I Just Want To Be Horizontal
Kingswood, 2020
8/10
Listen to I Just Want To Be Horizontal
Samoa Wilson and Jim Kweskin have been collaborating for a decade now, and here with a 9 piece ensemble the pair bring jazz, blues, Americana and all sorts of nostalgic sounds that are showcased with incredible skill on this lengthy and varied effort.
“After You’ve Gone” starts the listen with both Kweskin and Wilson taking turns on vocals as brass and guitars both contribute greatly to a tempo shifting delivery of smooth, timeless sounds, and “(I Just Want To Be) Horizontal” continues the setting with soft, expressive vocals from Wilson on the old time feeling track that sounds like it could emanate from an old radio.
Closer to the middle, “Inch Worm” does some poetic math in a sublime atmosphere that brings in a mandolin, while “That’s Life I Guess” has Kweskin taking the lead on vocals on a tune that seems like it could soundtrack a speakeasy in the ‘20s. “Our Love Is Here To Stay”, one of the album’s best, then offers warm melodies and dynamic instrumentation that’s certainly retro and unfolds in a very inviting fashion.
Deep into the listen, “He Ain’t Got Rhythm” recruits plenty of rhythm on the swift, upbeat piano fueled tune, and “Someone Turned The Moon Upside Down” exits the listen with soothing balladry, where soulfulness is on display in spades on a classic that Tony Bennett recorded in the ‘50s.
A listen that appears like it could have been birthed in New Orleans or Nashville, amazingly, Kweskin is 80 years old, but is clearly as spry as ever, as the pair focus on the work of Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson that was recorded in the ‘30s, and they reinvent it with flawless results.
Travels well with: Ian & Sylvia- The Lost Tapes; Pokey LaFarge- Rock Bottom Rhapsody