to listen or purchase
All I Need is You Tonight takes listeners back to a time when a vocalist would drop a monologue during the course of a tune. That doesn’t happen much anymore, and I’m sure that if my teenaged kids heard the spoken portions of a track such as “Let Me Love You Tonight,” they’d think it was corny. They’d probably ignore the tune’s many virtues, such as a delightful hook that simply invites the listener to sing along or lyrics that are sensual that don’t have a voyeur factor.
All I Need is You Tonight takes listeners back to a time when a vocalist would drop a monologue during the course of a tune. That doesn’t happen much anymore, and I’m sure that if my teenaged kids heard the spoken portions of a track such as “Let Me Love You Tonight,” they’d think it was corny. They’d probably ignore the tune’s many virtues, such as a delightful hook that simply invites the listener to sing along or lyrics that are sensual that don’t have a voyeur factor.
Darryl Grant, the velvet voiced crooner who released the album, definitely works from within a tradition when he embarks on those monologues. It’s a proud tradition that includes tunes such “I Wanna Know Your Name” and “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” and All I Need is You Tonight will be the gift that keeps on giving for listeners with an institutional memory takes them back to 1970s vocalists such as Major Harris or Johnny Taylor. Listeners will hear a little of jazz influenced R&B and good ole Southern soul on All I Need is You Tonight. “Don’t Underestimate the Power of Love” and “Two Wrongs” are example of the latter. “Don’t Underestimate” is a mid tempo cut that finds Grant adopting a conversational tone in an attempt to woo the object of his affection. Grant speeds the tempo up on “Two Wrongs,” a song in which the vocalist tries to convince his woman not to repay him for an act of infidelity.
Southern soul vocalists do the cheatin’ hearts and consequences theme better than anyone, and Grant is at his begging best when using his instrument to croon a line from the book of great quotations (to err is human, to forgive is divine) or dabbling in psychology in order to walk his woman away from the brink. “Words Left Unsaid” stands out as an example of the kind of jazz influenced R&B that still sneaks on to modern radio every now and then. “Words Left Unsaid” is a lyrical gem in this regret filled tune about perils of taking someone for granted.
Many in the younger set may not get All I Need is You Tonight. However, listeners of a certain age – or a specific musical sensibility – won’t take this record for granted.
Notable Tracks: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Love, After Loving You, All I Need is You Tonight, Let Me Love You Tonight, Words Left Unsaid
Music: 3.0Lyrics: 4.0Vocals: 3.0Instrumentation: 3.0
Soultracks call: Highly Recommended