My last encounter with Darrell Kelley was his revitalised take on the George Michael classic “Careless Whisper,” and why not? It is a great song, after all. And while he does a neat line in the soulful and seductive, “Sick of This” sees him return to that Marvin Gaye vibe he channelled on “Neither One of Us” and then push it into edgier, more socially aware realms. Much as Gaye himself did with the album What’s Going On.
And if Gaye was progressive for his times, Kelley is equally forward-thinking here, over fifty years on. A call to stand up for change, speak truth to power, and come together to make a better world, “Sick of This” runs on a sort of hip-hop-meets-conscious-soul groove, like a modern-day Curtis Mayfield, perhaps.
Beats tick and tap, strings sweep and swoop, vocals blend and harmonize, pianos cascade, and the lyrics leave us in no doubt that the spirit of peaceful resistance is still with us. It is a shame that we still feel bound to call for such measures, but it is a blessing that Darrell Kelley is leading the sonic charge with songs like this.
