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Nicolas Bearde: Visions
Lou Rawls
vocals1933 - 2006
Donny Hathaway
vocals1945 - 1979
On this, his fourth self-released effort, Bearde works his magic again. He covers a lot of sonic ground, due in no small part to the utilization of a piecemeal approach to personnel selection; he uses over two dozen musicians—with plenty of one-and-done appearances—to help him actualize his vision(s). Sweet and swooning strings, swinging combos, horns, guitars and percussion all play a part in these productions, but Bearde's voice remains the focal point, and rightly so. It might be going a bit too far to say that he's soul personified, but that tag kinda fits. Bearde takes a
Stevie Wonder
vocalsb.1950
"
data-original-title="" title="">Jon Lucien with the pseudo-Brazilian "You're Sensational," and adds a kick to the proceedings with 
Eugene McDaniels
vocals1935 - 2011
Bearde tends to sound best when the energy runs high, as on the driving "Mighty, Mighty" and spry-and-snazzy "The Best Things In Life Are Free," but he often likes to explore smoother scenarios, as on "Visions," "If You Were Mine" and "Everything Must Change." It's hard to know if this approach to repertoire is meant to balance the artful and the commercial or if it's simply a reflection of his wide-ranging taste, but it's really irrelevant. He's the same man, with the same brandied baritone, regardless of the window dressing that surrounds him. ">
Track Listing
Falling In Love Again; You’re Sensational; Misty; Everything Must Change; The Best Things In Life Are Free; (And) It All Goes ’Round And ’Round; If You Were Mine; Never Let Me Go; Mighty Mighty; You Better Go; Compared To What; Visions.
Personnel
Nicolas Bearde
vocalsNicolas Bearde: vocals; Larry Batiste, Jeanie Tracey, Kimiko Joy: back-up vocals; Gino Blacknell: strings; Louis Fasman, Bill Ortiz: trumpet; Mike Rinta: trombone; Doug Rowan, Gary Meek: saxophone; John R Burr, David Garfield, Peter Horvath, Dave Mathews, Glen Pearson: keyboards; John Hoy, Kleber Jorge, Lorn Leber: guitar; Gary Brown, Nelson Braxton, Alphonso Johnson, Marcus Shelby, John Witala: bass; Deszon Claborne, Will Kennedy, Mike Shapiro, Akira Tana: drums; Mike Spiro: percussion.
Album information
Title: Visions | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Right Groove Records
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