CHERI MARIE PURE VOICE £9.95
Debut album from strong and distinctive voiced Cheri. 'Hold Me Up' is a nice jerky upper mid tempo track that reminds me of Ledisi, and the similar tempo 'September' will get some dancefloor action. The mid tempo groover 'All Of Me' has good backing vocals, and the mid tempo foot taper 'Because You Love Me' and slightly slower 'Be' are also good. the beautiful melodic 'Talk To Me' and 'Wind' and gentle 'Soft Places' are also highlights on this consistently good album.

TEMPTATIONS BACK TO FRONT CD £13.95
The Temps are back on point with this superior 70's covers album produced by Steve Harvey. New lead vocalist Bruce Williamson's baritone voice is ideally suited to the other BW's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' ,'Wake Up |Everybody' and LTD's 'Back In Love Again' . Ron Tyson excels on 'Don't Ask My Neighbours' whilst Terry Weeks handles 'Love Ballad' with distinction. The killer cut is a version of the Staples 'Respect Yourself' which is awesome. A welcome return.

SHARON McMAHAN SOMEBODY ELSE CD £9.95
Sharon is best known as a songwriter (Barbara Lewis, Mavis Staples, Etta James etc). Her debut album is produced by Preston Glass who puts his distinctive old school soul style on it. 'Summer Livin' is a mid tempo feel good finger poppin' track that gets you hooked, 'Got 2 Think Bout U' is a groove driven mid tempo stepper and the mid tempo 'Somebody Else' are amongst the highlights. The mid tempo shufflers' When Will Love Come To Me' and 'Someday We're Gonna Love Again' , the southern infl 'I got The Last Ha ha' and the ballad 'Breakdown' are also good on this

ANN NESBY THIS IS LOVE CD £13.95
Ann's gospel drenched vocals soar all over this great album, which will rank highly against her previous work.. 'I Can't Explain' is a great modern soul dancer that will be very popular in clubs, and 'Tables Turn' is anther dancer but more mid tempo, whilst 'Its Easy Lovin U' is a good soulful house dancer. This Could Be love' and 'Step' are mid tempo steppers with catchy hooks, and the mid tempo 'Never Forget You Remembered' , the beat ballad 'I Apologise' and the ballads 'See U Cry' and 'Special Occasion' also score. Ann shows her gospel roots on 'Thank God'. An excellent varied album.

RAHSAAN PATTERSON WINES AND SPIRITS CD £12.95
Rahsaan makes his forth album and whilst its clearly his voice, the sound is slightly different in places. Highlights are 'Cloud Nine' is an atmospheric slightly off-beat semi-funky groover, 'Feels Good' and 'No Danger' are slinky mid tempo typically Rahsaan groovers and 'Stop Breaking my Heart' a beat ballad and 'Stars' a slow ballad. The strange stomping beat track Delirium' has a Kid Creole/Dr Savanah influence and the rockier 'Time' and 'Oh lord' may not be to everyone's taste.

VICK ALLEN BABY COME BACK HOME CD £9.95
Quality albeit short Southern soul album. The mid tempo 'Baby Come Back Home' has a 70's Willie Mitchell feel to it. 'Since You Been Gone' and 'New Way To Cheat', are typical southern tracks (ala Willie Clayton), 'Breakin Me Down' is a nice mid tempo plodder and 'Good Love' written and produced by Omar Cunningham. The standout track is the mid tempo stepper 'The Something'.

BLAZE FOUND LOVE DBL CD £15.95
2 Cd's of classsic soulful/jazzy house cuts, one unmixed Blaze Originals and Remixes, the other mixed by Kevin Hodge (Blaze). Inc Peven Everett 'Cant Believe I Love Her', Ritmo Rua 'Jazzy Universal Love', Jihad Muhammad 'Movement Blues', Ambrosia 'That's How Much I z Love Youj' and Alexander Hope 'Big Mistake'. Quality all the way an essential purchase for soulful house fans.

ALL STARS COLLECTIVE ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC CD £9.95
Collective of some of the finest UK musicians and singers make an uplifting album in the style of Incognito produced by Hamish Stuart. 'Sometimes' ft Mary Pearce,' My Remedy' ft Hamish and Jim Mullen , 'Satisfied' ft Julie Payne are bright and breezy. 'Star' ft Cuttie Williams is a beautiful mid tempo track, 'Hey Listen Up' ft Roy Hamilton is very catchy and 'All About The Music ft Jocelyn Brown is a stormer.
Quality throughout.

SEPTEMBER 2007

KENDRA ROSS NEW VOICE CD £13.95
Fantastic album from a fantastic new voice. Kendra has one of those sophisticated 'smokey' jazzy tinged soulful voices and the material here complements her brilliantly. 'New Voice' is a nice mid tempo stepper, 'Real Deal' a bright funky mid tempo dancer, And 'I Got You' a mid tempo foot taper. The killer track is the mid tempo duet with Eric Roberson 'Why Cant I See', but also check the jazzier tracks, the ballad '1st Time' the mid tempo head nodder 'Send somebody To love' and 'Man You Love Blues'.
Outstanding album from an Outstanding new artist.

