CD Review - Marc Broussard - Keep Coming Back

First of all, I must admit, that I am a huge unabashed passionate Marc Broussard fan. His 2004 release Carencro goes down as one of the best albums of the last decade and the first song off that album, Home, ranks up there as one of my favorite songs ever released. Ever. It was with great anticipation that I listened to his first major-label album off Atlantic Records, Keep Coming Back.

This time out, it's all original material (his last album Save Our Soul was all R&B covers) recorded on two-inch analog tape. Keep Coming Back is bluesy and a very mellow recording rooted in Broussard's arrangements. It was cut in 11 days and the singer claims eight of its songs were first takes. As an AOL review says, “It's drenched in gritty Southern funk, big voiced blue-eyed soul, and swampy blues and rock. The set kicks off with gritty funk as Broussard comes strutting into his lyric in a relaxed but low-down backcountry seductive croon. One can feel the immediacy of the band's presence in the whomp of the snare drums, choppy guitars, and snaky keyboards winding themselves around the blanket of horns (can you say Muscle Shoals?) and a backing chorus that takes it all to party-ville.”

Broussard's voice is enormous- raspy, warm and filled with emotion- and he can soar above the wall of brass without even trying. This is modern and sophisticated yet crackling funky soul. It should be loved by anyone with a pulse. You can almost feel Broussard playing this live inside a deep southern bar with his band right behind him.

The only complaint is that this first major label album, in an effort to reach the masses, misses out on what brought me to Broussard in the first place- the Bayou influence. Whether it’s Broussard talking about bus rides and Nawlins’ in Home, reflections of the Mississippi in Must Be The Water or alligators on Ya’ll Ain’t Ready (both off of his Must Be The Water EP), its been his rowdy & noisy Louisiana sound that has been his best. Keep Coming Back misses that mark completely. Aside from the title track, it’s much mellower and rooted in 70’s funk than his previous albums. There’s more ballads and less rockin’ with his Cajun self. Don’t get it wrong, it’s still an album worth owning- but here’s to hoping that his next album gets his bayou back…