All To You by Stanley Porter

Reviewed by David Faulkner

So The Wife and I are in the study. While she prepares an eBay listing, I slip this CD, the third by a former US school teacher, into the other computer. "That's not your kind of music, is it?" she says, knowing my taste in soul comes from the '60s and '70s, with artists whose Christian names should be Stevie, Marvin, Otis or Smokey. "No," I reply, "but I have to be fair to everything Cross Rhythms sends me." A few minutes later, The Wife interjects again. "He's got a great voice, hasn't he?" "Yes," say I, "a lovely soulful tenor. I only wish the melodies and harmonies didn't hinge largely on his voice, with the instrumentation mostly just providing chords and rhythm." Another few tracks, and The Wife says: "Isn't it great the way he weaves the Bible into the lyrics?" I agree with her again. (Is this a record?) "Yes, he uses the Bible pastorally, not as a battering ram." For, dearly beloved, this is a sparkling album of hip-hop soul. On occasional tracks ("Press" and "Closer"), hip-hop is the dominant style, elsewhere it's a flavour. In some places, Porter sings gentle soulful ballads and elsewhere he goes mid-tempo. He would work wonders with a major label budget behind him. Recommended for lovers of Angie Stone, Jill Scott or Mary J Blige.