While Amy Winehouse continues to keep us in suspense during her prolonged absence, the path remains relatively clear for a contender to the contemporary soul music crown. Although Adele is sitting comfortably ahead of the game as the current queen of British soul, Nottingham’s Liam Bailey is stepping in to take his position as a suitable king. Not in a literal sense, of course, but as you will discover upon first listen of his new EP ‘It’s Not the Same’, Bailey provides more than enough reason to stand out amongst the handful of good male soul singers around at the moment.
Unsurprisingly enough, Liam Bailey was previously picked up by the aforementioned Ms Winehouse for her own Lioness Records and after checking out ‘It’s Not the Same’ – released through Polydor - you may soon understand why, as the EP provides a fantastic preview to Bailey’s forthcoming debut album. The EP’s lead single and title track is a cool, brass-tinged soul number that is not too distant from the style of Amy Winehouse herself and offers more than enough appeal for those wishing to discover something similar in her absence. Bailey’s yearning vocals are easily comparable to soul legends like Percy Sledge, Otis Redding or even Bob Marley at his most soulful.
Elsewhere, Bailey mixes things up a bit by blending a number of other styles with his expertly-achieved soul grounding. ‘Blind Faith’, for instance, finds the singer performing a tranquil acoustic number, gently crooning over the haunting folkiness of the track, while for ‘On My Mind’ he adds a touch of the blues to proceedings.
‘It’s Not the Same’ proves Liam Bailey to be one of the latest forerunners of the British soul music scene and an easy contender to the few recent pretenders to the throne. Some of the other styles explored on the EP also show that he is capable of stretching his musical flexibility to reach a fairly broad range of different audiences and offers listeners a perfect taster to his forthcoming album.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Unsurprisingly enough, Liam Bailey was previously picked up by the aforementioned Ms Winehouse for her own Lioness Records and after checking out ‘It’s Not the Same’ – released through Polydor - you may soon understand why, as the EP provides a fantastic preview to Bailey’s forthcoming debut album. The EP’s lead single and title track is a cool, brass-tinged soul number that is not too distant from the style of Amy Winehouse herself and offers more than enough appeal for those wishing to discover something similar in her absence. Bailey’s yearning vocals are easily comparable to soul legends like Percy Sledge, Otis Redding or even Bob Marley at his most soulful. 
