Somebody pushed that and told me to do that. Ohhhh my gosh! I never did that again, I promise. So many of your songs are about love, and your shows can get pretty steamy-you took your pants off at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco. I want to hear something that’s going to give me morals and make me listen to it over and over again. That’s what the music’s all about, to change the world for a better place where people want to listen to what you’ve said. It’s time to come back to the real nitty gritty and bring the soul outta you. I think soul music needs to go back to its roots because a lot of soul singers today, it’s all about who they was with, my love this and that. I read an article that questioned whether we need “new soul music” and said that soul must choose to be political or go the pre-Civil Rights route and be happy and sweet. Sometimes I want to just run and hide and fade away from the world, but… I think the world wants me, so I’ll just find a way to open my heart and keep going forward. I don’t wanna get too deep into it, but I’m hoping this album can help me with my life. I’m still going through my emotional changes deep inside of me. You’ve gone through a lot in recent years, and your mother passing has been a major point of conversation around Changes. How has your life changed in the past year or so? Since I’ve been on tour, since I’ve been out here doing it, what I’ve been hearing from peoples is “Charles, we needed you a long time ago.” You come out with truth and your hope and your heart, and that’s what the world needs today. We got to learn to live on this planet if we don’t we're going to destroy this planet. I’m in this room for love and understanding-and knowledge that we all cause friction. Is that something you hope to accomplish with your music? Change the world to a better place that we’re all looking for. If you’re going to be a leader, be a positive leader. Mankind is forgetting the quality of who they are, human, and it’s kind of scary that we’re fighting for leadership. I came from an era that’s seen all these things, and I’m watching all those things today. What do you think about the presidential race, politics and racism? The beginning of Changes celebrates a country that many people think is falling apart. With that love and understanding, we can spread that out. America is more the center of all races, and we all got to come together to understand one another. Noisey: With everything you’ve been through-and you’ve led quite a life-you still maintain, at the beginning of your album, that "America represents humanity… I say that from all of my heart."Ĭharles Bradley: America now is built with all nationalities and all cultures from all parts of the world. Speaking over Skype from his hotel at the start of a multi-country European tour, Charles unloaded part of his story-as he has done in many interviews before-but, like his intimate songs, it felt like he was sharing his story only with me. In the opening gospel-tinged track, “God Bless America,” Charles declares that his country has been “real, honest, hurt and sweet” but still “represents love from all humanity and the world.” Opening with that signature scream, “Good To Be Back Home” is a psychedelic funk ode to America’s entrancing powers of love and goodness, while “Change for the World” implores listeners to tackle racism and violence by opening their hearts.īradley’s belief in the goodness of people and the triumph of love over hate allows him to maintain a positive world view, despite spending much of his life on and off the street, where he watched his brother die in gunfire, and felt the pain of his mother’s death. Yet the album is also a love letter to a country that’s falling apart at its seams. The album is equal parts joy and pain, highlighted by a gut-wrenching spin on Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” where simple, pleading lyrics tell the story of a righteous man coming to terms with an often unjust world. His third album, Changes, which came out April 1, brings that same stage energy to a menagerie of hard-hitting funk and sorrowful soul songs about love, loss and change. The former James Brown impersonator struts on stage in a homemade, sparkly appliqued suit, lets out a howling scream fit for the Godfather of Soul, and drops to his knees.Īlongside backing band The Extraordinares, Charles Bradley has been touring relentlessly for several years, after, rather remarkably, releasing a debut album at age 62. At age 67, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and his life story is written in the wrinkles of his face-but he’s no old man. Daptone Records’ Charles Bradley may be one of the most visceral performers touring today.
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