I have a very light soul.
Even with the light soul-jazz in the background (produced in part by Questlove of the Roots), they have the feeling of intimate home recordings, modest and almost accidental.
It's made Mr. Mars, 24, one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that's an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor.
(Concert Review: Rihanna at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island in July) Bruno Mars, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" (Elektra) With six Grammy nods, the light soul crooner is again one of the most nominated acts, though he earned less than last year when he received seven nominations.
There's one welcome moment of friction on this album: "Who's Thinking About You Now?" a loose James Talyor-influenced bit of light soul on which Mr. Mraz makes his case to a lover under a hint of a dark cloud.
There is an illuminating alternate version of a pop masterpiece (the "super deluxe" version of Nirvana's "Nevermind"); a deep dive into a country music watershed ("The Bristol Sessions, 1927-1928"); and a slightly baffling reissue of a 1999 underground rap record (MF Doom, "Operation: Doomsday"), among other sets of funk, salsa, "hippie music," African pop and light soul.
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called him "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that's an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor".
In another 2014 review, for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Walter Tunis writes: "[Extra Texture (Read All About It)] is a delight from the start of the brightly orchestrated pop of 'You' to a series of light soul-savvy reveries that culminate in the playful 'His Name is Legs'.
Liberated from the enslavement of the material world, their Isfahbad-light souls become receptive to illumination and perceive truths similar to those perceived by prophets.
Thirty years ago, Banhart might have attempted to imitate R. Kelly's perverse and feather-light soul.
Instead he chose to showcase what he called "the slow-jam version" of the song, simplifying its harmonic contours and setting up a light-soul groove.
