While he’s never had huge crossover success as a solo artist, Lenny Williams has had a sufficiently large and loyal following among Soul Music fans that he has continued recording long after many of his peers stopped. His 2004 release My Way died an unfortunate death due to lack of proper record company marketing, so he’s taken his career back in his own hands for It Must Be Love, released on his Lentom Records. And for soul music audiences who may be surprised that Williams is still recording, a bigger surprise may be just how good he and this album sound. Largely relying on a bluesy feel musically and lyrically, It Must Be Love covers familiar topics of love, cheating and break-up — and does so very convincingly.
The disc opens with the excellent midtempo “Tuesday” (a great singles candidate) and continues through a generally strong series of tracks, sometimes bearing a classic soul sound (“Can’t Nobody Do Me Like You Do,” “Somebody Else”), other times feeling more contemporary (“I Be Missing You”). Williams even throws a couple well written adult contemporary ballads in the mix (“I Will Never Leave You” and “I Can’t Say I Love Without You”), rounding out an impressive nighttime soul album that should please Williams’ long time fans and should make him a few more. It Must Be Love is a great listen and a welcome return of a vastly underrated performer. Recommended.
By Chris Rizik