Plan B: 'Prayin''

Much has been said about the metamorphosis of Plan B. After the edgy hip-hop of his debut, Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, he used the recording studio as a cocoon and emerged on this year's The Defamation of Strickland Banks as pretty much the white Smokey Robinson - in voice anyway. On the surface, the transformation is a triumph - Plan B sounds every bit the perfect soul singer, stylishly twisting his vocal cords round every emotive phrase as if he was born to do it.

However, as 'Prayin'' makes clear, there's still a twinge of doubt to Plan B's rebirth, despite the aching beauty of his voice and the solid quality of the song. The classic production on this prison tale of self-defence, death, angels and guilt follows the soul rule book so reverentially that it nudges the track a little close to nostalgia or even pastiche. When Dusty Springfield and David Bowie gave the blue-eyed soul thing a go they managed to imbibe it with their own inimitable personalities. A touch less Strickland and a shade more Plan B in the mix here would definitely help his case.


> Click here to read our review of Plan B's album