Posted on 07/17/2008
No matter how many times this album spins through my CD player, I cannot effectively narrow down exactly how I feel about it. Sometimes the 12 tracks drag like molasses and I am anxiously waiting for LeRoy Bell to stop crooning about a love he desperately needs back. Accompanying those sessions are listens when something just feels right. Bell's bluesy, rugged vocals hit all the right notes and I find myself actually empathizing with his struggle to overcome both societal and personal troubles. Unfortunately for Bell, however, those positive feelings don't resonate as much as those felt during my other experiences with A Change is Coming.

This singer-songwriter burst onto the scene back as a young writer in the 1970s. He crafted songs for the likes of the Temptations and the Spinners before creating the smash single "Mama Can't Buy Me Love" for Elton John in 1979. Bell continued writing for others, but in 2006, something changed. He began making his own music and even started a label, Martez Music. And with the release of his full-length debut, Two Sides to Every Story, his metamorphosis was complete.

What comes across in Bell's own music, however, is essentially what you might expect. Many of his lyrics sound startlingly familiar. His straightforward, simplistic writing might be catchy, but it also falls flat. I cannot count how many times we have all heard songs like "Everybody" and "In Love With You Girl" before on A Change is Coming. Both, like many of Bell's songs, cover common territory and themes. Yet, as much as you can fault him for his easily accessible lyrics, you could make the argument that this trait just makes his music that much more universal, which is true.

But it is also true that A Change is Coming would be a whole lot stronger with more deep-thinkers like "How Many Times." For reference, here is a sampling of the lyrics from that song: "How many laws must we break/how many lives must we waste/how many truths must we fake/till it gets too much and we've had enough." Those four lines alone are some of the most poignant lyrics found on this album. And they are evidence that Bell is capable of more than just a song about a lost love.

Musically, many of the tracks on here build upon either finger-picking or strumming on an acoustic guitar before the full band kicks in. Bell's crew features bassist Terry Morgan, drummer Davis Martin and guitarist Rick Novito, who all do their jobs well. Like the lyrics, however, few songs stick out for their musical creativity. That being said, they are still solid pop songs.

Although it is apparent at this point that Bell has not re-created the wheel with his sophomore effort, his songwriting abilities cannot be denied. He might not make you scratch your head or force you to read his lyrics, but his knack for creating catchy melodies makes A Change is Coming a fun album to bring along on an early morning drive to work.

- Andrew Martin