Come And Get It!

Surrounded by punchy horn and a rhythm section that knows its Duck Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr., this is one Paperboy who delivers. [Jun 2010, p.102]

Eli's irrepressible personality shines through this varied and very appealing collection of songs, and tunes abound.

Come and Get It!--his third LP and first for a major label--feels a bit like an unearthed relic, built on songs and sounds that could pass for unheard gems if it wasn't for Reed's unapologetically white voice, free of affectations and ticks.

What separates Reed from his would-be contemporaries is just how much Come and Get It! is not a pop-crossover record -- a point that is the album's strength, as well as its potential weakness.

Since Come and Get It is Reed's first major release, his style is still refreshing. Whether or not he's just a one-trick pony remains to be seen.

The third album (and first for a major) from this Boston-born, Mississippi- and Chicago-bred singer-guitarist is bound to inspire Sam Cooke comparisons, but Get It just as frequently stirs up Jackson 5 dance fever.

Heavy with swaggering, mood-laden rock and roll, guitar-strumming, and Reed's soulful, albeit English vocal style, Come and Get It might be missing a certain kick, but it's nevertheless intriguing.

There are questions over his naive writing, which often relies on hokey wordplay, but the horn-filled arrangements, his driving Stax-fuelled band and that voice carry him through. Just. [Jun 2010, p.131]

Reed's second major-label album, Come and Get It! (Capitol), is loaded with terse, catchy pop-soul songs outfitted with sharp horn riffs, taut guitar fills and bouncy bass lines. It's all done well enough. But when he slows down and attempts a ballad such as "Pick Your Battles," Reed's gusto is no longer enough to mask his limitations as a singer.

As a recording artist, he needs to offer up more than the plastic soul of his major label debut if he wants continue to find his name mentioned in the same breath as the masters of soul.