Pama International – The Altruistic Soul Sound of…. Part Two (Happy People)

Although largely known as a reggae/ska act, Pama Int’l have never been afraid to experiment with their sound, and following the critical success of last year’s soul album The Altruistic Soul Sound Of… they return with a second instalment.

It kicks off with a storming female-fronted version of (I Can’t

Get No) Satisfaction that riffs heavily on a Blues Brothers Stax Records-type sound that pulls out all the stops, glues the pedal to the floor and tears along with a show-opening pace that couldn’t last more than the allotted two-and-a-half minutes if it tried.

The pace drops off for the beautifully emotion-packed I Can Never See, while Skies Are Blue is a wonderful take on the laid back country soul of the mid-Sixties. Come For Me fooled me at first. I would have sworn that I knew the original from my ‘nighter days, but it seems that it’s a Pama original. Upbeat and catchy, with a brilliant call-and-response chorus, it’s probably too fast for me to dance to now, but would have been perfect for those amphetamine-fuelled days of yore. Feel Like Jumping comes next. The Marcia Griffiths classic reworked as a soul stomper? Oh yes.. and then some. The singer, Jewels Vass, has more than a hint of Sugar Pie DeSanto about her voice here, with passion flowing over a solid four on the floor beat with a decent dance break in the middle. Tailor made for the northern soul scene, an absolute killer.

In the manner of a traditional soul album that wasn’t made for any particular niche market, the album finishes with a trio of tracks that aren’t necessarily dance floor friendly. I Cried Til It Stopped is a rework of an older Pama tune, given a laid back soul feel and is followed by a wonderful interpretation of Carole King’s classic It’s Too Late. Album finisher Seems Like We’ve Gone Too Far is blues in a Sunday suit, polished but painful. A wonderful album ender, and just the right note to end on. Based on the two soul albums they’ve released so far, it seems Pama International have found a new niche that they can build on.