In “1978”an album that from the title is perceived as self-referential since it is the year of birth of the person in question, Joseph James He judiciously condenses his few but easily distinguishable identities. An interesting and timely exercise considering that his last studio reference was that tribute – magnificent, by the way – to Erykah Badu’s catalogue.
Although there is not much of the Joseph James of the auspicious debut “The Dreamer” from 2008, in which the American of Panamanian-Irish origin infused jazz impetus into his compositions, here his more pop self appears but in a refined version compared to some hits from his past. So does the beast that seduces with accurate funk, with songs in which every intention and arrangement hits the target of good taste. Although the beginning of the album does not predict an experience of success thanks to the timid and hesitant “Let’s Get It”, which tries to function as an introductory mantra but what it does is delay interest in the use of the hypnotic resource – which would have been more effective to put into practice once the album has developed its mood –, the ship settles in little by little.
“Isis & Osiris” Secondly, it begins to do some justice by citing the influence of – again – Erykah Badu and nineties Californian rap on that complacent base and it is “Planet Nine” the one that shakes the sheets of the album: although it is not a funk bomb of dimensions, it is true that you cannot dance lying down.
It is at this stage of the album that James begins to feel like a fish in his water: with “Saturday Night (Need you Now)” everything changes. The singer lifts the lapels of his shirt, puts on his sunglasses even though it’s a dark night, and we all start shaking our paws. The next cut is the one that leaves him in the place that he himself knew how to achieve, things are put at the expected level for interpretation, melody and above all for elegance. From here on the album lands in different spaces, some flatter and more malleable (the deep and meaningful piano ballad “For Trayvon” heartfelt tribute to Trayvon Martin, victim of the lack of control that the United States experiences regarding the use of firearms or the contagious, groovera and Latinjazzera “38th & Chicago”) and other more rugged ones (the obvious “Dark Side Of The Sun” with a warm featuring by rapper Baloji o “Place Of Worship” which gives a pleasant halo of world music thanks to the voice of the Brazilian Xênia Franca, but which perhaps would have worked better as a single outside of the album).
With more successes than deviations, in “1978” The man from Minneapolis shows that his creativity and vocal gifts are in full force, a condition that allows him to sustain a definitively solid career.