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SPN: New Funk/Soul/Jazz/Nu Soul Music Reviews & Broadcast: Rick James, Ledisi, Soulive, Denise Williams, Maysa, Ted Mills, Barbara Mason, Michael Cooper, Phil Perry, Evelyn Champange King, , Chip Shelton, Nadir, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Jay Proctor, Onyx1, Mike Calzone, Melissa Young, Joseph Wooten, Jerry Lawson, Mayra Casales, Lillie Kae, James Brown, Anthony Hamilton, Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of EWF (Chaka Kahn, Angie Stone, Kirk Franklin, Ledisi, Randy Watson Experience, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Mint Condition, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello), Ike Turner, Fatback Band, Diana Ross, Joe Zawinul, Kyle Jason, A Soulful Tale of Two Cities, Marc Broussard, Gary Lee, Thump Daddy, Winstons, Classic Style Detroit Style
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CLICK THE BANNER & LISTEN TO:
3 HOURS OF BRAND NEW SLOW JAMS 
Featuring New Releases From: Melissa Young, Ms Monique, Michael Cooper, Jay Proctor, Denise King, Ledisi, Jerry Lawson, Phil Hurt, Ted Mills, Barbara Mason, Billy Jones, Gary Taylor, Linda Jones, Rick James, Ryan Shaw, Onyx1, Mike Calzone, Rhonda Benn, Evelyn "Champange" King, Maysa, Cocco Hues, Denise Williams, Najuma, Mena, Phil Perry
BONUS: ANNOUNCEMENT OF SOUL-PATROL'S GREATEST SLOW JAM OF ALL TIME SURVEY RESULTS
http://www.soul-patrol.net/sj2007.ram
Soul-Patrol Newsletter Headlines:
* Album Review: Ledisi - Lost & Found
* Album Review: Soulive - "No Place Like Soul"
* Album Review: Michael Cooper - "Are We Cool"
* Album Review: Onaje Allen Gumbs - "Sack Full of Dreams"
* Album Review: Jay Proctor - "Still Got Flow"
* Album Review Mike Calzone - "In Blue"
* Album Review: Melissa Young - "Just Up the Road"
* Album Review: Nadir - "Slave the Remix Tape"
* Album Review: Lillie Kae - "I'm Glad There Is You"
* Album Review: Joseph Wooten - "Hands of Soul"
* Album Review: Jerry Lawson - "Talk of the Town"
* Album Review: Mayra Casales - "Woman on Fire"
* Album Review: Done Deal - "Love Motion"
* Album Review: Chip Shelton - "Have Flute Will Travel, Stop 2 Cape May"
* Album Review: Maysa - "Feel the Fire"
* Album Review: - James Brown - "50th Anniversary Collection"
* Album Review: - Anthony Hamilton - "Southern Comfort"
* Album Review: - Various Artists - "Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of EWF" (Chaka Kahn, Angie Stone, Kirk Franklin, Ledisi, Randy Watson Experience, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Mint Condition, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello)
* Album Review: Ike Turner - Risin' with the Blues
* Album Review: Fatback Band Live In Tokyo
* Album Review Diana Ross - "I Love You"
* Album Review: Joe Zawinul - "Brown Street"
* Album Review: Kyle Jason - "Revolution of the Cool"
* Album Review: Various Artists - "A Soulful Tale of Two Cities"
Welcome To The Soul-Patrol Newsletter
The middle of the summer is upon us and I have been listening to lots of new music. Most of it has been "average" and some of it has been awful. All of the music presented here for your consideration is compelling in it's own way Since I am never going to tell you about any music that I consider to be "less than the best" (you will have to find out about those albums elsewhere), here is a summary of the good stuff that I can recommend that you consider parting with any of your hard earned dollars for...
We also have a brand new internet radio broacast featuring many of the same artists and more whose reviews appear in this issue. Be sure to check it out as well at the following link:
http://www.soul-patrol.net/sj2007.ram Feel free to listen along as you read.
There is truly a lot of great music out there, but sometimes finding it is like trying to locate a needle in a haystack. For sure there is a whole lotta crappy music out there. My job is to listen to the crappy music, so that you don't have to...
--Bob Davis
609-351-0154
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Album Review: Ledisi - Lost & Found
(Nu Soul)
 This is the one we have all been waiting for. This album is on the level of the great female artists of the past. No need to make any comparisons to the Erykah Badu's or Jill Scott's of the world this time. Now it's time to compare Ledisi to the great female song stylists of the past. In no way is this "retro" or "throwback" in any respect whatsoever except for the fact that it's thoroughly listenable from start to finish. In fact to illustrate that point the album is designed much like the book Ulysses, the end of the album puts you right back at the beginning of the album. In other words we finally have an album that tells a coherent story from end to end, just like great albums are supposed to. There aren't any "throwaway" or "filler" tracks here. If you buy the album, you won't feel cheated (like with most Neo Soul" albums) or feel like instead of paying 15 dollars, you should have paid only three dollars because there are only 3 good songs on it. It's actually a great and fully realized concept album full of fresh original songs that will grab you the very first time that you listen. These songs stand alone. They also stand as a collection of artistic gems that link together the full range of female emotions over the course of up's & downs of modern relationships. All of this is anchored by the classic voice and tone of the best and top Indy artists of this century. Ledisi is ready to become a household name and if this album doesn't do it for her, then Black music fans should be ashamed of themselves, because it truly means that they are in a "catatonic state." Ledisi - "Lost & Found" is an album that you will not only want to rush out and purchase immediately (release date 8/28), but you will also immediately want to encourage your friends to buy it as well. Ask yourself honestly, when was the last time that you felt like that about an album?
http://www.ledisi.com
Album Review: Soulive - "No Place Like Soul"
(Soul/Funk/Jazz)
 The press that accompanied the release of the new album Soulive - "No Place Like Soul", made a direct comparison between the legendary STAX house band known as Booker T & the MG's and Soulive. I'm listening to the NEW Soulive album (No Place Like Soul) as I am typing. At first blush it's pretty good. Most of it sounds a bit like a cross between "Booger T" and AWB (sans horns) w/vocals. There is one instrumental cut that sounds like a cross between of "Booger T" and Stevie Ray Vaughn that I really liked. There is also a nice "Hendrix style" slow jam (similar to "Angel").
All of this music sounds derivative to me. By that I mean that it's all clearly influenced by certain artists that Soulive obviously admires. Here is a listing of the vibe that each song created for me:
1. Waterfall ("Booger T"), 2. Don't Tell Me (Sly/Stevie/Zapp), 3. Mary (Wilson Pickett), 4. Comfort (AWB), 5. Callin'(Reggae Groove), 6. Outrage (Stevie Ray), 7. Morning Light (JB's),
8. Never Know (Living Colour), 9. Yeah Yeah (Gap Band), 10. If This World Was a Song (Reggae Groove), 11. One of Those Days (Stevie Ray), 12. Bubble (Led Zeppelin), 13. Kim (Jimi Hendrix)
Taken collectively, these various "vibes" in some ways can be interpreted as something of a suggested direction for the newly revitalized STAX record label, given that Soulive - "No Place Like Soul" is their very first new release. Now I realize that some of you may have a certain "stereotype" of STAX in your mind, based on the popular mythology that surrounds the record label largely created by the Blues Brothers movie. I would suggest to you that the original STAX record label itself was never as simple as portrayed and that it actually had several different personalities as it evolved over time from the early 1960's thru the 1970's. STAX is stereotyped as being "Southern Soul" probably so that it could be positioned as a mirror image of Motown (ie: "northern"). The reality is that while STAX was indeed "Southern Soul", it was also Funk, Blues, Slow Jams, Rock n' Roll, Gospel, Comedy and more. It was the total Black experience and was a true reflection of the diversity of that experience. STAX was never a singular thing, just like Black Americans and their music are not a single thing. I realize that this causes "problems" for people who like their history tied up into a nice little bow. However that was the reality of STAX back then and I for one am glad to see them continuing in that vein today as opposed to falling into the easy stereotypes.
