This is the fourth time I have reviewed a recording by Iowa City-based vocalist James Tutson. Each of the first three reviews — of 2019’s Make You Free, 2021’s Still and 2022’s Happy — could accurately be described as glowing.
Here’s a glimpse behind the scenes of the reviewing game: When you have repeatedly given an artist positive coverage and when, for example, you are the reviewer quoted on an artist’s website, you come to a new project with your knives sharpened just a bit. After all, you don’t want to be accused of being in the bag for the creator in question.
So that was my disposition when I sat down to listen to Fool for You, Tutson’s new full-length record set to release this month. I was determined not to be a fool for him.
But damn if Tutson and his mates haven’t made a lovely record. Recorded at Golden Bear Studios in Des Moines in the fall of 2023 and produced, engineered and mixed by Bryan Vanderpool, Fool of You features 11 originals by Tutson who handles lead vocals and guitar. He is joined by his longtime collaborator Tyler Carrington on drums and a variety of keyboards. Jay Foote plays electric bass and Vanderpool provides additional guitar, aux percussion and “other magical elements.” Emily Phillipi serves up background vocals and Jordon Rose handles the chimes known as the mark tree.
The key addition to this record, however, is the excellent horn section from the Seattle band The Dip. Brennan Carter on trumpet, Levi Gillis on tenor sax and Evan Smith on baritone sax bring excellent arrangements and stellar playing to the record.
All in all, Fool for You arguably harkens back to the Philadelphia soul (sometimes called the Sound of Philadelphia) of the 1960s and 1970s. Groups like the Delfonics or the O’Jays came to mind as I absorbed Tutson’s always beautiful vocals set against the lush and endlessly listenable settings provided by the band. Tutson’s songs reward careful listening, but they could also serve as the perfect background for sexy time.
That said, my beloved had one criticism of the record. During the song “Don’t You Want Me Back?”, Tutson asks the titular question a lot. The lyric is repeated so many times, my wife offered that her answer to the question would be influenced by whether the singer was willing to stop singing that single line over the chord changes. The repetition is of a piece with the tradition in which Tutson situates himself, but fewer reps would probably make “Don’t You Want Me Back?” a stronger number.
Really made use of those sharpened knives, didn’t I? As has become my habit, I strongly recommend you give Tutson and company a listen.
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This article was originally published in Little Village’s February 2025 issue.
