This review appeared on one of the widest read blogs in country The Huffington Post in the US written by Mike Ragogna

Paul Carrack - I Know That Name

By now, we should not only know Paul Carrack's name, but also the person behind that soul-drenched British voice that sounds like he grew up somewhere near Memphis or Detroit...or at least on the south side of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. But despite singing on many big hits ("How Long," "Tempted," "The Living Years," "Silent Running"), though we do know that name, we don't know much about the singer. This new project could change that since its r&b sounds more genuine than most of what's been masquerading as that for years.

Usually, when maturing white guys attempt a project like this, the end result is an Aaron Neville/Phil Collins/Michael McDonald-sounding project that is more pop than not. But I Know That Name is built upon 11 truly soulful Carrack originals (and one cover), and a production that combines real and synthesized elements to produce its vintage sound. The string and horn arrangements seduce, heavy-handed snares whack away at the grooves, and B-3s skitter and swell ala Al Green's or Bobby Womack's recordings. I Know That Name also includes era-perfect background vocal arrangements, and all this supplies an authentic seventies soul backdrop to this former Top Forty vocalist's pipes that squeeze (ahem) with just the right balance of emotion and tension.

Despite minimal nods to modern production techniques, the ghosts of Stax, Motown, and Philly International wander the halls of this album. Adult Contemporary and classic r&b radio could do worse than play the leadoff track, "No Doubt About It" (picture a more engaging "Easy Lover"), or Carrack's Eagles co-write, "I Don't Want To Hear Any More" (that includes Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit on BVs). But the sensuous strings and Carrack's smoldering vocals on "I Don't Want Your Love (I Need Your Love)" access records by Bill Withers ("Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone") and Dobie Gray ("Loving Arms"), and it can fool you into thinking it already was a hit from an earlier day.

Passion rolls through "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" (memorably tackled last by Whitesnake) and drives the album's "Unchain My Heart"/Ray Charles moment, "Stay Awake (I'm Coming Home)." When the faux-reggae intro of "Just 4 Tonite" suggests the album has blown out its first tire, you hear that totally believable voice smoothly Johnny Nash it out. And whoever's idea it was to get Sam & Dave's Sam Moore to duet with Carrack on his Chris Difford co-write (one of two), "Love Is Thicker Than Water," deserves a piece of the publishing or, at least, a pat on the back. "If I Didn't Love You" is pure r&b bliss, "Who Am I?" is one of the best Al Green records that he never tracked, "Eyes Of Blue"'s horn section dances with Carrack across the reggae rhythm, and both Ben E. King and The Drifters get a reverent nod over cocktails during "Am I In That Dream?" that drowns us in Burt Bacharach cool and arrangements that recasts the singer as a male Dionne Warwick or The 5th Dimension's very underrated Billy Davis, Jr. That said, nowadays, any comparisons of Paul Carrack to other vocalists no longer apply considering we already know this voice after all of his guest shots with Squeeze, Ace, and Mike + The Mechanics, plus his own parade of under-appreciated albums. With I Know That Name, he's found more than his own voice, he's found his own identity.

Tracks:
1. No Doubt About It
2. I Don't Want To Hear Any More - with Don Henley & Timothy B. Schmit
3. It Ain't Easy (To Love Somebody)
4. I Don't Want Your Love (I Need Your Love)
5. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
6. Stay Awake (I'm Coming Home)
7. Just 4 Tonite
8. Love Is Thicker Than Water
9. If I Didn't Love You
10. Who Am I?
11. Eyes Of Blue
12. Am I In That Dream?