Allen Stone

iAfter hearing his smooth voice crooning classic-toned blue-eyed soul on the bouncy opener, “Sleep,” it’s difficult to believe Allen Stone comes from Chewelah, Wash., and not Philadelphia (home of Hall & Oates). But it’s not just his voice that recalls bygone R&B. Throughout Allen Stone, old guitars reverberate from vintage tube amplifiers while antique Hammond B3 organs grind and backup soul singers chime in, sounding like well-aged Motown vinyl. Check out Stone’s sultry wail on “Celebrate Tonight,” where an old electric jazz piano accompanies his Al Green-esque inflections. Even the grooves here are timeless. The politically charged “What I’ve Seen” fuses topical themes with a bellbottomed clavinet strut that’s bolstered by a solid rhythm section recalling moments of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On.