If Stevie Wonder were to mastermind a marathon jam with the very Reverend Al Green, George Benson, Aretha Franklin, D'Angelo, Michael Jackson and the Sounds Of Blackness whilst the ghosts of Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Louis Armstrong kept time in the back, it would most certainly sound like this.
Welcome to Donnie's self-penned, not too slick yet perfectly polished debut entitled 'The Colored Section'.
Here is a proud, nostalgically derivative project where every track will remind you of an important co-ordinate somewhere on (black) music's historical map.
All the elements are clearly here: from the sexy Fender Rhodes, the Moog and the hazy 70's synthesisers to the up, down, round and back key changes, the stacked vocals, the brass and the flutes.
Then add some startling contemporary twists - like 'Masterplan' a God sent moment produced by London's broken beat don, I. G Culture or 'the sleazy ragtime of 'Big Black Buck' and you have an album with the diversity of a Black Music Hall Of Fame and all on one CD.
Soulfully vocal from start to finish, 'The Colored Section' is an all the way live tour-de-force with crisp brass arrangements and vocal harmonies tighter than Snappies cling film. Donnie obviously enjoys flexing his vocal muscles, working his worries out in arrangements that run the gamut of seductive soul ('Cloud 9), sleazy blues ('Big Black Buck'), summery jazz ('Wildlife' and 'Do You Know'), epic ballads like 'You Got A Friend' and the r n b grooves of tracks like 'Rocketship' without missing a single beat.
And it's not just stylistically strong, it's lyrically powerful stuff too that your heart becomes more fond of with each listen. 'Cloud 9' is a 'living from the head down,' optimistic Stevie Wonder-like celebration of blackness: who can resist lyrics like 'yes I wear the lambs wool, the feet of burnt rice ... and I'm fine under Cloud 9' and 'happy to be nappy / I'm black and I'm proud / that I have been chosen to wear the conscious cloud'?
The single 'Do You Know' contradicts its sweet summery vibes with lyrics that warn a question a girlfriend 'do you know what you're missing, think about the love you're dissing' and says 'it's not an ultimatum just to see if you care / I just guarantee winnings with my love'.
And the 'If You Really Love Me' interpolating 'People Person' questions 'so who are we to give up on anyone'? Not your usual soul schmaltz then, this is music with a message, and if you have the ears to hear it and the heart to understand you will feel it too.
One to watch.
