Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth

Album review

Billy Valentine is a Los Angeles-based soul singer, songwriter, and producer who has been performing for five decades. He scored some hits during the 1980s with his brother John in the Valentine Brothers, including "Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)" and "Lonely Nights," and has sung for film and television. He has held club residencies for many years, playing to sold-out houses. Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth collects eight topical, spiritual, and socially conscious soul and gospel songs. This is the first release from the newly revamped Flying Dutchman label run by producer Bob Thiele, Jr. It was founded by his producer father and was the home of seminal recordings by Gato Barbieri, Leon Thomas, Lonnie Liston Smith, Gil Scott-Heron, and dozens of others. Thiele, Jr. is a longtime creative associate and business partner of Valentine's. In addition to his core band, they brought on an impressive cast of session players including vibraphonist Joel Ross, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, pianist Larry Goldings, bassists Pino Palladino, and Linda May Han Oh, trumpeter Theo Croker, drummer Abe Rounds, and guitarist Jeff Parker. Valentine renders these classics with reverent authority and resonance. The set opener is an iconic reading of Curtis Mayfield's "We People Who Are Darker Than Blue." This anti-discrimination anthem is rendered with grace and poignancy amid cascading piano, upright bass, and slowly shuffling percussion. It's underscored by a modal interlude that showcases Wilkins' stellar alto sax. Scott-Heron's iconic "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" is introduced by a ghostly Rhodes piano, brushed snare, bass, and congas as Valentine inhabits the protagonist's spirit. Your mind's eye can see him on the street unloved and unwanted. Strings climb syllable by syllable as Valentine unfolds the emotion, alienation, and tragic irony in the lyrics as the band floats around him. "The Creator Has a Master Plan" was Leon Thomas' signature tune. Valentine's approach is rooted in a deep, seamless, spiritual soul. Framed by piano, saxophone, and a droning bassline, he allows the devotion and optimism in the lyrics to guide his ethereal phrasing as Rounds' drums push the band into overdrive. Prince's "Sign O the Times" is delivered organically. While there are electric keyboards in the smoky backdrop, a drum kit, trumpet, snare, and bass offer Valentine a rich color palette. He syncopates the melody as the band winds around him with lithe, nocturnal funk. The spiritual "Wade in the Water'' is a funky soul-jazz choogler with Valentine's expressive baritone framed by a gospel choir and Parker's bluesy electric guitar, rumbling electric bass, and piano. The set closes with a questioning, contemporary jazz read of War's "The Word Is a Ghetto." Its contemplative delivery is threaded with gauzy Rhodes piano and percussion rave-ups in the bridge and refrain, becoming an apocalyptic soul tune rife with meaning in the 21st century. Interestingly, five decades into his career, Billy Valentine & the Universal Truth may be the record that finally introduces him to a national audience, simply because it's the protest-soul album we need most right now.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo