Soul Tracks - News and Reviews

Hil St. Soul - Release

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:58:29 -0400

I've always liked Hilary the voice of Hil St. Soul, but I've not always felt I got a completely great album from her until now. Of course, it helps that Release is largely a best of collection of Hil St. Soul ( a few newbies debuting bows as well). The A&R guy who compiled this package must have read my mind. The songs I've most appreciated over the last decade from this UK diva were nice enough to line up one after the other to serenade me with songs of sass and love.

Alain Clark - Live It Out

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:55:36 -0400

You listen to "Mind Of A Woman" or "Head Over Heels" and you know good, simple songs are making a comeback. Forget what you're hearing on the radio. Take an extra step to hear the fine music by musicians like Warner Brothers' latest young wunderkind, Alain Clark. The bi-racial, raspy-to-silk voiced tenor was of the Craig David vein on his forgettable self-titled 2006 debut.

Dan Dyer - Dan Dyer

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:32:51 -0400

Some albums are so beautifully realized that all you can do is weep and be grateful for the privilege. Austin-based musician Dan Dyer delivers a sophomore album of such stunning wisdom and shimmering brilliance that you can hardly believe this guy writes commercial jingles as his day gig. Dyer on his self-titled project is a keys playing singer/songwriter on the levels of Carole King when she birthed Tapestry, Jim Croce on You Don't Mess With Jim or James Taylor at his zenith of Sweet Baby James.

Daniel Merriweather - Love And War

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:25:40 -0400

Fans have been eagerly awaiting this UK golden boy's debut album ever since superstar producer Mark Ronson introduced him to the world on the international smash, Version. Gifted with a lush tenor with a smoothed out sandpaper timbre playing underneath, Merriweather has a tearful, youthful yearning to his instrument that compels repeated listening. He is a light blend of Terrence Trent D'Arby and Lewis Taylor, with a dash of Billy Joel. The songs are pure pop from a timeless era. The lyrics laden with abstract metaphors actually make sense.

Slique - Rhythm & Ghetto Soul

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:16:47 -0400

If there is such a thing as greasy, Southern fried soul, Slique's debut certainly qualifies; but interestingly enough, that turns out to be a good thing. The aptly-titled album has plenty of rhythm and is plenty ghetto, but it's also exceptionally well sung and produced in a neo-urban tradition that made steady fans of artists like Tyrese, Urban Mystic, Jagged Edge and Calvin Richardson. Slique brings his throaty A-Game to a rhapsodic cover of Bobby Womack's "A Woman's Got To Have It," making me a believer.

Pleasure P - The Introduction of Marcus Cooper

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:06:52 -0400

This album is a hot mess. I know the preceding statement insufficiently qualifies as an elegant critique, but then again this isn't an elegant album. It's not even a guilty pleasure. A proxy for all that has eroded the prominence of radio R&B music; the former Pretty Ricky member delivers a loud, crass bit of noise straining for urban chic. Every cliché for what passes as contemporary soul pop is present. Auto-tuned vocals? Check. Anthemic synth pop tracks? Check. Hollow 808 beats? Check. Melodies you've heard a million times before and didn't like the first time? Check.

James Fortune & FIYA - The Transformation

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:52:41 -0400

I'm still trying to figure out what the big fuss is about James Fortune and his vocal ensemble, FIYA. Since his independent debut You Survived, he has been fortunate in landing the right power ballads on gospel radio beginning with the album's title cut. On his latest project, The Transformation, FIYA excels moderately in their choral duties. The group is hindered by what amounts to loads of unison chorale whispers. The album slopes into sophisticated pop and a disheartening lack of strong, memorable material.

Russell Leonce - Culture of Love

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:40:14 -0400

Merge together the gritty vocal precision of John Legend and the neo-soul musings of Musiq, and you have gospel artist Russell Léonce on his first record, Culture of Love. Those Northern comparisons may be hard to believe when describing a Trinidadian native singing urban gospel, but early into this debut, Léonce's musical influences are evident. Yet, Léonce, who handles the bulk of the writing and background work here, brings together a soothing, versatile presence on Culture of Love that soon ends the John Legend comparisons.

