3 of 25: Jamie Lidell - Jim

What if I told you I knew of an artist that draws his influences heavily from James Brown, Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, 50s doo-wop, 60s soul, and 70s funk? Is that something you'd be interested in? Now, if that artist also happened to be a former techno DJ from Britain, who gave up his turntable for a wah-wah pedal... does that pique your interest even more? It should. On Jim, Jamie Lidell harnesses the throwback sound he started on Multiply and, although this album contains a few barn-burners, the sound is more subdued.

Opening with hand-claps and birds chirping, "Another Day" kicks off the album with happy rays of sunshine... or is it ("Now I'm letting silence do the talking... I'm searching for another day, another way, for me to open up to you.")? Lidell wastes no time transporting you back about 40 years, stylistically, and you can almost smell the breath of fresh air in which those birds are singing. "Wait For Me" follows and is one of the best tracks on the album, channeling Little Richard in both vocal and piano style (you also get the feeling that Lidell and fellow neo-souler Cee-Lo Green from Gnarls Barkley would get along). All of the songs fit a mood, from the uptempo funk of "Little Bit of Feel Good," to the Al Green homage "Green Light," you're equally inclined to get under the sheets or on top of a dance floor as you listen. As I listen through Jim and the equally impressive Multiply, I can't help but think about how much great music we were deprived of when Lidell was making beats on his computer. All the more reason to enjoy what we've got.