Chances are, if you move out of your girlfriend’s apartment and move into a church, in the middle of a pandemic, after you’ve had an alcohol-induced seizure that results in a broken leg and dislocated arm, it’s going to change your music.
At least that’s proven to be the case for Neal Francis. His sophomore album “In Plain Sight” bears little resemblance to his debut album “Changes,” a New Orleans R&B-influenced collection that prompted BBC-6 radio to describe him as “the reincarnation of Allen Toussaint.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
By contrast, “In Plain Sight” plays to the Chicago artist’s strengths as a singer, songwriter and keyboardist, all of which he does exceptionally well. With his smoothly understated baritone, sublime melodies, and virtuoso piano playing, Francis captures the sound and spirit of the best early-’70s music, while continuing to establish himself as a formidable artist in his own right.
His lyrics are also first class. “You know you got everything going on just right / It’s just not right, right now,” he sings on the not-altogether-reassuring “Problems.” “Alameda Apartments,” meanwhile, conjures up images of a burning apartment, moving walls, ghostly visitations, and making peace with the past: “People ask if it hurts, that I’ve stooped so low / And in the end, I let it go.”
These days, things are much better. He’s overcome his addictions, moved out of the church, moved in with his new girlfriend, and is finally getting to tour again. Recently, Francis opened the Americana Music Awards at the Ryman Auditorium with a soulful version of his song “You Can’t Stop the Rain,” accompanied by a ten-piece band that included three gospel singers. Now he’s back on the road with his own more modest, but no less spirited, four-piece band. We checked in with him to see how all that’s going.
Q: As many times as I’ve listened to “In Plain Sight,” it still amazes me how different it is than your debut album, which opens with that R&B horn arrangement, guitar riffs, and a rhythm track that reminded me of The Meters’ “Hey Pocky A-Way.” Also, your keyboards were much lower in the mix than they are now. Was there a reason for that?
A: Yeah, I think the approach on “Changes” was emulating, like you said, the mid-’70s Meters sound. Also, the Dr. John sound, and maybe even earlier, like Lee Dorsey and Allen Toussaint.
Q: You can still hear Allen Toussaint’s influence on “In Plain Sight.”
A: Oh yeah, man, I’m glad that comes through. He’s my hero.
Q: Some of it also reminds me of Elton John’s 1970 live album, back when his piano playing was more Laura Nyro than Liberace. Do you see any similarities between that album and what you’re doing now?
A: Yeah, I love that record, and he’s definitely an influence on me. There’s a much broader scope of influences on the second record. Maybe it’s because I started the record not knowing if there was going to be a recording session, or if it was just for my own pleasure, which is how “Changes” started as well. I can’t really account for why I was using those different influences, but I have a very eclectic range of tastes.
Q: When it comes to performing those songs live, how different are the arrangements from what you were doing in the church?
A: With the live show, we’ve never tried to approximate the recording in, like, a total sense. There are some bands that are hoping to achieve that, where it’s like they’re reproducing the record live, and I think that’s really cool. But we just, from day one, didn’t have the ability to do that, because of the instrumentation: multiple keyboard parts, horn parts, percussion. You’d be talking about four extra members of the band. And so we’ve really taken more of a rock and roll approach to it. Like that Elton John live album you mentioned, “11-17-70,” he had a three piece band. And they were playing these arrangements, some of which originally had strings, horns, and background singers. And that’s the sort of ethos that I’m bringing to the live show, I think, just playing the songs as a four-piece.
QL When I first read about how you were living in a church, and then I saw the song title “Say Your Prayers,” I thought, “Okay, I know what’s going on here.” But then I heard the verse [looks at notes] “Bet your life, you can end your strife / Tomorrow’s made of gold, if you sell your soul.” Did you write that in a church? Because that sounds like asking for trouble.
A: I did. Yeah. I mean, like, I didn’t have anybody looking over my shoulder.
Q: Well, not that you know of.
A: Right. Well, at the end of the day, it’s just a room. It’s like a big fancy room that is beautiful. And it’s a beautiful space to create. And you can ascribe any type of meaning you want to that space. You know, I think God is either everything or God is nothing. So, you know, like putting it in a church and keeping it there isn’t necessarily something I believe in. I’ve been disillusioned with organized religion for a long time. However, I do consider myself spiritual. But, you know, it just came through in my writing, because specifically at that time, I was very depressed.
Q: During the interview portion of your recent KEXP session, you mentioned how easy it can be to forget the past two years, and how important it is to remember what that was like. And I’m wondering if you can elaborate on that. Like, why is it important to remember that — or any other traumas, for that matter?
A: Well, I think of it from the standpoint of just having gratitude for being able to work again, and travel and interact with our friends, and not take it for granted like we did before the pandemic. And that’s what crushed us so much about that time period. All those things were ripped away from us. And then you really realize how much you miss those things. And now that we have them back again, you know, I think it’s just good to remember.
FESTIVAL PREVIEW
Neal Francis at Sweetwater 420 Fest
SweetWater 420′s headliners include Shakey Graves, an Americana musician from Austin, Texas; and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, a funk-jam band from Baltimore. Noon April 22-23. $70-$240. Sweetwater Brewery, 195 Ottley Drive NE, Atlanta. sweetwater420fest.com.
