A stunner of a record from the mighty Jorge Ben – and a record that catapulted the Brazilian singer to international fame at the time! Ben had already been making magic for almost a decade down in Brazil – and his compositions and grooves left an undeniable impact on the scene in the post-bossa years – but this album has Jorge really emerging as the global soul star he was destined to be – from his powerful stare on the cover, right down to the grit in the grooves!
Review Summary: An artist at another crossroads proves that he still has some ideas to offer and builds an inconsistent album around them. Christian Fitness is the (sort-of-) solo project by Future of the Left’s eccentric frontman, Andy Falkous. Love Letters in the Age of Steam treads ground that should be familiar enough for fans of Andy that are aware of his past works, but it’s also got a couple of natural evolutions that have been a long time coming. The album has a somewhat unfortunate tendency that is common for artist’s of Falkous’s caliber in that it exists in a state of simultaneous progression and regression.