Soul music review by JIM CARROLL

RAPHAEL SAADIQ

The Way I See It

Columbia ****

Despite his turns in Lucy Pearl and Tony! Toni! Tone!, Raphael Saadiq's rep is determined by production work for such boldface names as The Roots, D'Angelo, John Legend and Joss Stone. That should all change on the basis of this bright- as-a-button third solo album, in which Saadiq takes his cues from the Motown archives and then brazenly shoots for the moon. Doing the vintage soul two-step is one thing (and probably easier to do when you're suited and booted like Saadiq is on this outing), but it's the breezy confidence surrounding this rebirth of the cool that really powers every track here. There are a few join-the-dots-to-the-past moments to savour ( Sometimesis what Smokey Robinson should be doing these days instead of frozen food jingles) just as there are tracks (Big Easy, Never Give You Up, 100 Yard Dash)that are as fresh and substantial as you could want. Bodacious. www.raphaelsadiq.com

Download tracks: Big Easy, Never Give You Up, Sometimes