Just when we were beginning to think that male soul vocalist was merely a legendary creature of the past, the heavens opened and we were blessed with a resurgence of male energy from a new generation of modern crooners, among them, Dwele, Shaun Escoffery, and Donnie. The only thing missing has been the famed blue-eyed songster, the Michael McDonald, the Donald Fagen, the Robert Palmer (R.I.P.). Well, look no further than Berlin to find Georg Levin crusin’ onto the nu-soul-groove scene with his debut, “Can’t Hold Back”. You may know Levin, a multi-talented writer, producer and arranger, as one half of the production duo Wahoo. With partner Steffen “Dixon” Berkhahn, Levin is responsible for soul-deep house remixes of Jazzanova’s “That Night” and Victor Davies’ “Runaway Train”. In his anticipated first effort as a solo artist, Levin delivers a stylish and mature collection that melts R&B in to electronica, and balances commercial appeal with just enough depth for the heads.
The CD already boast three exceptional singles, “When I’m With You”, “(I Got) Somebody New”, featuring Clara Hill, the vocalist from Jazzanova’s “No Use”, and “In Your Car” (be sure to check out the Spinna remix on this one), all of which have been hot on the dancefloors. In addition, “Can’t Hold Back” is chock full of other mid and down-tempo gems with easy-going melodies that you’ll be humming along after a just a couple of listens through the CD. The title track is, dare I say it, a smooth-jazz-ish tune, with a wonderful bluesy guitar solo that will definitely take you fellow southern girls right on home. “You Know What You Want But You Won’t Get It”, my personal favourite, is a brilliantly arranged sexy little number, with some pretty clever vocal phrasing.
There’s a comfortable familiarity to Levin’s sound, and when listening to “Can’t Hold Back” you’ll probably find yourself thinking of Hall and Oates, or Boz Scaggs’ “Dirty Low Down”. But don’t get too caught up reminiscing. Mr.
Levin’s got a good bit of twist to his funk, and holds his own quite well among the ranks of the up and coming soul brothas.
