Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
ROBERTA FLACK-KILLING ME SOFTLY.
ROBERTA FLACK-KILLING ME SOFTLY. In a previous article about Donny Hathaway, I mentioned how closely he had worked with Roberta Flack during his tragically, short career. I also mentioned how the pair were recording an album of duets just before his death. Ironically, the album that preceded Killing Me Softly, was an album of duets …
STEVIE WONDER-FULFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE.
STEVIE WONDER-FULFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE. Sometime, I revisit artists I’ve previously written about before, because of the amount of great albums they’ve released. One such person who deserves more than one article written about them, is Stevie Wonder. Between 1972 and 1976, he released five great albums, starting with Music of My Mind and Talking Book …
RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN-RUFUSIZED.
RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN-RUFUSIZED. By 1974, Rufus had come a long way from their humble beginnings as a Chicago bar band. The previous year 1973, Rufus had released their eponymous debut album Rufus, which only reached number 175 in the US Billboard 200. It was hardly the most successful debut album in music history, but …
CURTIS MAYFIELD-CURTIS.
CURTIS MAYFIELD-CURTIS. By 1970, Curtis Mayfield had left The Impressions, and decided to become a solo artists. This wasn’t the only major change in his life at this time. The other change was his founding of Curtom Records, an independent record label. Curtom Records released albums by Leroy Hutson, The Impressions, Donny Hathaway and The …
CANDI STATON-STAND BY YOUR MAN.
CANDI STATON-STAND BY YOUR MAN. Many people who regularly read this music blog will have realized that I’m a great lover of Southern Soul music. Two labels in particular, were the home to some of my favorite artists who during the sixties and seventies, released some of the greatest Southern Soul music ever recorded. These …
DR JOHN-GRIS GRIS.
DR JOHN-GRIS GRIS. Imagine the scenario that I’m going to describe, because it really happened, and it demonstrates that even the most experienced people in the music industry get things wrong. In January 1968, Dr John had completed his debut album Gris Gris, but when Ahmet Erteghun at Atlantic Records heard the record, he disliked …
BILLY PAUL-LET ‘EM IN.
BILLY PAUL-LET ‘EM IN. Mention the name Billy Paul to most people, and the response is to say the least predictable, with most of them saying oh yes, he recorded Me and Mrs Jones. This is true, and provided Billy with best known hit single, from his critically acclaimed and commercially successful second album on …
THE TEMPTATIONS-PSYCHEDELIC SHACK.
THE TEMPTATIONS-PSYCHEDELIC SHACK. When people think of The Temptations music, they think of singles like My Girl, People Get Ready and Ain’t To Proud To Beg, their early songs, released on the Motown label. This was among some of the greatest music Motown ever released, it truly was sweet soul music. However, there was much …
LEON WARE-ROCKIN’ YOU ETERNALLY.
LEON WARE-ROCKIN’ YOU ETERNALLY. Some time ago I was researching an article on Marvin Gaye and his seminal album Let’s Get It On, when I read about how Leon Ware had collaborated with Marvin on his 1976 album I Want You. This was something I’d forgotten, as it was a long time since I’d either …
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES-WAKE UP EVERYBODY.
HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES-WAKE UP EVERYBODY. Recently, I mentioned how I was going to review a few of my favorite albums on the Philadelphia International Records label, with my first review being The O’Jays album Ship Ahoy. This got me thinking about which of the many great albums released on that label would …
ARETHA FRANKLIN-LADY SOUL.
ARETHA FRANKLIN-LADY SOUL. If you were ask anyone who loves soul music to name some of the greatest female vocalists, the name Aretha Franklin wouldn’t be far from their lips. Over a recording career that has spanned fifty-five years, starting back in 1956, when aged fourteen, she released her debut album Songs of Faith, a …
AL STEWART-YEAR OF THE CAT.
AL STEWART-YEAR OF THE CAT. In July 1975, Al Stewart released what was his seventh studio album Year of the Cat, which was recorded at the famous Abbey Road studios in London. Like his previous album, Modern Times released in 1975, it was produced by Alan Parsons. However, unlike Modern Times. Year of the Cat …
THE O’JAYS-SHIP AHOY.
THE O’JAYS-SHIP AHOY. Recently, I wrote an article Sweet Soul Music, reviewing some of the best compilation albums which feature Philadelphia Soul. After writing that article, I decided to write some articles about my favorite albums on Philadelphia International Records, the label founded by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, which released so many great albums. …
BACK TO LOVE- THE HED KANDI YEARS 1999-2005.
BACK TO LOVE- THE HED KANDI YEARS 1999-2005. Back in 1999, it seemed that there were numerous high quality compilations vying for your attention, and ultimately your money when you entered your local record shop. One of the compilations that I happened to chance upon, was the Back To Love series. Compiled by Mark Doyle, …
VAN MORRISON-INTO THE MUSIC.
VAN MORRISON-INTO THE MUSIC. Back in August 1979, when Van Morrison released Into the Music, this was seen as almost a comeback album for him. His two previous albums Period of Transition in 1977 and Wavelength in 1978, hadn’t been particularly well received, and Into the Music was seen as a much better album. Since …
WOMACK AND WOMACK-CONSCIENCE.
WOMACK AND WOMACK-CONSCIENCE. Back in 1988, one of my favorite tracks was Teardrops by Womack and Womack. It reached number three in August 1988 in the UK singles charts. It seemed that back then, it was never off the radio. Every time I put the radio on, went into a shop or a car passed, …
AL GREEN-THE BELLE ALBUM.
AL GREEN-THE BELLE ALBUM. When Al Green released The Belle Album, it was a very different album to those that preceded it for several reasons. Belle reflected the changes that were happening in Al’s personal life. For several years, religion had played an important part in his life, and he’s struggled to come to terms …
HORSE MEAT DISCO VOLUMES 1-3.
HORSE MEAT DISCO VOLUMES 1-3. Over the years, I must have bought many hundreds of compilation albums. Some have been brilliant, some good, others average at best, with some being absolutely dreadful, and never should’ve been released. Just now, there are various labels releasing good quality compilations. These include Strut, BBE, Harmless and BGP. Some …
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