Playing his first gig at 27, Albert Cummings arrived relatively late in life to the blues, a career he did not initially envisage although, as he maintains now, adopting the blues later in life simply meant that he had more experience to bring to the table. That experience is clearly a key factor, because it has made for a lengthy career that reached a new peak when Albert signed to Provogue Records (part of the mighty Mascot stable) for the release of Believe. A glorious, horn-soaked record that combines a mix of inspired covers and sparkling original tracks, Believe was tracked at the legendary FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, and the results are electrifying.
The album opens with the soul classic, Hold On, and right from the off, you’ll have a giant smile on your face, so effervescent is the band’s performance. From the stacked horns to the whip-crack percussion, it’s a life-affirming version of an evergreen classic, and Albert’s warm vocal tones (sweetened by a gospel chorus) only add icing to the cake. It’s a bold start to an album, kicking off with a tune so familiar, but it sets the scene nicely and Do What Mama Says certainly does not suffer from the comparison. A warm, soulful groove, Do What Mama Says recalls the glorious Clapton / King collaboration, Riding With The King, and you can almost see the smiles on the band’s faces as it all coalesces around a rich chorus that more or less wedges itself into the memory. In contrast, Red Rooster is Muddy Waters pastiche with its gritty guitar tone and Buddy Guy vocal. It’s pure blues, as familiar as any of the classics, with a blistering solo to match and, like any great track that operates within so familiar a language, it’s the subtle accents that Albert employs to make it his own that truly shine through. Next up, an early album highlight in the form of Queen Of Mean sees the guitar take a back seat to the horn section and vocals, the laid-back track capturing a nice, bluesy groove that greatly benefits from being underplayed. Albert and his band keep things dialled back for a lovely take on Van Morrison’s Crazy Love, represented here as the sort of ballad that might have been found on 461 Ocean Boulevard. Like Clapton, Albert knows the value of stepping back from the gunslinger role to allow the songs to do the talking and, as a result, the emotions tied up in the melody are given room to breathe and Van’s lyricism shines through. The first half concludes with Get Out Of Here, a tough blues track that crackles with wry humour and which offers up a short, but potent solo at its conclusion.
The second half opens with the low-lying groove of My Babe, a soul-soaked track that the Blues Brothers would have been happy to call their own. There’s some great guitar work here, delivered in the same easy-going style, but full of depth and power nevertheless, and it gets the second half of the album off to a fine start. Next up, Albert and his band adopt a sweet country vibe for It’s All Good. It’s another example of how elastic the blues can be in the hands of a master, and the track slots right in alongside grittier fare such as Going My Way, a hard blues with a gutsy vocal. With a lyric about getting back form life what you’ve put in, it provides the album with both its heart, and its title. Another album highlight, the swinging Call Me Crazy is the greatest Buddy Guy song never written, Albert’s storming guitar matched only by the vocal grit of his delivery. It leaves the still-vital Freddie King Cover Me And My Guitar to see the album out on a high, the lyrics perfectly capturing the life of a blues musician as a funky, springy riff wraps itself around the track, leaving plenty of space for one last, magic-fingered solo.
A perfect mix of covers and original tracks, all wrapped up in that fabled Muscle Shoals sound, Believe is an absolute delight of a record from start to finish. There’s a vibrancy to the sound that cannot help but raise a smile, particularly when Albert and his band take on soul classics like Hold On, and the whole record has the intimate warmth of a timeless classic. One of the albums of the year, for sure, Believe is the record that will see Albert Cummings become a household name, and deservedly so. 9/10
