I will maintain until the day I die that the late Paul Davis is one of the most underrated vocalists of all time. Music lovers often put a few of his songs into that most sublime genre of music called Yacht Rock, and I can get behind that, too.
I call Davis’ music Southern Pop. It’s definitely not Southern Rock, but he ran around many of the same circles and worked with some of the best musicians in Atlanta and Nashville. His long hair and scruffy beard made him look like a rock star or an outlaw country musician and belied the smooth talent (and synthesizer enthusiast) inside.
Davis had a few decent hits, and his first top-ten single, “I Go Crazy,” set the record for most weeks on the Hot 100 at the time. He followed “I Go Crazy” up with a handful of minor hits, just as he did before that song made the charts.
A Paul Davis song is characteristically smooth. He never rocks too hard, nor would you confuse his tunes with the “beautiful music” snoozefest radio format that was beginning to die out at that time. His music is always Southern in an intangible way that I can’t describe, but you know it when you hear it. And all of this is on display on “Cool Night.”
I’d be remiss not to start with the sublime title cut, which is the first track on the album. For some reason, “Cool Night” (the song) barely missed the top ten, which is a shame because it’s a masterpiece. Think of it as a more sophisticated take on “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,” which is appropriate because Davis co-wrote a pair of number-one country hits for “England” Dan Seals in the mid-‘80s.
The story of the song is simple: Davis just wants to spend one more evening with a woman he loves and who may or may not still love him. It’s a sweet, wistful, and unpretentious song, and I’m glad the Yacht Rock renaissance brought it back to people’s attention.
Two other singles from “Cool Night” hit the charts. Davis’ reimagining of Friends of Distinction’s “Love or Let Me Be Lonely” barely dented the top 40, and that cover does justice to the original. “’65 Love Affair” became Davis’ biggest hit on the Hot 100, and it mines the same nostalgic territory as “Bop,” the country chart-topper that Davis co-wrote for Seals five years later. It’s also the most up-tempo track on the record.
(Come to think of it, “Bop” is also sort of a riff on “Cool Night.” The protagonist just wants to reminisce about fast cars and classic music.)
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A few other songs on the album would have made good radio singles as well. “You Came to Me” and “Somebody’s Gettin’ to You” sound like they would’ve worked well on pop or adult contemporary stations at the dawn of the ‘80s. “One More Time for the Lonely” and “We’re Still Together” are radio-friendly, but they’re not as strong as the first two. The most remarkable thing about “We’re Still Together” is the way it reflects one of the sad realities of its time — a couple celebrating that they’re going strong while the other romances around them fall apart.
Not every song on “Cool Night” is a triumph. “Oriental Eyes” isn’t exactly politically correct, but “Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Eyes” wouldn’t fit the rhythm all that well. Still, it’s a passable song even if it’s not a classic. “What You Got to Say About Love” is cheesy but kind of catchy. The only song I would say is completely skippable is Davis’ cover of the Supremes' not exactly classic “Nathan Jones.” The latter tracks are the ones that sound the most dated.
Almost everything about “Cool Night” suggests soulful Southern smoothness. Every instrumental choice perfectly fits the mood, even with the knowledge that Davis loved to experiment with synth sounds. He surrounded himself with some of the best players and vocalists the South had to offer, including the members of the blue-eyed soul band Whiteface. David and Ed Seay’s production is impeccable, and even the cover photo of Davis relaxing on a hammock evokes a soft rock vibe.
But the star of the show is Davis. His pitch-perfect voice and songwriting prowess — he wrote six tracks himself and shared credit for two others with co-writers.
Davis had some success — at least enough to earn a comfortable living and keep working for several years. He suffered a heart attack and died in 2008, the day after his 60th birthday. It’s a shame the public has forgotten “Cool Night” because it’s a classic album, even if it’s not one that too-cool-for-school critics would appreciate.
Check it out in lossless audio on Apple Music or slightly lower quality on Spotify.
