Black Moses

Not that anyone should complain. 'Black Moses' is Ike's shining moment. 14 cuts of hot buttered soul mixed with some hefty spoonfuls of that Memphis flavour and dreamy orchestration. Hip hop, R&B and dance artists have looted arrangements from this album endlessly over the decades and its not hard to understand why. From start to finish Ike is inspired in a major way and the dark grooves and tones of the melodies never let up. Genius!

The two featured numbers 'Never Can Say Goodbye' and 'Never Gonna Give Ya Up' are awesome, 'Good Love' is downright fonky, whilst 'Your Love Is So Doggone Good' nearly steals the show with a downright eerie harmony. Its difficult to pick out favourites from a perfect album, a Must Have if you want my advice.


Deeply-rooted gutter soul from the muhfuggin' MAN himself!   October 1, 2003
 8 out of 12 found this review helpful

What y'all know 'bout Brother Ike? If you know nothin' an' are readin' this on one'a dem "curiosity kicks" then I needa shed some light on 'ya. I ain't gon' make this a long-winded review that seems 'ta go nowhere, an' I ain't gon' break this down song by song or nothin' like that. I'm jus' gon' tell you that 'Black Moses' is one'a the greatest epic pieces'a music you will find. His sangin'a these beautiful songs, an' his urban blunted grease-fire backing instrumentations; 'specially that Fender Rhodes piano are like some great message bein' sent down from the heavens.

I love it all, straight-up; from the first note'a disc one to the final fade-out of disc two, is' all so immeasurable. I love the dour, simple street-corner soul melody on 'Nothing Takes the Place of You' more than anything; there's so much power in his voice alone when he sangs a note, when he brings it up to a soulful cry, or lowers it down to a subtle croon; man, I love this song. I also love the brazen slowed down funk on the Curtis-penned 'Man's Temptation' an' the kickin' gutter-blues of 'Part-Time Love'. I'm damned enthralled by 'Ike's Rap II/Help Me Love'; God forbid I take a bottle to the dome befo' I listen to it an' all the memories of what once were come floodin' back to me. The horns an' arrangements an' passion that fills the once again-Superfly-penned'Need to Belong to Someone' is pure BRILLIANCE. But the straight-up baddest funkiest, groovin'-est JAM on the whole double-disc set has gotta be 'Good Love'; I listen to that song every single day I go out an' see the sun shinin'. Nothin' makes me feel better.

Well, lemme stop before I do exactly what I had said I WASN'T going to an' break 'em all down one by one. You can play this album straight through anytime; it works at a get-together wit' your boys, when you jus' wanna play cards, drank a few beers an' smoke some cigars like you some gangstas or sumpin'; but it works jus' as well for a night spent tryin' to get sumpin' started with a woman; candlelight, wine, makin' out, whateva else y'all is old enough to do. Is' jus' got sumpin' for everything. Straight-up this is one'a the BADDEST soul albums EVER! Let Bruh Ike, the soul messiah, the strongest, blackest Moses on the planet show you the way to happiness.