Search - Human Nature :: Dancing in the Street: The Songs of Motown II

Lightning strikes twice

Henrique Peirano | Brasilia, Brazil | 12/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's so common these days to see #2s around. But it's very rare to see a follow-up, or a number 2 album overcome the first one. Well, in this second tribute to the Motown sound, Human Nature managed to rise above what they did on "Reach Out: the Motown Record" and put out a much more soulful CD.



On their first Motown homage, the instrumental tracks lacked anything new. It stuck just a little too much to what was done in the 60s. This time, it seems there's a crisp, sparkling sound coming from the background. As an example, you can listen to the Soultans' "Tribute To Soul". Their CD has a great modern touch to famous Soul/R&B classics. Human Nature made their ground between the Soultans and the original versions of these Motown classics.



On the first album, it was nice to hear fresh voices sing these songs. But this time, it was a pleasure hearing them sing with much more enthusiasm and from the soul. You can almost visualize the recording sessions in your mind. The "Just My Imagination" A cappella was really nice, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" was gutsy, "I Can't Help Myself" was a well-sung all around classic, and the beginning of "I Can't Get Next To You" gave me chills when I first heard it, sounding like The Temptations. Time for a third CD? Good luck, this will be a hard one to top."