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Raising the spirits of Al Green, Marvin Gaye and the funky sounds from 30 years ago, the Jacksoul frontman has also lifted the Toronto-based band to the upper echelons of Canada's R&B scene from the middle of this country's oft-ignored urban music industry
In 2000, Neale released his Juno-award winning solo album Sleepless. With its tirelessly jazzy funk it spawned the hit single Can't Stop.
But there was something about the urban scene that left Neale feeling a little flattened. Flattened, like being hit by a city bus. Tired of being pigeonholed, Neale decided it was time to put as much distance between himself and the urban stereotype as possible.
"I'm tired of those ghetto-fabulous rappers and their messages that all black men are gangsters," he spits over the phone. "I wanted to shake things up and share my message of love, not some gun-toting gangsta with bling-bling.
"We have to get back to our real selves and get away from all that material excess. Music is about love, not money.
"It's my job as a songsmith to talk about things other men find difficult to talk about," he says. "Like love, masculinity and the state of the world."
He found himself listening to the music he grew up on, What's Going On and Let's Stay Together, songs that get to the heart of the story.
"I didn't want to hide my love for that music and pretend it was all ours," he kind of boasts. "We called the album Resurrected in the first place because we're bringing back great melodies, irresistible grooves and stories that you can really vibe to. It's music that paints pictures in the brain."
The Hamilton-born singer reassembled his Jacksoul bandmates David Direnzo, Justin Abedin, Ron Lopata and John Kanakis to record the album, a multi-layered slice of funk that sounds like it was recorded on vinyl. It's brilliant. Neale and company evoke Green on the opening track Think You Should Know, Prince on Every Sunrise, Teddy Pendergrass on Love Jones and Marvin Gaye on Still Believe in Love, all backed by the stylings of Sly and the Family Stone.
"I wanted to make music that would stick around for a while," he says. "Canadians are looking for more organic music that's more about the song and less about the production.
"We have a very soulful music scene here," he adds. "Joni (Mitchell), Bryan (Adams) and Sarah (McLachlan) are strong storytellers. Their passion and sensuality makes them real soul singers.
"We're going to kick it live,"he assures me. "It's so organic, you'll be smiling for three days."