Album: Charles Bradley, No Time for Dreaming (Daptone/Dunham)

Sharon Jones sings backing vocals and the Menahan Street Band provide the grooves, but something about this soul remains distinctly ordinaire.

Bradley, a 62-year-old ex-plumber and James Brown impersonator, has a raspy, infinitely pained voice but there doesn't appear to be any real interaction between him and the band. The most memorable numbers are a killer opener ("The World") and closer ("Heartaches and Pain"). Seen live in a club, it would be fine.