Booker T & the MG's was a classic r&b/rock & roll band that could play anything that you threw at them. And I would suggest to you that Soulive is also a classic r&b/rock & roll band that could play anything that you throw at them as well. And as such this album represents a near perfect execution of that concept and is fitting beginning for the next chapter in the history of the STAX record label. Needless to say, this album is highly recommended.
Find out more about Soulive at:
http://www.soulive.com
Album Review: Michael Cooper - "Are We Cool"
(Soul/Funk)
 Are you one of those types of people who uses the term "old school" to describe the kind of music that you grew up listening to but are tired of listening to your old records? Are you the type of person who wishes there were albums being produced today that evoke the feelings/emotions implied by the term "old school", but didn't sound "old fashioned?" Are you the type of person who likes their classic soul, but are tired of the endless stream of albums of people with "generic voices", doing remakes of great songs from the past that sound "tired", because they are outside of their original context? Well if any of the above sounds like it might be you, then Michael Cooper - "Are We Cool" is right up your alley. This album evokes the style of artists like Marvin Gaye, Rick James, Ohio Players, Luther Vandross, Frankie Beverly, and ZAPP that sounds perfectly credible and its in the context of 2007. It's timeless music of a type that it seems that we have forgotten how to make anymore. As evidence of it's "timelessness" Michael Cooper - "Are We Cool" was originally released back in 2004 and promptly "slept on" by most everyone (including me). Some of this can be attributed to poor marketing by the original record label that released it (a record label that has a notorious track record for releasing great Black music albums and then proceeding to keep their existence a big secret from Black music fans). Fortunately for us Michael Cooper the co-leader of the legendary Soul/Funk band Con Fun Tion has obtained the rights to the album and will re-release it so that it's existence will no longer be a "secret" from Black music lovers. Yes Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus and in this case it's our friend and legendary Black music artist Michael Cooper, who with his album "Are We Cool" is proving that just having talent isn't always enough. Sometimes you have to believe in yourself enough to operate outside of the system in order to make your talent known to those who crave it and don't know where to find it.
http://www.michaelcoopercd.com
Album Review: Onaje Allen Gumbs - "Sack Full of Dreams"
(Straight No Chaser Jazz)
Remember those albums that were used as the soundtrack for the Charlie Brown animated TV specials. Admit it yall, if you couldn't walk away from listening to those albums without a smile on your face, then there is something seriously wrong with you. The album "Sack Full of Dreams" by Onaje Allen Gumbs starts out with a cover version of "Cantaloupe Island", which is one of the most pleasant and relaxing jazz cuts that I know of. And it sets the mood for this "straight no chaser" album. The first time I played it was with my headphones on while I was paying bills and somehow the music made even that exercise less painful. Another example of this is the song "The Fishin Pond" which is the theme song of the old Andy Griffith Show (yall remember the song playing while Andy & Opie are walking towards their favorite fishin hole?). Life in 2007 is tough, complicated and unforgiving but things don't really have to be that way and this album is a reminder that life really is what you make it. Sometimes changing your circumstances is really just a matter of changing your attitude and listening to "Sack Full of Dreams" by Onaje Allen Gumbs can go a long way towards providing an attitude adjustment, for even the most cynical among us.
http://www.onajeallangumbs.com
Album Review: Jay Proctor - "Still Got Flow"
(Classic Soul)
Everyone remembers the great interracial Top 40 charting group called Jay & the Techniques. Songs like "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie" and "Keep the Ball Rolling" have become staples of "oldies formatted radio stations" and as a result a part of the American lexicon reaching across all American demographic groups. Well Jay Proctor is the by now familiar voice of the lead singer of Jay & the Techniques and he's got a new album called "Still Got Flow." But instead of a mesmerizing 1960's Top 40 feel to it, this album's got a definite Classic Soul feel to it. Barry White comes to mind, Charles Wright comes to mind, Gene Chandler comes to mind, Latimore comes to mind, Rick James comes to mind, William Bell comes to mind, Teddy P comes to mind. Despite these familiar artists that come to mind, Jay Proctor's Still Got Flow isn't one bit retro, in fact it's the kind of album that artists like Carl Thomas, Usher and others would do well to study if they want to have a career that is as lasting and influential as Jay Proctor's. I liked most all of the cuts on the album, including the title song "Still Got Flow", "Got You On My Mind", "You Make Me Hot", "Make This Promise To You", "Let's Get Freaky", "Got You On My Mind", and "Baby I Love You". This album is right on time in my opinion, because "Classic Soul" is making a serious comeback. In fact it's all over the place with some of the hottest albums of 2007 (Amy Whinehouse, Joss Stone, Robin Thicke, etc.) being of the classic soul genre. That means Jay Proctor is perfectly in step with the times and he didn't even need a "marketing consultant" to tell him that it was a smart thing to do. He simply went out and made a great album of original "classic soul" songs.
http://www.jayproctor.com
Album Review Mike Calzone - "In Blue"
(Black American Standard Music)
 As a card carrying member of the Black Rock Coalition this album was the last thing I expected from Mike Calzone, the former guitarist of the classic 70's - 80's disco/funk Dazz band. First of all, this album is organized like an LP, it's got a "side one" and a "side two". Side "one" is called "old school/soul school and sounds like a combination of STAX/TK Records/Ohio Players with just a touch of blues, disco, slow jams & funk. Side "two" is called "new school/rock school" and it sounds like Living Colour meets Whoodini meets Journey meets the Eagles meets Santana. If all of this sounds like a "mess", it isn't. In fact it all sounds quite visionary and diverse to my ears and contains many standout tunes representing many different musical styles that fall under the umbrella of Black music. Mike Calzone has a vision for Black music that is not unlike that of Soul-Patrol.com itself. He understands that Black music isn't what "they" say it's supposed to be, it's what "we" say it is. That is an unusual and courageous perspective to take in the "cookie cutter world of 2007". However it is the correct perspective to take if one wants to create a timeless collection of music that will stand on it's own artistic value many years from now, instead of being used as a coaster (or worse yet an actual "cookie cutter").
