Written by Maria Arroyo
The Jaded Hearts Club share some of their favorite blasts from past generations tracks on their new album, You’ve Always Been There. Bringing this nostalgic band to life are frontmen Nic Cester and Miles Kane, guitarists Graham Coxon and Jamie Davis, bassist Matt Bellamy, and drummer Sean Payne.
The band shares that this album is all about pulling “lost classics from the world of Northern Soul, supplemented by their raw, soulful takes on some famous standards from the era.” Northern Soul is best described as Northern England’s take on American soul music from the late 60s. “Living in L.A. it seems like no-one has heard of Northern Soul,” Davis shares. “We just love the story of how the north of England fell in love with American soul music even after it stopped having hits, and using that music as the soundtrack to a good night out.”
The classic Northern Soul band opens their album with Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again.” It’s a beautifully-crafted piano ballad with some haunting vocals that really sets a beautiful stage for the rest of the album.
“Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” spins a 180 with this alternative rock piece. It’s extremely different from the earlier, but the more prominent sound for the album as a whole. “Jamie and I were Face Timing a lot discussing how or even if we could carry on during lockdown,” Bellamy shares. “We eventually stumbled across the legendary live performance ‘Reach Out’ by The Four Tops in Paris in 1967 which touched a deep nerve. It was pure joy, and uplifting energy – exactly what we needed to hear during the darkest initial few weeks of lockdown so we decided to try and do a cover of it somehow with our band members spread across 3 countries.” The band also shares that Cester, one of the vocalists for the record, adds a lot of his pent up emotion into his vocal performance, which really elevated the album.
Their next song “Have Love Will Travel” by the Sonics has a great horn solo that adds tons of character to the song. Its a mix of love, sex, and rock n’ roll in one song! The energy is infectious and fun, which can also describe their cover of Shocking Blue’s “Long And Lonesome Road.” Just when I thought they band couldn’t create any more energy and charisma than they already are… BAM! They come out with a killer rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “This Love Starved Heart Of Mine (It’s Killing Me).” The song kept me engaged from beginning to end, and it truly became a favorite off the album.
“Nobody But Me” by the Isley Brothers creates a journey through so many incredibly iconic musical movements from different decades before, and with the inspiration for this version coming from The Human Beinz’s cult version six years later, adds even more flare instead of just repeating what’s already been done. Another Isley Brothers‘ track they paid an incredible tribute to is “Why When The Love Is Gone.” It’s the perfect blend of intensity and easygoing energy.
My favorite track of “You’ve Always Been There” is the incredible Screamin’ Jay Hawkins timeless hit “I Put A Spell On You.” I’m already head over heels in love with this song, but they NAILED IT! They did this song an insane amount of justice, that its show stopping. Incredible praise to all of you!
Closing out the album is Peggy Lee’s song “Fever.” This is another song that I love hearing different renditions of, and they did well with it too. With that being said, I think the band has some stronger songs that could have ended the album besides this one. It’s nice, but there were definitely some other songs that were more attention grabbers than this one, but I respect the idea of ending the album as they started, which brings some sort of rounded out feeling to it all.
Jaded Hearts Club redefines tons of old classics, and breathes new life into some staple tunes. I never know what to expect with a full cover album, but I think it was exceptionally executed, and they have made all of the incredible artists’ pieces really rise to the top.
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