Weldon Irvine – I Love You
Weldon Irvine – Do Something For Yourself
Weldon Irvine – Music Is The Key
Because of some (fingers-crossed) big-ish plans for the 7th anniversary of this blog in July, I’ve recently tried to map out and plan some of my posts a bit more than I really ever do. As I was running through records that I wanted to share here I almost missed this album, thinking that I’d already posted something about it. What must have been in my mind was the though to post this up shortly after Don Blackman passed in 2013. Given that at the time my marriage was falling apart, it’s highly likely that that played a part in my decision at that time not to post this record. The reason for that is fairly simply. “I Love You” is perhaps my single favorite song from the 1970s. It’s an absolutely perfect, unabashedly romantic song and something that I’ve always wanted to sing to the woman I love. To date, I still haven’t had a chance to, but I’m posting this up on Valentine’s Day as a pledge to that woman, whoever she may be, that she’ll know when she hears this song exactly what it means.
In addition to the perfection of “I Love You,” Sinbad presents a cross-section of Irvine’s talents as a performer, bandleader and songwriter, with a large group including Blackman, Cornell Dupree, Eric Gale, Steve Gadd and Randy & Michael Brecker. There are crowd pleasing covers of Stevie and Marvin, funk/disco vamps like the title cut, pensive pieces like “Here’s Where I Cam In,” and Spiritual funk with “Do Something For Yourself,” and “Music Is The Key” that are representative of what I appreciate most from the career of Weldon Irvine. But ultimately it all comes back to “I Love You,” which is just one of the most absolutely perfect listening experiences from the decade of my birth. Valentine’s Day is every day with music this lovely.
Cheers,
Michael