Neo Soul — All Formats  

Early, early work from the Heavies, with their original singer Jay Ella Ruth, working a tight funky groove that's very much like a slicked up James Brown sound, rather than the poliched modern soul vibe they'd move towards later.

The group's first full length album – and a classic batch of soulful funky tunes, handled with the charm and care that would make Jamiroquai one of the best new soul acts to come out of the UK during the 90s. Think Brand New Heavies meets Stevie Wonder meets Steely Dan, and you'll get only part of the picture – as Jay and crew work things together perfectly, blending a wide range of influences into a globally conscious cosmic groove that's a perfect soul platform for the 21st century! Titles include "Revolution", "Didgin Out", "When You Gonna Learn", "Too Young To Die", "Music Of The Mind", and "Emergency On Planet Earth". 2CD version features 10 more bonus tracks – including "Revolution 1993 (demo)", "Emergency On Planet Earth (London Rican mix)", "If I Like It I Do It (acoustic)", "Too Young To Die (ext)", "When You Gonna Learn (Cante Hondo mix)", and live versions of "Music Of The Mind", "God Made Me Funky", "Brothers Like You", and "Didgin Out".

A mindblower from Jamiroquai – the album that really broke them out of the box, thanks to an increasingly complicated sense of rhythm! For the set, Jay and the group pulled up some of the more dynamic sounds from the London underground, and wove them together with their increasingly great songwriting – coming up with tunes that played beautifully on the dancefloor, yet also offered deeper listening than on previous Jamiroquai efforts! There's still some great 70s elements here, but there's also a more cosmic, righteous vibe too – a hint at spacey London to come, but sent home with a bit more polish here. Titles include "Virtual Insanity", "Cosmic Girl", "Everyday", "Alright", "High Times", "Travelling Without Moving", "Spend A Lifetime", "Use The Force", and "Didjital Vibrations". 2CD version features lots of bonus tracks – including "Cosmic Girl (Quasar mix)", "Virtual Insanity (Salaam Remi mix)", "Alright (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke rmx)", "Do You Know Where You're Coming From (full horns mix)", "High Times (Sanchez radio edit)", "Bullet", "Slippin N Slidin", "Hollywood Swingin", and live versions of "Alright" and "Virtual Insanity".

A monumental piece of funk – and a record that came into the world at a time when it seemed like just about everyone had forgotten how to play real funky music! This set's the US version of the first album by London scenesters The Brand New Heavies – and although it came out in the states 2 years after the UK set, it's essentially the same record – just featuring new vocals by singer N'Dea Davenport in place of the original vocalist Jay Ella Ruth. Davenport's vocals transported the group from indie acid jazz obscurity into the US soul charts in a way that nobody ever expected – and the resulting album is a stone classic that's filled with excellent cuts like "Ride In The Sky", "Never Stop", "Dream Come True", and "Stay This Way". Great stuff all around – and one of the few classic soul albums of its generation!

Raphael Saadiq takes throwback soul and r&b to the next level on The Way I See It – rolling in a groove that recalls 60s Motown, grittier group soul, the sophisticated strings of the 70s scene, and subtle contemporary touches that keep it in the here and now! An awareness of the past and the ability to replicate the sounds would be useless without great songs and vocals – and Raphael brings it in both realms – his voice has never sounded better and there's a catchiness to each of these tunes that betters the best pop soul of the past couple years. If that's not enough, Raphael handles most of the instrumentation himself, too! Niceness from one of the pivotal singers/songwriters/producers of the past couple decades. Titles include "Sure Hope You Mean It", "100 Yard Dash", "Keep Marchin", "Big Easy", "Just One Kiss" featuring a fine background turn by Joss Stone, "Love That Girl", "Calling", "Staying In Love", "Never Give You Up" featuring Stevie Wonder's inimitable harmonica & CJ Hilton on vocals, "Sometimes". and the bonus track "Oh Girl" featuring Jay Z.

Genius work from a singer who makes us proud to live in the Windy City – vocalist Milton Suggs, who emerges here as a hell of a writer and arranger too! Milton's easily one of the best new voices in jazz we've heard in years – filled with a rich sense of imagination on his lyrics and phrasing, and a depth of soul that makes sure that his music and movements are always right on the money – a sound and style that puts him the company of a rare few in jazz – a short list that might include Jon Hendricks, Gregory Porter, Kurt Elling, and Mark Murphy! Yet like all those talents, Suggs has a sound that's uniquely his own – a way of putting over a tune that's tremendous – especially when he takes musical inspiration from others, and makes it something all his own – as he does here with core compositions by Wayne Shorter, Belly Golson, and Roy Hargrove. The Shorter inspiration is especially strong – which is great with us – and the album also features great instrumental accompaniment as well. Titles include "Jayme's Song", "Walking Out", "Only A Memory", "Side By Side", "Die Laughing", "Will You Fly With Me", and "Joy Enough To Spare".

Genius work from a singer who makes us proud to live in the Windy City – vocalist Milton Suggs, who emerges here as a hell of a writer and arranger too! Milton's easily one of the best new voices in jazz we've heard in years – filled with a rich sense of imagination on his lyrics and phrasing, and a depth of soul that makes sure that his music and movements are always right on the money – a sound and style that puts him the company of a rare few in jazz – a short list that might include Jon Hendricks, Gregory Porter, Kurt Elling, and Mark Murphy! Yet like all those talents, Suggs has a sound that's uniquely his own – a way of putting over a tune that's tremendous – especially when he takes musical inspiration from others, and makes it something all his own – as he does here with core compositions by Wayne Shorter, Belly Golson, and Roy Hargrove. The Shorter inspiration is especially strong – which is great with us – and the album also features great instrumental accompaniment as well. Titles include "Jayme's Song", "Walking Out", "Only A Memory", "Side By Side", "Die Laughing", "Will You Fly With Me", and "Joy Enough To Spare".

A great mix of grooves from Chicago's Scientific Map – well-crafted songwriting blended with more cosmic touches, and coming off unlike anything we've ever heard before! At some points, the set's got a straightforward drive that makes you think it's going for a bit of a crossover indie vibe – but at others, there's a much deeper soul that comes into play – and the shift between the two modes really keeps things interesting – especially given the lean production, and nice touch of fuzz on the keyboards and guitar! Anthony Nicholson recorded the album, but it's much more in the vein of previous work by vocalist Matt Hudson – and titles include "Saturn Return", "Roll It Into Romance", "Keep Sleeping", "Vijay Singh", "Photo 78", and "Slow 5".