Published on May 29, 2001
Once upon a time, there was a band named Sy Klopps Blues Band,
and they recorded two albums (both presently out of print). While
there was a lot of underground buzz about the group, they never
seemed to reach the next level of fame – and, for a while, it
seemed like they would be doomed to cult status.
Now, the “blues band” moniker has been dropped, and the band
(led by lead vocalist Sy Klopps himself) returns with
Berkeley Soul. While this disc shows there’s still room for
the band to grow, this is not a bad effort at all… just a little
sleepy at times.
Quite possibly the best move that Klopps could have made was to
drop the “blues” tag from his band’s name. Oh, there’s still
evidence of 12-bar blues on this disc, but the laid-back style and
groove that this band reaches for feels more like old-school soul
or R&B. One could almost see someone like Al Green or Sam Cooke
taking on some of these numbers – meaning it’s not surprising that
Klopps covers two of Cooke’s songs on this disc.
What’s interesting about the way that Klopps attacks the music
on
Berkeley Soul is that he accomplishes two goals. First, he
reminds the older listener why they loved laid-back soul music in
the first place, as tracks like “Talk To Me” and “Walk Slow” prove.
Second, he helps to show younger listeners just how special this
kind of music was – and is. Yeah, it might not replace the
pre-packaged pabulum that the youth of today are listening to, but
it might just sharpen their musical palate.
If there’s any drawback to this kind of musical attack on
Berkeley Soul, it’s that sometimes it feels a little
too laid-back. Sure, the easy-going style of performance and
vocals works well on early tracks like “Wherever I Lay My Hat” and
“Cryin For My Baby,” but near the end one could have dealt with an
injection of some excitement. Tracks like “The Rock” and “Appetite
For Love” almost cry out for some kind of musical spark to ignite
things. And the less said about “Living In The House Of Blues,” the
better. (I know the song wasn’t written about it, but insert your
own joke regarding the over-priced, over-hyped club here.)
By no means is
Berkeley Soul a bad album; if anything, this disc will be a
wake-up call to anyone who liked Klopps’s music at any time, and
will remind people that he’s still around. But if Klopps and the
band could kick the intensity level up just a little bit, they’d
have the kind of album that would make them much more recognized in
the music scene.