Until recently Soulive specialized in extremely danceable groove jazz with a solid organ base. Brothers Alan and Neal Evans on drums and Hammond B-3 and Eric Krasno on guitar knew better than anyone how to combine soul jazz from the past with an 'up to date' hip hop feeling. For Break Out, however, the gentlemen take a completely different path than their predecessors Doin 'Something, Next and
… Soulive. By collaborating with guest vocalists (Chaka Khan, Ivan Neville, Reggie Watts) Soulive reduces itself from a virtuoso jam band to a backing band. In terms of repertoire they end up in the r & b / soul corner. The result is certainly not bad, but compared to the instrumental depth they created earlier, Break Out can be seen as a step backwards. From Grant Green to the Meters. As a result, Break Out has not become a memorable CD, but rather a resting point in their repertoire. It is hoped that they will soon pick up their old thread again. (AD)more
