Jim

iTunes Review

Jamie Lidell’s 2005 album Multiply presented the kind of 180-degree turnaround that only occurs in 1 out of 1000 music careers. The former laptop artist re-invented himself as a 21st century soulman, reconfiguring Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, and Ray Charles into a futuristic runway show bursting with positive energy and musical cleverness. The album was showered with praise but it was unable to find the mainstream audience it so obviously coveted, and so clearly deserved. Lidell has upped the ante with Jim, making his sophomore soul masterpiece even more palatable to Top 40 fans. “All I Wanna Do” has the sultry warmth of a Norah Jones ballad, while “Another Day” should appeal to Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder fans alike. It's clear that Lidell has a feel for good groove and good sound design, and after hearing the dancefloor mastery of “Little Bit of Feel Good” and “Figured Me Out” one can’t help but feel that this man should be working with Madonna and Janet Jackson. Lidell’s greatest trick remains the way he can take the simple Sixties soul premise of “Where D’You Go” or “Out of My System” and turn it into something that feels wholly, utterly of the moment.