Julia Fordham

With its slippery funk, deeply felt lyricism and Hi-era Hammond washes, That’s Life—the latest album from sultry songtress Julia Fordham—caresses like a scented oil rub. Whereas 2002’s Concrete Love was full of synths and programmed drums, creating what Fordham calls “something that was hypnotic and sensual,” the new album has a much more immediate feel to it.

“We felt we really stumbled onto something with Concrete Love, sound-wise,” she says. But for That’s Life, “we wanted to take our folksy-jazzy-blue-eyed-soul-y vibe and then pin it down with a real stomping band of excellent musos.”

One of those excellent musos is organist Billy Preston, who before a lengthy solo career played side gigs with Mahalia Jackson, Little Richard and The Beatles. “It’s kind of overwhelming to work with him because he really is a living legend. He’s genuinely hooked up to the other side, channeling away. He’s so fast at picking up parts; he knows what to do and how to do it so quickly.”

A good thing, because That’s Life was recorded with all of the players in one room and in just a few sessions. It’s a new approach for Fordham, one she has her producer Larry Klein—best known for the magic he worked with his ex-wife, Joni Mitchell—to thank for. “Larry is a good buddy of mine. He seems to like my songs and my voice, and he had an idea on how to record this one with live musicians, and it just felt like the right way to go.”