Raul Midon - State Of Mind (2005)

Hailed as one of the breakout releases of 2005, blind guitarist Raul Midón's major-label debut generally justifies the hype. He is a stunning acoustic guitarist with a percussive, at times Latin style, and a silky, inviting singer straight out of the Stevie Wonder/Donny Hathaway school. (Wonder plays on one track and Hathaway is the subject of another.) Midón's major-label debut was co-helmed by Arif Mardin, the legendary producer behind Norah Jones' successful first release. While musically there isn't much common ground between the two artists, Mardin's subtle, airy approach works perfectly here. He lets Midón's expressive voice and nimble acoustic guitar set the tone, adding hints of percussion, flute, vibraphone, acoustic bass, wispy keyboards, and occasional backing vocals to flesh out the songs. It's a successful formula, beefing up the music without making it overly slick. Despite the vocal similarity to Wonder, Midón establishes his own sound, singing uplifting songs of love and life with Latin and jazz flourishes that marinate in the stripped-down, acoustic arrangements. It's pleasant enough, but even with a few left turns such as the fiery conga- and flute-driven spoken word "I Would Do Anything," the style and songs tend to get a little repetitious as the album creeps past its midpoint. Unlike Wonder, Midón's lovely, smooth quiet storm voice doesn't shift often enough to a harsher side, something that would help this album shift gears out of cruise control and Sunday morning brunch mode. Regardless, this remains a beautifully focused and mature work. Midón has already found his voice and the intermingled jazz/Latin/folk/soul qualities indicate a musician who can move in any one of a number of directions after this impressive start. ~ Hal Horowitz