One listen and you might think someone is trying to trick you with the picture of the clean-cut kid on the album cover, and for good reason. Eli "Paperboy" Reed (nicknamed for his classic hat) has a voice that evolves comparisons to soul greats such as Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, but that voice did not get there on its own.
Upon graduating high school, Reed decided it was time for a real education and moved to Clarksdale, MS, the native soil of the blues. He gained invaluable experience entertaining tough Delta crowds and receiving some gratis lessons from legendary blues drummer, Sam Carr. After 9 months, Reed moved north to enroll at the University of Chicago, and got a gig playing piano at a South Side church ministered by former Chess soul singer Reverend Mitty Collier. A year later, he dropped the books, moved back home to Boston and started forming the True Loves.
I don't advocate dropping out of school. If I knew Roll With You would be the result however, I could be swayed. It revives a sound I once thought limited to my vinyl collection, not because it's a "vintage sound" but because it has an inimitable sincerity that defines good soul music. Reed's emotive voice expresses the heartbreak of a veteran soulman in "It's Easier" and "She Walks". His showmanship shines through in "I'm Gonna Get You Back" and "The Satisfier".
Certainly, there will be skeptics who can recall the golden years of soul, but by the end of this album, the "Boom Boom" will have you dancing like the "Boogaloo" never could.
-Danny Silva