| Start with the Soul | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Alvin Youngblood Hart |
| Cover: | Alvin Youngblood Hart - Start with the Soul.png |
| Released: | 2000 |
| Studio: | Sounds Unreel |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 46:28 |
| Label: | Hannibal |
| Producer: | Jim Dickinson |
| Prev Title: | Territory |
| Prev Year: | 1998 |
| Next Title: | Down in the Alley |
| Next Year: | 2002 |
Start with the Soul is an album by the American musician Alvin Youngblood Hart, released in 2000.[1] [2] Hart promoted the album with North American tours that included stints with Galactic and Ben Harper.[3] [4]
The album was recorded at Sounds Unreel, in Memphis, and produced by Jim Dickinson.[5] The more electric sound was inspired in part by the late-sixties San Francisco rock that Hart liked as a kid, as well as Hart's ability to repair older guitars and amplifiers.[6] Start with the Soul includes many covers, which Hart selected because the songs were on albums in his record collection.[3] "Back to Memphis" was composed by Chuck Berry.[7] "Cowboy Boots" is a cover of the Dave Dudley song.[5] "Treat Her Like a Lady" is a version of the Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose song.[8] "Cryin' Shame" was written and originally recorded by Black Oak Arkansas.[9] "Manos Arriba" deals with police harassment.[10] "Fightin' Hard" laments the early death of a close friend.[11] "Maxwell Street Jimmy" is a tribute to Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis.
The Boston Globe noted that Hart's "flexible, tar-and-whiskey voice conveys as much personality as his fret work".[12] The Province determined that Hart "winds up sounding not terribly unlike a toned-down Little Feat or a little above a run-of-the-mill blues rock power trio."[13] The Scotsman opined that "the instrumentals sound a bit like unfinished backing tracks, but there's a rousing swagger which makes the whole thing hard to resist."[14] The Calgary Herald said that "Start with the Soul doesn't push any boundaries or forge any new musical territory... It merely adds another brick to the already-tired wall of American blues rock."[15]
The Irish Times praised the album's "power, poise and skill".[16] The New York Times considered Start with the Soul to be one of the best albums of 2000, concluding that Hart "has an uncooked voice and a stance all his own... Jim Dickinson's production makes this real living blues."[17] The Commercial Appeal thought it was one of 2000's best albums, labeling it a "classic that confounded all the right people and delighted the rest."[18] The Miami New Times stated that Start with the Soul was the album of the year.[19]