On the Record 1: Aaron Frazer - Live From Easy Eye Sound
Cruise into the weekend with this short and sweet soul compilation from Aaron Frazer. He delights with his fabulous falsetto and is backed by a stellar studio band.
Spotify, Qobuz, Purchase on Bandcamp
Rating: 8/10
Genre: R&B
Length: 16m 36s
Release Date: January 13, 2023
Label: Dead Oceans / Easy Eye Sound
Streaming quality: 44.1kHz/24-bit
First Impressions
The album art is whimsical and I dig the mid-century style. The length puts this at one side of an LP, which is considerably shorter than the 42m Introducing... full length album from Frazer. This live session only features two songs from Introducing..., and the other three are covers.
Notable Personnel: Aside from Dan Auerbach, Tom Bukovac is credited on this record.
Sound Impressions
This album opens with "Heart Full of Love," (originally by The Invincibles, 1965) a short, tender 6/8 ballad. I find it bringing me into the record over and over, since it's a fresh introduction to Frazer's influences and style. "Heart Full of Love" puts Frazer's falsetto on display in full force.
"Have Mercy" subtly grooves along with minimal percussion and a prominent bassline from Mike Montgomery. He laid down the stellar, funky bassline for "Witchoo" on the latest Durand Jones and the Indications record. This track is fully deviates little from the original album version, but comes across as more natural. To my ears, this is largely due to the guitar replacing many vocal harmonies, especially in the opening. The live track is flooded with space, putting forth a wispy presence that asserts itself casually in the listening space.
"Looking For A Brand New Game" (originally by The Eight Minutes, 1973), but delights in its upbeat tempo and bright instrumentation. The synths, organs, and electric pianos create a dense soundscape mixed pleasantly away from the percussion, bass, and vocals. The tension in the end of the first verse
That was all we needed
To satisfy all of those feelings inside
resolves so satisfyingly at the start of the chorus. There's no bridge, but a guitar interlude and stripped chorus does a good job standing in.
"Lover Girl," like "Have Mercy," ditches many of the vocal harmonies in favor of more sparse composition. We retain several reverb-soaked guitars panned to either side. These guitar parts are a really nice compliment to the otherwise straightforward drums.
The closing tune, "The Makings of You," (originally by Curtis Mayfield, 1970) rounds out the session with another ballad. With just a guitar, organ, bass and hand percussion, there's an air of simplicity that is easy to get lost in. The chord progression at the end of the verse livens up an otherwise soothing, but plain, track.
Final Thoughts
I find live albums often disappoint for one reason or another, be it production, recording quality, or some other factor. Not the case here. This short release delights in an older live-from-the-studio session style. Auerbach's productions rarely fall short and this is no exception. This is a less of a recast of Introducing... and more of a seamless style sandwich --- three covers circa 1970 and two tracks off Frazer's debut record. We get a taste of the new and the old and the 50 years between disappears. At just under 17 minutes, this is an album I will have on regular rotation for a dose of Frazer's falsetto.