Huey Lewis and the News - Soulsville

Memphis has been a popular destination this year with albums of Stax-fired R+B covers already having arrived from both Sheryl Crow and Cyndi Lauper. Now add 30-year veterans Huey Lewis and the News to the list of Stax devotees with Soulsville, a surprisingly sure-footed collection of fourteen reworked rhythm and blues classics arriving November 2. Producer Jim Gaines, the man behind Lewis' classic 1983 hit album Sports -- over 10 million sold in the U.S. -- is again at the helm, this time recording Huey and band at the original Ardent Studios in Memphis, a building where Gaines first kicked around as young engineer and go-fer.

Lewis has always had love for classic soul peppered with funky horn charts and one of the main reasons why the modest Soulsville works is the emphasis not just on singing but on the playing as well. "We as a band now are still getting better," says Lewis. "And we really are a band in every sense." Sure it's good to hear the husky voiced frontman obviously relishing the retro tracks and it's equally fun to hear a band of skilled players go through the paces on songs such as "Respect Yourself", "Cry to Me" and "Never Like This Before". Obviously we're not talking the magic of Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett here but neither is this Holiday Inn lounge material (paging Rod Stewart). For an affectionate, well-oiled journeyman approach and a remarkably deep selection of songs famous and obscure, Soulsville manages to break a sweat while still making it sound easy.

Huey Lewis and the News - "Respect Yourself" (from the album Soulsville)

Huey Lewis and the News - "Got To Get You Off My Mind" (from the album Soulsville)