Ashford & Simpson - The Real Thing

Title: The Real Thing
Artist: Ashford & Simpson
Release Date: January 27, 2009
Record Label: Burgundy Records, Sony Music
Producers: Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson & Mitch Maketansky
Executive Producers: Jeff Rowland

Fresh off their odd reemergence onto the national scene -- after Saturday Night Live's hilarious reworking of their 1984 hit "Solid" -- legendary singing/songwriting couple Ashford & Simpson return with a live album singing many of the hits they've written for others. The CD is as much a celebration of the couple's phenomenal songwriting career as it is a proper listening experience. Recorded in 2007 at the Feinstein's at the Regency night club in Manhattan, the duo draw upon their years of showmanship to excite the intimate crowd.

His treasure chest of brilliant co-compositions notwithstanding, Nickolas Ashford has one of the strangest soul music voices (and personas) this side of George Clinton. He flies effortlessly from falsetto to tenor and yet, as good as it sounds, there has always been something a little creepy about it. Consequently, some moments on the live performance are little too Cephus and Reesie for this writer's tastes. They seem to be trying to outsing each other on "Still Such A Thing." But Ashford more than makes up for it taking us back to church on "Gimme Something Real", as well as his dead-on Ray Charles impersonation on their version of his 1966 hit, "Let's Go Get Stoned." Valerie Simpson's voice is, as always, clear and soulful simultaneously. Chaka and Whitney seemed to have made "I'm Every Woman" unsingable, but the song's co-writer brings it. "Solid" is, naturally, given a luxurious, heavily anticipated treatment, as are the sparkling quartet of songs they wrote for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. ("Your Precious Love," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," "You're All I Need to Get By," "Ain't No Mountain High Enough.")

The backing band is on point. And the arrangements illustrate how important the black church has been to Ashford & Simpson's music. It's no surprise to find out that they originally met as choir members in Harlem. This album celebrates that history, their history and ultimately our history, as lovers of their legacy -- some of the greatest pop songs written in the 20th century.