Category Archives: Soul
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 …
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. …
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 …
ANN PEEBLES-I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN.
ANN PEEBLES-I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN. For many years, I’ve loved Southern Soul music, and during that time, discovered a number of great artists and labels. Two of my favorite labels are Stax and Hi Records. Previously, I’ve written about some of the great artists who recorded on Hi Records, including the legendary Al Green, …
SISTER SLEDGE-WE ARE FAMILY.
SISTER SLEDGE-WE ARE FAMILY. In a recent article about, Chic’s second album C’est Chic, I mentioned how Niles Rodgers and Bernard Edwards had written, arranged and produced We Are Family, Sister Sledge’s third album. This was released in January 1979 in the US and April 1979 in the UK and became the group’s most successful …
CHIC-RISQUE.
CHIC-RISQUE. Recently I’ve going through my music collection and listening to a some of my favorite older music. This has included some old soul and funk from the sixties and seventies, especially, Southern Soul, early acid house and some of the best disco music from the seventies. This is something I do a lot, and …
RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN-RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN.
RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN-RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN. In a previous article on Chaka Khan and her album Chaka, I mentioned how, originally, she was the vocalist with the legendary funk band Rufus. This gave Chaka her big break into the music business, and by their second album, Rags To Rufus, released in 1973, the band …
ESTHER PHILLIPS-ALL ABOUT ESTHER PHILLIPS.
ESTHER PHILLIPS-ALL ABOUT ESTHER PHILLIPS. If I was to ask most people, have they ever heard of Esther Phillips or her music, I’m pretty sure that most people would say no, who is she? That to me is a huge shame, because they’re as yet, unaware of one of the most talented, versatile and underrated …
CANDI STATON-I’M JUST A PRISONER.
CANDI STATON-I’M JUST A PRISONER. Sometimes, an artist or group records one single, and forevermore, they become known for that song. It doesn’t matter how many great singles or albums they’ve recorded before, or after, that’s the song they’re always known for. This is the case with many of the artists I’ve previously written about. …
DJ ROGERS-IT’S GOOD TO BE ALIVE.
DJ ROGERS-IT’S GOOD TO BE ALIVE. Over the years I’ve been interested in music, and buying albums, many things have led me to buy an album. It can be obvious things like reading a good review, hearing the album in a friends house or in a record shop. Other times it can be less obvious. …
TERRY CALLIER-WHAT COLOR IS LOVE.
TERRY CALLIER-WHAT COLOR IS LOVE. Over the past thirty-five years, I must have bought and listened to, thousands of albums. Many of these albums are albums are great albums, but commercially, weren’t successful. Often it’s hard to understand why these albums weren’t successful, why they never sold in larger quantities and why the artist wasn’t …
SYL JOHNSON-DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH.
SYL JOHNSON-DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH. In previous articles I’ve written about Southern Soul, I’ve focused on one particular label, Hi Records. Previously, I’ve written about three of their most famous artists, the legendary Al Green, O.V. Wright and Otis Clay. These three artists produced some of the most successful and critically acclaimed albums on the …
BOBBY WOMACK-THE POET.
BOBBY WOMACK-THE POET. In a previous article I wrote about Bobby Womack, I mentioned how The Poet was a comeback album for him. Things had started to go wrong for him in 1976, when he was dropped by his record label United Artists. His music was no longer is popular, it had failed to keep …
DR JOHN-THE SUN, MOON AND HERBS.
DR JOHN-THE SUN, MOON AND HERBS. There are two reasons that I’ve decided to write about Dr John’s 1971 album The Sun, Moon and Herbs. The first reason is that in a previous article about his 1998 album Anutha Zone, an album which was to some extent, a comeback album, and welcome return to form …
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