After listening to Anthony Hamilton's last release Ain't Nobody Worryin' at least 40 times, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed with his latest work Southern Comfort, at least that was until I realized it really wasn't his latest work.
Southern Comfort is actually a compilation of some of his earlier unreleased material before Ain't Nobody Worryin', Soullife or even Coming From Where I'm From. When this fact is taken into consideration the album makes a lot more sense, the production is a little lacking in comparison to his later work, and some of the vocals aren't as polished, but there is one thing that is consistent with all of the albums...the song writing. Anthony Hamilton wrote every single song that appears on the CD and every single song is lyrically brilliant, with topics ranging from love and self identity to struggle, pain and social injustice. All are told in the "reach out and grab you" style that characterizes an Anthony Hamilton album.
While not all the songs are classics, the album has several highlights that are mostly produced by Ced Solo, someone I had never heard of before, but apparently works well with Hamilton. Standout tracks include: "Don't Say What You Won't Do" a plea for folks to be more compassionate to their fellow man in need, "Never Give Up" the blues/gospel soaked ode to praying for the strength to stand steadfast in the face of adversity, "Sailing Away" a light, breezy sounding tune about leaving it all behind, and the probably the best of all "Glad You Called" a track that many wondered (often out loud) why it remained unreleased for so long. A high energy, guitar and keyboard-heavy riff on which we hear Anthony curse for the first time (several times, which is probably the reason it was unreleased) about a man being so down on his luck that he wants to end his life until a phone call saves him from himself. "I'm glad that you called when you called me, cuz you stopped me from doing something awful, cuz I've been sittin' contemplatin on takin' this life away from me".
If taken as a new release the album is decent but when taken in its proper context it's excellent. It shows a promising soul artist with all the tools for success: a unique voice, great writing skill, an engaging story telling ability and a knack for picking music that fits his distinct style. Listening to this album is in my opinion equivalent to watching footage of Jordan play in his rookie year, a look back on one of the greats as he honed his skills knowing that he would be a monster, definitely a must have for any Anthony Hamilton fan.
