Changes is the third album released by American funk/soul singer Charles Bradley, released on April 1, 2016 on Daptone Records. The title track on the album is a cover of the Black Sabbath song of the same name and was first released as a Record Store Day Black Friday single in 2013.
Critical reception
The album was released to positive critical reception with an aggregate score of 80 on Metacritic based on 17 reviews.
Pitchfork awarded the album a score of 7.1, with music critic Jay Balfour describing the album as Bradley's "most straightforward and best to date". AllMusic awarded the album a positive review, stating that "the rough-hewn power of Bradley's voice is at its most powerful, and there's a fierce sense of longing and need in this music that's almost tactile in its realism".
The Observer'''s Kitty Empire awarded the album 3 stars, likening Bradley to Al Green, while critic Steve Horowitz from PopMatters praised Bradley's vocal style, describing him as "the closest living equivalent to [James] Brown" and concluding that "Bradley sings of his aches and pleasures with such conviction that he makes one believe this is possible".
The album also received praise from a number of other musical publications, including American Songwriter, Record Collector and Paste''.
Accolades
Track listing
Personnel
Charles Bradley – vocals
Menahan Street Band
Victor Axelrod – piano/vibraphone
Thomas Brenneck – guitar/bass guitar/organ/percussion
Nick Movshon – bass guitar
Homer Steinweiss – drums
Michael Deller – organ
David Guy – trumpet
Leon Michels – saxophone/organ/flute
The Budos Band
Jared Tankel – baritone saxophone
Thomas Brenneck – electric guitar
John Carbonella Jr. – congas, drums
Mike Deller – organ
Daniel Foder – bass guitar
Andrew Greene – trumpet
Rob Lombardo – bongos, congas
Brian Profilio – drums
Dame Rodriguez – percussion
The Gospel Queens
Naomi Shelton – leading vocals
Cliff Driver – pianist
Bobbie Jean Gant – background vocals
Edna Johnson – background vocals
Gabriel Caplan – guitars
Fred Thomas – bass
Michael Post – drums
Additional Musicians
Raynier Jacildo – Organ on “God Bless America” William Schalda Jr. – Piano, Organ & Mellotron on "Things We Do For Love"