Landing On A Hundred
One Little Indian Records
Five Scoops of Bosco
Reviewed by Allen Bacon, The Daily Bosco
Cody ChesnuTT called his first album The Headphone Masterpiece and it included 36 songs. What we didn't know at the time is that wonderful album had a decades worth of music on it.
Literally.
Because that was in 2002, and fans of the Atlanta-based neo-soul singer have had to cling to that first album, a live EP and the Root's re-work of his "The Seed 2.0" with his vocals on the Phrenology Album.
That was until this Tuesday (10.30.12) when Chesnutt releases his long anticipated second album a lean and joyful 12 track work entitled Landing on A Hundred
The album clocks in under just an hour...more than 30 minutes shorter than his first album, but this album is a more complete and textured album in every way.
If you thought the heyday of Soul Music was the 1960's and early 1970's, you might want to listen to this new album.
It will change your mind in a hurry.
ChesnuTT channels the masters here including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Curtis Mayfield while infusing his own unique stamp on to the genre communicating warmth and passion as Philadelphia-style music accompanies him.
He celebrates his cultural identity here, whether it's African nations in "I've Been Life" or living out his mother's dreams in "That's Still Mama."
Landing on a Hundred is a deeply personal album as it keeps coming back to the theme of redemption in the face of temptation and personal demons ("Everybody's Brother," "Don't Wanna Go the Other Way", ) or the appreciative in "Til I Met Thee".
"Under the Spell of the Handout" adds some blues to the mix before slipping into a funky attitude while "Where Is All the Money Going?" speaks to the genre's tradition of protest ala Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?"
This is an exciting new album and deserves a listen, especially if you are longing for that wonderful Soul sound of the 60's and 70's.
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