NEW MUSIC: SETENTA – PARIS TO NUEVA YORK; ROBERTA CAMPOS – TODO CAMINHO E SORTE; THE RELATIVES – GOODBYE WORLD

SETENTA – PARIS TO NUEVA YORK

A French combo, but one who really love the best styles of 70s Latin from the New York scene – particularly the funky current that was only handled by a few great acts at the time! These guys effortlessly mix electric bass, keyboards, and guitar with rootsier elements on percussion – and forge a groove that's warmly soulful, and has all the sweet glow of the image on the cover – a combination of the group's own European origins and their inspirations from Manhattan – in a sound that gets especially strong on the one number that features guest vocals from Joe Bataan! Yet even without Joe, the sound is pretty wonderful – with vocals that are more often handled by the group as a whole, in a laidback way – which leaves plenty of room for them to stretch out instrumentally, especially on keyboards. Titles include "My Rainbow", "Madam Shingaling", "Genius", "Da Manha", "Dansa Chango", "Tcha Bell", and "Power Of Your Smile".  ~ Dusty Groove

ROBERTA CAMPOS – TODO CAMINHO E SORTE

Lovely work from Roberta Campos – a contemporary Brazilian singer/songwriter, and one who works in a nicely universal style! Most tracks have light acoustic guitar underscoring Roberta's lyrics – which are well-penned and personal, without ever being cloying – almost in a tradition that reminds us of some of the more impressive English language talents of this nature from the 80s and early 90s. Marcelo Camelo guests on the hit single "Amiude" – and other titles include "Porta Retrata", "Pro Dia Que Chega", "Cirandar", "Libelula", "Minha Felicidade", and "Ensaio Sobre O Amor". ~ Dusty Groove

THE RELATIVES – GOODBYE WORLD

A bold return to form for The Relatives – a legendary gospel funk group from the 70s Texas scene – finally brought back to their former strengths on this contemporary set! The approach is very old school – a strong focus on the excellent vocal interplay of the group, and the strong leads of Rev Gean West, who passed away during the course of the recording – with backing by a tight funky combo who's main job is just the emphasize the inherent soulful sounds in the vocals, and never get too much in the way! Basslines are nice and deep, which makes even the mellower tracks sound mighty heavy – and the sense of spirit here is less churchy, and more righteous from a social perspective – as you'll hear on the cuts "Rational Culture/Testimony", "This World Is Moving Too Fast", "He Never Sleeps", "No Man Is An Island" ~ Dusty Groove