I couldn’t see / It was only me, who believed in a love / That could never be, sings Lee Fields, telling the story of unrequited love on “Sentimental Fool,” the title track off his forthcoming album (Daptone), out Oct. 28.
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The soul legend’s first album in three years, Sentimental Fool follows Fields’ 2019 release, It Rains Love, and was recorded with his band The Expressions. Produced by Daptone Records founder Gabriel Roth (Bosco Mann) at his Penrose Recorders, Daptone West studio in Riverside, California, Sentimental Fool is a collection of 12 songs, including the previously released single “Ordinary Lives.”
“I wanted to cut a different kind of record and really give Lee room to sing,” said Roth in a statement. “We took our time and got painfully deep into every one of these tunes, stripping them down to pure feeling – no effort spared, no empty gestures remaining. Lee might be the greatest singer alive and I don’t think he’s ever sung better than on these sessions.”
In a career spanning more than 50 years, 20 albums, and more than 40 singles, the 72-year-old soul singer first joined Daptone with a handful of singles released in the early 2000s. Sentimental Fool spans Fields’ soulful roots in R&B and features members of the Daptone family members, including guitarist Thomas Brenneck, bassist Benny Trokan, drummer Brian Wolfe, keyboardists Victor Axelrod and Jimmy Hill, saxophonists Neal Sugarman and Ian Hendrickson-Smith, and trumpeter Dave Guy, along additional guest vocalists and musicians.
“With Gabe’s efforts I feel like this album depicts me as the full character that I am,” said Fields. “I’m all about emotions. This album allowed me to show what I’m capable of doing. Not to say that my vocal ability goes beyond others, but I’m able to figure out the math to get the feeling you’re looking for. I’m not trying to outdo any singer, but I can interpret the feeling. I can make someone cry if I want to. It’s always the challenge of trying to make something deeper. On this record, I go deeper than I’ve ever gone.”
Fields will kick off a North American tour in support of Sentimental Fool, beginning Oct. 15 and running through Dec. 31 with an added date on Sept. 3 at the Rail & Hops Brewers Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Sentimental Fool Track List
Forever
I Should Have Let You Be
Sentimental Fool
Two Jobs
Just Give Me Your Time
Save Your Tears For Someone New
The Door
What Did I Do
Without A Heart
Ordinary Lives
Your Face Before My Eyes
Extraordinary Man
Photo: Gustavo Olivare / Big Hassle PR
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