Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves

Continental Club, Wednesday, March 14

Taking home the award for best Otis Redding impersonation by a 23-year-old Jewish boy from Massachusetts is Eli “Paperboy” Reed. It’s a new revival (Sharon Jones, Amy Winehouse, etc.), but with Reed’s baby face and three-piece suit, his energetic show is more a time-capsuled revue than his authentic self-released debut, Sings “Walkin’ and Talkin'” and Other Smash Hits, might suggest. Blame it on youth and nerves, because the boy with an amp in his throat soared through originals “I’ll Roll With You,” “I’m Gonna Getcha Back,” and “(Doin’ the) Boom Boom” like James Brown on a bender. Backed by seven similarly budding faces – Wurtlitzer, guitar, trumpet, two saxes, standup bass, and drums – Reed pulled out the stops for the raucous “Take My Love With You” and the Temptations-like title track of his debut, foretelling that all this kid needs are a few years under his belt and some wingtips of his own before he becomes a truly powerhouse entertainer.

This article appears in March 23 • 2007.

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