June is Black Music Month, and it’s going to be stacked if you’re an R&B lover. One of the most anticipated releases has to be Live At Glasshaus, the first-ever live release from beloved neo-soul veteran Bilal. The singer-songwriter already lit a fire under fans with the set’s lead single, a live rendition of his shelved sophomore album Love For Sale’s “Something To Hold.” Now he’s stoking that flame by releasing a live version of “All For Love,” another Love For Sale track that became one of his signature songs.
Where “Something To Hold” departed from the original’s song structure quite a bit, this take on “All For Love” remains mostly true. Robert Glasper is on hand to play the song’s wandering piano melody, which endeared it so much to listeners, while Questlove and Burniss Travis hold it down on drums and bass, respectively. That leaves Bilal to work his vocal magic as he weaves and winds his way through the song’s poetic lyrics.
He begins quite subdued at first but soon takes us to the levels we’ve come to expect just before the song gets to a solo bridge from Glasper. After the pianist shows his prowess (including adding a bit of Miles Davis’ “Milestones” into the musical brew), Bilal returns to the mic to get a bit more free. He offers up churchy growls, jazzy squeals and anything else that the music moves him to do while demonstrating why a Bilal show is not to be missed.
The 11-track Live At Glasshaus album drops on Friday, June 14th, with a pre-order of the vinyl LP now live. Glasshaus is also offering tickets to a one-time only livestream of the recorded performance that will happen on Sunday, June 9th at 3 p.m. EST. Before you run to snatch both of those up, though, take a listen to the live version of “All For Love” and watch its video from the recording when you head below.