http://www.littlefishrecords.com/g_americana.htm#calzone
CLICK THE BANNER & LISTEN TO:
3 HOURS OF BRAND NEW SLOW JAMS
Featuring New Releases From: Melissa Young, Ms Monique, Michael Cooper, Jay Proctor, Denise King, Ledisi, Jerry Lawson, Phil Hurt, Ted Mills, Barbara Mason, Billy Jones, Gary Taylor, Linda Jones, Rick James, Ryan Shaw, Onyx1, Mike Calzone, Rhonda Benn, Evelyn "Champange" King, Maysa, Cocco Hues, Denise Williams, Najuma, Mena, Phil Perry
BONUS: ANNOUNCEMENT OF SOUL-PATROL'S GREATEST SLOW JAM OF ALL TIME SURVEY RESULTS
http://www.soul-patrol.net/sj2007.ram
Album Review: Melissa Young - "Just Up the Road"
(Supersonic Southern Soul)
I like this young lady from Atlanta, Ga. She's a badd mama jamma and she's very reminiscent of another young woman from Atlanta we like a whole lot named Ms. Monique. Melissa Young is in your face just like artists Betty Wright, Barbara Mason, Millie Jackson, etc. from the past. In addition to the lyrics & lead singing this album features soulful guitar licks (a'la Bobby Womack/Wah Wah Watson), Drums that snap (a' la James Gadsden) and spoken word interludes that would make most rappers wish they could go back to their high school English classes. Black music needs more female artists like Melissa Young. I'm sick and tired of hearing "passionless female singers" with beautiful voices, seems like they are a dime a dozen in 2007. These are terrible times we are living in and Black music needs strong females who are willing to confront issues & problems directly. In fact it could be argued that part of the reason why Black people are in the sorry shape they are in right now is because Black females have "let stuff slide." The evidence of that can be seen the god awful behavior of young people today. Now I realize that I may be on thin ice with some of yall and if that is the case, so be it. But I have a feeling that Melissa Young wouldn't allow her son to sport a mouthful of gold teeth or wear his pants down around his ankles & displaying his underwear for the world to see. Melissa Young doesn't tolerate "bad behavior" from her men, so I know she wouldn't tolerate it from her son. Kicking off with the monster slow jam called "Rock Me", Melissa Young is telling her young man exactly what she wants, when she wants it and exactly how she wants it. On "Mr. Show Neff" a song where Melissa Young seems to be describing her "deal man", she asks her prospective lover "did you get your stuff from your momma or daddy?" Later in the song she she says "your momma must be proud of you." When was the last time that you heard artists suggest that "good parenting" might be a part of the criteria for finding the right mate? These are more of these types of philosophies sprinkled through the album and it's refreshing to hear. Melissa Young - "Just up the Road" is a heavy & serious album that should be warmly welcomed by fans of true soul music everywhere. This album is highly recommended.
http://www.melissayoungmusic.com
.
Album Review: Nadir - "Slave the Remix Tape"
(Funk/Rap/Reggae/Rock/Dance/Soul/Metal/Grunge)
 This is a very unusual album from one of the most innovative, creative and passionate artists on today's music scene. In fact it's not even really an album. It's really a single. Remember the movie "Do The Right Thing" by Spike Lee? Remember the "soundtrack"? It only consisted of one song; Public Enemy - "Fight the Power". One song, true indeed but it was a powerful song, containing a powerful message fully embodied the message that Spike Lee wanted the viewer to take away from the movie. On "Slave the Remix Tape" takes an equally powerful song called "Slave" from his award winning album called "Distorted Soul 2.0" and remixes it in every imaginable musical style except for country and classical just to make certain that no matter what type of music fan you are, or what demographic sector you are in, that you feel comfortable listening to the message of "Slave". It's a song with a message that everyone needs to hear. Make sure that you take the time to listen to it in whatever musical style suits you best and then be sure to pass it along to someone else in the musical style that suits them best.
http://www.distortedsoul.com
Album Review: Lillie Kae - "I'm Glad There Is You"
(All American Pop)
Sometimes I get nostalgic for a time and a place that may or may not have existed before my time on this earth. It's the time before John F. Kennedy was President of the United States. It was a time when TV & before that movies that presented a world that existed in tones of black, white & grey. It was a world where there was no racial strife and the only wars that were fought were righteous ones. My only knowledge of this world comes not only from TV and movies, but it also comes from albums like Lillie Kae - "I'm Glad There Is You". It's a world that I have absolutely no personal knowledge of, but it's a world that I wish that I could be a part of. It's a vision of America where all of the heroes look like John Wayne and the heroines look like Doris Day. It's the same one that millions of people around the globe saw that made them give up all of their earthly possessions in order to come to America. It's an album of plain and simple piano jazz filled with simple, yet elegant songs of romance, joy & optimism. And listening to it evokes in my mind the idealistic black, white and grey world that I always wanted to be a part of that probably never really existed at all. This album is highly recommended.
http://www.lilliekae.com
Album Review: Joseph Wooten - "Hands of Soul"
(Black American Standard Music)
 Many people reading this have already seen Mr. Joseph "Hands of Soul" Wooten perform live. We already know that he is the funkiest keyboard player this side of Herbie Hancock. As a part of the Wooten Brothers Band, Joseph Wooten truly lives up to his nickname "Hands of Soul" and as such he has been taking the citizens of the United States to FUNK SKOOL for many years in both small and large venues. We have been quite fortunate on Soul-Patrol.com to have documented the "wide world of funk music" according to the Wooten Brothers" at the following link: http://www.soul-patrol.com/funk/wooten.htm
However for those of you who don't already know about Joseph Wooten, you now have a chance to experience him on his new album called appropriately enough "Hands of Soul". This is a great album from end to end and if you like "great black music from the ancient to the future", this album is a must have. In fact it's the type of album that if you are a lover of "great black music from the ancient to the future", you will be anxious to turn your friends on to right after your initial listen.
So what does it sound like???? How about this: Billy Preston, Graham Central Station, Zapp, Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron (only funkier?)
This album's got it all...Raw Funk, Autobiographical Slow Jams, CTI Type Jazz, Profound Lyrics, Spoken Word, Historical Perspective, etc
It should have a sticker attached to it that says: "For True Music Lovers Only". "Hands of Stone" is a perfectly executed example of "Black American Standard Music". And that is to say that this album is going to sound as great 20 years from now, as it does today.
- If I were a DJ at a "Classic Soul" club and played it, the crowd would dig it.
- If I were a DJ at a "Jazz" club and played it, the crowd would dig it.
- If I were a DJ at a "Neo Soul" club and played it, the crowd would dig it.
- If I were a DJ at a "Funk" club and played it, the crowd would dig it.
PARENTAL ADVISORY: If you are a person who digs the music of today's commercial scene you will not like this album. Just pretend that you never saw this review.
Completely forget that you ever heard about the album: Joseph Wooten - "Hands of Soul"
DON'T GO TO:http://www.handsofsoul.com
Please save yourself the time and aggravation. When you GROW UP in about 5 years...You can "discover" this album. You will be a much happier person that way...
