VARIOUS ARTISTS - SOUL TOGETHERNESS 2010 CD £12.95/  DLP £14.95 
Expansion presents another strong comp in this great series of mainly contemporary dance floor fillers. Cool Million ‘Back For More’, Brian Culbertson ft Kenny Latimore ‘Another love’, Jonathan Butler ‘So Strong’ and Richard Earnshaw ‘Waiting’ have been big club tracks. Zo ft Sy Smith ‘Greatest Love Of All Time’ , Carmen Hendricks ‘Something About You’ , Oliver Hutman ft Denise King’ I Lost My Way’ and Shirley Jones ‘Tell Me Whats Wrong (Cool Million mix) are great mid tempo dancers. Teddy Pendergrass ‘Believe In You (Phat Philly Mix) and Madagascar ‘Rainbow’ are the best of the old school tracks. Great comp – Essential.
Highly recommended Soul Togetherness 2000-2009 CD £12.95 (each)

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JD73 – PURE GOLD CD £11.95
Jd73 is the mastermind of keyboards/multi-instrumentalist Dan Goldman. This is a great uplifting retro (late 70's/early 80's) sounding Brit Jazz Funk album with plenty of horns etc. Most of the tracks are upbeat inc 'Be mine' , 'Step By Step' and the instrumental 'into The Night' . 'Your Fantasy' and 'Round and Round' and 'Written in The Stars ft Nate James keep the Boogie feel going , 'Pure Gold' and 'Think Twice' have a more 2-step groove. If you like the Sunburst Band then this is for you.

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JOHN LEGEND AND THE ROOTS – WAKE UP CD £14.95
John Legend and the Roots come together to record this selection of underground Soul classics that have a social message. There are some great covers including Harold Melvin And The Bluenotes 'Wake Up Everybody', Michael James Kirkland's 'Hang On in There', 'Compared To What' which is really funky and Baby Huey's 'Hard Times'. Legend's vocal performance is outstanding as he interprets and reinterprets the powerful and still relevant lyrics with a modern twist. The band is phenomenal. Several tracks include a rap. Check the John Legend original 'Shine', a simmering slowie.

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WILL DOWNING – LUST LOVE AND LIES AN AUDIO NOVEL CD £15.95
This ambitious project tries to put a novel (soap opera) to music and despite the numerous interludes it works based on the strength of the music and Will Downing’s vocal in particular.  Tracks like ‘Feelin Alright’ and the head nodding ballad ‘Tell Me’ are fine Downing performances.  ‘Safe In His Arms’ is another fine 2 stepper.  Mainly down/ mid-tempo the album will not disappoint Will’s legion of fans or Soul fans in general.

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CONYA DOSS – BLU TRANSITION CD £13.95
One of our favourite singers of the 2000’s returns with a more soulful album.  The mid tempo foot taper ‘What We Gonna Do’ is typically Conya, in the style of her classic first album, ‘No More’ and ‘Sweet As Honey’ are Organic soul 2 steppers. ‘Never Be The Same’, ‘All In You’ and ‘Pointless’ are more mellow.

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SHIRLEY JONES – FEELS LIKE HEAVEN CD £15.95
Philly legend Shirley Jones still has the voice and her new album will appeal to fans of the Jones Girls.
The up tempo 'Running Out Of Time' and more mid tempo. 'Absolutely Positively' will keep the feet shuffling. 'Lets Sway' , 'Just Say One Thing' and the quiet ballads 'Heaven', 'Imagine' 'I Had A Talk With My Man' and 'You Are Why' show a different dimension to her voice. Welcome return.

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KABANYA CHEMISE – THE MOSIAC CD £15.95
Outstanding independent album, whose production is superb, ‘The Mosaic’ is quality with strong songs.  Her powerful voice soars on tracks like the ‘Nothing Left’.  ‘This Time and ‘Tell Me’ have that warm southern/ Atlanta sound.  ‘You Got Me’ is a fine song and Kabanya shows her vocal prowess.  Most of the album features a full band giving the set a retro feel and she wrote or co-wrote all the songs.    If you enjoyed the recent Avery Sunshine album (Avery guests on one track), then this excellent album should appeal too.

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ALOE BLACC – GOOD THINGS CD £11.95
Former rapper Aloe makes a soul album backed by NY’s finest contemporary/retro band the Expressions.  The funk track ‘Hey Brother’ has a very authentic early 70’s sound chattering guitars, deep bass line and punching horns. The mid tempo ‘Take Me back, ‘You Make Me Smile’ and the ballads ‘Femme fatale’ and ‘Life So Hard’ wouldn’t have been out of place on Lee Field’s great album from last year. . The catchy ‘Good Things’ and ‘I need A Dollar’ have a slightly more contemporary feel. Solid album.

