Concert review: Raphael Saadiq at Park West
Raphael Saadiq’s love affair with the soul music of his parents’ generation became explicit in the first moments of his concert Friday at a packed Park West.
Over a drum beat that sounded like vintage Motown knocking at the door, Saadiq sang, “I told her I had a girl/That meant the world to me/She just looked me up and down/Was her name R&B?”
It put all those love songs that Saadiq writes in a fresh context: Is he writing about a girl, or is he writing about his muse, the music that stole his heart as a kid and never gave it back?
Saadiq, 45, has been recording and producing hits in various guises for two decades, as a solo artist, band leader (most notably with hitmakers Tony! Toni! Tone!) and collaborator with artists such as D’Angelo, Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu. He’s always had a boyish enthusiasm for performing, and a flexible, naturally joyous voice that suggests a young Stevie Wonder. But with his latest album, “Stone Rollin’ ” (Columbia), Saadiq finds a new gear. The album and his current tour demonstrate that there’s a big difference between retro and classic, and the artist consistently finds himself on the right side of that divide.
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