KASHIF – HELP YOURSELF TO MY LOVE: THE ARISTA ANTHOLOGY
A huge legacy in soul music from Kashif – one of the
greatest rising stars of the 80s scene, and an artist who really helped the
music find a new direction at the time! By the time of these tracks, Kashif had
already had a lot of experience writing for others – but on his own, he soars
even further into the skies – as a mature, sophisticated artist who's able to
get past straighter funk and club modes, but also avoid some of the more
commercial soul music cliches of the time – with a timeless approach that's
ensured that work like this has found a growing audience in the decades since
it was recorded! Make no mistake, there's plenty of catchy tunes here – but
there's also something special, too – as Kashif was never one to just make
throwaway tracks, and instead always seemed to be working towards a greater
role. The 2CD set brings together 30 of his best moments from the 80s –
including some 12" mixes – and titles include "Stone Love",
"I Just Gotta Have You", "Ooh Love", "Moving
Song", "Condition Of The Heart (extended)", "Love Me All
Over (extended)", "Love Changes (with Meli'sa Morgan)",
"Step Into My World", "Love Letter Out Loud", "Kathryn
(inst)", "Dancing In The Dark", "Movie Song",
"Edgartown Groove", "The Mood", "All",
"Ain't No Woman Like The One I Got (extended)", "I've Been
Missing You", "Loving You Only (extended – with Doug E Fresh
rap)", and "Reservations For Two (with Dionne Warwick)". ~ Dusty Groove
TANIKA CHARLES – SOUL RUN
The first full-length from Tanika Charles – a deep funk
singer with a difference! Tanika definitely works in some of the old school
soul modes that you'll know from other artists on the Record Kicks label – but
there's also a bit more of a contemporary crackle to her music, too – thanks to
production work from Slakah The Beatchild, which brings in some hip hop
elements to the rhythms! Tanika still sings like she's making a record from the
60s and 70s, and most of the other instrumentation falls in the same way too –
but the added production really gives things a crisp vibe that gets past some
of the more overdone retro soul cliches in recent years. Titles include
"Soul Run", "More Than A Man", "Money",
"Love Fool", "Endless Chain", "Darkness & The
Dawn", and "Waiting". ~
Dusty Groove
MTUME – PRIME TIME: THE EPIC ANTHOLOGY
James Mtume is an artist with deep roots in jazz – including
some excellent spiritual jazz material in the early 70s – but here, he's
hitting superstardom in the soul music world – by pairing up with Reggie Lucas
for a great run of music from the Mtume group! Lucas also hails from jazz –
Mtume met him when they were both working with Miles Davis – and both artists
bring something really special to their sound that moves it away from simple
commercial soul – a bit like the depth that lays behind Earth Wind & Fire,
who have similar righteous roots, but are able to fuse a wonderfully smooth,
groovy sound – and there's also a similarity to the late 70s material of Norman
Connors, another artist who followed a similar path. This set spans the full
run of excellent recordings Mtume did for the Epic label – almost a decade's
worth of music, including some other mixes, and a few side projects with singer
Tawatha. Titles include "Just Funnin", "Anticipatin",
"Mrs Sippi", "Love Lock", "Closer To The End",
"Funky Constellation", "The After 6 Mix (Juicy Fruit part
2)", "You Me & He (polygamy mix)", "COD",
"Prime Time", "We're Gonna Make It This Time", "The
Closer I Get To You", "Kiss This World Goodbye", "It's
Non-Functional", "Body & Soul", "Breathless (A&G
mix)", "Did I Dream You", and "Would You Like To Fool
Around". ~ Dusty Groove
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