Album Review: Jerry Lawson - "Talk of the Town"
(Black American Standard Music)
This album carries a warning label on the front of it. The warning label says "This compact disk contains no instruments other than the human voice". Jerry Lawson - "Talk of the Town" contains every single musical style that you could attribute as being created by Black Americans and it is truly an album that is on a mission. It's mission would seem to be to save Black music from itself. Jerry Lawson - "Talk of the Town" contains Accapella, Jazz, Pop, R&B, Gospel, Slow Jams, Rock n' Roll, Classic Soul and more. It consists of 20 powerhouse songs performed by the vanishing species formerly known as the "Black Male Vocal Group". It's one of the very best releases that I have heard in the year 2007. Every song on the album is a winner, that's right ALL 20 of them!!! I'm not going to tell you any more about the songs, because this is a CD that literally reviews itself, because the excellent liner notes contains commentary about each song written by Jerry Lawson (a 40 year veteran of the Persuasions) himself. Are you a fan of Black music? Then my advice for you is to go to Jerry Lawson's website and immediately purchase not one, but two of these CD's. One for your own listening pleasure and one to place into a safety deposit box, for your grandchildren, so that they will know just what Black music was supposed to be all about in the first place. The warning label that it should have on it is: "If you are a Black person, please don't play this album unless you want to learn the reasons why you should love the culture that your people created...." http://www.jerrylawsontalkofthetown.com
Album Review: Mayra Casales - "Woman on Fire"
(Jazz/Latin/World)
If were to tell you that we had a brand new album by a bad azz, supa foine Latino female percussionist, what would be the very first name that came to mind? Well if you said Sheila E. (then you would be WRONG). How much do I like this album? A few weeks ago a few of yall might recall that we premiered Mandrill's new song here on the Soul-Patrol.com website. While preparing to do that we struggled to come up with just the right music to help us to introduce the new song. We ended up selecting the song "Is It Love" from Mayra Casales - "Woman on Fire", because it's a SLAMMIN joint that just so happens to exemplify much of not just what Mandrill is about but also Soul-Patrol.com itself. Ok, so what does that gibberish mean? It means that This album is flat out badd. Play it from end to end and you will not be tempted to skip a track. Woman on Fire" is a very appropriate title for this album which features; Mayra Casales on Vocals, Djembe, Congas, Shekere, Quinto, Hand Percussion, Timbales, and Guiro, Regina Carter on Violin, Carmen Lundy on Vocals and Fender Rhodes, and Jon Lucien on Guitar and Vocals. Overall this is a fun album, that will make you smile from track to track http://www.mayracasales.com
Album Review: Done Deal - "Love Motion"
(Minneapolis/New Jack Swing)
Most "black music experts" would suggest that the musicals styles represented on the album Done Deal - "Love Motion" are "dated" and therefore this album should be dismissed. Once again we must deal with the false concept of "dated". My feeling is that the whole concept is a part of a larger conspiracy to prevent Black people from accepting and nurturing their own culture. The reality is that what was once known as the "Minneapolis/New Jack Swing sound" is still alive and kicking in 2007. You may disagree with that, but try telling that to millions of people each year who attend concerts given by artists such as New Edition, Morris Day & the Time and other artists and other artists around the country who became popular during that period. Try telling that to our good friend "Songlife", who started out with us here on Soul-Patrol.com and now runs the New Jack Swing mega site at the following link: http://www.njswest.com The reality is that you can still hear the Minneapolis/New Jack Swing sound just about everywhere, except for "knee-grow radio stations". This is true for almost all of the music styles that Black Americans have "abandoned", other people pick up on these music styles and continue to refine & expand them into the future.
Anyway....I think that the album Done Deal - "Love Motion" is pretty cool and so will you if you dig the groove of the Minneapolis/New Jack Swing sound. My favorite songs on the album are "Every Little Thing", Cutie Pie Party, "Am I the One", "Not Through (Loving You)", "Nice & Slow", "Give My All" and "How We Party (Album Version)". This album is packed with non stop funk & slow jams. Are you having a party at your house anytime soon? Buy this album and put it on for your guests, they won't be able to stop dancing.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/donedeal
Album Review: Chip Shelton - "Have Flute Will Travel, Stop 2 Cape May"
(Jazz/Funk/Soul)
 The only thing that you really need to know about this album is that it's "a jazz album for people who claim that they don't like jazz." This album is a double disc, recorded live at the Cape May Jazz festival and featuring Chip Shelton on flute/sax/percussion/vocals, Doug Carn on Organ, Lou Volpe on Guitar, Sipho Kunene on Drums. It smokes from end to end and is very reminiscent stylistically to the late 60's - early 70's "soul-jazz" groove. For the uninitiated, that means this album cooks and delivers over 2 hours. No "smooth" or "conservatory" jazz here. This is the jazz of the "3 B's" (Bourbon, Bid Whist & BBQ). The album is a mix of both originals and covers (Miles Davis, Herbie Mann, Al Kooper, Freddie Hubbard, Pharaoh Saunders & others). My favorites on the album are "Imprints", "Flute Thing", "All Blues Medley", Chip's Blues", "Memphis Underground", "Thembi", and "Little Sunflower". Go ahead and pick up on the album, it's something that you will listen to and want to play for all of "your friends who claim they don't like jazz."
http://www.chipshelton.com
Album Review Maysa - "Feel the Fire"
(Classic Soul)
From what I understand, this album was supposed to originally be called "Sweet Classic Soul Vol 2". I think that they should have gone with that title, because the album Maysa - "Feel the Fire", is an excellent follow up to her Soul-Patrol.com award winning 2006 disc called "Sweet Classic Soul". The album "Sweet Classic Soul" was featured on Soul-Patrol.net radio last year and surprisingly was one of the most popular albums that we featured on Soul-Patrol.net radio last year. It got a large number of listens and email commentary from both "Classic Soul" fans and "Neo Soul" fans. So much for the past, Maysa what have you done for us lately? Much like the album "Sweet Classic Soul", on "Feel the Fire" Maysa provides us with her interpretations of Classic Soul hits from the past. How good is this album? Let me give you an example. Most of yall out there will remember the classic cut called "Zoom" by the Commodores from the 1970's. Well to be quite honest with you, I wasn't a fan of the original version of "Zoom". However I am a fan of Maysa's version. Other standout tracks include; I Can't Help It, You Are My Starship, Happy Feeling, Ain't No Sunshine, I'm In Love and of course the title track "Feel the Fire". Do you dig Classic Soul? Well if you do, then this album is a "no brainier".
http://www.maysa.com
Album Review - James Brown - "50th Anniversary Collection"
(Black American Standard Music - Funk, Slow Jams, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Soul, Gospel, Afrikan Mysticism)
 If you are a Black music fan, this new release is absolutely an essential Compact Disk for you to own!
- That's right, if you are a casual or a hardcore James Brown fan, it doesn't matter, this CD is essential.
- That's right, even if you have brought all of the James Brown CD's that have come out over the past 20 years, this CD is essential.
- That's right, even if you are a hip hop fan
And if you aren't a James Brown fan, you are going to quickly discover that you are, but you just didn't know it.
That's because on James Brown - "50th Anniversary Collection", James Brown is presented on CD as he has never been presented before...
He's presented as a "radio singles artist". And that is all good as far as I'm concerned because that is how I was first introduced to James Brown....(click here to read the rest of the review)
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Album Review - Anthony Hamilton - "Southern Comfort"
(Southern Soul/Nu Soul/Funk)
 ***STOP THE PRESSES THIS IS THE REAL DEAL***
Anthony Hamilton and Leela James have come to symbolize "the best of breed" in today's mainstream music marketplace among younger artists in the "post Erykah/Jill era". Both have received heavy radio and television exposure and deservedly so and yet, neither has really been able to rekindle the embers burning away slowly inside of the bellies of soul music fans.
However with the album "Southern Comfort", Anthony Hamilton turns those long festering embers into a blazing inferno of the kind that can only be generated by the very best of Motown/Stax/etc. translated into a modern context. This album is so good that it has the potential to turn the entire music world inside out, if it can be exposed to the masses.
The album "Southern Comfort" is by far the best album thus far released in the career of Anthony Hamilton. Yet it consists of tracks that were left on the "cutting room floor". That says volumes about the ability of major labels to actually select the correct songs for someone who could possibly be the "monster mainstream soul music artist of the decade".
I am reluctant to say much more about this album, because you may accuse me of "over hype".
