Music with Maestro Mayhem

Album Review: An Evening With Silk Sonic

https://songwhip.com/bruno-mars/an-evening-with-silk-sonic

This past March, Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars released their debut single, “Leave the Door Open”, a song that quickly topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and did in fact leave the door open for the rest of their collaborative concept album, “An Evening with Silk Sonic” that dropped just last month and left listeners bathing in the dulcet tones of ‘70s nostalgia.

With Parliament-Funkadelic’s bassist Bootsy Collins as a host on the album, the tease of Thundercat’s bass guitar opening on “After Last Night” and the dedication to maintaining the auditory aesthetic of both Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, “An Evening with Silk Sonic” is truly a love-letter to the motown/R&B scene of the 1970’s by two artists that are dedicated, focused and on the same page. There are inspired nods to flourishes from iconic musicians and groups of the past, like tender riffs from guitarist Melvin Ragin and luring ARP synth from Kool and the Gang. With era-specific recording practices and instrumentals instilled on each track, the duo successfully revives the soul sounds that recording studios of the ‘70’s polished to perfection.

For the majority of the album, the two Grammy-award winners are in harmonious sync and balance the album with standout tracks from each artist. “Fly As Me” is classic Anderson .Paak and “Skate” has a vibe on par with .Paak’s “Malibu” album from 2016. “Put on a Smile” is reminiscent of Bruno Mars’ crooning hits of his previous chart toppers like “It Will Rain” and “When I Was Your Man”. On tracks like “After Last Night” and “Smokin’ Out the Window”, the chemistry between Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars is undeniable and we see a duo we never knew we needed really shine. These days, an all male R&B duo or group of note is a rare sight, and although I wish the album were longer than 31 minutes, Silk Sonic has given themselves room to grow as a duo and with luck we’ll be listening to a whole weekend with Silk Sonic sometime in the future. I also look forward to seeing what new mainstream traction Anderson .Paak receives after this collaboration, despite already having some solo recognition from his album “Ventura” in 2019.

There are tracks that are filled with more lyrical humor and shallow emoting than the crooning depth and sincerity typically found in Motown or R&B, namely the track “777”, that is an ode to the party life of Vegas. However, how can you expect anything less than opting for an element of comedy when having to measure up to the funk and soul hits that precede them? It seems like a bit of a cop-out in the task of pulling that sound into this day and age, but given the desire to craft a sound that would please generations together and explicitly stating their intentions for a feel-good dance-encouraging album since conception, I think Silk Sonic nailed the aspect of merging eras. Older generations can enjoy hearing the rhythms of ‘70s and younger listeners get to revel in the catchy grooves of two of today’s well-known artists.

Overall, “An Evening with Silk Sonic” is an album that’s been on repeat in my household and I would not be surprised in the slightest if it lands a spot as a nominee for album of the year.