As I’m wont to do, a few weeks back I found myself scrolling Instagram when I stumbled upon a Stone Foundation post of lead singer Neil Jones with the opening act for their then-upcoming London gig, MT Jones. The veteran Midlands-based band, as my posts about them show, have been one of my favorites since I tripped over the taut R&B grooves of their Paul Weller-produced Street Rituals LP in 2017. Not just anyone would fit, in a stylistic sense, on the same stage with them so, curious, I clicked over to Jones’ page, gave a listen to a few clips and…wow. Just wow. He possesses a velvety voice and, as importantly, has a knack for crafting killer songs that conjure the soul classics of yesteryear.
For the uninitiated, here’s a quick-hit bio: As a kid, he fell for the sounds of the 1960s and ‘70s thanks to his uncle and dad, began busking at age 12, learned piano and other instruments, obsessed over Ray Charles, Motown and Stax, and forged a friendship at uni with fellow soulster Jalen Ngonda—and even played in Ngonda’s touring band for a time. At some point, he signed on with fellow Liverpudlian Louis Berry’s backing ensemble, first on bass and then keyboards, and was having the time of his life.
Then the pandemic happened. The unexpected downtime gave Jones time to think through his own songs, of which he had many, play with them, and shape the notes and chords until they reflected what he heard in his head. He released his first single, “I Won’t Ever Say Goodbye,” in late 2022, and has followed it up with a steady stream of one-offs.
In March, he released “All I Do”—the initial teaser for this, his self-titled EP, which hit the streets in October. It sports a slinky, Al Green-like groove that’s sure to have many of us (American) oldsters thinking we’re tuned into SiriusXM’s Smokey’s Soul Town and not our own collections. It’s a remarkable, albeit too short, set of retro-flavored R&B that, a la Ella Thompson’s Ripple on the Wing, hits the same sweet spot as Thee Sacred Souls, Durand Jones & the Indications and—yep, you guessed it—Stone Foundation. As the ’70s-flavored “Rocking My Boat” demonstrates, it’s a compelling set. Highly recommended.
That said, unfortunately Apple Music (and, from the looks of it, Spotify) hasn’t grouped the four tracks together, though they’re all available to stream. I created a playlist to fulfill my on-the-go needs, adding the delightful collaboration with Baltic Jazz Recordings on “Forever and a Day” as a bonus track of sorts. (Or one can hop over to Bandcamp and, as I did last week, order the EP in physical form—a double-gatefold housing two 45s.)
The Old Grey Cat 
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