However I will tell you a little story........(click here to read the rest of the review)
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Album Review - Various Artists - "Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of EWF" (Chaka Kahn, Angie Stone, Kirk Franklin, Ledisi, Randy Watson Experience, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Mint Condition, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello)
(Nu Soul/Pop)
 Question (CEO/Soul-Patrol.com): "hey man, I really dig your sound, why don't you include a few covers of some songs from the past that inspire you creatively, you might be able to get a few more people to check you out...?"
Answer (Most Every Nu Soul Artist the Question has been Posed to): "man I got to do my own thang..."
This is an outstanding album. It's one of the best "neo soul" albums ever released IMHO.
It also speaks volumes about the commitment to quality that the newly reminted STAX record label (now under Concord) has towards Black music.
In fact, had this album (or something like it) been released 5 years ago (in the wake of the commercial success of Erykah Badu & others) then in my opinion "Neo Soul" (both the term and the music) wouldn't be so frowned upon today.....(click here to read the rest of the review)
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Album Review: Ike Turner - Risin' with the Blues
(Southern Soul/Blues)
 I don't normally pay attention to the Grammy Awards. Over the past 20 years the awards show has become an exercise in mediocrity, rewarding the most mediocre of the mediocre artists and albums. However this year if you could get past the entire non musical buzz and hype that surrounded the 2007 Grammy Awards, there was in fact a small victory for those of us who enjoy and cherish "great black music from the ancient to the future". This year the Grammies made a "mistake" and actually honored one of the true ORIGINATORS of OUR music for his latest album. One of the things that all of the media/hype about Ike Turner since the release of "that movie" has obscured is that long before he ever met Tina Turner, Ike was one of the founding fathers of Rock n' Roll back in the early 1950's. And as a Black man, he has never gotten the credit he deserves for having done so!
Ike Turner is a name that immediately draws a reaction whenever it is mentioned, especially when in mixed male/female company. Chalk that up to the power of the mass media, we are gonna deal with his brand new Grammy Award winning album called "Risin' with the Blues", which although it's been placed in the "blues" category, I would call this instead an album of "truth & humor".
Anyhow...
The album starts out with a song called "Gimme Back My Wig" which is in the tradition of Joe Tex, it's funny yet true at the same time and it sets the stage for what is ultimately a nice & fun album. Next up is a cover version of the classic song "Caldonia" originally by R&B/Rock n' Roll pioneer Louis Jordan, it's a perfect song for Ike because it too is a nice blend of truth & humor. This album is mostly dealing with the topic of relationships and we all know just how painful relationships can be at times. The song "Goin' Home Tomorrow" is a song about the pain of knowing that a relationship needs to come to an end and Ike makes us feel his pain. "Jazzy Fuzzy" is an instrumental that allows Ike to give us a taste of some of his legendary STANK AZZ NASTY guitar playing. There are several instrumentals on this album that not only feature Ike's guitar, but also a "towerofpowereque' horn section.
Continued at the following link....http://www.soul-patrol.com/soul/iketurner.htm
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Album Review: Fatback Band Live In Tokyo
(Funk)
 I LIVED IN JAPAN for 2 years back in the late 70's while stationed at a Navy Base in Yokosuka Japan. So I would like to think that I went to enough concerts to know how the Japanese respond to great American musical genius no matter what the genre. I have seen the Herbie Hancock VSOP tour there also the Emotions and quite a few other shows but I wish I had been there in 2006 when one of the enduring Funk Bands of all time the Fatback Band laid down it's own brand of Soul Cooking that rivals all the other legendary Funk Congregations.
On this just released disc that is sure to bring back memories of your first smoke, your wildest night, that special first girl or guy or the first time you got a whiff of that Fatback it will make you remember the Funk! Percussionist and leader Bill Curtis heads this always flamboyant in their sound defiantly brilliant assembly of musicians. Wiki Wacking their way through fatback funk classics in a way that is more party band then concert band you want to dance from the first cut Funk Backin to the last maybe the most famous of their tune "I Like the Girls" they show that from soul to funk to jazz they can turn a dance floor into something a kin to a soul food kitchen bringing that same ambiance with all the flavors of funk flowing in the air just like when you are getting ready to do a Black Family reunion..
If for some reason you have fooled yourself that the funk is not as important or as funky as it used to be you need to hear this like i did the first time loud and sober, because this music is just as funk sober as it was when you had to have a toke. Doesn't matter how you hear the next time it will already be one of the favorite Cd's! It's not just funky it is fun, fun, fun! The CD includes mega hit " Money got to get my hands on some" "Spanish Hustle", "Backstrokin" , "Bus Stop", "keep on steppin", "Yum Yum", and if you notice they leave off the g's on every word that should end in "ing" and that it self is funky to me! The sax work by Edward Jackson is Superb and so are the background vocals and Bill Curtis's back beats. On the CD it list Bob James as the keyboardist, don't know if it is Bob James of
"Heads and Touchdown" but it sounds like it might be. For all these reasons and more you need to get Fatback live in Tokyo cause as we say at the Friday night fish fry: Greasy is Good! And this CD is sho nuff Greasy!!
--Enorman
CD Review - Diana Ross - "I Love You"
 Perhaps "I'm" the wrong person to do a review on this album. I'm a dinosaur that refuses to go into a tar pit. I'm a romantic and am partial to the stories told in the past. I am partial to the innocence in the contents of the lyrics and the structure of the music. I am also a fan or "Miss Ross"....but that's Earl Gregory. That said:
Diana Ross' "I Love You" delivers to someone like myself, that "easy on the ears" and flowing, dare I say, "groooovy" sensation that can start you day smoothly, breeze you through an afternoon and/or settle you down in the evening.
First thing that hit me with this was Diana doesn't employ that "dynamic power" of her voice that we have been accustomed to over the years. This project is an extreme departure from the work we've heard her do before. She is smooth and, at times, sensual. Mellow....Sweet...."Easy Listening". This delivery would be expected more from Dionne Warwicke. Even the selection of tunes is out of "character" for Diana. Every tune was embraced...not attacked. She caressed the lyrics as opposed to grabbing them and igniting them into the airwaves. Diana Ross, on this album just sings. She's still Diana. No mistaking her voice. The clarity and distinctness of the way she delivers the lyrics is pure Diana. It's just the simplicity and lack of aggression that kind of throws you. You even wait from one track to the next for her to "Texas Bulldog" a tune to the floor. Instead, there is a vocal embrace and the stories gently take to the air....(click here to continue)
ALBUM REVIEW: Joe Zawinul - "Brown Street"
 How is possible for a bald white man from Vienna, Austria to be soooo god damn FUNKEE???
Does anyone here remember the band "Weather Report?" Well if you do, then the album "Brown Street" album is a must have. Forget Weather Report for just a moment, Joe Zawinul wrote "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Walk Tall" and "Country Preacher" for Cannonball Adderley and "In a Silent Way" for Miles Davis, even BEFORE Weather Report was created!!!!
Back in the 70's Weather Report formed by keyboard master Joe Zawiul and sax player Wayne Shorter and for a moment I must digress.
Let me tell you about a friend of mine who for the purposes of this discussion I will refer to as "Brotha Henry X". Today "Brotha Henry X" is a prominent Philadelphia attorney, a well entrenched member of the local "knee-gro elite". However back in 1974 "Brotha Henry X", was a straight laced "geek" who had graduated from Philadelphia's Central High and was now a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh along with yours truly.
