Top album of the year in 2005 was Leon McMullen’s debut, A Few Words.  At that point I also talked to Leon, and you can read his comments about that CD and his earlier career here.  His follow-up, Can I Take You Out Tonight (www.soundmindzmusic.com 30018-2), comes out of Birmingham, Alabama, and it was produced by Leon together with Jimmy Underwood, and they also wrote all the songs except the slow and atmospheric Chuck Strong song, Let’s Be Together.

Leon had real instruments on his first CD, and he for the most part he sticks to his principles here, but the budget seemingly allowed only “cheap horns” this time.  Midnight Rendezvous is one of those dancers we use to refer as “Tyrone” ones, but the mid-tempo Don’t You Wanna Party with Me is a slightly jazzy jam, and another mid-tempo song, My Baby’s on the Phone, has an interesting arrangement, too.  So Leon doesn’t take the easiest road in southern soul music.

Majority of the program is slow songs.  Among them there are the sensitive and soulful We Belong Together, the blues-inclined Thank You Baby, the pre-sex duet called Sexy Lady, Sexy Man and the darkish After This Night Is Gone, which takes us into the Bobby Bland and Geater Davis territories.  This new CD is almost on a par with Just a Few Words.  It doesn’t seek for easy musical solutions, but brings exciting new elements to Southern soul.  And Leon, of course, is a magnificent soulful singer.   **Source: Soul Express Online