Lillo Thomas | Come And Get It

Album Review: Lillo Thomas | Come And Get It
by Randy Mahon

Brooklyn, NY native Lillo Thomas returns after a 23 year absence with a poignant and soulful project, “Come And Get It”.
Released independently on the Fitingo Records imprint, this 13 track CD
picks up where Lillo left off in 1987. Consisting of his trademark
mellow ballads, ’70’s styled grooves, with a dose of acoustic soul,
Lillo will sure to please longtime fans and usher in a new legion of
fans that were not old enough to usurp the Kashif/Paul Laurence funk
excursions of his ’80’s Capitol recordings. Those recordings include
dance floor pleasers, “Let Me Be Yours”, “(You’re A) Good Girl”, “Settle Down”, and “Sexy Girl”.
Lillo kept the consistency of those early recordings by using a lot of
the same musicians on this project. Some of those musicians include
drummers Bernard Davis and Leslie Ming, a reunited Paul Laurence on
keyboards and production, guitarist Mike Campbell, and bassist Timothy
Allen.

Opening track, “Rubbing Your Body”,
is the more up to date sounding track. It’s taylor made for the
Steppers with it’s push and pull groove, hand claps, pulsating bass,
light acoustic guitar pickings, violin fills and runs. Lillo’s
distinctive tenor vocal performance here, and pretty much throughout the
entire album, is still in fine form, no studio enhanced vocal trickery
here. “What’s Not To Love”, is a mid tempo, feel good track that may conjure up thoughts of the Freddie Jackson classic “Rock Me Tonight”.
The ample feet work of the drummer, the wah wah peddlings of the
electric guitar, the synth string, the fine acoustic piano playing, and
the dead on bass playing, make this track a future Lillo concert
standard. “Let’s Have A Good Time”, falls in line with the Aretha Franklin Quiet Storm staple, “Giving Him Something He Can Feel”. Lillo’s Curtis Mayfield-esque vocals are performed with ease and the utmost soulfulness he could muster up. Certainly this is one for the Slow Jam mix tape.

“Out There Doing Wrong”,
is yet another feel good soul swayer. In this song you’ll hear the
spirit of Marvin Gaye in Lillo’s lead vocal, along with a heavy kick and
snare drum presence throughout, with simple electric piano chords laid
down. The aching heart angst feeling in Lillo’s lead vocal will put you
right in that man’s shoes if you’ve ever gone through a heartbreak.
Another song that will surely be added to Quiet Storm radio play lists
at Urban radio is the beautifully arranged “Baby Girl”.
It’s very melodic, sensual, soothing to the ear, and a song that will
rate among the best of Lillo’s career. The light shaker, the sexy
sounding piano chords, the background vocal performance, the water
dropped sound scape effect, and of course, Lillo’s lead vocal are the
stand out elements of this song.

A pleasant surprise here is a cover of the 1976 England Dan and John Ford Coley Album Rock classic, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”. The song arrangement is pretty much the same as the original, in terms of it’s overall “feel”. The
rhythm section, and the background vocals all fall right in line with
Lillo’s earnest vocal delivery. It’s a respectable rendition the
original performers will surely approve of. “When You Come Around”,
is another tender heart felt ballad with the capable lead vocal of
Lillo and the wonderfully executed background vocals. The electric and
acoustic guitar pairing, the synth string arrangement, along with the
acoustic piano, supplement lyrics of the effects a woman has on a man.
Album title track and closing number, “Come And Get It”,
is the perfect ending to a very strong comeback album. The live
instrumentation of the rhythm section, the sweet sounding female vocals
of session stalwart, Audrey Wheeler (Will Downing’s wife), round out a
album that will certainly please those waiting for his return. The wait
has certainly been worth it after listening to this magnificent piece of
work. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait another 23 years for the next
record.

Happy Listening !

Randy Mahon
The Urban Music Scene