Faithful Man impresses as a treatise on life and loss

Veteran soul singer, Lee Fields, is fighting time: Fields’ musical career has spanned 40 years, yet it seems only now that his investment into the art is paying great dividends.

Fields has cut soul records intermittently over the past four decades on various labels and it seems he has found a home, if only for a moment, at Truth & Soul Records. His second album on the label, Faithful Man, aims to add to his legacy.

It would be hard to describe Lee Fields’ sound without eventually framing him in the context of the great James Brown.

The similarity between the two men is astounding. Even Fields would describe his likeness to James Brown as “uncanny,” and this is probably the result of Fields’ first exposure to performance, when he was asked to cover a James Brown song.

But to suggest that Fields is something of a Brown impersonator would be misguided. If Fields borrows anything from Brown, it’s the vocal quality — one that is sharp with experience and full of a power lodged deep within his soul.

Fields jumps immediately into a fit of turbulent energy with the title track “Faithful Man.” The song highlights Fields’ vocals, surrounded with a gutsy ensemble of drums, horns, organ, piano and guitar as he explores two alternating scenes.

The first part of the track features a punchy groove over which Fields bellows his regrets. “I’ve always been a faithful man, till you came along,” Fields sings. The second part situates Fields comfortably in the pocket of a drum and bass jam while he recounts the story of his downfall.

Fields settles down on “Still Hanging On” and the listener catches glimpses of a more fragile frontman. Lost love is a thematic favorite for any soul singer, but Fields’ version of that familiar story on the track seems increasingly honest compared to these of his contemporaries, probably due in part to a lifetime’s worth of emotional experience.

Love songs often employ lyrics that make the experience of love seem universal. Where some songwriters intend to provide an accessible experience for their listeners, Fields approaches the subject with an ownership of his experience and no one else’s.

In this regard, the effect of deep reflection and timeworn emotion coursing through Fields might make this record feel tailored to provoke certain emotions, even when in reality it’s just the cool distillation of one man’s story.

Fields sits out on track five, aptly called “Intermission,” giving himself a moment to figuratively breathe. The band that supports Fields throughout the record here ventures off unaided to explore a soothing lounge groove, finally returning with a simple tune to introduce the second half of Faithful Man.

Whether intentional or not, “Intermission” breaks the album into two separate pieces. In contrast with a first half that feels top-heavy with standout songs, the second half shows off emotive material that’s worthy of a listen.

“Wish You Were Here” is fraught with the same frustration as “Faithful Man,” but Fields seems to dig deeper to realize the nature of his pain. “No traces of you, what can I do? / Alone and confused,” Fields waxes. It is on tracks like “Wish You Were Here” that listeners can witness Fields’ exceptional ability to transform emotion into melody and harmony.

The following track, “Who Do You Love,” is inquisitive in nature but sunny in its disposition. Fields addresses a deceitful lover, aided musically by background singers.

Also included on Faithful Man is Fields’ cover of the Rolling Stones’ ballad “Moonlight Mile,” which was originally released in early January by Mojo as part of a tribute to the Rolling Stones’ 1971 album Sticky Fingers.

Sonically, Faithful Man covers much of the same territory as his freshman release on Truth & Soul Records, My World. What Faithful Man lacks in exploration of a new sound, however, it compensates with its spectrum of emotions covered. There is certainly room, though, for Fields to push further in both directions. On the final track “Walk on Thru That Door,” for instance, Fields demonstrates a progression in his sound with some weighty guitar riffs but ultimately leaves the listener wanting more.

Though Fields believed his career ended in the ’70s, he was unable to shake his love for music. It’s clear now, that if patience is a virtue, Fields knows a thing or two about it.

And if Fields’ residency at Truth & Soul is his second chance at a career that left off in the ’70s, it’s also clear that it’s an opportunity rightly deserved and expertly seized on Faithful Man.