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Album Review: An Evening with Silk Sonic by John M Ellison IV
05/02/2023
Album Review: An Evening with Silk Sonic by John M Ellison IV
Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s project Silk Sonic started to form in 2017 when Anderson Paak was on the European leg of the Bruno Mars 24k Magic World Tour. They hit it off and bonded over James Brown, Stevie Wonder and just anything funky and soulful. Once acquainted, they started recording with the iconic Niles Rodgers of Chic and Guy Lawrence of Disclosure. Out of nowhere, Silk Sonic drops “Leave the Door Open” in March of 2021. The song and video was a smash on YouTube and went viral. Even the harshest of Bruno Mars critics hearts softened towards him. Around July, another single was released titled “Skate.” A pastiche of disco and pop that makes you feel like getting a pair of roller skates and show out in a roller rink somewhere. For the sake of authenticity, the album was recorded on a Solid State Logic mixing board and used Ludwig drums with Remo Ambassador heads, a Clavinet D6 keyboard, a Danelectro sitar. They even used the same minimal mic techniques a lot of albums of that era were recorded with. “Silk Sonic Intro” Kicks off with a James Brown like count off…cool surprise with Bootsy Collins on the intro. Also sets the tone of the album. “Leave the Door Open” Anderson. Paak’s vocal in the verse is conversational whereas in contrast, Bruno’s vocal in the pre-chorus and chorus compliments Paak’s vocal. Both know their strengths and weaknesses and compliment each other well. Anderson. Paak’s drums are appropriate too. Even though he could show off, he knew when to play for the song. “Fly As Me” Has a west coast funk feel to it. I hear elements of Tower of Power in it. This track feels like it came from an alternate universe where hip-hop started on the west coast in mid 70’s. Kind of feels like Big Boi of Outkast flow wise in some parts. “After Last Night” (Feat. Thundercat and Bootsy Collins) Bootsy Collins Rubber Band era energy throughout the composition and his ad libs add something special to this. D’Mile is no slouch on guitar and the three note “Purple Haze” paraphrase was a nice touch. Although I would have preferred to hear Bootsy Collins play bass, Thundercat holds it down. “Smokin’ Out the Window” This has a William DeVaughn “Diamond in the Back” energy. This was a decent riding tune except for that ONE lyric of “THIS BITCH!” ruins the vibe for me. Unless there were studio outtakes, you didn’t have R&B guys swearing like that back in the 70’s. Actually, it’s almost like a Saturday Night Live sketch. “Put on a Smile” If you’re going to have a 70’s R&B album. It doesn’t hurt to have a “crying in the rain” song. In a way “Put on a Smile” is an answer/apology for “Smokin’ Out the Window.” Paak is more confident vocally in comparison to the previous tracks. “777” Bruno Mars shows and reminds us he can play guitar. Also Anderson doesn’t mess around on drums either. Hell, this makes me we wanna shoot dice right now. “Skate” This one had to grow on me and could have been a bigger Summer anthem if the world wasn’t a COVID-19 snotball. Not a bad number at all. Has a good roller skate feel. “Blast Off” Basically a psychedelic soul anthem to sparking one up and vibing. Bruno’s guitar solo gave me the stank face. Overall, It feels like the 70’s R&B and Funk albums and singles I grew up hearing and listening to around the house and hearing on Magic 102.3 as a kid. The project has elements of Philly Soul, West Coast Funk and Motown. D’Mile isn’t a slouch on bass. Bruno Mars and D’Mile have a good ear for production and capturing a pastiche of funk. Using Bootsy Collins as a narrator and voice of reason throughout the album is a nice touch. Vocally, Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak compliment each others strength and weaknesses. The string section, horn section and sitar was a nice touch. Another smart move was having this project be only nine tracks (one intro and eight songs) since albums had a shorter track listing. If they do a sequel of “An Evening With Silk Sonic” I would love to see an 80’s Funk pastiche/homage but with cameos from Dam Funk, Suga Free, Chromeo and Snoop Dogg.
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