LEDISI LOST AND FOUND CD £11.95
One of the best female vocalists of her generation makes her Major label debut and its a quality album albeit that Rex Rideout's production makes it a little less edgy and her vocals are more subdued than on her outstanding first album 'Soul Singer'.
The highlights are the mid tempo head nodders 'Alright' and 'Today', the semi funky mid tempo 'Best Friend' and 'Think Of You' and the plodders 'You And Me', 'Got To Know You' , 'In The Morning' and 'Someday'. Ledisi has more space to let go on 'Upside Down' the funky foot taper co- written with Sundra Manning. Quality Soul

TAMMY HARRIS NATURAL VIBE CD £11.95
Another great new female singer, Tammi makes a really strong album using real instruments. 'Natural Vibe', 'Come Over' 'I Would Be Your Love', 'Take Me Away' , 'Only To You', and 'If' are really good mid tempo tracks. The Jazzier 'Sweetest Sound' and the ballad 'You Are' along with good covers of 'You Know How To Love Me', 'Never Knew Love Like This Before', and the especially good 'Never Stop' (BNH) complete this excellent album that will appeal to fans of quality traditional soul

AFI-SOUL - LOVELY CD £13.95
Now here's something that's just arrived so full review next month, but this new Washington DC female singer is going to please the Organic Soulsters and many more as well. 'Free Yourself' is a really good atmospheric down tempo track with layered vocals and 'Baby It's Cold Outside' an excellent mid tempo head nodder with an intricate beat that could become a big tune. There's also a soulful house remix of 'bay Its' courtesy of Dj Applejack. 'Call Me' is a nice mid tempo plodder. This could be one of those album that really grows on you.

NEALIETTE FT TERRI SIMPSON CHILDREN OF THE SKY EP £9.95
7 Piece band from Richmond Virginia fronted by the female vocals of Terri Simpson. This jazzy soul EP has a really nice vibe and a good 'live' sound The harmonic mid tempo 'Take Me Over' and jazzy soul floater 'On My Mind' are contrasted by the horn led funky mid tempo dancer 'Keep On' which you could have imagined the BNH doing in their heyday. Terri's wistful vocals are well suited to the beautiful floater 'Children Of The Sky' and the beat ballad 'When The Morning Comes' and the excellent band are allowed to let go more on the appropriately named

RENE JONES CHILL FACTOR CD £11.95
Nice, mainly mid tempo and down tempo album in a more traditional Soul style. Rene sounds little like Mica Paris on the standout track 'Everything I Need' a mid tempo beat ballad. Also check the breezy 'Soul To Keep' the shuffling '|You Know' and the slightly faster head-nodding 'Summer Day'and 'Stay'. The ballads 'If I Let You In' and 'Totally' are also good.

SOCCORRO LOVES EXPERIENCE CD £11.95
Good album of mid tempo soul and soulful R&B. The bass led steppers 'Real' and 'Get To Know You' (duet with Oliver Green) and the slightly heavier 'Tell Me' are very good, but the highlights are the excellent mid tempo dancer 'The Way You Make Me Feel' and the outstanding uplifting 'Beautiful Man'
Also check the soulful R&B dancer 'Friends' on this strong independent soul album.

O'BRYAN F1RST CD £11.95
O'Bryan has one of those great 80's soul voices and he has matured to make this really nice album comprising of mainly mid tempo slow jams with minimalist instrumentation. 'Just Like Doin It' and 'Can I Kiss Your Lips' are good mid tempo tracks, 'Gratitude' is probably the best of the slow jams, whilst the lyrically strong 'Caught In The Middle' is more lively. The standout is probably the excellent slower 'Man Overboard' , but this is a mood album to be heard in total rather than individual tracks .

THELMA HOUSTON WOMAN'S TOUCH CD £14.95
Thelma Houston returns with an album of covers featuring cuts like 'Wake Up Everybody', 'Never Too Much', 'Love And Happiness' and 'That's The Way Of The World'. Her powerful and distinctive voice infuses these classics with her own musical personality.

CHRIS JASPER INVINCIBLE CD £11.95
Born again Christian and former Isley Brother , Chris has a great soulful voice which is the real highlight of this consistently good old school gospel/soul album based on Biblical Scriptures. The positive messages come across and musically this album reminds you on late 60's/early 70's soul. 'Come On And Testify' and 'Invincible' are nice dancers, 'I Know That You Love Me' and 'A New Life In Christ' are good mid tempo steppers whilst 'Without Love', 'Let God's Will Be Done' and 'Keep Reaching Higher' are beat ballads showing off Chris' voice. Well worth checking out

JULY/AUGUST

APRIL HILL LOVE 360 CD £11.95
A new star is born. Atlanta's April has one of those distinctive classic soul voice's that remind you of greats like Randy Crawford, Candi Staton and Esther Phillips in places, but with the contemporary sassyness of Jill or Erykah. This is a killer album produced by Marlon Saunders with great songs, lyrics and real instruments. 'The Search' is a great soulful dancer with a great B line and the horn backed' No More Tears' could become a weekender anthem. 'Feeling You' , 'I Can't Stop Loving You' and 'Happier With Her' are classic soul ballads. 'I Wanna Be Free' , 'You Got Me' and 'Manipulation' are contemporary hard hitting hypnotic mid tempo grooves that really grow on you. This album will appeal to all generations of soul fans and is a strong contender for album of the year.

