Murali Coryell
Restless Mind
(Shake-It-Sugar)
Three stars
A musician walks into a bar. A female stranger kisses him. He flees. For Murali Coryell, this is no joke. Love-life dysfunction is a recurring theme on Restless Mind and, luckily for us, Coryell's woes inspire warm, embracing R&B to soothe the soul-music fans. Coryell's lyrics aren't much – the bar scene in Crime of Opportunity is silly, while Sex Maniac is worse. And the 44-year-old son of the veteran jazz-rock guitarist Larry Coryell can't match his dad's instrumental chops. Few can. But the younger Coryell's smoky tenor more than compensates. He's a Huey Lewis sound-alike who can pull off a pop burst such as Waiting and Wasting Away, a jazzy ballad like the title cut, the blues of I Need Someone to Love, and even the closing seven-minute cover, Let's Get It On. While it's risky business to take on Marvin Gaye, Coryell gives the chestnut fresh fizz with an inventive vocal arrangement. He sings a lot about heartache, but as Let's Get It On makes clear, Coryell has his act together.
