Sinclair And The Soul Mates offer the full length disc Soul Never Dies. While this album was recorded several months ago, it is again seeing the light of day as Sinclair(stage name for Rhode Island soul crooner Gary Lait Cummings) works his way back into the Lil’ Rhodie’s music scene. Sinclair wrote much of the material on this recording of fine original music and its solid rhythmic underpinnings.
Sinclair and his Soul Mates outfit grabs our ears and our feet right off the bat with “Funk It Up.” A danceable beat struts through this as knobby bass grooves, concise organ chords, and a riffing guitar line played by Chris Vachon serve up a lot of motion. Horns blare, swooping up high and then down low to make this piece fill up with more moving parts. Lead vocalist Sinclair croons with heart and soul about the need to get funky at the nightclub on a Friday night. His smooth croon gets much interplay from his backing vocals and their voices move around one another with silky soul. D.D. Bastos, Karen Cappelli, and the never forgotten angel Sarah Good make tremendous vocal contributions throughout this album, as a matter of fact.
The New Orleans flavored “Have You Heard” gets a danceable strut from drummer Larr Anderson. Over that infectious beat is Richard Reed’s layering of flavorful accordion. Mr. Doug Woolverton chimes in with a vibrant Big Easy Trumpet line and the whole thing feels like a party. Sinclair is the perfect singer for this song as his personality is large enough to carry this party.
Down tempo soul piece “I Want You Back” finds Sinclair putting his emotive vocal over a light weave of tender music. His warm voice just glides over the sensitive instrumentation while interplaying with the chorus girls. His voice blankets theirs as he moves it alongside Klem Klimek’s sax of life.
Sinclair returns to funky R&B on “Necessity,” a number offering a good batch of voice from the chorus girls as well as from Doug Woolverton’s trumpet. While Woolverton spearheads with a nice shiny thick line, the rest riff away easily on their instruments. Sinclair, meanwhile, croons with mighty soul. His voice is a warm, heartfelt call on a lonely night.
“Every Now And Then” is another fine serving of Sinclair’s vocal in a down tempo cruise. His delivery and attitude is more blues here. His vocal expresses his world weary emotion with a depth of feeling that informs he’s been through it all and has come back alive, aware, and sorrowful. Rob Nelson, the guitarist on all tracks, plays a tender lead guitar line that ties together well the abundance of emotion that is this song.
Sinclair and his Soul Mates give us some jump and jive with “Dancin’ Bug.” This party favorite has a thickness of groove to keep dancers moving. Vibrant trumpet, soulful alto sax, and deep rich bari keep this one filled with a fun feeling. Funky clavinet adds a secondary layer of richness, making this one you can feel while you move around the floor to it.
“Born To Love You” finds Sinclair revealing his smoothest, softest timbre on this album. His honey smooth croon hits all the tender spots in this ode to his beloved. Horns abound in mellow phrases. Klem Klimek’s sax of life whistles a pretty melody supported by Doug Woolverton’s wide, vibrant trumpet line This song will hit you like a warm summer breeze and feels just as good.
“You Tear Me Down” gets plenty of lift from low end horn phrases and plenty of forward kick from the rhythm section/ There is a cool presence in the way the horn lines move around while sounding gloriously expressive. Toss in a funky guitar riff and Sinclair has plenty of moving spaces to fit his soulful voice into. The way he releases just enough of his vocal power in the just right places makes this song swagger and shimmy with style.
“Bad News” is rollicking fun. It follows an infectious backbeat while those soulful backing vocalists coo it with a mock choir style. Mighty puffs of horn make if feel spiritual, especially Carl Querfurth’s bulbous trombone line. With this kind of support, Sinclair glides over polite piano tinkling and lightly accented electric guitar picking. All of these little parts come together to give this fun piece a little bit of feeling and nuggets of notes to carry it.
Reminding of a 1950s love ballad, “Your Love Song” gently unfurls a heartfelt declaration of devotion. Sinclair has the emotive fiber in his vocals to make it real. He also brings his handsome timbre to coat the lyrics with something extra special. A rising and falling presence of bari sax perfectly captures the effusion of emotion going on.
A shuffling blues groove moves “Hold On” through a weepy emotive vibe studded with bits of guitar, thumping horn, and Sinclair’s rangy vocal. A tuft of backing vocals fills in the back space nicely as the guitar comes in with weepy authority. Sinclair is appropriately self-restrained and that seems to put more power into his expression.
“My Reality” closes out this album with a funky beat, nimble guitar work, and Sinclair’s sailing vocal melody. This soul crooner brings things to a high note, in more ways than one. His voice is sweet, high on life, just like his lyrics; “My reality/Has succeeded my dreams.”
Sinclair(Gary Cummings) And The Soul Mates created a fine party vibe album with Soul Never Dies, just enough hints of soul and blues to flavor it with variety. There is plenty of fine instrumentation and vocal work here to prod further listening. Sinclair’s voice is beautifully and natural smooth and he is very sensitive to what each song needs. Assisted by Chris Vachon at PM Recording Studio in Wakefield, Rhode Island, Sinclair gets a nice bright sound from each player and singer while keeping each song’s personality intact.
