Steve Arrington - Down to the Lowest Terms_ The Soul Sessions 2020

 Contrary to the look of its cover and its title, Down to the Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions isn't a bundle of previously unreleased recordings that pre-date Steve Arrington's emergence with Slave. Nor is this set of all-new material overtly retro. Seven years on from Higher, the funk legend's collaboration with Dâm-Funk, he returns to Stones Throw with an album that bears some likeness to a mixtape, fueled by varied (if aesthetically linked) productions from a large, funk-inclined cast. The musical support comes from the immediate and extended Stones Throw family -- artists labelhead Peanut Butter Wolf either backs or simply admires. While Dâm-Funk's gliding man-and-machine grooves were more of a natural fit for Arrington than the majority of these collaborators, it's fascinating to hear the singer pushed in other directions as he sticks with his familiar themes of uplifted wisdom, faithful gratitude, romantic affection, and all-around positivity. From radically manipulated samples to original compositions played by live musicians, no particular method suits Arrington best here. The highlights fall across the spectrum. "Love Is Gone," featuring a characteristically smudged and lopsided beat from Knxwledge, sounds like it could be a remix of an outtake from 1985's Dancin' in the Key of Life. Arrington taps into the lovelorn emotion he exuded in Slave's "Wait for Me." Later, he leans into the wilder, shuffling "Make Ya Say Yie" -- the other Knxwledge production -- with such force that he sounds like he's in the vocal group heard just under him. On "My Favorite Swing," Rejoicer's Apifera plays delightfully tricky fusion that one might associate with Brazilian jazz demigod Flora Purim rather than a Dayton funkster, but Arrington displays his aptitude for making like a horn player with his freewheeling scatting and crooning. Other bright moments include the slow-motion grimace-inducer "Soulful I Need That in My Life" (Jamma-Dee), the strutting "Make a Difference" (Butcher Brown's DJ Harrison), and the glowing "The Joys of Love" (Mndsgn and Devin Morrison). The latter could pass for a lost Soulquarians session. Arrington, after all, is a water sign.