AMG Review of Source

Matthew Robinson
All Music Guide

After over 30 years of legal wrangling, the inspirational genius of Jimmy Scott has been re-released by master producer Joel Dorn on an album that is as beautiful and strong today as it was when it was recorded for Ray Charles' Tangerine Records. The lyrical links of "Unchained Melody" are absolutely righteous and the strains of "Exodus" could lead a listener to cry the Red Sea or to part it. While "Motherless Child" aches with orphaned loneliness, "Our Day Will Come" is confidentially encouraging. For over 40 years, Scott's frankly feminine registers, delayed deliveries, easy shapings, and full-soul bellows have been a source of inspiration and style for everyone from Nancy Wilson to k.d. lang, and this collection carries that legendary legacy into the 21st century.