REVIEW: Kenny Black, Shimmer Johnson and Stephen Wrench — Good Ole Love (SINGLE)
The pandemic is not over yet, but the music is starting to come back even though there have been some good releases so far this year. “Good Ole Love” sets the bar pretty-high for the R&B, soul and jazz school music fans. And the month of April is full of great new releases, and this hot new single by Kenny Black, Shimmer Johnson and Stephen Wrench is worth anyone’s time and money. This is not some ghost trio coming out of nowhere, it’s a killer combo of soothing music from the beats and keys to the bass and over the top vocals, particularly by Shimmer Johnson.
If you’ve never heard Johnson sing before, do yourself a favor and look her up, because she’s fantastic and should be heard by the masses and so should “Good Ole Love” with Kenny Black and Stephen Wrench. The way they all blend together is what the real magic is the song is all about. The feel of the song is matched by the melody and vocal prowess of both the female and male variety for an outstanding piece of work. This single holds up to anything put out over the airwaves yet this year.
If I were to vote on it, “Good Ole Love” would probably be in my top 5 tracks of 2021, it’s that good. I am not biased to the style of music I just crave it more and more as I get older and more into mellower stuff like this. I am not even sure why it plays so far up my alley, but I attribute that to the music which has a life of its own. Secondly, the flawless mix and ultimate combination of voices cannot be dismissed, so my hat goes off to all involved in this terrific project.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/good-ole-love-single/1559301120
What more could you want but a fuzzy, heartwarming ballad after a cold winter of crisis and politics. Nothing like a good strong melody to take you away from the craziness of the current media frenzy than some “Good Ole Love,” and it delivers exactly that. It plays great at how or medium volume without any fuss and bother, which is down to the excellent engineering that brings out a lush instrumental and vocal sound. The voices reach out and grab you and don’t let go as they swirl around the beautiful backing track like no others around.
Check out the video for “Good Ole Love” as you listen to the groovy backbeat and watch the sunny footage of lovers out and about as if they mean it after all the lockdowns. It leaves you with the impression life could actually-get better as the future brings a brighter vibe and it somehow brings that message with it in a very cool song just about anyone can relate to. And Shimmer Johnson absolutely nails a brilliant vocal on what is also a very well-written and arranged classic track at a time when it is almost rendered a lost art.
Colin Jordan
