Ryan Shaw
This Is Ryan Shaw
SonyBMG


I was a little intrigued... why oh why would a new singer on the block cut an almost note perfect cover of I Found A Love, an obscure 1962 single for The Falcons, featuring the vocals of a young Wilson Pickett? The answer, for those who love a good story, is a little more interesting than you'd think, for Shaw, a 26 year old native of Decatur, Georgia, shares a little in common with Pickett. There's a symmetry, if you will.

Pentacostal singer Ryan Shaw moved to New York on the musical trail, sang gospel and soul in the local clubs, and in 2004 was recruited to front the Fabulous Soul Shakers, a group dedicated to reviving the very best of soul and doo-wop. He was 'discovered' by the group's guitarist Johnny Gale, and nurtured by session musician Jimmy Bralower, who recorded his original recordings, all of which are firmly set in the style of 1960s soul and gospel.

There's Jackie Wilson's I'll Be Satisfied' and Ryan Shaw's Nobody But Me and We Got Love nestled alongside Bobby Womack's Lookin' For A Song.

I love soul and doo-wop, especially the 'doo' bit of 'wop'. It's just great music, and The Falcons have been a favourite of mine for many years, so I don't really need another version of this great song. But then again, perhaps it's about Ryan Shaw's statement of intent in recording the song in the first place. If a new generation of music lovers can feel the soul that was soulful before the term became a chickenshit euphemism for 'black singer' then so much the better. Oh, and like Otis Redding, Ryan Shaw is black.

Alex Wheaton