Songwriter
Nathaniel Rateliff established himself as a critically celebrated folksy Americana singer/songwriter on 2010's
In Memory of Loss, his Rounder Records debut. Though he played in straight-ahead rock & roll bands before then, his independent releases since have been of intimate, poignant, and pensive songs. Until now. This self-titled offering on Stax is a hard-swinging, house-rocking affair that draws heavily on vintage R&B, soul, and proto rock & roll. Though
Rateliff has displayed emotion in his vocals since the beginning, even fans have never heard him like this. Influences from
Sam & Dave to
Van Morrison to
Sam Cooke range freely on this set -- and he has the voice to pull it off. The sessions were helmed by producer
Richard Swift, who captured
Rateliff and his large band -- complete with a swaggering horn section (and occasionally subtle strings) -- with just enough reverb to make it sound live. "I've Been Falling," with its upright piano and handclaps, delves deep into vintage
Morrison territory without really emulating him (though
Rateliff comes closer on the album's last track, "Mellow Out"). The raw soul passion in "Trying So Hard Not to Know" evokes the historic Stax ethos perfectly, while sidling up to
the Band's Big Pink era. "S.O.B." has verses saturated in Southern gospel, with foot stomping and handclaps as the only accompaniment, before the entire band erupts in a carousing chorus. This reverses gospel's usual Saturday-night-to-Sunday-morning course; it is one of the rowdiest broken-heart songs you'll ever hear. "I'd Be Waiting" is a tender, wide-open love song with a late-night jazzy soul feel. The singer's voice is haunted equally by the spirits of
Cooke and
Bobby "Blue" Bland. If this album has a weakness -- and it does -- it's that
Rateliff's use of these forms and styles in his writing is not only basic -- which is fine -- but overly formulaic. Only the pedal steel-driven Americana in the absolutely lovely "Wasting Time" -- which recalls the
Gregg Allman of
Laid Back -- deviates; one or two more songs in this vein (especially with this band) would have made all the difference. That's a small complaint, one that will deter few.
Rateliff's world-weary, deeply expressive tenor and lyrics place him on a different level than any of the current crew of revivalists. ~ Thom Jurek