JEAN WELLS - HER COMES JEAN WELLS
Some of
the greatest work ever from Jean Wells – a 60s soul singer who never fully got
her due, but really shines here in the company of some top-shelf Atlantic
Records talent! The album's a great mix of deep soul vocals and tighter uptown
soul production – with sublime arrangements from Horace Ott, Bert DeCoteaux,
and Chris Towns – all of whom really know how to let the personality of the
lead lady come through, but also keep things tight enough to make the album fit
together wonderfully! The great Clyde Otis produced – with the same sort of hip
soulful flair he brought to his best work for Mercury – and although Jean's
vocals are always great, on this set they're really set up in some wonderful
arrangements that totally let her do her thing! Titles include "What Have
I Got To Lose", "Broomstick Horse Cowboy", "Have A Little
Mercy", "Try Me & See", "Our Sweet Love Turned
Bitter", and "I Feel Good". ~ Dusty Groove
STEP INSIDE MY SOUL - RARE 70'S AND MODERN SOUL (VARIOUS ARTISTS)
Stunning
soul from the 70s – a host of rare tracks that mostly appeared as short-lived
singles on Polydor – really lost to the shifting sands of time amidst the
bigger acts on the label! The work here rivals the best of the best from the
time – particularly the east coast groups who were getting bigger play on
smaller indie labels – or some of the best Chicago acts of the time, who were
helping to forge a new wave of modern soul! Production is never too slick, or
uptight – and every single track is a mellow soul treasure that's brimming over
with sweet vocals and laidback grooves – all hand-picked by legendary soul
collector Bob Abrahamian, who also wrote some very detailed notes for the
collection too. One of our favorite mellow soul collections ever – with tracks
that include "You're Hardly Gone" by Tyrone Thomas, "The Goodbye
Song" by Vaneese & Carolyn, "Step Inside My World" by The
Reason Why, "Say You Will" by Mojoba, "All Alone By The
Telephone" by The Checkmates Ltd, "We're Gonna Make It" by New
World, "Sooner Or Later" by Alvarez, "Love Market" by JJ
Williams, "Say Yeah" by Sam Dees, "I'm So Glad" by Prime
Cut, and "I Just Want To Thank You" by Jules Johnson & The
Dynamics. ~ Dusty Groove
JESSE GREEN - NICE AND SLOW
A
classic set from Jessie Green – the singer's biggest album ever, and a great
blend of 70s soul with deeper Caribbean roots! Jessie hails from Jamaica, and
got his start in reggae – but by the time of this record, he was reaching out
with a wider, global sort of style – one that has island rhythms bubbling
amidst warmer modern soul arrangements – all in a blend that's completely
sublime, and which has some of the same tight-grooving appeal as the best Miami
soul of the TK Records scene! The set features the classic "Nice &
Slow" – a tune that's more midtempo than you'd guess from the title – and
lots of other great tracks that include "Don't Do it", "Will You
Won't You", Come With Me", "Flip", "The Greatest
Love", "Don't Knock My Love", "You Came You Saw You
Conquered", and "Let's Go". CD features bonus tracks –
"Flip (alt version)", "Don't Know My Love (alt version)",
"Don't Let Me Down (alt version)", "Nice & Slow (12"
disco)", and "Flip (12" disco)". ~ Dusty Groove
No comments:
Post a Comment