Neil Sheasby @ Islington Assembly Hall 24/11/23 Copyright Allan McKay

Here we go again. It’s time for High Fives 2023 and it’s traditional to kick off the feature with a contribution from Neil Sheasby of Stone Foundation. It’s a major anniversary on two counts – Neil’s been contributing to this feature for ten years now, and Stone Foundation have just completed their twenty-fifth anniversary tour, finishing off with a triumphant two nights at Islington Assembly Hall with special guests Emily Capell, Graham Parker, Laville, Mick Talbot and Paul Weller. And I know Neil mentions this at the end of the piece, but he’s also published his second book, ‘Bass Notes’, this year, giving a warts’n’all view of life on the road with an eight-piece soul band. Here’s Neil’s thoughts on this year, in no particular order:

Talking Heads Talking! – 

Something that seemed so implausible a few years ago but here we are in 2023 and they have been united again for the re-release of the ‘Stop Making Sense’ film. I’ve always felt there’s been unfinished business and I live in hope of a new album and possibly some tour dates. It just made me re-appraise that amazing back catalogue. 

Sly Stone book – Thank you (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – 

All the wonder, excess and car crash material that you’d expect from a Sly Stone memoir 

Hard to believe he’s still here to tell his story. 

It’s kind of tragic and bittersweet but he was THE originator, look at them at Woodstock, bringing the heavy duty funk as early as 1969! 

Another great page turner was Kevin Armstrong’s ‘Absolute Beginners’ book, his experience as being a sideman to the stars (Bowie, Iggy) it’s full of amazing stories. 

The new Two Tone book by Daniel Rachel ‘Too Much Too Young’ is wonderful too, it digs in and unearths some interesting perspectives, it’ll make you play all those records again too.

It truly was a remarkable period. 

Album of the year? – 

I have to say whilst I heard a lot of songs that caught my attention, I don’t think it’s been a vintage year for the album. 

I’d have to plump for Blur’s ‘The Ballad of Darren’ as my most played record of ‘23 along with ‘Lotus Glow’ by Adi Oasis 

Closely followed by ‘Silver’ by Say She She, a modern soul dancer that doesn’t fall foul of the cliches and pastiche (great live too – check ‘em out!) 

I also loved Chris Thompson’s writing and work on his new Bathers record ‘Sirenesque’. It’s such an eloquent, poetic, beautiful album. 

Chris is a genius. 

The return of Galliano – 

I was overjoyed to witness the return of Galliano this year, naturally I felt I couldn’t miss their London show at Village Underground. I was kind of nervous about it though as they were one of my favourite live bands of the 90’s, I saw them tons of times, always an uplifting, joyous experience. 

The 2023 model were every bit as fabulous. 

There’s a new album in the works for next year too. Positive vibes abound… I’ll dig my beads out. 

SF 25th Anniversary celebrations – 

I’m hesitant to big up ourselves but I have to admit that 2023 and the 25th anniversary of Stone Foundation has felt like a special milestone and something I should not be guilty of feeling proud of. 

The gigs have been tremendous, the crowds have been amazing. It’s been my favourite tour thus far and I myself am celebrating 40 years of making noise in bands. 

I was also pleased to get my D/S/P project off the ground, it was lovely to create music with my son Lowell and my old sparring partner Nick Read, we received some positive vibes back from those tunes. 

So along with the release of my tour diary book “Bass Notes” I’d say it’s been a very productive year. 

Soultime TitleIf you’re looking for something that’s easy on the ear to use as aural wallpaper for your commute or as background music for a dinner party, then stop right here; this is proper music. Southside Johnny has been making music with various Asbury Jukes for over forty years and compromise isn’t something that he’s about to start now. The quality of the songs, the playing and the arrangements is what it’s all about; always has been, always will be. Southside had fraught relationships with his various labels in the days when bands signed to a label and hoped that the label would make them successful but it hasn’t worked that way for a while now so Southside has moved on to a completely different way of working; he has control over the creative and business processes. ‘When’s the album being released? When it’s ready’. And “Soultime!” is well and truly ready. It’s taken a while (the last album “Pills and Ammo” was released in 2010), but Southside’s a very busy man these days; not only is he trying to keep an eight-piece rock and soul band in line, but he’s also working with his Americana project The Poor Fools, comprising various Jukes and some of the extended Jersey shore family.