TUOMO MY THING CD £13.95 LP £12.95
Finnish singers debut is very impressive, backed by live instrumentation , in places a full orchestra , in others just bongo's ., with good lyrics and songs and great vocals. Highlights are the atmospheric 'Since Or Before', the mid tempo 'True Friend' the modern dancer 'Don't Take It Too Hard, and the McComb-ish piano led ballad 'Puddle Of Love'. Also check the semi funky 'Sorry When I'm Gone' and thr full on latin funk groove of 'My Thing'.

ONYX 1 FT TERENCE FORSYTH RIGHT NOW CD £11.95
Excellent male harmony group soul (ala Whispers), featuring former member of Natural Four. The album consists of mainly mid tempo tracks and ballads which really show off their harmonies best. The Mid tempo big ballads 'Its Time For Love' and 'One Day At A Time' are excellent, and the mid tempo 'Spellbound', 'Mine All Mine' , 'But I Do' , 'right Now' and 'You Never Fail To Amaze Me' are all highlights on the consistent set which is quality soul throughout.

DAVINA RETURN TO SOUL VOL 1 CD £11.95
Davina returns after 10 years after 'Best Of Both Worlds' with a simlar sound to her debut great soulful vocals over an edgy organic soul backing. The highlights are 'What's Going On' is a mid tempo head nodder, and 'Um Hum', 'lets Stay Together' , 'Ready' , 'Red Sky' and 'Get Live' are punchy semi funky dancers. Theres also an unusual update of 'Walk On Bye' and a nice mellow jazzy track 'Is It The Way'.

TY CAUSEY EXPRESSIONS CD £11.95
Ty is Mr consistency and this his 3rd album is in a similar vien to N-Tysing and Love Notes, comprising mainly of mid tempo grooves with minimal backing (ala Gary Taylor) featuring his so soulful tones. 'I Got Love' is a really nice mid tempo dancer, 'Heartbreak Paradise' a mid tempo floater, and the slightly slower 'So Addicted' being the highlights. Also check the mid tempo dancers 'Pick Up The Pieces' and 'Dark Cloud' (ft U-Nam), and the mid tempo ballads 'Back To Loving you', 'The Way You Were' and 'Wishing You Were Mine'. The real highlight throughout is Ty's voice.you.

JIVA DAY INTO NIGHT CD £19.95
Jiva return with their blend of soul meets jazz and bossa rhythms. 'Sol E Lua' is a percussive jazzy soul dancer, the bossa is also evident of 'Twilight Bossa' and the breezy floater 'Better2Geter'. 'Like A Star' is a soulful dancer, whilst 'Shine', and 'Understand' are slightly funkier dancers with driving bass lines, whilst the lilting 'You Lift Me up' provides some contrast. Nice album
Also recommended 'Sun And the Moon' CD £12.95

CARL THOMAS SO MUCH BETTER CD £13.95
Soulful voiced Carl produces possibly his best album. 'Another You' and '2 Pieces' are great mid tempo steppers, 'Something About You' is a head nodding dancer ft Brandy and 'Cant Get Over' ft Dave Hollister all work well. The mid tempo beat ballad 'Thought You Should Know' ft Lalah Hathaway and Gordon Chambers and the ballads 'Say I Do' and 'Home' are also good, but the highlight is the super mid tempo ballad 'Late Night Rendezvous'. Strong album that will appeal to both Soul and R&B fans.

MAYSA FEEL THE FIRE CD £13.95
The power and beauty of Maysa's voice shine on this selection of classics especially on the Maze's 'Happy Feeling' and a breathtaking take of 'Ain't No Sunshine'. On ballads like Peabo's 'Feel The Fire' and Norman Connors' 'You Are My Starship', Maysa combines the delicate yet passionate vocal with SOUL. A worthy successor to the first album of covers in the series.

VALARIE ADAMS S/T CD £13.95
Valarie sounds like Ledisi in places on this great new soul album. The standout track is 'Back In The Day' a tremendous horn backed mid tempo funky dancer with a memorable hook, a real killer. The cover of Anita B's 'Angel' is also really good the catchy mid tempo dancer 'Why Cant We' , the dancer 'I Thank U' and the ballads 'C'Mon Over' and 'Almost Famous' also highlights on this consistently good album.

HOWARD HEWETT IF ONLY CD £13.95
Ex Shalamar vocalist will please his legion of fans with this Soul set that fuses Howard's relaxed vocal style with Smooth Soul. Several cuts grab the headlines including the stunningly beautiful 'Can U Feel Me' and the title song. Ballads like 'Is This True Love' ooze emotion where Howard is joined by Gerald Albright on sax. And if you love ballads check out the searing slowie 'Don't U Wonder 2'. Old school style numbers like 'I Wanna Know' maintain a mid-tempo groove. Hewett has never sounded better.

