STACY MITCHHART - What I feel
Dr. Sam Records 004 – USA 2001

Soul, Blues and a flavor of 1970s disco music are what you can find in this CD and if the mixture puzzles you, relax: this is great music by a great musician, Stacy Mitchhart. At the beginning, his « What I feel » may raise mixed feelings, with the opening title track marked by the Mitchhart’s mellow singing and a combination of harp, horns, gospel chorus reposing on a carpet of neat drumming with the addition of slide guitar licks by Stacy. Are you scared about thick meals, aren’t you? The second track, the traditional « King Bee », open the way to some funky solutions through an infectious horns riff and aggressive guitar playing. The third song brought back the clock to real 100% American melodies and romantic singing and Mitchhart’s music goes on like this throughout the whole album. We may blame Stacy for abusing the riff of « I just want to make love to you » in the bluesiest tracks, or for using some twenty-five musicians, his music is nonetheless of great value and quality. « 100° in the shade » may easily become a classic of the soul charts.

Luca Lupoli