I Can't Call It: Coming Home - Leon Bridges

So this dude Leon Bridges is the next Sam Cooke huh? Yup...sure he is. I really was hoping that the whole "retro sound" phenomenon was over along with that damn auto tune but I guess I was wrong. I mean, didn't we do this already? I mean, we survived the whole R. Kelly "Love Letters" train wreck and even though I loved Saadiq's "The Way I See It" & "Stone Rollin" I was more then ready to put that good ole oldies sound to bed, unless it's the actual the good ole oldies. See, I've never been a fan of the whole "such a such sounds just like such a such" hoopla. In fact, it's kinda wack to me. It's like this whole Your Old Droog thing with dude sounding JUST like Nas. Some folk liked it on some ole, it's like listening to vintage Nas. But my thing has always been, then why don't ya'll just go listen to some vintage Nas? See, if I wanna hear some Sam Cooke, guess what I'll do? I'll go listen to Sam Cooke. I don't need Mr. Bridges to help me out. And ain't this dude only 26 years old? What does dude know about Sam Cooke or THAT sound? But since his debut album "Coming Home" is on tap and I told myself I was gonna stop being closed minded about stuff, I'm gotta check dude out and give him a fair shot. Plus, he can't mess up the classic soul sound of 60's & 70's...right?

The album sets off with the lead single "Coming Home" which sets the tone for the entire album and instantly takes you back to the 1960's. Leon sings "I'm coming home to your tender sweet loving, you're my one and only woman/the world leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, you're the only one I want" which is a well needed getaway from the "shorty I don't mind if you dance on a pole" current state of R&B. "Better Man" has Leon trying to get back with wifey after he was out all night "singing with those jezebels." And with lyrics like "I'd swim the Mississippi River if you would give me another start" you can tell dude is serious about getting his woman back. "Brown Skin Girl" has Leon kicking his game to a shorty from across the room, "brown skin girl on the other side of the room/brown skin girl staring with the brown eyes/don't you know you're a cutie pie." "Smooth Sailing" still has Leon kicking game but on the uptempo tip, "I don't really know her destination, but I got a feeling I'm gonna be her passenger/sugar you let me be your passenger/said I like the way, said I like the way you sail your ship down/let me be your captain/I won't weigh you down, honey I won't weigh you down" and "Shine" has Leon taking us to the Southern Ebenezer First Episcopalian Baptist Church of Mississippi, "Lord don't remember my sins, my sins from my youth/don't remember my sins/and Father please remove my transgressions, let them blow in the wind like sand/cause all of my deeds you know them/use me as your vessel, I want to shine, like the candle/shine like the burning candle in the womb."

"Lisa Sawyer" tells the story of a shorty growing up poor in New Orleans but who was loved by her family and eventually gives her life to Christ which leads into  "Flowers" which has Leon letting us know we need to get out lives right with Christ ASAP cause tomorrow isn't promised, "flowers of the fields, here today vanish in the wind/go to sleep you may not wake up with the morning sunrise/move so fast baby before you close your eyes/so you better run, move fast like a bullet from a gun/over the hill, salvation rests in the sun/eternity baby rests in the sun, so won't you come." "Pull Away" has Leon breaking up with his shorty, "girl I want to pull away from you, it's been too long, I want to walk away right now/I thought that our love was true all along, I was wrong/my pillow bears tears of a man in pain/I never thought I could sustain/don't worry about me anymore, cause I'll be gone by the morning time" while "Twisting and Groovin" is the flip with his shorty breaking up with him, "I got a call from my baby, said she's fed up with me/she said she's found another lover in another city, says she's doing fine in New Orleans/now she got me pacing wondering where did I go wrong/got me going in circle like the merry go round/gonna taking the west train to Louisiana in the morning" and the album couldn't end any better then with "River" with Leon telling the story of a man giving his life back to Christ, "been traveling these waters for so long, my heart's been far from you 10,000 miles gone/I want to come here and give you every part of me but there's blood on my hands and my lips are in grief/in my darkness I remember, momma's words reoccurred to me/surrender to the good Lord and He'll wipe your slate clean/take me to your river, I wanna go."

When it comes to me being put onto new artists, the worst thing that someone can tell me is they sound like such a such. I know for labels, most times it's a marketing ploy but when we're on some ole barber shop talk, don't do that. Just fall back and give that artist the chance to walk their own walk. Tell me dude has that old soul vibe like my man Apex did when Anthony Hamilton first dropped but don't compare them to somebody else cause 9 times outta 10 they're never gonna be better then the person you just compared them to so they're already behind the 8 ball with me. But I can tell you this. Even with all of the Sam Cooke comparisons, Leon Bridges ain't behind the 8 ball any more cause when it comes to "Coming Home" this is REALLY a solid album. I think the dopest thing about this album is that it doesn't feel like dude is trying, you know what I'm sayin? Like, I highly doubt his next album will have DJ Mustard and Mike Will Made It behind the boards and that this whole soul singer thing was just a phase. Nah, this is him. And it's the authenticity and the sound of this album that makes it's so good. So yeah, at first Leon was on my ish list but after building with "Coming Home" for a minute, I realized this dude ain't trying to be the next Sam Cooke, he's simply being Leon Bridges. And that right there is dope enough for me.

4.5 outta 5 mics