Norman Feels: "Norman Feels"

The minute this one kicks off, you know you’re listening to the rare groove goods, though, like me, you probably have no idea who in the hell this Norman Feels guy is.  Recorded in Detroit with a handful of Motown’s Funk Brothers and arrangements by the legendary David Van De Pitte, this music was clearly inspired by “What’s Going On”-era Marvin Gaye.  The formula somehow works, though, for even as Feels rocks a high falsetto throughout the album, he doesn’t really sound like Marvin at all.  Much like similar records by Mike James Kirkland and Leroy Hutson, Norman Feels is striving for a “conscious-political-orchestral-romantic-funk-soul-classic-‘70’s” vibe, and yet also like Kirkland and Hutson, he falls just short of the mark, which is where the charm of a piece like this lies anyhow.  In some ways, music like this speaks more of the lasting, super-charged impact of Marvin Gaye’s influence than it does of its own merit.  Still, I dig Feels’ energy here, and the grimy, down-low clavinet build-up on album opener “Don’t” is worth the price of admission alone.  The common thread between “What’s Going On” and this record are the arrangements by Van De Pitte, who adds his subtle, tasteful touch to everything here.  Anyone who’s listened to enough ‘70’s soul knows that “subtle” and “tasteful” are not often the adjectives you’d use to describe the ham-handed meanderings of less talented orchestrators, a fact that only makes Van De Pitte’s textures that much more appealing.  Meanwhile, Norman Feels attempts bold re-constructions of Detroit standards like “My World Is Empty Without You,” set alongside his own singular, original numbers like the dark, moody “Something In Me,” the bouncy, almost-Philly groove of “Yes You Did,” and the psychedelic, topical “Today.”  Sure, it’s impossible to imagine an album like this existing without Marvin Gaye.  That truth, however, becomes irrelevant after repeated listens, and when you reach the end of the record, which closes with the gorgeous, grandiose “Everything Is Going Our Way,” you can’t help but be impressed, and even astounded, by the beauty of it all.