It would be easy to dismiss Jamie Lidell as just another English cat enamored of classic Motown R&B (see: Joe Cocker through Mark Ronson). But Lidell mitigates any possible debt to the American past with his innovative arrangements, backed here by a jazzy band constructed out of chopped up samples, a strolling bassline, and a multi-tracked chorus of Jamies.

Johnny Mercer, writer of countless American standards, capped off his classic "Fools Rush In" with the observation that "romance is a game for fools." Lidell spends four minutes in agreement with Mercer, and the way his voice hangs on a syllabled note reverently recalls the most golden soul men, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.