Labelle – Back To Now

How wonderful is it to recognize another R&B group from the 60’s/70’s coming back into the new generation to represent who they were, what they stood for & what their true gifts led them to be later on in their respective careers. Its obvious where Patti Labelle, Nona Hendrix & Sarah Dash went after the group, Labelle had split up in the mid-70’s. At this point, it all doesn’t matter. A good look at the CD cover should quickly suggest these 3 fine divas are not suspended into a time warp, but rather aged like fine wine to come back to the 2000’s & do it all over again.

And from “Back To Now”, Patti continues leading the vocals dept with genuine, edgy, & sentimental type of grooves, reminiscent to those soul oriented melodies as reflected on the 3 ladies some 30-40 years ago. And I enjoyed the reunion, to say the least. In fact, just listening to Patti’s voice sends me back to the days when my Mama used to pull out all of Labelle’s records & spin them back on the player. And she used to make all my brothers, sisters & myself stick around to ‘hear’ them. 

Track Listing:
~ Candlelight
~ Rollout (feat Wyclef Jean)
~ Superlover
~ System
~ Truth Will Set You Free
~ Without You In My Life
~ Tears For The World
~ Dear Rosa
~ How Long
~ Miss Otis Regrets

The throwback slow jams in “Candlelight” & “Superlover” made me smile quickly! Especially noticing that Lenny Kravitz placed his production hands all over them. These songs carried nostalgic 60’s/70’s era flavors, dipped in some sort of special recipe designed solely for the overzealous vocal of Patti’s strong windpipes. “System” kept the same essence going, with a hip groove & a swaying guitar background. “Truth Will Set You Free” should easily remind Labelle’s fans of their abilities to wrap soulful harmonies around a tight rock sounding groove – more like its ‘rock-n-soul’ than rock-n-roll, you know?

Much to my delight is to see Kenneth Gamble’s production gifts return for a run into 3 cuts on this LP. Starting with “Without You In My Life”, I felt like I was still listening to some of those ol’ ‘Harold Melvin & The Blue Note’, ‘The O’Jay’s’ kind of mixes. He contributed his talents for “Truth Will Set You Free” & “How Long” as well.

The album doesn’t always swims backwards into the old school groove. They brought out some pretty interesting new contemporary, traditional R&B in “Tears For The World”, a track highlighting Labelle’s awareness of our daily news, struggles, political activities & strife. The lyrics shares enough expression for any listener to digest & Patti & the ladies waste no time breaking it down’!

“Dear Rosa” will possibly stand as a fine testament to Labelle, a fine example of how serious the ladies handle & showcase their music spiritually & dramatic. Undeniably attractive & injected with enough gospel tinged aura to keep you glued to the stereo, this composition amplifies & solidifies the legacy Labelle positioned themselves before the thought of “Back To Now” ever came to fruition.

The album is an instant keepsake into my collection, alongside all of the individual solo albums collected from the ladies that graced the R&B crowd back in the day. The music is touching & a milestone achievement to LaBelle – to what it means to resurrect & create great R&B/soul music that never left their repertoire. And for that Patti, Nona & Sarah……Cheers!

T
The Urban Music Scene