REVIEWSCharles Bradley, ‘No Time for Dreaming’

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• SPIN Rating:8 of 10

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Release Date: January 25, 2011
Label: Dunham

It'd be easy to mistake Charles Bradley's debutalbum for a lost soul classic, from the throwback cover art to the Otis Redding- and James Brown-inspired songs. But this 62-year-old Brooklynite isn't making a comeback; he's just touching down. Discovered and backed by the Daptone crew -- specifically note-perfect stylists the Menahan Street Band -- Bradley re-creates the sound of his youth, with a gorgeously weathered voice. No Time for Dreaming wails in a world of "Heartaches and Pain" (see the memorable closing track), but Bradley's despair is never less than stirring.