The Fat Angel Sings

Two great old-line soul records from new voices came out in the South in 2014. This is the one you didn’t hear much about, but should have. Atlanta-based songwriter and guitarist Curtis Harding — who first gained notoriety as one of Cee-Lo Green’s background singers — has made an album that pulls from a wide range of Southern soul inspirations. Sometimes, he sounds like “Superfly”-era Curtis Mayfield, and other times his sound edges more toward the roadhouse blues of guitar slingers like Buddy Guy. This record demonstrates that Harding is more than capable of updating Southern soul traditions while staying true to their roots.

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Here Curtis talks about some of his influences and songs he has loved,

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DEATH – “Keep On Knocking”
The Four Tops – “Reach Out”
The Gories – “Thunderbird”
Alice Cooper – “School’s Out”
The Supremes – “Reflections”
Black Merda – “That’s the Way It Goes”
The Stooges – “Gimme Danger”
The Clarke Sisters – “Is My Living in Vain”
Stevie Wonder – “I Was Made To Love Her”
Lee Moses – “California Dreaming”
The Mighty Hannibal – “The Right To Love You”
Otis Redding – “Dock of the Bay”