Alice Russell

Pot of Gold

(Six Degrees)

Record Review by Alex Pudlin

If I were a British female blue-eyed soul singer, I wouldn’t be sure whether to kiss Amy Winehouse’s feet or kick her ass. On one hand, as long as you can cut off your drink intake at five shots and stay away from the crack and meth, you’ll look like a DARE officer. Then again, without all the drama, Winehouse may’ve been little more than a forgotten nostalgia act. Luckily for Alice Russell, she can sing the ghost out of a graveyard, so Amy Winehouse is pretty much irrelevant.

On Pot of Gold, Russell’s fourth full-length album (and first for the Six Degrees label), Ms. Russell shows off an impressive array of vocal chops, conjuring up the wails of divas like Chaka Khan and Patti LaBelle. And unlike Ms. Winehouse, Russell isn’t afraid to use hints of her British accent as an asset. However, as good as Russell’s voice is, it takes Pot of Gold a few tracks for the songs to catch up. Early album cuts like “Turn and Run” and “Two Steps” are lively, but fairly rote lite-funk workouts that give the impression that the album may be nothing more than a slight upgrade over Macy Gray.

Luckily, Russell’s band, “Alice Russell Live,” have enough versatility to offer something more than your average Neo-Soul houseband. “Let Us Be Loving” grooves with an electronic beeping that recalls Grace Jones and is our first indicator that Pot of Gold strives to do more than rehash the mid-70s. One minute you’re wooed by the klezmer fiddle of “Lights Went Out,” and before you know it you’re bobbing your head to the Stevie-groove of “Hesitate” or sipping the acid-jazz juice of “Universe.” The varied production keeps Pot of Gold fresh for its duration as Russell’s consistent yet still stylistically eclectic vocals ensure that the album never feels scattered.

Perhaps the highlight of Pot of Gold is what should be a head-scratching cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” I mean really, isn’t covering a song as overplayed as “Crazy,” almost like covering the “Macarena”? But Russell’s performance turns the whole track on its head, slowing down the tempo even more than the original to crank out a gradually burning hurricane that’s barely recognizable as the “Crazy” we all overplayed a few years back.

Is Alice Russell the next Dusty Springfield? Probably not. Will this album have any staying power for years to come? Who knows. But for an alternate musical pill to the Joss Stones and Adeles of the world of British “soul”, Pot of Gold is mighty tasty for now. And damn can that girl sing.