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JEFF HENDRICK – COLOR BLIND CD £14.95
Jeff Hendick returns with his third album.  Jeff takes a relaxed approach to his music; he has a distinctive style, which is very popular on the Modern Soul scene in the UK.    Cuts like ‘Our First Dance’, ‘Back To The Days’ and the title song ‘Color Blind’ will only enhance that reputation.

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KEM – INTIMACY CD £14.95/ DELUXE EDITION WITH DVD £19.95
Hugely talented singer from Detroit releases his third album.  Kem’s style is very relaxed and this selection of grooves will delight fans of that style.  The outstanding opening cut ‘When I’m Loving You’ is the stand out, but also try the lovely ‘Share My Life’, the head nodder ‘Human Touch and the gorgeous ballad ‘Why Would You Stay’.  ‘Golden Days’ has an Al Jarreau jazzy vibe and is another mellow groover.  The deluxe edition includes two bonus cuts: ‘Matter Of Time’ and ‘Hold On’ from an unplugged session and a twenty minute DVD.

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ECLECTIK SOUL – RISING CD £13.95
This high quality organic/ Neo Soul CD has an extremely warm vibe to the sound and production. 'Reflections' typifies that warmth with its riff laden grooves. The fluid 'Let It Flow' has a lush mid-tempo feel as does the gentle swayer 'Lola's Dream'. 'Rising' is uplifting and powerful. This album mixes Soul with touches of Jazz and Funk
with aplomb.

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE – AUTHENTICITY CD £13.95
The third album release from the Foreign Exchange features guest appearances from longtime contributors YahZarah, Darien Brockington, Zo! and Median, plus relative newcomers Chantae Cann and Jesse Boykins III. Stand out tracks: Fight For Love, the single Maybe She'll Dream Of Me, Don't Wait, Make Me A Fool and This City Ain't The Same Without You. If you bought the Yahzarah, Zo! or previous Foreign Exchange albums this is a must.  For those that like their Soul Music with a difference!!

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – SOUL LOUNGE VOLUME 7 TRIPLE CD £13.95
This popular series has now reached its seventh volume.  The set comprises 40 mainly contemporary tracks some of which are hard to find.  On the jazzier side check Ju Ju Orchestra’s ‘Funky Nassau’ and Sunlight Square’s take of ‘I Believe In Miracles’.   There are contributions from Dome stalwarts like Incognito, Denis Taylor, Cooly’s Hot Box and Angela Johnson plus independent artists like Makeda and Carmen Rodgers – check Carmen’s lovely cut ‘Home’.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE URBAN SOUL CONNECTION  VOLUME 1 CD £11.95
The first volume in a new series from the Soul Unsigned imprint delves into the RnB/Urban end of contemporary Soul Music.  Bashiyra’s ‘Unique’ is a standout cut, but check J Red’s sensual ‘In Your Dreams’ or the nice slowie ‘Remix’ by Jaye Q.  The New Congress’ ‘Anguish Love And Romance’ is a fine groove too and features a rap from Talib Kweli.  Several of the cuts feature a rap.  Jeniqua’s ‘Get Ready’ has a Gospel message.

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THE APPLES PRESENT KINGS CD £13.95/ VINYL LP £13.95
Israeli nine piece band defy musical categories.   On ‘Present Kings, they collaborate with two of their heroes.  Firstly ex JBs/ Parliament legend Fred Wesley adds his distinctive trombone on the first four tracks.  ‘Howlin With Fred’ and ‘In The Air’ are typical James Brown like grooves.  ‘Kings’ also has a JB feel, but in a mellow jazzier vein. ‘All Right All Right’ is a more radical and different sound and is much heavier.  The other four tracks feature Israeli icon Shloma Bar and are interesting fusion of Middle Eastern and Western flavours.

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ELISABETH WITHERS – NO REGRETS CD £16.95
Follow-up to her 2007 debut ‘It Can Happen To Anyone’, ‘No Regrets’ is a mix of fine ballads, mid-tempo tunes and R&B tinged contemporary Soul.  Withers’ powerful vocal intertwines with Gordon Chambers’ strong performance on the big ballad ‘Bittersweet’.  The beautiful ‘Take Me Back’ and ‘Dream’ are also great ballads.  The mid-tempo ‘Because I Love You’ is a wonderfully crafted smooth Soul chugger as is equally potent ‘Need Love’.

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