Old News is Good News3 Out Of 5 Stars
It took nine years for Huey Lewis and The News to move from "Plan B" to "Soulsville," and it's time to travel back in time. if you recall, this is The News second stroll down a full disc of memory lane. In 1994, the band issued "Four Chords and Several Years Ago," an attempt at tipping their collective hat to the band's R'n'B influences. This time they go a step further and head to the legendary Stax studios to get a little of that authentic Stax groove, horns and female singers intact. (Think Cris Isaak's trip to Sun Studios for "Beyond The Sun.")
For the most part, they pull it off by pulling at plenty of the obvious picks. Solomon Burke would have been an easy choice to pluck from, but the band goes for a more obscure single "Get You Off Of My Mind" (which was a number one R'n'B single, but barely cracked the top 40. It was easier to cover "Cry to Me," ala the Rolling Stones, or "Tonight's The Night." Same with Joe Tex's "I Want to Do Everything for You." Lewis has always been an erstwhile soul singer, even in his pop days, so the materiel suits him. In fact, the only blunder is covering "Respect Yourself," already done to death by the likes of Bruce Willis. It's like old friends together for a good night of jamming.
The only thing that bums me out is that Huey and The News have not issued a new CD for almost a decade of fresh material. Given that he hasn't done so since "Hard at Play" (1991) prior to "Plan B," it would be nice to see what kind of song-stash they've built up. C'mon Huey, we know you've got a good CD in you somewhere.
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