sounds positively out of his depth, surprisingly lacking any kind of passion. Back on more familiar territory, Jackie Wilson’s Higher and Higher is a blast, but never scales the heights of the original though it would certainly be crowd pleaser live. Its major low points are the drab self-penned Only God Can Help Me Now and disastrous attempt at reggae classic Redemption Song by Bob Marley. Beefed-up opener I Knew You Were Waiting For Me (Aretha Franklin/ George Michael) promises much, but by the end it’s all become very tedious.

File under : Scraping the barrel.

Elly Roberts