Album Review - 'State Of Mind', Raul Midon

Hello, 

Welcome to blog post number 15! Also happy fathers day to everyone in the UK too! 

Today I will be talking about a soul singer/songwriter from New Mexico called Raul Midon and his album 'State of Mind' (2005). He has released newer albums, but this is the album that I am most familiar with and I think is a brilliant soul album. 

The first thing you should know about Raul before I jump into his album is that he was born blind. He has an incredible guitar skill and uses his mouth as a trumpet which in words sounds a little strange, but when you hear it, it sounds like a real trumpet which is pretty awesome to hear. 

His vocal range is ridiculous, its definitely a treat to hear a soul singer with such a dynamic range. He has beaten all the typical stereotypes that come with being blind. The fact he's been told that he can't do this and he will never be able to do that. He's thrown that out the window and has showed everyone what he is capable of and I have massive respect for him for following his dream and passion.

'State Of Mind' is a beautiful album of some display's of Raul's musical skills. The strongest song of the whole album is "State Of Mind". It demonstrates his huge vocal range which is at times impressive. Uses his trumpet with his mouth and the whole song flows nicely. That's one thing this album does is keep everything flowing through each song, you can hear that there has been a lot of thought in each song. 

He has also done some collaborations on this album with people such as Traincha, Jason Mraz and Stevie Wonder. A line up of collaborations of that calibre is definitely an attraction to give this album a listen. 

Stevie Wonder plays his harmonica and some backing vocals on a track called 'Expressions Of Love' which is a slow soft song that is played with a lot of delicate tone. The only down side to this song is that its quite a short song at only 2:50 which is a shame considering its such a major collaboration. Then again I'd rather it be a short and brilliant song, than a long and boring track. Then again, this is Stevie Wonder we're talking about here.

Each collaborated song is chosen really well. I think when Raul wrote the song, he knew exactly who to get to play for each song. The song 'Keep On Hoping' with Jason Mraz sounds like the perfect song for Jason to sing on. His voice is portrayed in this song really well, it sounds like a song on one of his older albums.

I think the collaborated songs are definitely stronger than the solo performances. Its not the fact they're bad or boring. I just feel like there is a lot more presented from the performances with other people. The only strong song from just himself is the song "State Of Mind". 

I hope you'll check this man's brilliant talent and keep the soul genre alive as its always ever been! If you enjoyed this post, there are others to check out of the right with the blog history and if you want to get updates of when I next post, subscribe via your email!

Thank you for reading and until next time. 

Lewis

Website: http://www.raulmidon.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaulMidon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raulmidon

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RaulMidonMusic