(July 12, 2023) J. Brown is an artist who knows his way around a soulful ballad. We saw proof of that in 2018, when he dropped the sweet and lush “Sunrise Sunset,” a tune that was all over radio that year. That song, accented with strings and bluesy guitar riffs, was a mid-tempo stepper cut that found the native Detroiter waxing romantic on the day brightening qualities possessed by his lover.
He remained in the extra-terrestrial vibe on “Moon,” another Top 10 hit. The bouncy number had a percussive beat augmented by deft keyboard work and guitar flourishes that served as the base for J. Brown’s honeyed tenor as he expressed how his woman’s love inspires him to figuratively sweep her heavenly body to another heavenly body.
J. Brown gets down to earth on his gritty new song “My Whole Heart.” The attitude of the song is set with a bluesy guitar riff that would have been right at home in Memphis or Muscle Shoals. Brown’s tenor soars on this song as he expresses the kind of love that has seen the best and worst that a relationship can see, and he’s still there prepared to do what it takes to keep this love alive.
“My Whole Heart” is a song with an old soul. The arrangement, with that ever-present guitar riff, the bluesy bass line and Brown’s honest and vulnerable translation of the lyrics, makes this song a representation of what great soul music has been, is and will continue to be. Check out soul man J. Brown on “My Whole Heart” here.
By Howard Dukes
J. Brown – “My Whole Heart”
