Tuesday, September 16, 2014

NEW RELEASES: SOUL TOGETHERNESS 2014: 15 MODERN SOUL GEMS; REBELLUM - THE DARKNESS; RAHSAAN PATTERSON - LIVE AT THE BELASCO

SOUL TOGETHERNESS 2014: 15 MODERN SOUL GEMS (COMPILATION)

Wonderful work from the Soul Togetherness team – a collection that links together their love of vintage soul with the warmer sounds of the contemporary underground! This time around, most cuts are relatively recent, but often have a feel that takes us back to the modern soul years of the late 70s – or some of the mellow-stepping modes from a few years before – and our collective hats are off to the Soul Togetherness folks for doing such a good job of rooting out cuts like this – as the set includes a fair bit of gems that we might have missed otherwise! Plenty of real soul going on here – the kind of work you might think they don't make anymore – and titles include "Better Than This (Soul Talk rmx)" by Paul Johnson, "No Worries" by Noel Gourdin, "So Be It (Soul Talk rmx)" by Lisa Stansfield, "Furture Teller" by Joe, "Harriet Jones (Cool Million rmx)" by Eric Benet, "Listen (Drizabone rmx)" by Soulutions, "I Can't Let This Good Thing Get Away" by Linda Clifford, "Superstar (Reel People voc mix)" by The Company, and "Get My Life Back (Galactic Soul mix)" by Tyrone Lee. ~ Dusty Groove

REBELLUM - THE DARKNESS

A blistering blend of righteous sounds, funky jazz, and knowledge – very much in the best Burnt Sugar tradition, but served up here by their Rebellum offshoot! Lyrics and beats are from the mighty Greg Tate – and definitely reflect his long connection to progressive cultural experiments – but the full sound is a heady brew of saxes, drums, and guitar from the group – plus plenty of guests on added instrumentation and vocals as well. The whole thing's got a very collaborative vibe – in the best Burnt Sugar tradition – and titles include "Spankalick", "Guelph", "Young Fankenstank", "Heartseed", "Trelle To The Lew", "Somebody To Love You", "Ten Times Left", and "Chains & Water/No Coloureds Allowed". ~ Dusty Groove

RAHSAAN PATTERSON - LIVE AT THE BELASCO (DVD)

The musical charms of Rahsaan Patterson get a great visual showcase here – during a sweet live set recorded at LA's Belasco Theater – with guest appearances from Lalah Hathaway and Shanice Wilson too! Patterson's a heck of a showman – with a vibrancy that's maybe even stronger than some of his recent studio albums – and the tracks stretch out nicely, with a relaxed quality that's different than those records too. Titles include "Burnin", "Crazy", "Spend The Night", "Can't We Wait A Minute", "Feels Good", and "Where You Are". (There is no indication, but we are assuming this is an NTSC format, Region 1 DVD.)  ~ Dusty Groove







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