Tuesday, March 31, 2015

NEW RELEASES: DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS - SOUL BALLADS; LOOSE THE FUNK: RARITIES FROM THE JEWEL / PAUL VAULTS; THE COOKERS QUINTET: VOL. TWO

DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS - SOUL BALLADS

Former Blood Sweat & Tears frontman, David Clayton-Thomas, has released his latest album Soul Ballads.  The album brings you 12 tracks from the legendary Grammy-Award winning singer covering all-time soul-classics by Ray Charles, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and many others. The album was recorded live in Thomas’ hometown of Toronto, Canada. Tracks include: Midnight Train To Georgia, A Change Is Gonna Come, People Get Ready, If You Don’t Know Me By Now, Sunny, I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, Ruby,When Something Is Wrong With My Baby,You Don’t Know Me,You Really Got A Hold On Me, and When A Man Loves A Woman.

LOOSE THE FUNK: RARITIES FROM THE JEWEL / PAUL VAULTS

Heavy funk from the vaults of Jewel and Paula Records – that Louisiana family of labels that cut some mighty mean music in the 60s and 70s! Jewel and Paula were more than able to come up with the goods again and again over the years – with roots in the south, and artists in styles that included blues, gospel, and jazz – which makes for a really fresh, really unique criss-crossing of modes here – in a set of singles that dig way deeper than the usual hits from the label! There's no stock, standard groove here – as you might find on labels that had a more unified approach to the music – which makes this collection of singles even more filled with surprises than you might expect. The styles run from funky blues to deep soul, instrumental funk, group soul, and more – and titles include "Loose Booty (part 1)" by The Eldorados, "Shootin The Grease" by Jesse Gresham Plus 3, "Looking For A Woman" by Joe Perkins, "Get It On With Me" by Bobby Rush, "Prove It" by The Genies, "Loose Eel" by Dumas King, "The Thrill Ain't Gone" by Alex Williams, "The Hen (part 1)" by Louis Chachere, "Woman Hang Your Head In Shame" by The Wallace Brothers, "Good Thing (part 2)" by Casey Jones, "Black Reflections" by Essence, "Junkie For Your Love" by Cash McCall, "Impeace Me Baby" by Arlene Brown, and "My World" by The Four Shades. ~ Dusty Groove

THE COOKERS QUINTET: VOL. TWO

The Cookers Quintet definitely earn their name this time around – serving up an old school hardbop groove that would have been right at home on 60s Blue Note or Prestige – but which is maybe even more compelling here in a contemporary setting! As before, these guys have a very strong sense of rhythm – similar to some of our favorite artists on the Ricky Tick label – which means an acoustic, live approach to jazz, but one that's also really focused on a soulful groove as well – the sort that's sure to make some of these numbers perfect for the jazz dance underground. There's great vocals on a few cuts too – a number each sung by Johnny O'Neal, Leron Thomas, and Dawn Pemberton – and titles include "Hot For Preacher", "Sheriff", "The New Deal", "The Crumpler", "This Is The Thing", and "Blindside".  ~ Dusty Groove


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