Even with a 45 year hiatus, Raw Soul Express have still got it. Their new single, ‘Fate of the World’ combines the modern traits of the music industry and resurrects the old school sounds that they’re known for.
Their previous track, ‘The Way We Live’, was a hit in 1976. However, nearly 50 years on, their new track has much deeper insights.
Asking the biggest questions, the band touches on Black Lives Matter, Coronavirus, Global warming and the economy.
In vocalist and keys player Chris Perkins’ words: ‘if you are conscience about your surroundings, mentally, socially and economically with a deep concern for humanity and God and love for your fellow man and the environment, then Fate of the World addresses these issues in our society. It’s powerful, raw and its current. Unfortunately, it’s in real time.’
Now in their second half century, the band have got some incredible accolades. Individually, they’ve worked with the likes of KC & The Sunshine Band, Lenny Kravitz, BB King, James brown as well as Kool and the Gang!
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for all members of Raw Soul Express, as bassist Albie Manno explains:
‘In 1971 I answered an ad on a bulletin board in a music store for bass player wanted. I sat in one evening and jammed with the band. About three months later at 3 a.m, there was a knock at my door. Three band members woke me and asked if I wanted to be in the band. “You have to decide now” they said. “We have a gig at Bethune-Cookman all black college.” The bass player they had left them in a spot, so half-asleep I said yes. I believe I was the only hippie there that night. After doing the gig and losing about 20 lbs from pure fear and nerves not knowing what the hell I was doing, they decided to keep me and 50 years later here I am!’
The track itself is an awesome piece of work. It really hammers home the modern soul vibe the band were looking for. The deep tones of Rick Washington‘s vocals beautifully bounce off the equally deep tones from the other band members. The music and vocals sound like they were made for each other, working in tandem without fault for the whole song.
Speaking of lyrics and instruments, the track has an incredibly natural feel to it. Thanks to the lack of studio input, you get to hear and feel what these guys are really about. As you’ve probably worked out by now, that’s a massive tick in my book.
However, the stars of the show have got to be the bass and drums by Tommy Johnson and Harold Seay respectively. The drums help to modernise the track, injecting a bit of energy to really get it kick started from beginning to end.
Johnson holds a brilliant bass line throughout, really giving me the itch to get up and dance to this one. Whilst every single member makes this track as amazing as it is, these two deserve a special mention.
Just to make things even better, ‘Fate of the World’ is out now so give it a listen below:
Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rawsoulexpress/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5e8PzKR7GtAtJzBVARpNv6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-1CuwLYeBhEgXrsg_N5Tiw/videos
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