Monday, June 05, 2017

NEW MUSIC: LIGHT MELLOW - ONE DAY (VARIOUS ARTISTS/3-CD SET); OMAR – LOVE IN BEATS; DE-LITE 45s: DJ’S CHOICE 1969-1976 – SELECTED BY DAISUKE KURODA

LIGHT MELLOW - ONE DAY (VARIOUS ARTISTS/3-CD SET)

Step on over to AOR City, and discover some great music you might have missed otherwise – in this fantastic 3CD collection of AOR gems from the 70s and 80s – one that mixes familiar tunes with some real overlooked gems! The collection was put together in conjunction with the fantastic AOR City series of reissues – and features key tracks from those titles and other smooth, sublime pop cuts from the same 70s stretch – the kind of work that might have hit the radio at the time, but which often got lost to the shifting sands of time. Some artists are ones you might know from other work in rock and soul – others are artists who only got a brief chance to reach for the brass ring – getting strong studio help and top-level production that makes them fit right in with the hits here. 57 tracks in all – including "Angel Heart" by Jimmy Webb, "So So Happy" by Valerie Carter, "Personally" by Karla Bonoff, "Nothin You Can Do About It" by Airplay, "I Go Crazy" by Paul Davis, "Only A Lonely Heart Sees" by Felix Cavaliere, "On & On" by Stephen Bishop, "Stephanie" by John Valenti, "I Need You" by Maurice White, "Nightwalker" by Gino Vanelli, "Waiting For A Star To Fall" by Boy Meets Girl, "Don't Talk" by Larry Lee, "Hearts On Fire" by Randy Meisner, "Seeing You" by Jimmy Messina, "Casablanca" by Dane Donohue, "Lazy Nina" by Greg Phillinganes, "Wait For Me" by Hall & Oates, "Next To You" by Dan Siegel with Kenny Rankin, "What Good Is Love" by Bill Champlin, "Runnin & Hidin" by Fools Gold, "You Are" by Niteflyte, "Lovin & Losin You" by Dwayne Ford, "Eldorado Escape" by Far Cry, and "Song For A Sucker Like You" by Ben Sidran. (Part of the great AOR City series from Japan!)  ~ Dusty Groove.

OMAR – LOVE IN BEATS

Omar's been blowing our minds for years now – turning out some of the freshest soul music on the global scene – from his tremendous debut at the start of the 90s, to a range of crucially-overlooked albums that should have made the singer huge! The man's a hell of a singer, and a really great songwriter – easily a modern-day Stevie Wonder, right down to his skills on the keyboards and cosmic sense of soul! This album's got Omar sounding especially wonderful – working with a few key guests, like Robert Glasper, Leon Ware, Natasha Watts, and The Floacist – but reminding us again that it's the man at the core who makes all the music so great – as the guests appear only as key added elements, but the Omar sound is more than enough to make the record great. Titles include "Vicky's Tune", "Feeds My Mind", "Insatiable", "Gave My Heart", "Girl Talk", "I Want It To Be", "Hold Me Closer", "This Way That Way", "Destiny", and "Doobie Doobie Doo". ~ Dusty Groove

DE-LITE 45s: DJ’S CHOICE 1969-1976 – SELECTED BY DAISUKE KURODA

A great collection of funky 45s from the De-Lite family of labels – most of which were never issued on any sort of full-length album! In addition to singles issued by De-Lite – best known as the key home of Kool & The Gang – the set also features tracks from the related Vigor and Red Coach labels – two excellent east coast imprints that were filled with funky combos who were just bursting with talent – very much tuned to the fast-funk styles that exploded in the years before disco! Titles include "Chick A Boom" by Pazant Brothers, "How Do You Feel" by The New Cymbals, "RRAWJ" by Reggie Sadler Revue, "Stand Up (part 2)" by Maskman & The Agents, "Funky Generation" by Everyday People, "Spread The Word" by Yvonne Daniels, "Hard To Handle" by Dennis Robinson, "I Smell Trouble" by Johnny De'Vigne, "Lady" by Shalong, "Far Out" by Crown Heights Affair, "Jackie" by Mebeus, "Party Music" by Pat Lundi, "Be Real" by Tomorrow's Edition, "I Wanna Give You Tomorrow" by Benny Troy, "It Really Hurts Me Girl" by The Carstairs, "LC Funk" by The New Cymbals, "Mboga Chakula" by Pazant Brothers, and "My Baby's Coming Home To Stay" by Janice Saddler. ~ Dusty Groove


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