April 12, 2005 @ 7:29 am

Leela James - A Change is Gonna Come (Warner Bros.)

by: Laura Checkoway

Leela James has funk, soul, and a whole lotta church in those mighty pipes.

Leela James has funk, soul, and a whole lotta church in those mighty pipes. On her stirring debut, James’s husky vocals ring out like a thunderous prayer for love finally answered. “Can we just put the thongs away and fall back in love with music?” she cries out on the mid-tempo throwback “Music.” “We don’t sing no more, where’s the music gone?” James then proceeds to look within for the answers, offering a collection of grown-folks R&B. And she keeps good company: On “Ghetto,” a take-no-mess James is joined by Wyclef Jean, while Raphael Saadiq backs her on the festive “Soulfood” and funky, sparse “Rain.” Kanye West adds his magic to fierce anthems “Didn’t I” and “It’s Alright.” The James Poyser and Vikter Duplaix– produced “My Joy” is a redemption song on which James refuses to let another break her spirit. Her convincing cover of “A Change Is Gonna Come” would surely make Sam Cooke proud, though she could have done without remaking No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.” But the confessional “Mistreating Me” simultaneously empowers and gives goose bumps as James promises to love herself first. As she should.

Article tags: Leela, James, Change, Gonna, Come, Warner, Bros 

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