You know those finance articles you see on the Internet that analyze a company's prospects where the author has to disclose any positions he has in the companies securities? Well, here's my disclaimer for this review: like the artist being covered here, I too grew up near Lafayette, Louisiana, so I'm naturally going to root for my Cajun homey to succeed.
Marc Broussard (that's pronounced BROO-sard for you Yanks) is a proud native of the small hamlet of Carencro, at least proud enough to name his second CD from four years ago after his hometown. He's hardly the first celebrity to come from there, though. Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry, New England Patriot running back Kevin Faulk, Cajun music steel guitar legend Pee Wee Whitewing, and Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard all hail from there. Marc Broussard is just the latest Carencrotion (if such a word exists) to make his mark on the world.
Broussard isn't so much making his mark with the music of his native stomping grounds, though. He's doing it with a steadfast devotion to soul and the golden pipes to deliver it the way it's meant to be delivered. His affinity to R&B naturally comes from bring the son of the aforementioned Ted Broussard, who was a member of the local legend Gulf Coast blue-eyed-soul band The Boogie Kings. With today's release of Keep Coming Back, Broussard has his fifth album out while only in his mid-twenties.
Keep Coming Back finds Broussard debuting on the label of Otis Redding, the fabled Atlantic Records. It comes on the heels of last year's all-soul-covers S.O.S.: Save Our Soul, Broussard's tribute to the '60s/'70s golden age of soul. With Keep Coming Back, he seeks to make new soul classics that evoke the spirit of that time.
It can be a risky and daunting proposition to summon the ghosts of Redding, Gaye, and the like without coming off as a cheap, opportunistic imitator. However, even though Broussard's flawless croon often sounds more like Paul Carrack and Delbert McClinton than Wilson Pickett, this release succeeds because Broussard is completely invested in it.
That's obvious for several reasons. First, he uses vintage 2" analog tape to recreate the old, warm feeling of vinyl records and the songs are played a lot like they would have been played back in the day. Secondly, he recorded this using mainly his touring band to help capture a live, emotional feel. As a result, eight of these twelve tracks were first takes, according to Broussard. And finally, the originals presented here are all worthy additions to the canon of the blue-eyed soul/r&b/swamp pop style of music in which Broussard plies his trade.
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