Singer-songwriter Will Porter has been based in the San Francisco area building a following on the club and concert scene and serving as Mary Wells musical director for many years. This album is a rerelease of a 2015 album that saw very limited release in the United States. Produced and arranged by the legendary Wardell Quezergue in New Orleans, the recording has collaborations with Dr. John and Bettye Lavette. The studio band includes Thaddeus Richard on keyboards, Todd Duke on guitar, Brian Quezergue on bass, and Bernard 'Bunchy' Johnson in drums, with the Womack Brothers handling backup vocals. There are appearances by Doug Belt on drums, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, Jimmy Haslip on bass and baritone guitar, Don Pender on oboe, Mic Gillette on brass, and Johnnie Bamont on saxophones.
While some of the press materials describe Porter as a cross of a young Bobby Bland and mature Lou Rawls, I might suggest that he is a cross between Junior Parker and Arthur Prysock with a touch of Mel Torme. Listening to him, he comes off as more of a crooner than a shouter. There is plenty to enjoy listening to him with the warmth of his vocals that are marked by his exquisite pitch, timing, and clarity of phrasing. The wonderful duet with Bettye Lavette of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" impresses not simply with their interplay but also the contrast in styles between the two. Note must be made for Quezergue's terrific arrangement with strings and Pender's oboe.
The duets with Dr. John are gems, including the title track where the good doctor raps in response to Porter's vocal. Nocentelli adds his guitar to "When the Battle Is Over," which sounds like something Johnny Adams might have recorded in the early sixties. Quezergue's use of strings enhances several selections, such as Porter's blue ballad, "The California Sun," where Porter wishes his love was here to enjoy this California Sun. Nocentelli adds some sizzling guitar on Porter's blues "I Can Do Bad By Myself," with horns blasting in the background. A surprising selection is Porter's nuanced interpretation of "Don't Go To Strangers," a song associated with the late jazz singer Etta Jones. There are also interpretations of songs from Ike Turner and the Johnny Burnette Trio. "Tear It Up" is Quezergue's imaginative and funky reworking of the Burnette Trio's hot rave-up with a booty sax solo and greasy organ solo.
The limited initial release of this music received considerable acclaim, which one expects this rerelease also to receive. Handsomely produced and performed, it is a first-rate album of soul, blues, and ballads.
I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a selection from an earlier album Will Porter did with Wardell Quezergue.
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