Eli “Paperboy” Reed to release “Come and Get It”

Brooklyn-based soul singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed will make his major label debut with the August 10 release of Come And Get It on Capitol Records in the U.S. The album, an irrepressible, largely self-penned, 12-song set produced by Mike Elizondo, will be released May 10 on EMI’s Parlophone label in the U.K. where Reed is already generating enormous buzz. He has appeared on Later… with Jools Holland, and MOJO has declared him “the finest soul belter of his generation.” The album’s lead single “Come And Get It” is currently BBC Radio 2’s “Record of the Week.” Reed also lent his trademark howl to London house-music duo Basement Jaxx’s recent album Scars.

The New York Times has noted Reed’s “raucous, riveting live act,” and he will be taking his electrifying show on the road once again this summer. Reed has announced extensive tour dates throughout Europe and the U.S. leading up to the album’s release. His run of U.S. dates in June will be bookended by shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with a homecoming show in Boston, as well as stops in Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington DC. See full dates below.

“It’s been a wild ride, that’s for sure,” says Reed, looking back at the incredible journey that took the soul belter from a Boston high school band room to a Mississippi Delta juke joint, from Sunday morning gigs behind the organ at a tiny South Side Chicago church to headlining the coolest clubs in Brooklyn with his red-hot band, and now, signed to Capitol Records, a historic label with a rich R&B legacy.

On Come and Get It, Reed proves to be the life of a soulful, sweaty party in which everyone eventually gets dragged onto the dance floor. As a performer, Reed approaches each song with nothing less than utter conviction. Admirers have likened him to such luminaries as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett; the Boston Herald called him “Boston’s answer to Sam Cooke.” But he’s not merely trying to recreate a sound; Reed is channeling his influences and inspirations into making something all his own.

“For me,” says Reed, “it’s all about writing pop songs. Soul music was the greatest pop music of the 20th century and its influence is so far-reaching. When I pick up a guitar to write a song, the influence of the music I love invariably comes out. I can’t sing or write any other way than I do.”

Check out what the critics have said about Eli “Paperboy” Reed:

“There are singers who sing, then there are singers whose sheer power of expression can knock you off your feet. Eli “Paperboy” Reed falls firmly into the latter category.”
—MOJO

“…a soul singer who conquered both street corners and punk clubs with a mix of grooved-out rave-ups and slow-burning ballads.”
—ROLLING STONE

“Mr. Reed invokes the stylish and muscular R&B of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke with convincing suavity.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES

“…blue-eyed soul virtuoso Eli “Paperboy” Reed…croons with tear-jerking tenderness, and turns clichés into bittersweet truths about the illusory nature of love.”
—NPR

ELI “PAPERBOY” REED – 2010 TOUR DATES
April 26 – Maschinenhaus – Berlin, Germany
April 27 – Universum – Stuttgart, Germany
April 29 – Nouveau Casino – Paris, France
April 30 – L’Aéronef – Lille, France
May 1 – Oosterpoort – Groningen, Netherlands
May 3 – Stage Club – Hamburg, Germany
May 4 – Werkstatt – Cologne, Germany
May 5 – 59 to 1 – Munich, Germany
May 7 – Moulin Blues Festival – Ospel, Netherlands
May 8 – Tivoli – Utrecht, Netherlands
May 10 – Scala – London, England
May 12 – Manchester Academy – Manchester, England
May 13 – Great Escape Festival – Brighton, England
May 14 – Academy Birmingham – Birmingham, England
May 15 – Oran Mor – Glasgow, Scotland
May 17 – The Bongo Club – Edinburgh, Scotland
May 18 – Speakeasy – Belfast, Ireland
May 19 – Academy Dublin – Dublin, Ireland
May 21 – Territorios Festival – Seville, Spain
May 22 – Garaje – Murcia, Spain
May 23 – Mirror Club – Valencia, Spain
June 3 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
June 10 – Middle East – Boston, MA
June 11 – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA
June 12 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
June 13 – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
June 15 – Beale on Broadway – St. Louis, MO
June 16 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
June 17 – Sundown In The City – Knoxville, TN
June 18 – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington DC
June 19 – The Bell House – Brooklyn, NY