King Fred: New (Overlooked) Album Alert!
Daddy B. Nice's #121 ranked Southern Soul Artist
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King Fred: New (Overlooked) Album Alert!Daddy B. Nice's #121 ranked Southern Soul Artist |
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"When I Think Of You" King Fred: New (Overlooked) Album Alert! September 1, 2024: New (Overlooked) Album Alert!Buy King Fred's new ALL GAS NO BRAKES VOL. 1 album at Apple.All Gas No Brakes, Vol. 1 Track List:1. Different From The Rest (feat. DJ KJ)2. I'll Be Your Freak 3. Cougar From Mississippi (feat. Brutha) 4. Give It Up Tribute 5. Down In The Club 6. Strut Your Stuff (feat. Bo Dollar & Daniel) 7. Twerk It (feat. Lady Soul Yates) 8. Bartender (feat. Bo Dollar & Daniel) 9. Keep This On The Low 10. Enjoying My Life (feat. Scar da Ripper) 11. Having A Party (feat. Jeter Jones) 12. Drinking 13. Should Have Made You My Wife Daddy B. Nice notes: First of all, this is a not a new album---but a missing album nevertheless. King Fred's home page on Apple Music, for instance, doesn't even feature this album, although it was originally published five years ago. And if you are a typical King Fred fan, as opposed to a fanatical King Fred fan, you probably aren't aware of this record's existence. I count myself among the former (typical fan) and I was surprised to stumble upon this set and even more surprised when I looked at the date. It's a generous album, thirteen full-fledged tracks, and in many ways superior to A TASTE OF SOUL (scroll down this page) in quality as well as quantity. Two tracks---"Enjoying My Life" and "Drinking" appear on both albums, the former in a remix. But even more of the tracks ("Down In The Club," "I'll Be Your Freak") first appeared on SOUL 2 SOUL, yet another King Fred album that doesn't appear on Apple's King Fred Home Page. The most recent offering is the now outdated "No Woman No Cry" single. Hicks has never encountered a famous song title (Marley's "No Woman," "Jackie Neal's "Down In Da Club") he was afraid to appropriate for his own wishes.
Listen to King Fred singing "Down In The Club" on YouTube. The only thing more surprising than stumbling upon this very good collection and rekindling my fondness for King Fred's peculiar timbre and tempo was realizing there hasn't been an LP or even an EP since. And in spite of the promise of Volume 2. Unless, of course, it's lurking out there in limbo, like All Gas No Brakes was for me yesterday. Listen to all the tracks from King Fred's ALL GAS NO BRAKES VOL. 1. on YouTube. Buy King Fred's new ALL GAS NO BRAKES VOL. 1 album at Apple. 
September 29, 2019: NEW ALBUM ALERT!A TASTE OF SOUL TRACK LIST:1. Slow Rollin' (feat. Emerson Hill)2. Your the Kind of Woman (feat. Rashad the Bluz Kid) 3. Cassanova (feat. Daniel Sampson) 4. Good Good Woman (feat. Mister Shell) 5. Enjoying My Life 6. It's a Party 7. Drinking 8. Feels Like I'm Dreaming 9. At the Altar (feat. Ron G Suggs) 10. Cheating (feat. Mister Shell & Stephanie Luckett) Daddy B. Nice notes:King Fred touts a unique singing style that absorbs bits and pieces from such southern soul iconoclasts as Frank Mendenhall, David Brinston and L.J. Echols. His new album displays a maturation and confidence lacking from the innocent perfection of his early signature hits, "Morning Delight" and "When I Think Of You," recorded under his given name, Frederick Hicks, on his debut disc, Going Crazy. And while no one song from A Taste Of Soul rivals "Down In The Club" from his most popular album to date, Soul 2 Soul, the new album expands the scope of Hicks' artistry and finds the reclusive artist collaborating with a number of fellow singers including Emerson Hill ("Slow Rollin'"), Ra'shad The Blues Kid ("You're The Kind Of Woman"), Daniel Sampson ("Cassanova") and Mister Shell ("Good Good Woman").
Listen to all the tracks from King Fred's new A TASTE OF SOUL album on YouTube. Listen to King Fred's new A TASTE OF SOUL album at Spotify. Buy King Fred's new A TASTE OF SOUL album at Amazon. 
*********** To automatically link to King Fred's charted radio singles, awards, CD's and other citations on the website, go to "King Fred" or "Frederick Hicks" in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index. *********** April 21, 2018: KING FRED: Soul 2 Soul (King Fred / Riverside Records ) Four Stars **** Distinguished effort. Should please old fans and gain new.
King Fred, aka Frederick Hicks, was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His first album, Going Crazy (CD Baby 2011), self-published at a very early age under the name Frederick Hicks, spawned at least three underground tracks that caught the attention of southern soul insiders--"Morning Delight," "When I Think Of You" and "Should Have Made You My Wife"--and Hicks was a nominee for "Best Debut" and "Best Vocalist" in Daddy B. Nice's annual Southern Soul Music Awards (2013). Hicks' new album, Soul 2 Soul, published under the name King Fred, features a series of singles Hicks recorded from 2014 through 2017: "You Need Two," "So Glad," "I'll Be Your Freak," "Body Rock" and "Down In The Club," the latter charting as high as #2 in Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "Breaking" Southern Soul Singles in March 2018. ************* -------MARCH 2018------- ...2. "Down In The Club"-------King Fred From his new album, Soul 2 Soul, King Fred's "Down In The Club" is a remarkable piece of songwriting and production, highlighted by a lovely, African-tinged chorus line. Fred's vocal, in which each phrase seems to be half-swallowed and regurgitated as an ancient man's wisdom, is typically superb and off-the-chain. Listen to King Fred Hicks singing "Down In The Club" on YouTube. **************  In a top King Fred song there's mystery, there's weirdness, there's singularity and lifelike originality, as if the Deity himself delivered the song, touching his celestial index finger to Fred's ear in the middle of a night's slumber. On the "CD Baby Buy Album" page for Soul 2 Soul, there is a section called "Recommended If You Like..." under which King Fred lists two influences, David Brinston and Frank Mendenhall, two of the most idiosyncratic singers in the genre. How apt and informative--a sign that there's as much hard work, calculation and perspiration behind Fred's vocals as there is inspiration. It's a one-of-a-kind style--like Brinston, even more like Mendenhall.
