Published on Jan 6, 1999
There are some music critics out there that will call
Man Of My Word, the final album released by New Orleans soul
singer Johnny Adams before his death in 1998, his best work ever.
You won’t hear me making that claim, however.
The reason I won’t make such a statement about an album that is
indeed a great effort is because I think it would do the remaining
body of Adams’s work – which I have to plead complete ignorance
about – a grave injustice. So I’d prefer to err on the side of
caution until I’ve had a chance to check out other efforts, and
just proclaim
Man Of My Word a solid album in its own right.
Adams, who fought back the ravages of cancer to record this
album, could well be one of the lost treasures of the soul music
world. Demonstrating a golden voice with great control, Adams
demonstrates throughout the 13 tracks on this album why he was so
well-respected among his peers and “students” – among whom we can
count Aaron Neville, who guests on one track.
What is immediately striking about Adams’s vocals is the control
he has over the material and the emotion he passes along in each
word. On
Man Of My Word, it could be argued that Adams sang each song
like it was going to be his last – indeed, maybe he realized that
this would be his last album, and he wanted to create something
special. Whatever the case, it worked; from the opening moments of
“Even Now,” the listener knows they’re in for something special
with this album.
With one foot planted in the sphere of the blues and the other
in New Orleans soul, Adams and his band (including guitarist Walter
“Wolfman” Washington – man, it’s been too long since I heard him!)
demonstrate almost complete mastery of the material presented to
them. Songs like “Going Out Of My Mind Sale”, “Up And Down World”
and the ironically-titled “This Time I’m Gone For Good” capture the
listener’s attention from moment one and refuse to let you come up
for air.
While the bulk of
Man Of My Word is excellent, sometimes I almost wish that
there had been a little more interplay between Adams and some of
the musicians; I would have liked to have heard a little
give-and-take between Adams and, say, the horn section. Also, while
it’s an interesting picture to put Adams and Neville on the same
song on “Never Alone”, in this particular case, Adams shows up the
man he calls “son” – no disrespect meant towards Neville, but he is
out of his league when in the presence of one of the masters. This
final track could have been left off without hurting the overall
picture.
Man Of My Word is a solid testimonial to the musician that
Adams was, and is a fitting legacy to leave behind. Pity that it
would take his death to open some people’s eyes to just how
talented he was – and now that he’s gone, we realize just how big
the void they left is.