JOHNNY NASH – STIR IT UP: THE ANTHOLOGY 1965-1979
The first-ever collection to really do justice to the music
of Johnny Nash – despite the fact that the man himself racked up a few global
hits back in the 70s! Nash is a heck of an interesting singer – born in Texas,
and able to croon both deep soul and jazz – which he did on a string of labels
into the mid 60s – before taking matters into his own hands, starting his own
label, and also picking up on the new sounds of Jamaica – which he mixed with
American soul in a way that helped catapult him to the top of the charts in
both the US and UK! Nash's sound is never straight reggae, but it also has some
Jamaican rhythmic elements in it at times – although the range of work here
also includes some wicked early singles by Johnny on his own JAD imprint, and
some other late 70s efforts that show him moving into some other sophisticated
styles too. The 2CD set features a whopping 46 tracks in all – plus detailed
notes on Nash's career – with titles that include "Wonderful Woman",
"Let's Move & Groove", "Cupid", "You Got
Soul", "Groovin", "Yellow House", "Ooh What A
Feeling", "My Merry Go Round", "Nice Time",
"Celebrate Life", "Closer (12" mix)", "You're The
One", "Mr Sea", "Birds Of A Feather", "What A
Wonderful World", "Rock It Baby", "Tears On My
Pillow", "The Very First Time", "I Can See Clearly
Now", "There Are More Questions Than Answers", "Guava
Jelly", and "The Edge Of Love".
~ Dusty Groove
ROHEY – A MILLION THINGS
Rohey's the name of the band, and the name of the lead
singer Rohey Taalah – a really great voice that we're betting we hear from
strongly in years to come! The album's definitely a group effort – because
although Rohey's lyrics are a big part of the sound, there's also a fantastic
sort of energy from the trio of Ivan Blomquist on keyboards, Kristian Jacobsen
on bass, and Henrik Lodoen on drums – a group who forge these flowing waves of
soul that are completely sublime – bursting out strongly at some points, moving
more gently at others – always with just the right balance between the keys and
vocals. And although the group's from Norway, the album's got a quality that
rivals the best American underground soul in recent years – as you'll hear on
cuts that include "Now That You Are Free", "I Found Me",
"Cellphones & Pavements", "Afterthoughts",
"Responsibilities", "My Recipe", and "Tell
Me". ~ Dusty Groove
JC BROOKS – THE NEON JUNGLE
JC Brooks parts company with the Uptown Sound – and comes
across here with a completely different sound! Brooks is a Chicago soul singer
whose risen to great acclaim with that previous group – who've given him a
retro-styled, old school soul approach – but here, he comes across with a more
contemporary vibe, in a 21st Century funky soul mode that has some sweet
electric touches around the edges, while still letting Brooks really soar
upfront! The shift is an interesting one, and a great one too – the kind of
move that may well get JC some of the bigger attention he deserves. Titles
include "Jungle", "Edge Of Night", "ONO",
"One For Someone", "Get Gone", "Watch Me",
"Playing With Fire", and "Stumble In The Dark". ~ Dusty Groove
No comments:
Post a Comment