The songs on Can’t Lose My (Soul) have been described as “disco soul,” but it’s so much more: gospel is at the heart of the lyrics and vocals; disco, funk and blues inspire the music; soul is at the heart of everything. Annie and the Caldwells have crafted a gem of a record.
Annie and the Caldwells come from West Point, Mississippi. Annie Brown Caldwell, lead singer with the Staples Junior Singers (review linked below) and the owner of a West Point clothes store for over forty years, leads the group. It’s very much a family band: Annie’s husband of fifty years Willie Caldwell Senior is on guitar, eldest son Willie Junior is on bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius plays drums. Annie is lead vocalist on five of the songs, with backing vocals from daughter Anjessica and goddaughter Toni Rivers, and daughter Deborah Caldwell Moore who also sings lead vocal on “Wrong,” with backing from her own daughter, Hikemia.
There’s a spot of outside help, too, from producer Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab (a.k.a. Sinkane) and engineer Albert DiFiore, who are responsible for the exceptional sound on this vinyl record, from Pastor Elder Orlando C Pannell, whose Message Center was the venue for the recording sessions, and from percussionist Parker James and Hammond B3 player Gerald Jenkins. Can’t Lose My (Soul) has been a long time coming — the band formed two decades ago, when Annie and Willie became concerned that their teenage daughters were singing too much secular music and decided to bring them into a family group rooted in gospel but one that still took inspiration from artists such as Chaka Khan and the Gap Band.
There are six songs on the album. Musically, “Wrong” and “I Made It” wouldn’t sound out of place in a late-70s disco: uptempo, danceable, grooves underpinning strong, emotive, vocals. Deborah Caldwell Moore sings of a turbulent period in her life when she sought revenge on her husband’s behaviour by “sneakin’ and creepin’ all through the night,” which, as the title suggests, she regrets. “I Made It” tells of tragedy in Annie’s own life, the deaths of a sister and a brother, but the joyous music is in keeping with Annie’s celebration of how she weathered those tragedies. “Can’t Lose My Soul” is a gorgeous ten-minute song, restrained playing from the rhythm section sets up a groove that’s perfectly in sympathy with the call-and-response vocals.
“Don’t You Hear Me Calling” is another song about family hardship, this time telling of a brother’s illness and recovery following a heart transplant, and how their mother prayed for him. Once again, music and vocals are in sympathy, a smooth, laid-back, groove setting the foundation for the voices. Willie Senior comes in with a perfectly-pitched solo to close out the track. “I’m Going to Rise” is a song about death and resurrection, a slow and soulful number whose positivity rises to the fore. The album closes with “Dear Lord,” about how the family escaped when their house caught fire, the funky bass and drum pairing suggesting that more than one band member listens to Parliament/Funkadelic. Once again, Annie sings of what could have been a tragedy, but her religious faith comes over strongly as she gives thanks for being saved. These are songs of hard times, but self-pity is absent and as a result even the most downbeat of the tracks shines with hope.
One thing seems to be missing from Can’t Lose My (Soul) — there are no composer credits to be seen. So it’s probably safe to assume that these six songs are group collaborations. They also add up to one of the funkiest, most soulful, and most spiritual collections we’re likely to hear in 2025.