At our dormitory parties one of the staples was the song "Boogie Woogie Waltz" by Weather Report, from the "Sweetnighter" LP. Don't ask me why, but in some ways it is totally inexplicable how an 11 minute excursion into the outer reaches of Funk, Jazz & World music winds up on what is basically a "house party playlist" of Black teenagers in 1974. But nevertheless it was. And watching "Brotha Henry X" dance to Boogie Woogie Waltz for 11 minutes was something akin to watching someone propel themselves into another dimension of time & space to a higher form of life and then return to earth at the end of the 11 minute journey and have absolutely no knowledge of ever haven taken the trip. I have no doubt that if you were to question "Brotha Henry X" about his behavior before during and after the playing of the song "Boogie Woogie Waltz" by Weather Report, he would certainly deny all knowledge of this activity, since clearly such behavior would be a direct contradiction to his current status as a well entrenched member of the local "knee-gro elite". But I was there and I'm telling ya, that song made this brotha go to another universe and back, without the aid of any mind altering substances!!!
Joe Zawinul has called "Boogie Woogie Waltz" "a hip-hop in 3." Long before "hip-hop" entered the vernacular, he described its structure to Jazz Forum magazine. "There are only five sentences. There is an introduction, an interlude and a dance at the end. And in between, everything is free."
He has also said that former Sly And The Family Stone drummer Greg Errico played 'Boogie Woogie Waltz' better than anybody. Errico played drums for Weather Report between Sweetnighter and Mysterious Traveller, but never recorded with the band.
Now I know that I have rambled a bit here, because if you were a fan of Weather Report back in tha day, all you really need to know is that Brown Street is a live 2 CD set in which Joe Zawinul is leading a big band and playing Weather Report songs LIVE. It was recorded live on October 26, 2005 at Joe Zawinul's Birdland club in Vienna, this powerhouse project showcases Zawinul along with current Syndicate drummer Nathaniel Townsley, former Weather Report and Syndicate bassist Victor Bailey and former Weather Report drummer Alex Acuna on percussion in expanded, orchestral renditions of vintage Weather Report tunes and Zawinul compositions like "Black Market", "A Remark You Made", "Night Passage" and of course "Boogie Woogie Waltz.".
But just in case you aren't already a fan of Weather Report you needed to know what I know about the power that this "bald white man from Vienna, Austria" had over Black teenagers in the United States a generation ago. He was in fact able to do what even Miles Davis couldn't. He was able to get Black American teenagers to not only listen to jazz with a critical ear. But he also got them to dance to Jazz back in 1974. Who knows, maybe in 2007 he can accomplish the same thing once again?
http://www.headsup.com/ecards/3121/industry.html
http://www.binkie.net/zawinul/index.html
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Kyle Jason - "Revolution Of The Cool"
 Funk = a stew of jazz + blues + rock n' roll + soul (with a little gospel, hip hop, reggae & latin added for spice (sometimes) wirh a message
The definition above is one of many imprecise definitions that I have developed over the years in my lifetime quest to try and gain a deeper understanding of just what the "bastard genre" of FUNK music is.
It is quite interesting to me that Kyle Jason's "Revolution Of The Cool" is the first CD review of the year for Soul-Patrol. Each year I get at least one album that is almost a perfect representation of what Funk music could have/should have evolved into had it not been for the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Artists like Buckshot LaFounque, Victor Wooten, Don Byron, King Britt/Sylk 130, Nadir, Sonny Boy, D'Angelo and a few others over the course of the past 10 years or so have seemingly nailed down for me various aspects of just what that evolution might have sounded like.
Here is my shorthand evaluation of each song on Kyle Jason - "Revolution Of The Cool"
1. People, People (D'Angelo Influenced)
2. Hipper Nipple (Prince Influenced)
3. Cool Is Cool (Miles Davis influenced)
4. After Midnight (Al Green/Stax influenced)
5. Simone By Moonlight (Micheal Henderson/Lonnie Liston Smith Influenced)
6. Why I'm So Funky? (Prince/Living Colour/JB's Influenced)
7. Cat-O-Tonic (Miles Davis influenced)
8. Paris Sky (Prince Influenced)
9. Walkin' (D'Angelo Influenced)
10. Hot Sauce (James Brown Influenced)
11. Round Peg In A Room Full Of Squares (Larry Graham/Miles Davis Influenced)
12. I'm Tired Of Being Your Friend (Al Green/D'Angelo Influenced)
None of this is to say that Kyle Jason doesn't have his own sound because he does. Kyle Jason is a throwback to the future of 'soul.' An outstanding artist with a massive, diverse catalog, Kyle has recorded "Revolution of the Cool" with organic sounds from his band The Soul Power Movement. Kyle Jason's music is not unlike the music of artists like Buckshot LaFounque, Victor Wooten, Don Byron, King Britt/Sylk 130, Nadir, Sonny Boy, D'Angelo and a few others. It's innovative yet at the same time reminds of things that we thought we forgot. And like those other artists, "Revolution Of The Cool" is an album for which there is literally no current commercial radio format. You see a long time ago the powers that be removed the designation called FUNK from the formats of radio stations and the bins of record stores. This was done in order to remove the concept of FUNK from our minds in order to restrict and control our thinking. It is however a "format" that fits in quite nicely here on Soul-Patrol so I think that you may hear some of this music here...
Here is another one of those perhaps imprecise definitions for FUNK:
FUNK = "The essence of ALL Black music..."
And while that might not be perfect description of FUNK music, I think it works for trying to describe what Kyle Jason does. And it sure is an awfully nice way to start off the New Year.
http://www.kylejason.com
http://www.slamjamz.com
http://www.soulfultale.com
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
ALBUM REVIEW - A Soulful Tale of Two Cities
 This is a very interesting album. One of the biggest trends in Soul music over the past few years has been that complete "cover albums" have become more and more popular. Some people don't like this trend, because they want to hear completely brand new music. Others don't like the trend, because they think that for some reason these songs "shouldn't be touched" and want them treated as "museum pieces frozen in time". Still others feel that Classic Soul artists shouldn't be releasing any new albums and feel that fans should kinda/sorta be content with the music these artists produced 20 - 50 years ago
However in my opinion the whole idea of having artists who didn't originate classic songs "re-do them in their own style" speaks volumes about both the greatness and timelessness of the songs themselves. This is why we sometimes use the term "Black American Standard Music" to describe the phenomena, treating this music as "standards" is exactly what we should do, in my opinion. What's so terrible about taking on the responsibility for elevating the culture we have created?
The two disc set called "A Soulful Tale of Two Cities" takes this idea even a step further and has artists associated with the "Motown Sound" doing songs that were originally done as a part of the "Philly Sound". And conversely has artists associated with the "Philly Sound" doing songs that were originally done as a part of the "Motown Sound".
Overall the results are very good however for my ears Ted Mills ("Just My Imagination"), Barbara Mason ("My Baby Loves Me") and Bobby Taylor are the stars of the two disc set. Ted Mills and Barbara Mason are two of my favorite singer's period, so their outstanding performances were certainly no surprise. However the real discovery on this album for me was the amazing Mr. Bobby Taylor. As amazing as this might sound, in my opinion after listening to his renditions of "Love Train", "Sunshine", and "Sadie", he could easily be the lead singer for either the O'Jays or the Spinners.
