LP Review: Soul Searching
Released: 1976
LP Charts: #2 R&B, #9 Pop
Average White Band’s fourth album, Soul Searching, came on the heels of the massively successful AWB and Cut the Cake. AWB hit #1 on the R&B album chart and #1 on the pop chart. Cut the Cake repeated the R&B success while hitting a very much respectable #4 on the pop side. Both albums also had a huge single to propel sales. “Pick Up the Pieces” and “Cut the Cake”, respectively.
Well, Soul Searching “only” managed to reach #2 on the R&B charts and #9 on the pop charts. It was the final studio release from the Average White Band to reach the top ten on either chart. It also did not have a major hit single.
Nonetheless, the album would become their best-selling LP attaining platinum status. Who needs hit singles when you got a whole hit album, baby!
The success of this album isn’t that it’s necessarily better than the other Average White Band albums, although it is in the upper echelon no doubt, but that it does sound more like an album than the others. To that point, there’s an overture and a finale that attempt to provide a thematic mood for the often-contemplative album.
Furthermore, this seemed like the proper follow up to AWB. The band had time to process and heal from the death of their old drummer, Robbie McInstosh, which hadn’t had time to do on Cut the Cake.
Okay, on to the songs…
We have the aforementioned “Overture”, which a hazy synthesizer fest that accurately prepares you for the meditative feel of this LP. I mean, the album cover and title should have, but just in case you missed the intended feel, here ya go.
And if you somehow needed a kick in the pants on the message of the LP, the very first proper song is “Love Your Life”, complete with the lyric “love your life, it’s a blessing”. Yeah, definitely some dudes who’d recently seen a friend die from drugs. Musically, this track is a chunky piece of funk with a thumpin’ bass. In fact, the bass is what really makes this song. I mean, I like the short horn stabs and the squiggly synth, but this song is about the bass.
After the somewhat somber opening, AWB gets uptempo with “I’m The One”. It’s a dependably solid R&B track. And I love love love the pluckin’ guitar intro.
That upbeat feel lasts only but a minute, well technically four minutes and twenty-one seconds, because things slow all the way down for the band’s signature ballad: “A Love of Your Own”, which was actually written by Ned Doheny.
(We’ll have more on Ned Doheny later in this blogging endeavor).
This track has become an R&B and quiet storm standard. It’s all about atmosphere and that hazy synthesizer that first appeared on “Overture” is in full effect here. Plus that damn saxophone. It does good work here especially over the last two minutes where you’re just vibin’ on the extended outro.
And here I think the band made a sequencing mistakes. “A Love of Your Own” is an album closer, or at least a side closer. Instead it’s followed up by the Latin dance fest of “Queen of My Soul”, which in my opinion is definitely an album opener, or at least a side opener.
In any case, don’t any of y’all ever settle for the single version of this song. Robs you of the full percussion jam that breaks out in the song’s latter half. And a fun fact I learned researching this track for the article… our old friends Eddie and David Brigati of the Rascals sang backup vocals on this track. Nice.
On “Soul Searching”, AWB decides to go into more of a straight-forward R&B mode with influences of big band jazz. You can easily see how some smooth jazz hack would corrupt this song. Fortunately on this original, the song retains all its backbone.
That backbone keeps going strong on “Goin’ Home”. Although, it should be titled “Pick Up The Pieces (Part 2)”. That’s not any shade or slight. “Goin’ Home” is a stompin’ instrumental that clearly builds on the framework laid out by the band’s first hit.
Sometimes all you need is a simple R&B love song. “Everybody’s Darling” provides that quite ably. And sometimes you get a simple R&B song verging on the blues that is slightly off the mark. That’ll be “Would You Stay”. The song’s arrangement is decent, if unremarkable, but the vocals of Alan Gorrie and Hamish Stuart can’t pull this one off. Now Bobby “Blue” Bland could made this shit work just right.
Like Vanessa Williams, AWB saved the best for last. “Sunny Days (Make Me Think Of You)” has bluesy guitar licks along with a sitar and synthesized strings. It’s a gorgeous little ballad with splendid wistfulness. Every instrument is just played and produced in a way to mentally put your ass on the wrong side of a bar counter asking for another drink.
After 40+ minutes of music, the album closes with “Digging Deeper (Finale)”, which is just a fancy pants reprise of “Soul Searching”, so I ain’t complaining.
ALBUM GRADE: B
Despite some moments where the album drags a bit *cough* “Would You Stay” *cough* the band got itself together again and submitted an admirable LP for any funkateer’s and/or soulster’s collection.
Song Scores
Love Your Life: 7.5/10
I’m The One: 7.5/10
A Love of Your Own: 7.5/10
Queen of My Soul: 7.5/10
Soul Searching: 8/10
Goin’ Home: 7/10
Everybody’s Darling: 7.5/10
Would You Stay: 6/10
Sunny Days (Make Me Think of You): 8.5/10