Charles Bradley

I missed Bradley’s Osheaga performance but good fortune found me in February 2012 when and I got to catch Charles Bradley & The Extraordinaires at the Corona Theatre.

It was my first time at the venue and it reminded me a lot of La Tulipe, where I saw Gilles Peterson & The Kills. The sound at Corona Theatre was fantastic and the sounds from the performers were even more so.

Backing band The Extraordinaires were tight and were warming up the audience as I walked in. The Corona crowd gave Bradley a welcome reception once he touched the stage. Bradley’s soul-soaked show kick started the weekend on all the right notes.

Bradley performed the majority of his album with a few extras, including covers of Clarence Carter’s Slip Away and Neil Young’s iconic Heart of Gold. The crowd was very appreciative of Bradley’s rendition of the song. The live version sounded not much different from the recorded one and that was a sign we were in the presence of seasoned, craftsmen musicians.

I was so thrilled to see and hear Bradley that I smiled throughout the show, especially when he screamed. I discovered recently Bradley is rightly dubbed The Screaming Eagle of Soul. Like James Brown and Wilson Pickett, Charles Bradley enters a prestigious list of soul men that I treasure to this day.

As I told a local record store staff member, Charles Bradley is best seen and heard live on stage.  The statement still stands now.

The Suite Delight new time slot is Tuesday morning 2-3am EST on www.ckut.ca & 90.3 FM.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

Below is a podcast to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download it and more.

The Suite Delight - February 25, 2014 Playlist:

1. Ken Boothe - Moving Away
2. Aretha Franklin - Think
3. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - We Get Around
4. Quantic & Nickodemus - Mi Swing Es Tropical
5. DJ Center - In A Song (DJ Eleven Remix)
6. Second Sky - Under The Line
7. The Impressions - We're A Winner
8. Tall Black Guy - What's Good (James Brown I Feel Good Flip Up)
9. Resonators - Gold Dub
10. Sarah MK - Think Dat
11. Maylee Todd & Circle Research - Hooked
12. Charles Bradley - Heart of Gold
13. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Inspiration Information
14. Feist - Inside & Out
15. DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ayah - Make It Last
16. Lizz Wright - Old Man

I waited for Charles Bradley's No Time for Dreaming album since 2009 and have been playing it steadily upon its release.

The World (Is Going Up in Flames) proved to be one of the songs a live Charles Bradley crowd is eager to hear.