Standout cuts include "The Girl's Alright" (featuring Phil Hurtt), "Just My Imagination" (featuring Ted Mills), "My Baby Loves Me" (featuring Barbara Mason), "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" (featuring Ali "Ollie" Woodson), "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time" (featuring Carolyn Crawford), "Love Train" (featuring Bobby Taylor), "Close the Door" (featuring Lamont Dozier), "Sunshine" (featuring Bobby Taylor), "Sadie" (featuring Bobby Taylor), "When the World is at Peace" (featuring George Clinton, Bobby Taylor, Kathy Sledge, Ali "Ollie" Woodson & Kim Weston)
Overall I would say that this is an album worth having if you are a person who thinks that these songs are a part of "An American Songbook" that has yet to be placed on the bookshelves, but that already exists in the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world. Hopefully the album will find it's audience and when that audience discovers the album, that they will support it in numbers that will enable these artists to create a "A Soulful Tale of Two Cities (Vol 2)"
http://www.soulfultale.com
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
QUICKIE ALBUM REVIEWS - Marc Broussard, Gary Lee, Thump Daddy, Winstons, Classic Style Detroit Style
(When will we become mature enough to be able to accept the music on its own terms?)
 The subtitle of this set of reviews should be:
...SOUNDS GOOD, BUT DATED
.....BUT WHAT THE HELL
.......WE ARE GONNA STILL RECCOMEND THESE ANYHOW
...........CUZ IT'S BADD AND WHAT IS BADD, IS BADD
Each year there are thousands of new CD's manufactured by thousands of artists most of whom never had any business releasing an album at all. In the meanwhile, there are many examples of great artistry within our midst that go unheard and unrecognized. One such category of artists are those with a "dated sound". This is personally offensive to me as a music fan, because it deprives me of hearing the "best of the best", just because some "tastemaker" who wouldn't know a great record if it slapped him upside the head declared that something he heard sounded "dated" to him.
Marc Broussard - S.O.S.: Save Our Soul
(Classic Soul)
Man, this album cooks. It's like eating rice & gravy and slopping up tha xtra with one of grandma's buttermilk biscuits (with extra butter on both sides). I first encountered Marc Broussard on a TV special last year and said to myself (here comes yet another "blue eyed soul white guy from Louisiana"). However when I slid this album into the car CD player, I simply couldn't believe my ears. What came out of my box was "Stevie Wondereque", however it wasn't the lame "Stevie Wonderish 1977 - 1981ish mid tempo boring imitation" that seems to be a pre-requisite for most every male neo soul artist in 2007. Instead what we get from Marc Broussard to open the album is a NOTE FOR NOTE COVER of Stevie Wonder's "You've Met Your Match" from 1968. In other words Marc Broussard is going for broke, right off the bat. I mean he's not going after the lush, synthesized (and boring) Stevie. He's going after the tough, teenaged, blind, raw & funkee Stevie sitting alone at the electric keyboards and then jumping up and down on the piano stool, looking like he's gonna fall on the floor. And he succeeds in recreating that "1968 Motown AM radio sound", because if he hadn't, I would have immediately hit the eject button and removed it from my CD player, without listening to the rest of the album. That's cuz if you are gonna go after THAT Stevie, you had betta come correct!!!
In other words Broussard, is doing on this album what the Black "neo soul" male artists are afraid to do, he is actually performing "Classic Soul", and doing so unashamedly. As for the rest of the album, it remains true to the first song, just as the press release says; Al Green's 'Love and Happiness' the record's first single, The Staple Singers 'Respect Yourself, Otis Redding's 'I've been Loving You Too Long' and 'Yes, We Can, Can' written by New Orleans songwriter Allen Toussaint. So yeah, it's primarily an album of covers with the exception of "Come in from the Cold". But it's not just the fact that Marc Broussard's doing "covers" that makes this album kick. It's the fact that he is also using a "dated style". These songs all sound like they were recorded 30 years ago and man do they sound "warm". They sound like "vacuum tubes" instead of "transistors" and if you don't understand the difference between the two, then don't but this album, cuz you aren't gonna like it anyway. However if you do understand the difference between eating one of grandma's biscuits and eating one from a fast food joint, then you are gonna love this album.
http://www.myspace.com/marcbroussard
Gary Lee - Nyne Songs
(Funk/Blues/Rock/Psychedelic)
You know how some albums come with a "parental advisory" sticker? This album should come with a sticker that says; "If you are unwilling to use your mind please don't buy this album". Does anyone here remember the times when Black folks liked a group called Santana and it was cool? Well that wasn't so hard, because Santana was not only one of the stars of the Woodstock movie, and had AM radio crossover hits, but Santana gave plenty of nod's to Soul music on his first two albums. That's not the Santana I'm talking about. I'm talking about the Santana, starting with his third album that opened things up with voodoo funk, mixed with a healthy dose of Sun Raeque spirituality, all while keeping his rock base from about 1971 till about 1976. In other words not quite blues, not quite funk, not quite rock, not quite gospel, and not quite jazz, but something that touches on all of those musical styles. It's sometimes called "fusion", and that would be accurate, but not in the commercial sense that the term "fusion" gets used in most of the time, but in a more "organic sense" of the word.
If you liked that version of Santana, then you will certainly dig the new album from Gary Lee called "Nyne Songs". It's all new music with a serious rock/funk/blues/spiritual groove that sounds earnest to my ears. This is music that you play late at night, you could be by yourself or you could be with a bunch of people, however it's not background music. It's music that commands your attention, because it's actually confrontational. It makes you either compare it to a ton of other music you have previously heard or it makes you turn it off. It's completely unapologetic to any radio genre and doesn't care about things like that. In fact some of it is even downright silly such as on the beginning of the song "Capurrmum", where Gary Lee takes the theme to the Andy Griffith TV show and makes it sound like something Sun Ra/Hendrix might have done. At other times Gary Lee sounds like a "southern rocker who spent a summer in Harlem". This album sounds "dated", but it's a whole lotta fun listening to it because it also exudes a confidence & optimism that could have only existed from about 1971 till about 1976. By the time the album is over with, you will find yourself smiling, yet at the same time wondering just what has happened to this world since 1976, that killed all of that confidence & optimism and willing to spend just about every dime that you have in order to get it back again, even if for only five minutes. However you also realize that we actually don't have to spend any money to get that kind of groove back, it really is just a matter of treating other people the way that you want to be treated. And part of that treatment means getting other people to listen to music with a groove like this, from another era, which is "mind expanding, without being mind altering." http://www.garyleeandthecatdaddys.com/
Thump Daddy - Check Again, A Player Just Step In
(Shake Yo Rump To Da Funk)
Sometimes you don't really want to think at all. Sometimes you just want to move your body and "shake your rump to the funk" in the most natural way possible. Sometimes you just need that universal groove that dominated Black music from about 1975 till the early 1980's when it got incorporated into rap music and Prince started to put his own spin on things. In other words sometimes you just need a SLAMMIN NEW P-FUNK ALBUM. But then you look around at the former P-Funk organization and it's current state of disarray and realize that the time for that is over with.
That is until you get a new album in the mail with a character who calls himself "Thump Daddy". You look at the picture of "Thump Daddy" and see that he's wearing a "Bright orange Bo Diddley style hat", a "gold nik nik shirt" and a pair of outrageous red & black plaid bell bottom pants (just like the ones that you used to have)."