Through the various incarnations of The Jukes, Southside has always had a collaborator helping with songwriting and musical director duties; Steve van Zandt moved on to the E Street Band as Springsteen went up through the gears and Bobby Bandiera took on the ‘safe pair of hands’ role with Bon Jovi on his seemingly endless world tour. Which, after an overlap with Bobby, left Jeff Kazee, keyboard virtuoso with a great high tenor soul voice, as the partner in crime. And, as much as I love the work of Little Steven and Bobby Bandiera, the Jeff and Johnny combination is producing some stunning results as Southside takes more credit for his songwriting contributions and Jeff Kazee adds his voice to the mix as well; it’s a potent combination.

In 2001, Southside released “Messin’ with the Blues”, an album of songs illustrating his love of blues, but also demonstrating the variety of styles within blues music; fourteen years later, “Soultime!” applies the same template to a cross-section of soul styles. It’s not too difficult to identify the influences, but the quality of the writing and the performances ensure that this is an album to be judged on its own merits.

The opening track “Spinning” throws all the ingredients into the blender to create a manic Stax feel. Everything’s there, from the horn fills to the breakdown, building back up with John Conte’s bass, Jeff Kazee’s Hammond and Glenn Alexander’s guitar, to the call and response vocal and the big horn finish. There’s barely time to get your breath back before “All I Can Do” the mid-tempo Johnny/Jeff duet. The two voices combine perfectly and a sweet tenor sax solo from John Isley is the icing on the cake. “Don’t Waste my Time” could be early Jukes, musically and lyrically as Southside tells the ‘my girl done me wrong’ story supported by backing vocalists Elaine Caswell, Layonne Holmes and Catherine Russell before Neal Pawley steps up for a trombone solo.

Looking for a Good Time” is the album’s defining song. The inspiration for the album came from hearing “Superfly” in the booze aisle at the supermarket and watching how the shoppers reacted. “Looking…” captures the upful mood of Curtis Mayfield in 1970 perfectly; if anything ever made me wish I could dance, this is it. The namechecks in the lyrics say it all, really: ‘Isley Brothers and Curtis and Sly and Bobby Womack too’; it’s perfect. “Words Fail Me” is a mature love ballad with very tasteful backing (even drummer Tom Seguso is reined in), muted horns and a lovely flugelhorn solo from Chris Anderson; Johnny’s voice is sublime and it would melt a heart of stone. “Walking on a Thin Line” has a faintly menacing Latin feel evoking Isaac Hayes, The Temptations and The O’Jays but still totally Jukes.

What comes next is a very rare thing indeed; an instrumental on a Jukes album. “Klank” is the love child of “Soul Finger” and “Third Stone from the Sun” with harmonica and tenor sax solos; they’re allowed to have fun as well, you know. Carrying on with the levity, “Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness” is a bit of light-hearted fun with a cast of Damon Runyon characters and a nod to “Check Mr Popeye” from way back when, which takes the intensity down a little bit before the final three songs.

I’m Not That Lonely” totally nails the Motown sound (Four Tops, anyone?) while “The Heart Always Knows” harks back to a much earlier time (Sam Cooke, or maybe The Cascades). It’s a slow, gentle ballad with some nice pizzicato strings courtesy of Jeff Kazee and acoustic guitar from Glenn Alexander and it takes off the heat for a few minutes before the final offering. “Reality” takes its influence from the psychedelic soul of the late sixties/early seventies with some interesting synth sounds and John Isley’s flute (and is that bass sax on there as well?), strings and muted horns; it gets kinda busy in there at times.

Southside Johnny set out to evoke a certain era of soul with this album; he wanted to make us feel good, the way we did when we first heard all of the great artists who influenced this album, and it’s an unqualified success. The arrangements perfectly capture the feel without sounding like The Faux Tops; he and The Jukes have created a perfect homage to music that was the soundtrack to the sixties and seventies. Over forty years down the line, he still has that raw, emotive voice that cuts through Hammond and horns and straight to the heart. Working with Jeff Kazee and the latest incarnation of The Jukes, he’s turned out a modern soul classic.

“Soultime!” is released on September 1 on Leroy Records.