PETER HADAR MEMORIES OF THE HEART CD £11.95
Eric Roberson disciple who sounds incredibly like his mentor both vocally and in musical style. 'Never Again' is a nice mid tempo shuffler, 'Need Love' a breezy dancer produced by H2O , 'U Don't Love Me' a harmonic semi-funky plodder, 'Xplosive' a good foot taper and 'First Sight' a modern dancer. The atmospheric mid tempo head nodder 'Marvin', the dancer 'Deep in love' and the ballad 'Please' are also highlights on this consistent album. If you like Eric r then this is for you.

AB LYRICALLY INCLINDED 1.3 THE ODYSSEY CD £13.95
Now hers something a little different, slightly left field like D'Angelo/Amp Fiddler and reminiscent of the mid tempo tracks from 70's Ohio Players albums or even LA.Bopper's in places. 'I Just Wanna Make It Work' is an off key mid tempo plodder with nice keyboards and horns, 'We Are One' , 'Angel From Afar' and the groovier 'Come Around My Way' (pt2) all have good harmonies. The standout tracks a probably the ballad 'Loves Life' with its mild back beat and Kem like vocals, and the funky mid tempo dancer 'Afro' , but the real highlight throughout is AB's vocal harmonies and arrangements. This one really grows on you; it's like a blast of fresh air from todays over produced muzak.

NORWOOD JUST NORWOOD CD £13.95
Norwood follows up his debut 20 years later, and vocally he is better than ever sounding incredibly like Luther. This strong album includes many highlights like the ballads 'Queen Of My Life' , 'Eight Wonder Of The World' , 'Would You Be Miner' , 'Take Me Home' and 'No Way No How', and the duet with Jennifer Holiday 'Easier Said Than Done'. There's a cover of D train's 'You're The One For Me', the mid tempo 'Every time You Go Away' the killer stepper 'Sexual Amnesia' and the brilliant 'Feed The People' ft Trynce. One of the best 80's soul style albums for sometime.

WILLIE CLAYTON GIFTED CD £15.95
Willie makes his best album for a long while, returning to his southern soul roots backed by the Muscles Shoals Horns. 'Boom Boom Boom' is a Ronald Isley style mid tempo stepper, 'Beautiful', 'A Little More', and 'Running Out Of lies', 'My Lover My Friend' and 'When I Think About Cheating' are classic southern soul style ballads. 'She's Holding Back' and 'Sweet Lady' are mid tempo shufflers and the highlights are the mid tempo 'Missing You' and the ballad duet with Shirley Brown 'Trust'. Great soul album.

SUNNY HAWKINS MORE OF YOU CD £12.95
Nice positive message semi-gospel/soul album co-produced by brother Jamie and Steve McKeever.
Sunny's great voice soars over the sympathetic real instrument backing (courtesy of Jamie). 'Where Would I Be' is a nice mid tempo head nodder, 'More Of You' and 'Love Me Too' are great dancers, which along with the breezy 'Send me I'll Go' are the highlights. Also check the ballad 'Its Like Air', the floater 'Jesus The Same' and the mid tempo 'What If'. Nice album

GERALD AND EDDIE LEVERT SNR SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT CD £13.95
Father and son's last collaboration has many bright moments. 'SOS' and 'A Situation' are good mid tempo foot tapers, the mid tempo ballad 'Get To Know Me', the mid tempo dancer 'I Like It' and the beat ballad 'Close And Personal'. Also check their cover of 'Make It With You'. Vocally Eddie and Gerald are great throughout.

EBONY ALLEYNE NEVER LOOK BACK CD £12.95
This album has a very strong late 60's sound with lots of strings and in places a Bacharach/David type of production courtesy of Ian Levine. 'You Caught Me Off Guard' is a bright and breezy dancer, 'My Man' An uptempo Motown style, 'Walk Away And Never Look back' is classic B&D, and there's a good version of 'Hello Stranger'. The other highlights are the mid tempo dancers 'In Love With A Stranger', 'Merry Go Round' , and 'Every Lonely Street' and the slightly slower 'Tell Me The Secret'.

RICK JAMES DEEPER STILL CD £12.95
Recorded shortly before his death, this is the best album Rick had made for many years. The mid tempo floater 'Deeper Still' , the plodder 'Stop It' the ballad 'Do You Wanna Play' are all good, but the highlights are the modern soul dance 'Taste', the classic Rick bass led funker's 'Stroke' and 'Not Alone' and the mid tempo 'Sapphire' which has a nice sax backing.
Highly recommended 'Street Songs CD £9.95

FRANK McCOMB STRAIGHT FROM THE VAULT (SPECIAL JAP EDITION) CD £18.95
New edition of his album from a couple of years ago, re-mastered with 3 extra tracks and a proper sleeve.
'I'd Be a Fool' and 'Each Day' are great mid tempo shufflers, 'Things That You Do' a good mid tempo dancer, 'The Thing I failed To Do' and 'Left Alone' are Donny H style ballads, and 'Just A Few More Days' , 'Waiting On The Day' and 'Still Has A Hold on Me' typical Frank piano accompanied ballads. Of the new tracks the great semi funky dancer 'Groovin' is the highlight. Classic McComb.