Then you slide the disk into the player and immediately there it all is right from Jump Street. Silly lyrics, trash talking, sloppy horns, stank funky bass, driving guitar. Suddenly you feet start moving as if some primordial & dormant DNA has been tapped into because of a song called "Can You Get Funky". You stop the album. You look around and find your official "paper starchild shades". You go and find that old "black light bulb". Conveniently your wife had stored your Black light posters along with the bulbs. You put on the shades, screw in the black light bulb, hang the posters and now you are in business. and put them on. And now you put the album back on track 4 "Step Your Game Up" you realize that you are now in the land of Bootsy Collins. The next song is called "Players Nothin but Hustlers", which is similar to the opening track, except it's got some Bernie Worell like keyboard/synth now added. The next song "Life Ain't Right When Your're on the Pipe", is a Bootsy style song, but it's a serious anti drug song, so now you stop dancing, and listen closely to the lyrics. And so it all continues on "Just a Freak", "Funk like me" and "Who's that Funkin on the Stage".
This is easily the best "p-funk derived album" of new music since our friend Dawn Silva's "All My Funky Friends" and much like "All My Funk Friends" actually is good enough to stand next to the best P-Funk albums of the 1970's. What I like best about the album is that it doesn't attempt to apologize for being derived from P-Funk. It doesn't try to "update the sound" or modernize it in any way whatsoever. It's kinda like "Thump Daddy" is saying to us...."It's Time to Release the Genie from Inside of the Bottle, Cuz the World is in Such Bad Shape THA FUNK is Only Cure Available for what Ails It".
http://www.myspace.com/donaldpayne
Various Artists - Classic Style Detroit Style
(R&B)
Do any of you remember just how good something called "the radio" used to be? Much more than being the ultimate source for new music, the radio and to be more specific, BLACK RADIO really was something like a "friend". The radio was such a friend that not only did we seek comfort in it at home, but we took it with us everywhere that we went. We took the radio with us in the car, to the beach, to work, etc. The radio was a true blue friend, both in good time and in bad times. Flash forward to 2007 and those radio days seem like such a distant memory, that sometimes I wonder if it ever really was like that or am I only imagining that it was?
With the newly released album "Classic Style Detroit Style" we get a chance to hear a full CD containing 15 brand new songs that sound exactly like the kind of NEW SONGS that BLACK RADIO STATIONS used to introduce us to on a weekly basis. "Classic Style Detroit Style" features original performances by the group Bluestown featuring Tee Turner (a present day member of the Motown Singing Group The Miracles) in a soulful performance of "If You Want It (Here It Is)". A song reminiscent of the sound/style Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Johnny Taylor. Also featured on this CD is former Holland/Dozier/Holland Invictus recording artist and soul music legend Melvin Davis of the 8th Day, Arnell Carmichael from the group Raydio, longtime Contours member Charles Davis and Allan Barnes former saxophonist from The Blackbyrds. This is an album of new music that you can put on that will make you smile because it exists, yet at the same time it will make you sad because it will also remind you that the thing we used to call "the radio" not only doesn't exist anymore, but that it will never exist again. http://www.soul4you.com
The Winstons - The Winstons
(Classic Soul)
I remember a time when listening to Soul music made me smile. I remember when it took the complexities of being Black in America and translated those complexities into a simple 3 minute song that told a simple story, complete with a beginning, middle and end. Within that 3 minute song, the complexities of situations were explained in such a way that let us know that the people who made up the cast of characters for each vignette, were all going to be alright, even if the details were missing from the story. A classic example of this is the song "Color Him Father", which was a big hit for the Winston's 30+ years ago. Today that song is usually dusted off each Fathers Day and then put safely away till Fathers Day rolls around each year, thus permanently enshrining the Winston's to that twilight zone called "one hit wonder". Fast forward to 2007 and we find the Winston's occupying a totally different space in a totally different time. They have morphed into one of the best "backup bands" in the Washington DC area, where they are regularly seen and heard at some of the best live Black music events in the United States.
In the year 2007, The Winston's are probably the best kept secret in Black music as they can be seen & heard playing great LIVE doo wop, soul, funk, southern soul, beach, etc. backing up all comers, for a loyal contingent of fans in the DC area (take my word for it, I've seen them live several times). They recently sent me an album that was initially released in 2002 that I have never heard before but have absolutely fallen in love with. If you love classic soul, then you will also fall in love with this album. It contains as one might expect a couple of different takes on "Color Him Father" but also contains masterful covers of William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful For What You Got", Sam Cooke's "I'll Come Running", a FUNKED UP version of the "Electric Slide" along with originals like "I Love DC" & "Everything's Gonna Be Alright". I know that a few of yall are gonna say "but it came out 5 years ago". I say, "but if yall have never heard it before, then it's "new" and it deserves to be heard today. I dig this album a whole lot. It's honest, there's nothing contrived or calculated. The Winston's know their audience; know what their expectations are and they deliver it in spades! What more can you ask for from any artist?
http://www.winstoncd.com
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
May 25 - May 27 @ Clark Park & Enterprise Center:
2007 Philadelphia Black Heritage Festival/Soul-Patrol Convention
Click the Graphic Below for the Details
...or here for the details
DVD Review - Stanley Clarke & Friends: Night School (Stevie Wonder, Sinbad, Sheila E., Bela Fleck, Wallace Roney, Patrice Rushen, Marcus Miller, Wayman Tisdale, Flea, Ndugu Chancler, Stewart Copeland, Lenny White)
("This is not a DVD for the casual fan, or is it?")
 It's almost unfair for me to even possibly think that I could possibly provide a fair and unbiased review of this DVD. How could you expect a person who named himself after the song "earthjuice" to possibly be "unbiased" when it comes to Stanley Clarke? Of course I like it....
This is not a DVD for the casual fan, or is it?
What I find most interesting here is that the overall format of this program has much in common with attending a "Victa" show, right down to having a whole gaggle of bass players on the stage at the same time for the finale, which of course is Stanley's big hit record from the 1970's "School Days". On this DVD you get a complete survey of Black music styles (Blues, Gospel, Big Band, Rock, Jazz, Funk, Soul, etc.) all in one package, what's not to like?
What's not to like? Look at the list of "friends" that Stanley is bringing to the table here...
--Bob Davis
....(click here to read the rest of the DVD Review - Stanley Clarke & Friends: Night School)
--Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
CLICK THE BANNER & LISTEN TO:
3 HOURS OF BRAND NEW SLOW JAMS
Featuring New Releases From: Melissa Young, Ms Monique, Michael Cooper, Jay Proctor, Denise King, Ledisi, Jerry Lawson, Phil Hurt, Ted Mills, Barbara Mason, Billy Jones, Gary Taylor, Linda Jones, Rick James, Ryan Shaw, Onyx1, Mike Calzone, Rhonda Benn, Evelyn "Champange" King, Maysa, Cocco Hues, Denise Williams, Najuma, Mena, Phil Perry
BONUS: ANNOUNCEMENT OF SOUL-PATROL'S GREATEST SLOW JAM OF ALL TIME SURVEY RESULTS
http://www.soul-patrol.net/sj2007.ram
NOTE: The term Black American Standard Music means that the album contains every single form of musical style invented & conceived by Black Americans.
If you have a news item, update, review, commentary, etc that you would like to submit to the Soul-Patrol Newsletter, please send them via email for consideration to:
Hopefully you enjoyed this edition of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter.
We will be back soon with the next edition, with email alerts for local events, Soul-Patrol website updates/chat sessions or breaking news in between, as required.
If you have any comments, questions, etc feel free to drop me an email and let me know what's on your mind.
Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
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