An impressive intro to Wild Belle – the group fronted by the brother & sister duo of Elliot & Natalie Bergman! Elliot's best known around these parts for his work with global soundscape eclecticists Nomo – and if you follow Nomo, you know enough to expect the unexpected. That said, we still didn't expect something like Wild Belle! There's just 2 songs here, but it's fair to say that they have the potential to breakout huge, and pretty damn quick, too. "Keep You" has a bit of a breezy rocksteady vibe while "Take Me Away" is a seriously catchy pastiche of psych-pop-soul tunefulness. Their sounds are built from Rhodes, toy piano and other keys, sax, kalimba, guitar, bass, drums, autoharp and more. We haven't even touched on Natalie's vocals yet, which are easygoing and seductive at the same time. No genre, really. Just good. Get it!
One of the few albums as an artist from the great Nick De Caro – one of the hipper arrangers of the 60s, best known for his collaborations with Claudine Longet on A&M! Nick's a very subtle genius – one who can work firmly inside the mainstream, but also bring something different to the table – a magical way of inflecting a tune, spare use of silence, or controlled emotion that always made his backings a perfect fit for the adult sound of A&M. Instrumentation here is heavily strings, but never in a syrupy, sleepy way – and many numbers feature a standout lead instrument – such as piano by Lincoln Mayorga, soprano sax by Gabe Balthazar, or tenor sax by Bill Perkins. Nick sings on 2 tracks – "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and "Caroline No" – in this compressed style that's totally wonderful – and other titles include "Love is All", "Quiet Sunday", "Lullaby From Rosemary's Baby", "Happy Heart", and "I'll Forget You". CD also features a bonus single edits of "Happy Heart" and "Spanish Flea". (SHMCD pressing.)
Sharply funky sounds from the third coast of Detroit – played by one of the best groups to emerge from the Motor City in years! Although the city's been known for its electric styles of the past few decades, recent years has seen a strong return to old school modes – and the Third Coast Kings are a perfect example of that – a group who really respect classic funk styles of the late 60s and early 70s, and really get the instrumentation, production, and overall conception right on the money! There's plenty of funky combos around these days, but these guys really do a hell of a job – and the overall sound of the record is so great, they easily give most of the more established funk acts a real run for their money. Titles include "Summalove", "Case Quarter", "On The Reel", "Gold Brick", "Emcee Marie", "Come On", "Give Me Your Love", and "Crush It".
Dusty Groove
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