Cody Chesnutt: Landing on a Hundred – review

Soul music often does a good line in redemption narratives; Cody Chesnutt's is particularly mellifluous. Success proved elusive for the sweet-voiced Atlantan guitarist for a decade, until the Roots covered him in 2002. The protagonist of the songs on Landing on a Hundred has lost years to crack, but now gains praise for the straight and narrow with easy-going vintage soul that rolls magnificently on the ear. A 10-piece band, recorded in Al Green's old Memphis studio, contributes swing and brass to candidly autobiographical tales such as Everybody's Brother and the urgent, restless Don't Wanna Go the Other Way. Chesnutt pours scorn on "market-based strategies" on Chips Down (In No Landfill); intriguingly, this involving record was initially financed by online pledges.