Opening the second half of the record with the endlessly danceable Hand To The Sky, Maxi dominates proceedings with a lively vocal that feels like it’s being beamed live into your living room. Lyrically, the track allows some of Maxi’s frustration with the current political climate to creep in, but it’s juxtaposed with the gorgeously languid musical backdrop as if to underscore the belief of both Maxi and Robin that revolution should be peaceably achieved. The first half concludes with the gorgeous Sunrise Revolution, which sounds like a James Bond theme with its heavy soul vocal and sensual horn arrangement.
The comedown after the party is the heart broken blues of Shut Me Down (aka Walking Wounded), which recalls the gorgeous Clapton / Sting / Kamen collaboration of It’s Probably Me, with Maxi displaying a vulnerability deftly echoed by Robin’s aching guitar.
Love of a different sort is referenced on the blazing On Fire Like Zsa Zsa, which references the legendary Zsa Zsa Gabor with a smoking riff reminiscent of Peter Gabriel’s salacious Sledgehammer. Lyrically inspirational, Are We Just People, asks if we shouldn’t aim for more than a daily grind in search of a pay-check, whilst musically, a subtle funk influence creeps into Robin’s wah-inflected guitar and Livingston’s sanguine basslines. Such attention to detail is what makes the album so special, and the arrangements (crafted with loving care by Livingston) make the track absolutely sparkle. With strings sweeping across the mix, Maxi is at pains to point out that every single sound heard on the album is the work of a live musician playing directly from the heart, and not the work of a synthesiser. The album opens with the mellow title track and immediately we’re hooked as the trio serve up a gorgeously soulful blues that makes great use of Maxi’s vocal talents and Robin’s instinctively emotive guitar work.
A fruitful collaboration, United State Of Mind is a record to calm the mind, to question the senses and, most importantly in these fractured times, to unite listeners around the musical vision of a trio who delight in their mutual respect. The result of a superficially unlikely collaboration between Maxi Priest, Robin Trower and producer Livingston Brown, the record sees Priest and Trower, both musicians of great experience and stature, stretching out of their comfort zone to produce an album of great depth and beauty. Whether it is music to soothe the savage breast or inflame the ire, listening is rarely a passive experience and so, when an album as thought provoking and open-hearted as United State Of Mind comes along, it inevitably draws the attention. A deeply emotional art form, music is a powerful medium that is very much open to interpretation by the listener.
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