Blueprint (U.K.), Volume 2, Issue 34

by Paul Lewis. Rating: 8 (of 10)

Produced, arranged and largely written by the eccentric southern genius Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams, Can I Change My Mind is, by my reckoning, the seventh album to date to feature blue-eyed soul singer Billy Price's name about the title. The first four presented Price as the frontman with the Keystone Rhythm Band, his first major project after splitting from Roy Buchanan's group.

He has surrounded himself here with crack soul players, drawn from such prestige R&B sources as Tower of Power, the Gap Band and the various groups associated with Little Milton, Barry White, Gladys Knight and others. Their combined excellence is apparent from the off: "Crack Crack (When Are You Coming Back)" is a splendid 60s-style stomper, a great opener, catchy and hard to resist. It features a lovely, sandpapery vocal from Price that really sets the tone for the whole session.

"Mine All Mine All Mine," the second track, is from the smoother end of the soul spectrum, coming on like a lazier rendition of Marvin's "How Sweet It Is..." and easing us towards the deeper emotions of tracks like "What Is Love (And What Makes You Think You Deserve Some)" and "One In a Million," two broadscreen ballads, achingly produced and arranged.

The title track is an uptempo version of a Billy Price standard, a classic song he first recorded way back on Roy Buchanan's Livestock LP. Here, given a modern gospel groove with a Latin feel and a cool flute solo by Jerry Peterson, this cut, like the CD to which it lends its name, is classy, steeped in tradition but forward-looking at the same time. It's a good album in short, one for those with broader-than-just-blues tastes perhaps, but definitely for readers with Memphis-style soul in their hearts.

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