Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth

For his consciousness-raising return to the limelight the veteran singer Billy Valentine could have just given these civil rights soul classics the retro treatment and made a pretty good album.... — The Times More…

Release Date: 24th Mar 2023
Catalogue No: AJXCD681
Label: Acid Jazz UK
Length: 43 minutes

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Billy Valentine is one of the great soul voices working in America (‘the secret weapon of almost every songwriter in L.A.’) – with a history as deep and varied as the Young-Hold Trio, the original touring company of ‘The Wiz’, in collaboration with his brother as ‘The Valentine Brothers’, right up to credits that include Swedish House Mafia. Conceived in the summer of 2020, it is a response to the throes of a global pandemic and the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. More than a covers album, this record uncovers the works of the likes of Cur5s Mayfield, Gil Scot Heron, and Pharaoh Sanders in a new setting. Recorded at EastWest Studios (formally the historic United Western Recorders), produced and mixed by Dave Way, and featuring a stella cast of session musicians, the album is as sonically stunning as it is moving.

Reviews

For his consciousness-raising return to the limelight the veteran singer Billy Valentine could have just given these civil rights soul classics the retro treatment and made a pretty good album. Yet he makes it special by recording it with some of the hottest jazz artists.

...Valentine is in fine voice in his senior years, appearing to be positively invigorated by this new project. Collaborating with Bob Thiele Jr, son of the Bob who started Impulse! and head of the rebooted, much-loved Flying Dutchman label (partnered with UK imprint Acid Jazz), Valentine has gone into classic 1970s soul territory with an album that is classily helmed.

Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth

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