DARLENE McCOY S/T CD £14.95
Gospel Soul/R&B album contains 2 killer modern soul dancers 'Unity' and a cover of Alicia Myers 'I Wanna Thank You'. There's another good dancer 'Fallen In love' and amore R&B up-tempo 'I Believe'.
The mid tempo 'Amazing' is written by PJ Morton and Tommy Sims and PJ puts his mark on 'Simply Because' by producing it in his style.

MYOSHI MARILLA MYOSHI EP CD £7.95
5 tracks EP from NY based singer backed by a full band with horns recorded live in the studio.
The strong material (good songs well song and played) has an early BNH feel to it. 'Angel' is a nice mid tempo 2 stepper with good horn arrangements, 'Livin For Me' is a catchy funky mid tempo dancer, 'How Does It Feel' starts off mid tempo and builds to a crescendo , 'Smile' is hard hitting and 'Hello' a nice mid tempo. Great music, the hope she makes an album.

ALS EVERYDAY LIFE CD £11.95
French band feat 3 female singers inc Atlanta's Ferncia Tucker, make a really nice mainly mid tempo sophisticated jazzy soul 18 track album, with real instruments. The mid tempo dancers 'Checkmate', 'Keep In Mind' and 'Possibilities' are highlights along with the semi funky mid tempo 'Let Me In' the floaters' Through My Door' and 'Long-time 2 Come' and the bass led 2 steppers 'Free' , 'Walk' and 'Nu Feel Higher'. Good summertime music.

GURU - JAZZMATAZZ VOL.4 CD £11.95
Common & Bob James work well on the old school work out 'State Of Clarity'. Hook man Raheem Devaughn guests on 'Wait For Me'. Other tunes of note Inc. 'This Is Art' with Ronnie Laws where Guru's delivery is on point like Gangstarr days of old & funky. David Sanborn is on form blessing 'Living Legend', but the for soul folk the two killers are Omar on 'Jazz Style' , and Caron Wheeler on 'Kissed The World' using 'Georgy Porgy' as its backing.

STREET SOUL 3 CD £13.95
By far the best in Bigger's limited ed series so far, highlighting 15 new Soul/R&B (mainly UK) artists. Highlights are Tony Ozier's organic dancer 'Sun Shines Again', the mid tempo head nodders Living Out Loud 'Lately' and Melody 'Round And Round' and the mid tempo dancer Omari Shabazz 'New Day'. Christynette 'If I Could' is a nice modern dancer, Devon Howard 'Because I Love You' is a good R&B dancers and Shorty Corleone does a good cover of Maze's classic 'While I'm Alone'. Good and varied.

DJ JAZZY JEFF - THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT CD £13.95 DBL LP £13.95
More Rap than his last effort, but an album of good vibes & social commentary. Inc. the soulful tones of Raheem DeVaughn on the classy 'My Soul Ain't For Sale'. Mid tempo soul in the sultry groove of 'Touch Me With Your Hands', feat. Chinah Blac. Pos from De La Soul shine on 'Let Me Hear You
Clap'. The legendary CL Smooth returns on the classic sounding 'All I know'. A strong set from the man who knows.

MARCH 2007

ADRIANA EVANS EL CAMINO
Welcome return to form fro Adriana, this set being more soulful and in the style of her great debut.
'Hey now' is a bright shuffling dancer, 'Calling Me' and 'Never Knew' are mid tempo floaters. 'Before You' is a slinky beat driven mid tempo foot taper which shows her vocals at their best, whilst 'Underneath The Stars' and 'Bluebird' are big beat mid tempo head nodders. The funky dancer 'Undercover Lover' and shuffling mid tempo 'All For love' are also highlights on this strong album


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VARIOUS - SOUL DESIRABLES
Strong compilation of unreleased, rare and remixes from major label tracks over the past 10 years.
Luther's 'Bad Company' is a nice mid tempo foot taper, Ronee Martin 'Its Good To Be loved', Tiffany 'Tell me' and Donald McCollum 'No Matter What' are modern soul dancers. Lathun ft India Arie 'Love Come In', Donnie 'Cloud 9 (DJ Spinna mix) are Organic dancers, Brigette McWilliams 'Cant Get Over You' a funky mid tempo and Mica Paris 'Sixth Street' a bass led mid tempo head nodder. The Outstanding tracks are K Fox atmospheric social commentary 'For Goodness Sakes', Jack Herrera haunting 'For You' and Trina Brussard 'Dreamin Of' which are excellent mid tempo. Quality.

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RUBY BAKER LOVE IS WORTH IT ALL
This is quality soul in the style of Anita Baker, with great vocals and harmonies. 'Come To Me', 'All My Love' are great mid tempo full production tracks that build and build. 'Motion Of Love' ,'Got To Be Me', '7 Days', 'Hearts Of Hearts', 'Sand of Time' are real mid tempo gems, 'Love Is Worth It All' and 'At Last' are big ballads. 'Darlin' , 'Baby I'm Doing' and 'Its Been Hard' are great head nodders. If you liked Anita at her prime, or Misa Malone's album of last year then this for you. Great Songs, Great Voice equals Great Album.


