Roachford - Word of Mouth (2005)

There are a few things you may want to know up-front about this artist. One, Roachford is well known for his infectious personality and energetic stage presence. Two, he's been a musician who evades labels; that's accounted for his modest commercial success but also the versatility and pleasure of his music. Three, "maturation" is the operative word describing Roachford's music today; his song-writing has evolved from somewhat ordinary pop rock in the 80s and 90s to R&B and neosoul that go beyond the ordinary. Which leads to Word of Mouth. Here's a CD that's ALL about the song-writing, where Roachford puts the rock'n roll behind him and really finds his voice with wonderful sounds drenched in soul, R&B, and a touch of dance beats--all informed with just enough pop sensibility to lend an especially pleasing hue to everything. Compatriots on the U.K. site write that the CD is a "carefully crafted body of work," "Beautiful singing, positive lyrics, lovely keyboards and guitar. Fantastic musicianship"--that Word of Mouth "is rejoiceful." Comparisons are always tricky, but his newer music brings to mind George Michael, Al Green, possibly Seal. Since this CD, he's continued down the neosoul road with both Where I Stand and Addictive. But Word of Mouth is clearly a superior gem and shot-full with so many sweet sounds. In the words of another British compatriot, it "really is THAT good."

One day this guy is seriously going to get his rightful due. Folks here in America and even in his own homeland (U.K.) don't even realize just how important a music figure he's been within the last 25 years. While most of his contemporaries were too preoccupied with following the latest in tasteless music trends that made them blow up one minute and fizzle out the next, Roachford was busy at work perfecting his own unique mix of pop, rock, and soul. His songwriting has always been top-notch and accessible to all. On 'Word of Mouth', he manages to combine all these things in a wholly inviting set that never lets up from start to finish. It's very unfortunate that the album itself received little to no fanfare upon release nearly a decade ago (price one pays for doing it independently like Roachford did here), but should one find a copy of it in their music encounters BY ALL MEANS GET IT!!! Fans of vintage old school artists from the 60s, 70s, and parts of the 80s as well as modern-day soul artists like Carleen Anderson, Maxwell, Kem, Will Downing, Lewis Taylor, and Remy Shand will probably find Roachford to be a true revelation.