CD reviews: Amp Fiddler: Afro Strut – 65

Amp Fiddler: Afro Strut

From: Pias/Shock/US
Genre: Soul into funk
Music: 3/5
Sound: 4/5

This is Joseph ‘Amp’ Fiddler’s second album as a solo artist, though the Detroit-raised keyboardist has a long track record, playing with everyone from Jamiroquai to George Clinton. Despite what the title might suggest, Afro Strut is not an obviously African-influenced album. Instead, it achieves a seemingly effortless smooth funk groove that combines a ’70s blaxploitation swagger with the more synthetic textures of the ’80s and serves them up in a perfectly manicured 21st century blend. One suspects this guy is just too good for his own good, if you get my drift. A lot of the time his vocal style superbly apes Marvin Gaye’s aching falsetto; but who needs an ape job? This reaches its apex on ‘Hustle’, which, with its keening strings, could have been lifted from Gaye’s What’s Going On. The most enjoyable tracks are ‘If I Don’t’ – a duet with Corinne Bailey Rae with carnivalesque old-time jazz behind its funk groove – and the exultant feel of ‘Ridin”, with its warm keys and bubbling organ. At the end, however, you’re left with a nagging feeling that Afro Strut isn’t quite the full quid, either in terms of lasting songcraft or originality. The sound, though, is gorgeous, capturing the silky, mellow performances along with the more electronic elements of the mix, including a deliciously deep bass.

Gary Steel