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PORSCHE SMITH ABOUT LIFE
Really good edgy organic style album. 'bebop' is a jerky jazz tinged foot tapper with horns, 'Crazy' , Little Brother' and 'Life' are strong mid tempo tracks that really grow on you and 'Its Up To You' and 'Be Where U Are' are head nodding dancers and the hypnotic 'Daydreamin' is slower. Porsche's vocal are the outstanding throughout and she also plays piano and guitar on this debut which gets better with each play.


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LENNY WILLIAMS IT MUST BE LOVE CD £11.95
Very good album from one of soul's most under-rated singers who started with Tower Of power and made at least 14 consistent solo albums before this. The highlights are 'Tuesday' a bright catchy mid tempo dancer, 'Amen' a foot tapping handclapping uplifting dancer with great lyrics, 'Cant Nobody Do Me Like You Do' a southern style mid tempo ft former TOP trumpeter Mike Gillette, the 2 step ballad 'Torn Between Two Lovers' and the head nodder 'You're My Everything' . Also check the mid tempo ballads 'Loveland', 'It Must Be Love' and 'Somebody Else',. Consistently good album his best in a while.

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ACHANTI - CULTURAL DESIRES
Not the R&B singer but a duo backed by a full band from Canada prod by Eddie Bullen (Marisa Lindsay/liberty silver). Recorded a while back but only just coming to light. Musically similar to Funky Company or early BNH the album consists mainly of uptempo vocal numbers with good hooks like 'Resolution', 'Follow Me' , 'I'll Be There For You' 'Sunshine', 'Take Control', 'Step My Way' and the highlight 'Living and Loving'. Also check the mid tempo 'Are You Real' and 'Together'. Nice album to get you boppin'.

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MIKELYN RODERICK COPASETIC IS
Very nice mainly mid tempo soul album from former By All Means vocalist which grows on you with each play. 'Easy', 'Thinkin Of Us', the cover of Stevie's 'If You Really Love Me' ft Rahsaan Patterson, '"Last Winter', 'Bless You' and the jazzier 'Slick And Deep' and 'Love Of My Life' are quality mid tempo tracks. The more uptempo groovers 'Slippin' and 'Morning Light' will get dance action but maintain the quality. Mikelyn's understated vocals are well suited to the material.

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GERALD LEVERT IN MY SONGS
Released posthumously, this excellent Soul album reminds us all of his vocal prowess and the loss to Soul music his death was. Powerful, soulful yet subtle, Gerald's voice soars on slow tracks like 'In My Songs' and 'Sweeter' as well as on the stepper 'DJ Don't' or the outstanding dancer 'Wanna Get Up With You'. 'What Cha Think About That' is fine RnB Soul mid-tempo groover. A singer who is in the great tradition of Soul, whose music sounds fresh and contemporary too.

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HELEN AND TERRY SUPERSTAR
Helen Bruner and Terry (daughter of Linda Jones) album is a mixture of Floetry like Hip Hop Soul , with Organic tracks and soulful ballads. 'Strung Out' is a good mid tempo dancer, 'Superstar', 'Driving Me' and 'Here We Go' are Bas led R7B dancers, 'He Is Your Friend' is a also a good dancer. 'Something Outta Nothin' and 'Testify' are old school beat ballads, whilst 'You Talk Too Fast ' nd 'Love Me' are soulful mid tempo head nodders. A Varied album that will appeal to both Soul and R&B folk , where the girls vocal harmonies are the real highlight throughout.

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SHIRLEY SLAUGHTER PHILADELPHIA SOUL
Deeply soulful voiced Shirley (in a randy Crawford style) is backed by an all star Philly cast for this 7 tracker recorded at Sigma sound, prod by veteran Weldon McDougall 111. 'I Need Him' is a slow building ballad, 'I Still Love You' is a dancer with the old school mix working particularly well. Her version of Barabara Mason 'Yes I'm ready' and the ballad 'My Child' are good, but the real highlight is the ballad 'Take Advantage Of The Day' featuring writer Billy Butler on guitar.

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JOSS STONE INTRODUCING
Produced by Raphael Saadiq, this is a return to soul from the Uk singer. 'Head Turner' is a funk head nodder, 'Tell Me Bout It', a Miami Funky dancer, 'Girls You Wont Believe It' a 70's style dancer, 'What Are We Gonna Do Now (ft Common)' and 'I Wish' midtempo beat ballads. 'Music' ft Lauryn Hill and the slower 'Not Real Love' and 'What Were We Thinking' are also good tracks. This album is in a similar vien to Leela James great set and has a definite TK feel to it. Welcome back to soul Joss.

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MARVA WHITNEY & OSAKA MONAURAIL I AM WHAT I AM CD £16.95
Ex James Brown vocalist returns fronting the Japanese JB sounding Osaka Monaurail. Her all-action vocal style is reminiscent of female James on cuts like 'Give It Up Turn It Loose' and 'I Am What I Am'. Check also 'He's Mine', 'Wrapp Things Up' and cover of the Northern/modern classic 'Saving My Love For My Baby'. The band show their JBs credentials on the instrumentals 'It's Her Thing' and 'We Sing Soul'.

