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Steve Arrington - Pure Thang |
 Steve Arrington has long been one of the legends of funk and soul since his days as the percussionist and ultimately the lead vocalist for the vaunted funk band, Slave. With a voice that was distinctly his own, Arrington co-wrote and sang lead on some of Slave's biggest hits, including "Just A Touch Of Love", "Watching You, and "Snapshot" to name a few. As was the case for a lot of lead band singers in the 80's, Arrington went solo and formed his own band, Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was a continuation of the Slave slap bass funk sound, and Arrington powered his distinct vocals on tunes such as "Weak at the Knees", "Nobody Can Be You", and "Dancing in the Key of Life", which was a Top-10 R&B hit for the Dayton, Ohio native. Arrington put out a number of albums even after his religious conversion, but by 1990, he had all but faded from the soul, funk, and even gospel/inspirational music scene.
Flip the script to 2010, and Steve Arrington is back with a new project, "Pure Thang", which mixes Arrington's funk, soul, R&B, and gospel music history with a contemporary Hip-Hop and R&B sound. Produced by Arrington, "Pure Thang" is a call to both the past and the present. The album is chock full of vocal style mixes and tweaks that reach out to both the adult contemporary soul/R&B audience and the R&B and Hip-Hop listeners of today. Sometimes it works, but unfortunately, on most others, the connection just doesn't, well, connect. On tracks like "Right on Time", "Power", and the title song, Arrington's mixture of either contemporary Hip-Hop/R&B beats and/or vocal style just doesn't find its mark with his inspirational lyrics. The songs come off as an out-of-date artist trying to stay hip, which, for a talent like Steve Arrington, is quite unnecessary.
But "Pure Thang" has its moments when Arrington decides to do what he does best; stay true to funk and soul overlaid with his distinct, innovative vocals. Arrington has always had a unique vocal delivery that's full of scats and some downright funky singing. The fire is still there vocally on some tracks, and the lyrics remain positive as Arrington's gospel and religious influence remains strong. Arrington finds his mark on songs like "Right Here, Right Now" and with his instrumental tunes like "Coolin'" and "Sunrise". I'm willing to wager that if Arrington stuck more to his 80's sound and less with the contemporary sound of today, he'd find more willing converts to his music than he has now.
Overall, "Pure Thang" isn't a bad album, just not what you'd expect from an artist who, even after his religious conversion, was known to be funkier than most. There are some samplings of funk and soul mixed with gospel, but the contemporary R&B sound keeps it far, few and in-between.
Rating: 5/10
Gabriel Rich for Soulinterviews.com
Buy the CD at CDBaby.com
Download Pure Thang on Itunes
Steve Arrington's Official Site
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