Mica Paris - Born Again

jeffr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:33:04 -0400

I must admit a shocking truth: I didn't get Mica Paris. I'm the only critic I know who preferred Tamia's Quincy Jones' produced version of "You Put A Move On My Heart" over Paris's rich originating take of the 90s power ballad. And while I appreciated Paris's debut project, So Good, some 22 years ago, and liked aspects of 1993's Whisper a Prayer, I never experienced for Mica Paris that unquantifiable "thing" that makes her fans willing to get into fist fights over their beloved UK Queen of Soul.

Final Results - Greatest Gospel Albums 1970 - 2009

administrator — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:33:12 -0400

Well SoulTrackers, you did a great job again! Following our earlier vote on the best soul albums of the various decades, over the course of the past few weeks we polled you to see what you think are the Greatest Gospel Albums of the past four decades, and you came through with some great choice! Here are the top 100 albums you chose. You can click on the album covers below to listen to or purchase the CDs at Amazon.com.

Maxwell - BLACKsummers'night

administrator — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:21:38 -0400

It has been eight years since we've heard a new Maxwell album, and the anticipation is high...too high. Such heights invite disappointment; it's almost built-in after a year of consistent PR buzz, but folks won't know that until 7/7/09 when they bring eight years of hope as they press "play." The hype around the first of three annual disc releases has been deafening, with a sold-out national comeback tour and two spit-shined BET televised performances of the suited-up, sophisticated gent, all giving the forthcoming Maxwell project the inevitable aura of a comeback hit.

RIP: Fayette Pinkney of The Three Degrees

administrator — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:05:09 -0400

Fayette Pinkney, one of the original members of the Three Degrees, known around the world most prominently for their hit "When Will I See You Again," has died at age 61 of respiratory failure at a hospital in her native Pennsylvania.

Whitney Houston returns with "I Look To You" in September

administrator — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:12:57 -0400

Russell Taylor to release "Confessional"

administrator — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:55:39 -0400

July 1, 2009 (NEW YORK, NY) - IndigoBlue Music announces the sophomore release from Progressive Soul and R&B artist RUSSELL TAYLOR, entitled Confessional available August 11, 2009.

Lisa McClendon - Reality

jeffr — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:10:18 -0400

In the song, "You Gotta Have Heart," the motivational and pivotal moment from the Broadway musical Damn Yankees, one particular lyric stands out: "All you really need is heart, when the odds are sayin' you will never win." Yes, these lyrics applied to a struggling baseball team trying to win the pennant. Yet, when it comes down to those thought-provoking lyrics of the spiritual heart, Lisa McClendon simply tells like it is, often singing about surviving the trials and tribulations of everyday life.

Glam Sam and His Combo - Groovy!

jeffr — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:41:07 -0400

There is a lot of music on Groovy! the debut CD by the Swedish group Glam Sam and his Combo. And I'm not just talking about the fact that the record sports 18 songs. That's modern music and I might as well get used to it. What I mean is that these songs are long. In a way that's not surprising. Glam Sam's hybrid of jazz, funk, disco, rock, techno and hip-hop is dance music, and dancers and DJ's aren't quick to let go of a good beat. Groovy! has plenty of good beats. In fact, I can see a rapper laying some nice rhymes over these beats.

Susan Marshall - Little Red

jeffr — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:44:22 -0400

Little Red, the album by Susan Marshall will probably be considered a rock album. However, there is more than a little element of the blues in rock, and Little Red seeps with the blues from its opening track to the last tune. Marshall's voice is suited for this record because the Memphis native has distilled the blues and soul that came up from the Mississippi delta, as well as the country music that came over from east Tennessee and Arkansas.

Howard Dukes visits 2300 Jackson Street

administrator — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:55:21 -0400

This is a reflection by SoulTracks senior writer Howard Dukes, who is a Gary, Indiana native and visited Michael Jackson's childhood home on the evening of MJ's death.

