Tuesday, March 27, 2018

NEW RELEASES: LTD – SOMETHING TO LOVE / TOGETHERNESS / DEVOTION / SHINE ON; GIZELLE SMITH – RUTHLESS DAY; MATTHEW SHIPP – SONIC FICTION


LTD – SOMETHING TO LOVE / TOGETHERNESS / DEVOTION / SHINE ON

4 classic records from LTD on 2CDs! Something To Love is a great little groover with arrangements by Philly Soul maestro Bobby Martin – who mixes together funk, club grooves, and smooth soul. Jeffrey Osborne's vocals really shine on this one, too! Osborne's emerging strongly in the mellow soul mode on Togetherness, too – especially on the album's two great ballad cuts, "Concentrate On You" and "We Both Deserve Each Other". Devotion is one of LTD's biggest from the 70s – a sweet mix of mellow soul and boogie. Shine On features more solid boogie sounds – with the group still grooving beautifully in their best late 70s mode at the cusp of the next decade! 37 tracks on a 2CD set that compiles their last few years of the 70s! "Back In Love Again", "Stay With Me", "We Party Hearty", "Material Things", "Age Of The Showdown", "Stranger", "Share My Love", "Say That You'll Be Mine", "One On One", and "Dance N Sing N", "You Gave Me Love", "Lovers Everywhere", "Holding On", "Jam", "Don't Stop Loving Me Now", and "Let's All Live & Give Together", "Don'tcha Know", "Shine On", "Where Did We Go Wrong", "Getaway", "Lady Love" and more. ~ Dusty Groove

GIZELLE SMITH – RUTHLESS DAY

Gizelle Smith got caught in the rain on the cover – but you'd hardly know that, given the sunny, upbeat vibe of the album! Smith's a singer who's been bubbling under for years, and this sweet little set may be the one that breaks her out to the big time – as the album has her going past the role of just being a female singer with a funk group – into territory that feels much more able to take on the world of mainstream soul! Not that the album's not funky – because it is – but there's a cohesion here between Smith's self-penned lyrics and the contributions of the musicians that's really wonderful – almost at the level of an old school soul production, but at that refreshed level that the London scene gave us many years back. As with some of the greats from those years – like N'Dea Davenport or Carleen Anderson – Smith seems ready to take the world on with her pride and power – on titles that include "Hero", "Scared Of Something", "Love Song", "Ruthless Day", "Twelve", "Hey Romeo", and "Dust". ~ Dusty Groove

MATTHEW SHIPP – SONIC FICTION

Really beautiful sounds from pianist Matthew Shipp and a very well-chosen quartet – a group that features Michael Bisio on bass, Whit Dickey on drums, and Mat Walerian on alto, bass clarinet, and soprano clarinet! The music is often moody and slow-building – almost (although we hate to use this term) a noir take on avant jazz, with this current of melancholy that shows us just how much Shipp has grown emotionally as a musician in recent years. There's a beautiful balance between freedom and structure in the performance – qualities that all the musicians are very well-suited to express – and the whole thing is surprisingly powerful, at a level that we really didn't expect. Titles include "First Step", "Easy Flow", "The Problem Of Jazz", "Cell In The Brain", "Sonic Fiction", "The Station", "Blues Addition", and "Lines Of Energy". ~ Dusty Groove



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