Listen to Frederick Hicks singing "When I Think Of You" on YouTube. Listen to Frank Mendenhall singing "Party With Me Tonight" on YouTube. There's a song on the new album, "Dipping In My Pudding," that is actually a holdover from Hicks' debut, Going Crazy. It charted in April 2018, not least because its sound (even the programmed horns) reminded me of "When I Think Of You" and what an out-sized impression it made upon me. Likewise its "sibling" track, describing a "quickie"--well, maybe not so quick--in the morning: Listen to Frederick Hicks singing "Morning Delight" on YouTube. These songs from the first album shine even brighter in the afterglow cast by this new CD, which is more mature and consistent but not as brilliant. What the best of the new set (like the mesmerizing "Down In The Club") has in common with those first-album gems is the anonymous, wondrously-rooted, charmingly-modest, lovingly-scripted, female background singer (She's in the official video.) And when I next connect with King Fred, my first request will be to inquire her name.  Singing as a duo (in "Morning Delight," "When I Think Of You," "Down In The Club," etc.) King Fred and his female accompaniment are as hypnotic as Sir Charles and LaKeisha, or (more recently) Alonzo and LaKeisha, or the early David Brinston, for that matter and "That Stokes Girl," Linda Stokes. In fact, I can't imagine King Fred's songs without his trusty female co-singing sidekick. The songs wouldn't be what they indeed are: classics.
Hicks' creativity, however, extends much further. One of the best tracks from Soul 2 Soul, "Body Rock," shows King Fred spreading his wings, bringing in a bigger background chorus, with a bit of gospel, and also a bit of rock and roll. Listen to King Fred singing "Body Rock" on YouTube. Another memorable track, the ballad "You Need Two," combines a rare, orchestral arrangement with a somewhat incongruous but workable, straight-ahead, Dave Mack-like vocal style. (Ouch! In the not-so-old days, I would have said Mel Waiters, not Dave Mack.) "I'll Be Your Freak" comes the closest to having "hit" potential, with all the elements (including female background vocals) for success, and yet it did not become a hit, even by southern soul standards. A dense little cloud of "down" seems to hang over the melody, and when, for instance, the CD segues into "Dippin' In My Pudding," the holdover from the first album, spirits instantly lift, and authenticity seems to be restored, like electricity after a power outage. But when "Keep This On The Low" queues up, the "cloud" returns. Bluesy, with a big dash of funk, the song captures Fred as the serious and sometimes taciturn fellow that he probably is, but it's not fun to listen to, nor does it raise you up like the best blues--David Brinston's recent "I Drinks My Whiskey," for example. On the other hand, "So Glad," is comparatively buoyant, without the purposeful yet off-putting oppressiveness of "I'll Be Your Freak" and "Keep This On The Low." And "Bachelor's Party"--unobtrusive, magical, delicate--finds Fred and his anonymous singing mate in wonderful form, ala "Morning Delight". Fred is doing more official YouTube videos, the latest a presentation of the new album's "Leaving." The videos are homemade--or "down-home," take your choice--but they are very welcome and essential to spreading the young artist's fascinating new sound. --Daddy B. Nice Buy King Fred's Soul 2 Soul album or mp3's at CD Baby.
April 22, 2018: NEW ALBUM ALERT! SOUL 2 SOUL TRACK LIST:1
I'll Be Your Freak 2 Keep This On The Low 3 Body Rock 4 You Need Two 5 Down In The Club 6 Leaving 7 Dippin' In My Puddin' 8 Looks Like It's Over 9 Bachelor Party 10 So Glad Buy King Fred's SOUL 2 SOUL CD at iTunes. Buy King Fred's SOUL 2 SOUL CD at CD Baby. Daddy B. Nice's CD Review:First posted on Daddy B. Nice's New CD Reviews.
--Daddy B. Nice About King Fred: New (Overlooked) Album Alert! King Fred, aka Frederick Hicks, was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His first album, Going Crazy (CD Baby 2011), self-published at a very early age under the name Frederick Hicks, spawned at least three underground tracks that caught the attention of southern soul insiders: "Morning Delight," "When I Think Of You" and "Should Have Made You My Wife," and Hicks was a nominee for "Best Debut" and "Best Vocalist" in Daddy B. Nice's annual Southern Soul Music Awards (2013).
Tidbits 1. King Fred on YouTube:Listen to King Fred Hicks singing "Down In The Club" on YouTube. Listen to Frederick Hicks singing "When I Think Of You" on YouTube. Listen to Frederick Hicks singing "Morning Delight" on YouTube. Listen to King Fred singing "Body Rock" on YouTube. Listen to King Fred singing "You Need Two" on YouTube. Listen to King Fred singing "I'll Be Your Freak" on YouTube. Listen to King Fred singing "Dippin' In My Pudding" on YouTube. Listen to King Fred singing "Keep This On The Low" on YouTube. Listen to King Fred singing "So Glad" on YouTube. Listen to King Fred singing "Bachelor's Party"on YouTube. Honorary "B" Side "Morning Delight" |
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