Charles Bradley – “Change for the World”

The Screaming Eagle of Soul has landed — Charles Bradley is back! This man sings with such total commitment, and his backing group the Menahan Street Band executes with such creativity and finesse, that the decades since the template for this style of soul music was first laid down seem to wash away when these sounds hit your ears. But this is no mere exercise in retro-soul. The video for the new, politically charged single “Change for the World” illustrates there’s nothing old-fashioned or quaint about Bradley’s urgent message for a troubled time.

Changes is the name of Bradley’s upcoming album, and of its startling cover of the old Black Sabbath ballad, which he has repurposed into an elegy for his late mother. While the Menahan Street Band stock Bradley’s albums with the highest quality of original compositions, they have a flair for finding surprising covers that Charles makes his own (go Google his version of Nirvana’s “Stay Away”). “Changes” is perhaps the finest in this category — the strongest contender for a Bradley cover that most eclipses the original.

When all is said and done, Charles Bradley is more than just a cathartic showman with a remarkable backstory. Thanks to the Daptone Records crew, he delivers deep, consistent albums that merit repeated listening. Sounds like we’re in store for another all-killer-no-filler release.

Changes comes out April 1 on Dunham Records.

CHARLES BRADLEY ON TOUR:
Feb 24 – Ponte Vedra, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
Feb 25 – Gainesville, FL @ Changeville
Mar 12 – Denton, TX @ 35 Denton Festival
Mar 13 – Tampa, FL @ Gasparilla Music Festival
Mar 25 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest
Mar 30 – London, UK @ O2 Forum
Apr 1 – Paris, France @ L’Olympia
Apr 2 – Reims, France @ La Cartonnerie
Apr 3 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli Vredenburg
Apr 6 – Amsterdam, Holland @ Paradiso
Apr 7 – Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royal
Apr 8 – Koln, Germany @ Burgerhaus Stollwerck
Apr 9 – Berlin, Germany @ Astra
Apr 12 – Hamburg, Germany @ Grunspan
Apr 15 – Bristol, England @ Colston Hall
Apr 17 – Gateshead, England @ The Sage
Apr 23 – New York, NY @ The Beacon Theater
Apr 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Apr 28 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Apr 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
Apr 30 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater
May 4 – Nashville, TN @ Exit In
May 5 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
May 6 – Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow Barn
May 12 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
May 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel
May 14 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown
May 16 – Santa Cruz @ The Catalyst
May 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
May 19 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
May 20 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
May 23 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
May 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
May 28 – Suffolk, VA @ Lava Music Festival
May 29 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
June 2 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
June 5 – Toronto, ON @ Field Trip
June 16 – Pori, Finland @ Pori Jazz Festival