Various Artists - Playing for Change

jeffr — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:34:59 -0400

Playing for Change is producer Mark Johnson's brilliant idea of uniting over 100 musicians across cultures to raise the banner of Bob Marley's rich "one world-one love" philosophy of social change through music, while focusing attention on the music education works of the Playing for Change charity. Within four years, Johnson and his crew traveled across the world to film and record musicians from a great range of backgrounds as they sing and perform several timeless rock/pop standards in their native environments.

Tributes to Michael Jackson flow in

administrator — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:43:43 -0400

The tributes have been flowing in upon the sad death of Michael Jackson. Here are some from SoulTracks writers and others:

Reprint: "Thriller" is 25 - What it means to us

administrator — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:19:10 -0400

This is a reissue of an article we published in 2008 following the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's seminal album, Thriller.

Michael Jackson Dies

administrator — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:56:48 -0400

At 2:26pm on June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, was pronounced dead by UCLA Medical Center at the age of 50. Reports claim Jackson died of cardiac arrest experienced at a home he was renting in Bel-Air, though at press time the cause of his heart attack remains unexplained. Toxicology reports are currently under development.

Fantastic Motown video tribute released

administrator — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:50:06 -0400

(June 24, 2009) Last night I had the privilege of attending the wrap up party that was held in Detroit to celebrate the video tribute to Motown's 50th anniversary, as created by the Detroit Free Press. Led by Free Press writer Brian McCollum, videographers/producers Romain Blanquart and Marcin Szczepanski and Executive Producer Kathy Kieliszewski, the event highlighted a series of fifty incredible short videos, each chronicling a specific aspect of the great Motown story.

Shae Fiol - Catch A Ride

jeffr — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:30:00 -0400

I am a YouTube junkie. Certifiably addicted to the website. I'm just glad the Internet wasn't available to the public in the 1980s. Because if it was, I'd still be living in my mother's house looking at old Earth, Wind & Fire videos and watching Saturday Night Live clips. Since I'm all grown up, I'm disciplined enough to pull myself away from YouTube long enough to get some work done. As a matter of fact, YouTube videos often come in handy when I have to review work by an artist with whom I am unfamiliar. Shae Fiol is such an artist.

SounDoctrine Prepares Release of "Inspire" - Free Download!

administrator — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:02:39 -0400

Ohio based Originalternativefunkjazzfusion band SounDoctrine prepares to re-enter the funk arena after an 18 month hiatus with a new project entitled "INSPIRE."

Vote for the Best Gospel Albums 1970-2009!

administrator — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:12:06 -0400

Ledisi to return in August - hear a sample!

administrator — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:16:47 -0400

Soul singer/songwriter Ledisi promises a to keep it "raw, spiritual, uninhibited, and aggressive, and tell it all" with her new album 'Turn Me Loose' (out Aug 18th on Verve Forecast).

Concert Review: Joe and Chico Debarge

administrator — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:00:12 -0400

Joe and Chico Debarge
B.B. King Blues Club
June 15^th, 2009
by Ann Marie Collymore

Toni Redd - "N" the Key of Redd

administrator — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:24:12 -0400

Sometimes nothing feels quite as fresh as a pleasant blast from the past. The 1980s were arguably the halcyon days of female urban adult contemporary vocalists. The emergence of Anita Baker, Miki Howard and Regina Belle along with 70s carryovers such as Phyllis Hyman and Patti LaBelle brought solo women to the forefront of "adult" soul music and created a iPod full of memorable songs that still stand up in 2009. It is out of this mold that Toni Redd arrives, more than two decades after UAC's peak.

Nikki Yanofsky - Ella…Of Thee Swing

jeffr — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:41:52 -0400

Fifteen year-old Nikki Yanofsky is precious. She's precious in the way that all barely adolescent voices with grown-up talents are, coaxing smiles and sweet applause out of precocious imitations of their elders. Michael Jackson did it by imitating Jackie Wilson and James Brown. Little Stevie Wonder did a killer Little Jimmie Scott impression before his voice changed. A 19 year old Aretha did a particularly fine Dinah Washington.