No Time For Dreaming

Brooklyn's Daptone Records has a history of proving that mature artists playing old-school soul can still be vital artistic commodities in the 21st century, with the likes of Sharon Jones and Naomi Shelton. Charles Bradley's debut album for Daptone imprint Dunham bears out that idea even further. Bradley has lived an itinerant, hardscrabble existence full of tough times and tragedy, and he didn't begin his music career in earnest until he was in his 50s, finally releasing No Time For Dreaming at 62. All those decades of struggle, sadness, survival, and soul come flowing out of Bradley's voice on every track here. Backed by members of Daptone stalwarts Menahan Street Band, Bradley delivers a mighty wail bearing the drama-drenched, emotional impact of a Solomon Burke or James Carr, on autobiography-filled songs whose arrangements evoke the moodier side of classic ‘60s soul. The MSB -- whose mastermind Tommy "TNT" Brenneck has been part of Bradley's team from the start of his late-blooming renaissance -- get a chance to shine here too, on the instrumentals "Trouble in the Land" and "Our Last Goodbye," but of course it's when Bradley's rough-edged moan is leading the way that No Time For Dreaming connects most directly to the gut.