Carnival of Soul

BY MICHAEL CHAIKEN | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

For those boomers who are of the frame of mind that “they don’t make music like the music I grew up with,” singer Justin Bieber is more a punch line than a viable music artist.

Bieber is viewed with suspicion because his career trajectory was made possible by the popularity of the internet rather than the grind of working his way through the clubs.

Bieber rose to prominence because of his self-made YouTube videos. He nurtured his career on social media rather than radio (he has 148 million followers on Instagram).

Bieber also is an artist who has been a regular in gossip columns because of his behavior and not because of interviews with Rolling Stone magazine.

To top it off, he records music that is as far afield from Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and the Stones as one can get.

However, Bieber’s music — especially his latest album “Changes” —  is far from a punch line.

If you take the time to show some patience and cue up the album, you’ll be struck by his voice. It’s a soulful sound and it’s clear he has successfully absorbed the lessons of his predecessors and peers who have and who still mine the sound of soul. He shows great command of his tenor and he never sounds like he’s stretching for a style that is out of character.

This is not always easy for an artist, especially those who admire rhythm and blues.

Back in the 1980s, Dexy’s Midnight Runners (“C’mon Eileen”) professed a great love for soul music. They had the ingredients such as the pumping horns and funky beats. But the singer, as much as he tried to get that soulful sound, always sounded awkward and it was clear he was overreaching.

On 1975’s “Come Taste the Band,” Deep Purple tried its hand at funky, soulful music. It was a detour that was short-lived, essentially putting a nail in the coffin of the seminal band. They didn’t regroup until 1984’s rocking classic “Perfect Strangers,” which was completely devoid of funk.

Bieber, however, is quite at home with the soulful sound.

“Changes” in many ways reminds me of 1973’s “Let’s Get It On” and 1976’s “I Want You” by the late, great Marvin Gaye.

Now before anyone gets their hackles up, I’m not saying Bieber is as good as Gaye. I think even Bieber would be embarrassed by such a comparison. But “Changes” follows a similar musical template as Gaye’s mid-70s album.

“Let’s Get It On” and “I Want You” were sensual records. They were the type of albums you’d put on the turntable as you communed with your lady love, under the light of scented romantic candles and accompanied by plenty of red wine to help set the loving mood.

“Changes” is that kind of record. It’s not so much about dancing to the rhythm as it is about reveling in a romantic mood.

One of the skills Gaye learned as he worked at the Motown stables was how to write a good hook. Whether he was singing about the turmoil of the world on “What’s Going On” or singing about loving a woman as he did on “Sexual Healing,” Gaye and his songwriting partners always wrote a killer hook.

Bieber, having grown up in the YouTube generation, learned that you need to catch the ear of the listener in the first few notes or they will do another search for something more enticing.

And “Changes” has plenty of earworms such as the singles “Yummy” and “Intentions.” Non-singles such as “Habitual” and the opener “All Around Me” also burrow into your brain.

Additionally, nothing on “Changes” sounds like bubble gum music. There is a sophistication to the arrangements similar to what Gaye managed throughout his career.

On “Changes,” Bieber shows they still make good music like they used to when Boomers were growing up. You just need to give yourself time to change things up a bit.

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