Description: Home About Us Postage & Payment Returns Contact Add The Pom Shop to your Favorites and receive our email newsletters about new items and special promotions. General Interest The Royal Gospel The Royal Gospel by Royal Southern BrotherhoodChemistry. You either got it or you don't. When the five members of Royal Southern Brotherhood convened in February at Dockside Studios, Louisiana, there was magic in the air. Just seven days later, the acclaimed US soul-blues collective emerged triumphant with The Royal Gospel: the fourth album in their rocket-heeled rise and further proof of a lineup born to play together. Enough has been said about Royal Southern Brotherhood's illustrious backstory. Enough has been written about the critical acclaim and sell-out crowds that greeted the original lineup's 2012 breakout. Right now, fans would rather hear about the questing new material and finger-on-pulse worldview of The Royal Gospel, released 2016 on Ruf Records. Amen to that. Like all the best groups, Royal Southern Brotherhood have evolved. Having bonded on 2015's Don't Look Back, the MkII lineup of Cyril Neville (percussion/vocals), Bart Walker (guitar/vocals), Tyrone Vaughan (guitar/vocals) and Yonrico Scott (drums) have found another gear on The Royal Gospel, bolstered by new recruit Darrell Phillips (bass/vocals), plus guest B3 from Norman Caesar. "As far as the men making the music and playing the songs," says Neville, "the mission of the band has never changed". Scan the credits for The Royal Gospel and you'll recognise that while some bands operate a songwriting dictatorship, this one thrives on material penned in partnership (or even originated between three members). Neville is as prolific as you'd expect - given the fistful of projects he's kept spinning over the decades - but so too are Walker and Vaughan, who collaborated remotely with their bandleader, trading ideas back-and-forth via the Web. "It's not often that you find a connection like me and Cyril," explains Walker, whose Nashville home is some 800 miles from Neville's base in New Orleans. "It got to the point where we were almost in each other's heads - and we had already worked out what the other one was gonna say." "It's a very spiritual thing," agrees Neville. "I kinda laughed, because Bart was getting ahead of what I was even thinking. Last time, we actually got together in the room to do the demos. This time, it was all done by iPhone and stuff like that. But when you taste this musical gumbo, you're gonna be very satisfied, however we approached the kitchen." Then the band and famed producer David Z arrived at Dockside, the recording ethos was unapologetically old-school: simply cut the songs live in the room, eyeball-to-eyeball, in a minimum of takes. "We walked in not really knowing what we were gonna do," recalls Phillips. "Cyril and Bart come to us with chord progressions, tempos and ideas, and we build together. We'd just fall right into the thing and all of a sudden, there's the song. On this record, we came together as a band. It was a magical thing to witness." Likewise, it's a magical album to hear. The Royal Gospel opens in emphatic style with "Where There's Smoke There's Fire": a stinging statement of intent co-written by Neville and Vaughan, whose hard-rock riffing is tempered by a vocal addressing a woman with "the face of an angel, a body that's divine". That same writing duo also strikes gold on "Can't Waste Time", its descending guitar hook fused to a lyric about a two-faced lover ("Girl, you're like a ship without a rudder"). Fans of the Brotherhood's bluesier side will relish the rolling rhythms of "Spirit Man", and hit repeat for "I'm Comin' Home", with its molten slide-guitar solo and travelogue lyric ("The road just goes on and on"). Elsewhere, Walker and Neville are at their soulful best on "Blood Is Thicker Than Water", the veteran bandleader singing that "there's nothing more sacred than the love of a son or daughter", over a groove sure to shake the room as the band tour the world through 2016. "It's extremely groove-orientated, this stuff," nods Walker. The Royal Gospel might move your feet, but it's not afraid to challenge your perceptions. "The whole record is geared toward making a joyful noise," says Neville, "but while we're partying, we still need to be thinking about what's going on around us. It covers what we've seen in our travels over the last few years, and what we've lived personally as citizens of the world." Case in point, "Hooked On The Plastic" is an irresistible funk workout with soul-drenched backup vocals, but also a razor-sharp critique of consumerism ("Livin' way above your means no end to the stream of green"). And stick around for closing track "Stand Up". A joyous call-to-arms in the face of feckless modern politicians, it ends with an electrifying outro, the band building to a dizzying crescendo while Neville hollers a global message to take a stand: "Come together! Come together!" It's a thrilling finale to an album that cements Royal Southern Brotherhood's reputation as a modern band to treasure. This is The Royal Gospel. Consider us converted... Shipping Shipping is free for all customers in Australia. Your package will be safely taken care of & posted from England by means of Priority Airmail, which is air freighted to your nearest Australia Post Distribution Center (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Perth), from where they are delivered to your address by Australia Post. Returns and refunds We operate a 30 day money back guarantee. If you are unhappy with the product for whatever reason, please contact us to arrange a return and refund. As shipping costs are not retrievable, we are unable to refund shipping costs. Feedback We use an automated eBay feedback response system. If you are happy with the product, please leave positive feedback and we will automatically leave positive feedback for you. If you are unhappy with the transaction for any reason, please contact us first to resolve. If you do leave negative or neutral feedback you waive your rights for support regarding any problems with us and open yourself up for possible retaliatory negative feedback. Please avoid making negative feedback remarks, contact us first if you have any problems! We are here to help! Contact Us Please contact us via eBay messages if you have any questions and our Customer Service team will be happy to assist you with any queries. Thank you. Home About Us Postage & Payment Returns Contact Copyright © 2017 The Pom Shop. All rights reserved.
Price: 34.47 AUD
Location: Priority Airmail from England
End Time: 2025-01-15T07:31:22.000Z
Shipping Cost: 9.29 AUD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
Returns Accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Return policy details:
Brand: RUF
MPN: CDRUF1232
Producer: Rueben Williams, David Z., Thomas RUF
Release Year: 2016
Format: CD
Genre: R&B & Soul, Blues
Run Time: 3313 Sec
Type: Album
Record Label: Ruf Records
Artist: Royal Southern Brotherhood
Release Title: Royal Gospel