Southern Comfort [Clean] (CD - 2007)

Anthony Hamilton is one of the leading lights of the neo-soul movement. And while it's easy to call his music retro given a vocal style that recalls Bill Wethers and a rootsy yet modern-sounding production aesthetic that is clearly indebted to Stevie Wonder, Hamilton is more a product of his own tireless vision than of any sort of old-school fetishism.

Although Hamilton tasted success a few times early in his career, he jumped from label to label and kept a side career as a writer and back-up singer. Hamilton has had a comfortable home with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label since 2003, yet 2007's SOUTHERN COMFORT proves that creating deep, organic soul has been the singer's M.O. since day one, as this album is, remarkably, his second collection of older, previously unreleased material. That his vaults are this stacked speaks volumes to Hamilton's talent. minimize