No Time for Dreaming (feat. Menahan Street Band)

Singing like 1970 never ended just comes naturally to Gainesville, Fla.–based soul singer Charles Bradley. Menahan Street Band leader Thomas Brenneck discovered Bradley, who’d been busking around New York City for decades. After a grip of Brenneck-produced 45 singles gained traction, *No Time for Dreaming* was recorded with the same kind of period-correct production favored by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. The opening song, “The World (Is Going Up in Flames),” fleshes out that Daptone sound with classic Southern soul trimmings including female backing singers, vibraphone, a gritty horn section, and a smooth bassist who sounds schooled by Carol Kaye. The sweltering ballad “I Believe in Your Love” plays as if Bradley has hijacked a microphone from Shuggie Otis and is fronting the band that played on *Inspiration Information*. Bradley’s voice breaks up like a young James Brown in the gritty funk of “Golden Rule” before the infectious title track grooves on a greasy strut of timeless tones and the audio kiss of analog hiss. A standout cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” rivals Merry Clayton’s 1971 cover of “Southern Man.”