Favored Nations
2005
Black Coffee
About This Album
Black Coffee is Al Kooper's first new recording of solo material in more than 30 years. While Kooper, rock music's most infamous polymath, has never been entirely idle (he has continued to sporadically produce, write, arrange, perform, and hustle), he has been living in semi-retirement in Nash Vegas since the 1990s and this is a major re-entry. The good news is that Black Coffee is a heady brew of loose, rootsy rock, soul, and funky R&B. Kooper and "the Funky Faculty" -- drummer Larry Finn, guitarist Bob Doezma, and bassist Tim Stein -- along with some select guests, turn up the inspiration dial to 10 and cut loose with a batch of solidly written originals that accent the gritty, immediate and timeless heart of a popular music that hasn't been so in decades, and a couple of crafty covers. Kooper produced and arranged the set and plays multiple instruments. The opener "My Hands Are Tied" is classically written soul in the Stax/ Volt vein. With a horn section, a trio of backing vocalists, and his B3 carrying the melody, Kooper also plays mandolin on the tune and it sounds like it was meant to be in the mix. He may be adding the first new instrument to the soul canon in decades.
Track List (try tracks 1,4,11 and 12)

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