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SHAUN ESCOFFERY MOVE INTO SOUL
A covers album with a difference by the Uk's finest. 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' and 'Change is Gonna Come' are given dark eerie approach which really works. 'Shes Gone' ,'Aht Uhm Mi Hed', 'Why Cant We Be Live Together', 'Who Is He and What Is He To You' and 'Feeling Good' are all given an acoustic (Anthony David type) approach. This imaginative album is well worth checking out.

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FEBRUARY 2007

4 HERO PLAY WITH THE CHANGES
4 Hero return with their most consistently soulful and by far their best album to date.
'Morning Child' ft Carina Anderson is a great orchestrated mildly funky upper mid tempo soul track in a similar vein to 'Black gold of the Sun'. 'Look Inside' is another orchestrated breezy dancer ft Face reminiscent of Incognito, whilst 'Take My Time' and 'Sink Or Swim' ft Lady Alma are bass led 80's infl grooves. The title track ft larry Mizell and has the Mizell layered sound, 'Awakening' ft spoken word from Ursula Rucker and a good cover of Stevies 'Superwoman' ft Terry Devos are also good. On the jazzier side 'Something In The Air' ft Bembe Segue and Kaidi Tatham is breezy jazz funk in the style of Agent K, 'Bed Of Roses' ft Jody Watley is a beaty jazz groover with nice keyboards and 'Sophia' and 'Why Don't You Talk' are good instrumentals. Outstanding album that will appeal to broad minded soul and jazz fans alike. If you like Incognito, Agent K, Silhouette Brown or Bruno E then you'll get to this. Highly recommended.

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MASTERS OF FUNK SOUL AND BLUES SOULFUL TALE OF TWO CITIES
Beautifully packaged 30 track Double CD with classic Philly Acts singing Motown songs, and Classic Detroit Acts singing Philly songs. Features Lamont Dozier, Jean Carne, Freda Payne, Barabara Mason, Bunny Sigler, Phil Hurtt, Major Harris, Oli Woodson, Bobby Taylor and more backed by the Funk Brothers and MFSB, with full production from Phil Hurtt, Bobbi Eli and Bunny Sigler. Highlights are 'Betcha By Golly Wow' (Freda), 'Me And Mrs Jones' and 'Close The Door' (Lamont), 'Sunshine' (Bobby T), ''Fire And Desire (Bunny and Jean), Girls Alright (Phil), 'My Baby Loves Me' (Barbara), and 'Just Ask The Lonely' (William Poogie Hart). An Amazing project.

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VICTOR BROOKS SAMBA SOUL
Really good quality mid tempo jazz tinged soul . Victor has a great deep soulful voice, the Brazilian band are tight and the production strong. 'Lovin You Baby' is a great brassy brazilian infl soul track, 'Keep Loving Me' a two stepper (ala Little Beaver let the good times roll), 'Believe It Or Not', 'Sunshine' and 'Your Ways' are more steppers, whilst 'Where Did We Go' is slightly slower. 'Be My Friend' and the cover of 'Never Can Say Goodbye' are slightly more jazzy but still soulful. Victor's voice really excels over the acoustic backing of this great album that will bring comparisons with Jon Lucien and will appeal to both Soul and Jazz Heads.

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JILL SCOTT COLLABORATIONS
Stop gap album with 14 collaborations with other artists, most previously released on other peoples albums, a few unreleased. Jill's voice is of course magnificent throughout, especially on 'Love Rain (head nod and Coffee remixes), on the excellent cover of 'Good Morning Heartbreak' ft Chris Botti's trumpet, and the great duet with Eric Roberson 'One Time'. The ballad 'Said Enough' ft Isley Brothers and 'Slide' ft Jeff Bradshaw more contemporary, whilst 'God Bless The Child' ft George Benson and Al Jarreau is pure jazzy doo-wop, and the tracks with Common and Will Smith are hip hop. A real mixed bag.


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MARISA LINDSAY SUBMIT TO LOVE
Barbadian Marisa goes to Canada and records an acoustic soul/jazz outing in a Badu-esq style produced by keyboardist Eddie Bullen (prod Liberty silver). The album consists of some originals and some hip updates on vocal standards and love songs, with minimal instrumentation. 'All Out Of Fools' is a highlight taken in a similar key to Badu's 'Tyrone', whilst 'Subit2love' is slow atmospheric number, 'Shadow Of You' builds nicely and 'Lover Man' Marisa's sweet voice is aided by some nice sax. The good covers of 'Waiting In Vain', 'Night And Day' , 'What A Difference (a day made)' 'God Bless The Child' and the shuffling 'You Don't Know What Love Is' which are arranged in a unique way. Really good downtempo album that will appeal to those who liked the Lizz Wright albums.

