hitsville inpsired tunes for 2009
Mr. John Mayer recently raved about this retro hipster on twitter and I have to say I agree.
Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
just outside of Detroit, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving
with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz
history the region provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out
of Detroit,” claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist,
who counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among
his influences, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey
Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, and the legendary songwriting and production
trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland Jr.
A review reads, "If honky soul is having an extended moment thanks to Justin Timberlake,
Robin Thicke, and Jamie Lidell, Mayer Hawthorne probably has no clue.
Hawthorne (né Andrew Cohen) is trapped in a time-stop circa 1976, and
his immaculate debut is replica music, constructed and buffed to a high
sheen. Drawing on Holland-Dozier- Holland’s crisp, 180-second soul
classics, the Michigan-born Hawthorne gorgeously apes the Temptations
on “I Wish It Would Rain” and “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out.” There’s
hardly an original thought here, but with arrangements so expertly
composed, who’s complaining?" By Sean Fennessey
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