But hey, Leela's no prude. Skip ahead to "Soul Food", where both kinds of sustenance sound mighty tasty.
For me, the high point of the record is "When You Love Somebody". The slow blues groove burns with intensity as Leela turns up the volume (emotional and otherwise) to celebrate and lament the things we all do for love.
There are a couple of bold moves on A Change Is Gonna Come that can't be ignored. The first is a cover of No Doubt's "Don't Speak". When I first saw that title on the track list, it made me a little apprehensive. But as I made my way through the record for the first time (discovering James' voice) I actually began to look forward to it. Leela makes no attempt to eclipse Gwen's iconic performance. Instead, she delivers a sultry rendition that, given Stefani's love of dance music, would surely cause a wry smile to cross her face. And yes, the title track does mean that Leela James took on the Sam Cooke classic. Her love of that famous Cooke melody is obvious as she weaves her voice into it. I couldn't help but sway back 'n forth just a little. Great and powerful stuff. After hearing all of this, it comes as no surprise that James has opened for groups like the Black Eyed Peas, Stephanie Mills, Robert Randolph and Macy Gray.
A Change Is Gonna Come closes closes with "Long Time Coming", a burning rock-steady groove that indeed strikes the balance. Just enough production and definitely enough value...almost more than I can stand!
If I was the kind of reviewer who gave out numerical ratings, I'd have to give this one the maximum value. It's that good.
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