The Man!

iTunes Review

The multitalented Leroy Hutson made his mark as an integral part of the Chicago soul scene in the ‘60s and ‘70s, thanks to his prodigious talents and connections to some of the city’s distinguished soul luminaries. While still a student at Howard University he roomed with Donny Hathaway, and he later had a hand in writing some of Hathaway’s earliest hits. Hutson and Hathaway shared a similarly soaring, dramatic vocal style, and both liked to embellish their songs with baroque, string-bedecked arrangements. Though Hutson didn't burn with the same intensity as the troubled Hathaway, his music is every bit as rewarding. His second album, The Man!, is among his best. It features some of Hutson’s most memorable compositions, including “Can’t Say Enough About Mom” and “Could This Be Love," which is anchored by a grooving fuzz-guitar riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Curtis Mayfield or Norman Whitfield production from the same era.