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BLACK I- FOR YOU
NY band make a very interesting album that includes Teddy Crockett (Alison's brother), and Russell Gunn with Omar and Kenny Whitehead on vocals. 'Please U' , 'For You' are big beat mid tempo funky grooves with heavy bass. 'Peace Of Mind' is a slow acoustic track that builds, 'Pleasure' a hard hitting driving track, 'Sweet As The Sun' a mellow stepper and 'The Door' has a Prince like riff and vocal. The highlights are the great cover of Sly's 'Family Affair' ft Omar which retains the spirit of the original but gives a different twist and 'No More' which starts off slow and then builds into a nice orchestrated dancer with horns. This album takes a couple of plays to get into , but will repay the effort.

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PEVEN EVERETT - POWER SOUL
Peven has his own distinctive underground sound with his understated vocals and deep grooves. 'Stuck' was a big 12" last year and its unrelenting groove pulsates throughout. The upper mid tempo 'Futuristic' is more musical with nice keyboards and grooves along, the hypnoytic 'Surely Shortly' , 'Cant Do Without', and 'Sexy Make Up' and 'Wild And Thick One' are more uptempo and typical Peven groovers coming slightly from the left side, however the highlight is the mid tempo foot taper 'This Just in' which sounds fresher and more soulful. Another interesting set that will please his existing fans.

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KARL FRIERSON SOULPRINT
Nice soul album produced in Germany by the deeply soulful US singer which includes the monster string laden mid tempo head nodding stepper 'Ten Minutes', one of the first killer tracks of the year, which will appeal tov the modern soul crowd. 'Walking In New York' is another good mid tempo groover, 'Under Investigation' and 'Only You' are good ballads, whilst 'Freaklife' (inspired by Street life), is another mid tempo dancer, with an 80's feel. There are also some nice southern soul tracks notably the upbeat 'Down Home Southern Groove' and the mid tempo 'Tall Green Grass'. Quality old skool soul album.

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JIMMY LEVINE SHARE MY LOVE
Saxman/producer selects a bevy of Soul classics plus some originals and invites Soul superstars to add vocals resulting in this fine set. Mid-tempo covers like 'There'll Never Be' with Howard Hewett and 'Where Is The Love' featuring Phil Perry, Lori Pery and Maysa hit the spot. It is however the new tunes such as the hypnotic 'Share My Love', the ballad 'Miss You' and the superbly soulful 'Wonderful' that is the real joy. An album that will appeal to both Soul and Smooth Jazz fans.

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ELISABETH WITHERS IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE
Elisabeth has a great soulful voice, like Gladys Knight in tone and phrasing. 'The highlights are 'Simple Things', 'Heartstrings' and 'Wind Beneath My Wings' are big ballads, whilst 'Listen' is a mildly funky full production mid tempo track and 'Next To You' a nice mid tempo dancer. The rest of the album
Sways towards mainstream R&B (Beyonce style) which is a shame as the soul tracks are excellent

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PREE A LITTLE BIT OF THIS N THAT
New music from Detroit with an old school feel varying from late 60's to mid 80's styles, produced by Clay McMurray. 'If That's The Way You Want It' is a modern soul mid tempo foot taper, 'Desire' and 'You Danced Into My Life' are post disco stompers, whilst 'One Look is an 80's style boogie dancer.
The 80's retro feel is also evident in 'Im The Lady' and 'Love Me'.

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DIFFERENT SHADE OF BROWN HAVE A HEART
Another Detroit album prod by Clay McMurray , this has all the hallmarks of classic 70's vocal harmony group soul (Dells/Intruders etc). 'When Your Next To Me' and 'Never Gonna Give You up' are modern soul dancers, 'Down And Out' has that mildly funky 70's dancer feel to it. Theres some nice falsetto led ballads 'Have A heart', 'Farewell Love' and 'When The Hurt IS Put Back On You' and probably best of all the shuffling ballad 'Love Vibrations' which has some really nice harmonies.

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BRIAN McKNIGHT 10
After his last great album, Brian reverts to his usual mix of R&B steppers and MOR ballads.
'Used To Be My Girl' is a good stepper, 'Comfortable', 'Whats My Name' and 'Unhappy Without You' are R&B mid tempo tracks that typify Brian. By far the highlight is 'Shoulda Been Lovin You' a Marvin Style handclapping funky mid tempo dancer (based on 'I Want You'), the ballads should satisfy his existing fans.

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ELAINE STEPTER - THE WOMAN I AM
This is quality smooth mid tempo soul. Elaine has a sweet soulful voice that really works on the material on this album. The title track is a really nice full production mid tempo swinger with good keyboards, 'Come See About Me' is good shuffler, 'Dim The Lights' a sultry ballad with sax backing. The mid tempo 'Our Love' and the catchy 'Quality Time' are also highlights. 'Selfish One' is a 70's style mid tempo dancer (think 'This will be') and 'Promises' a two stepper. If you liked C Pepsi Riley last album you'll dig this.

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VESTA WILLIAMS DISTANT LOVER
Continuation in Shanachie's series of contemporary Soul stars covering Soul and pop classics, Vesta Williams' voice soars over Bill Withers' 'Use Me' and try the 2 step paced take on Marvin's 'Distant Lover'. The beautiful duet 'With You I'm Born Again' sounds refreshed, whilst Sade's 'No Ordinary Love' is sultry and Deniece's 'Free' is given a smooth makeover. One of the strongest in the series.

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