Album Review: Cody Chesnutt - Landing On A Hundred

Back in 2002, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Cody ChesnuTT teetered on the edge of greatness. His debut album, The Headphone Masterpiece, had been universally lauded and its centrepiece, The Seed, transformed into the smash The Seed 2.0 by Philadelphian hip hop crew The Roots. Then he vanished. The first sign of life was an EP release in 2010 and now, finally, ChesnuTT has returned with his second long player, Landing On A Hundred. Recently Aloe Blacc brought the sound of classic '60s and '70s soul back to the mainstream and to a degree ChesnuTT keeps this going. Unlike Blacc though, he doesn't lean as hard on pop hooks, preferring to explore rock-funk territories and, being now in his mid-forties, eschews the well-worn soul themes of love and loss in favour of a more worldly view of life, in a way that only a man of his experience could do.

Temptation, redemption and salvation are major themes, Everybody's Brother is both a confessional of past sins and an evocation of changed ways, the rocking Don't Go The Other Way documents the battle to stay on the right side of the ledger while Till I Met Thee is a Motown-esque affirmation of religious rebirth. Back on the streets, That's Still Mama urges fast-lifers to hold onto their roots, Under The Spell of The Handout urges have-nots not to accept their lot while Don't Follow Me is a barebones father-son heart-to-heart. The highlight though is Chip's Down, with the rejection of materialism never sounding so good.

As soulful as it is thoughtful, Landing On A Hundred brings home the real tragedy; we have heard so little of Cody ChesnuTT's wonderful gift – music.