Neo Soul — All Formats  

Sweet and gritty soul from D'Angelo – who takes a huge step into deeper territory on Voodoo – and it's one of the most monumental records of its time! On one level, Voodoo works as a nicely stripped-down session with a very classic soul feel. Gone are the overzealous flourishes that sometimes overwhelmed his earlier songs, and in their place are some sweetly crafted vocal parts with a classic Marvin Gaye/Al Green feel. That warmth is probably what made Voodoo a massive popular success – but what makes it such a creative triumph are the darker undercurrents – hinting at a troubled soul struggling for spiritual truth. One of the rare cases in popular music when great art became music for the masses! Titles include "Left & Right (feat Method Man & Redman)", "The Line", "Spanish Joint", "Africa", "Feel Like Makin Love", "The Root", "Playa Playa", "Devil's Pie", and "Greatdayndamornin/Booty".

An infectious batch of soul tunes from Raheem DeVaughn – his long overdue debut for Jive Records! Raheem stands apart from many in the mainstream soul and neo soul, not because he wears his influences so proudly on his sleeve, but in the way he wears them. Raheem's soul style is born of love for singers from Marvin Gaye, to Prince, to D'Angelo, to the Isleys and beyond – but his approach to songcraft and recording is born of hip hop and mixtapes – in which he can appropriate a given groove into his own tunes. The album's full of peaks and valleys, and the peaks are worth the the climb! Tracks include "The Love Experience", the Kenny Dope-produced "Guess Who Loves You More", "Who", "Where I Stand", "Breathe", "You", "Sweet Tooth", "Ask Yourself", "Believe", "Is It Possible", "Catch 22", "You", "Cadillac", "Green Leaves" and more!

The Floacist, sounding better than ever – in a record that may well top any of her previous work – and maybe even music by Floetry too! The set begins with a wonderful duet with Raheem Devaughn on the cut "Start Again" – a cut that feels like some lost treasure from the 70s, maybe a Marvin Gaye duet from the I Want You period – which then sets the stage for some perfect Floacist numbers that have a wonderfully righteous feel! Her solo identity is really coming together here – bold and proud, and never too smoothed out for commercial ends – on tracks that include "Children Of The Sun", "Slow Down", "Could It Be You", "Speechless", "Roots Of Love", "This Love", and "Start Again".

A beautiful debut from Frank McComb – a singer we've really grown to love and know well from his indie releases of the 21st Century, but who surprisingly got his start on a major label! The album's near perfect all the way through – as wonderful a mellow soul document as you could hope for from 70s Marvin Gaye or Leroy Hutson at their best – and Frank's got an amazing talent for blending together rich vocals and lush arrangements, yet somehow never making the whole thing too sleepy or slow. We've still never been sure as to why Sony never decided to do more with Frank at the time – and after falling in love with this album, if we ever happened to run into the exec who let McComb go, we'd certainly give him a talking to! Titles include "Looking At You", "Gotta Find A Way", "If This Is Love", "Love Natural", "Future Love", "Wasting Your Time", and "Listen To Your Heart".

Smooth soul from Asaph – the self-proclaimed "son of soul", and a strong talent bubbling underground! Asaph first made his appearance in the R&B world as the lead singer of the early 90s group True Image – but since that time, he's really developed richly as an artist, writing and playing his own work, and singing in a mature style that's got lots of warm classic touches. There's certainly a strong influence here from gospel, but Asaph also works the groove in a style that's sexily secular – sliding around in warm and slinky grooves, moving in a range that's somewhere between Marvin Gaye and D'Angelo. Titles include "Sunshine", "Tell Me Girl", "I Apologize", "Heaven", "Key To My Heart", and "Come Back To Me" and now contains two extra tracks – "It's You" and "Feelin You".

Sweet and gritty soul from D'Angelo – who takes a huge step into deeper territory on Voodoo – and it's one of the most monumental records of its time! On one level, Voodoo works as a nicely stripped-down session with a very classic soul feel. Gone are the overzealous flourishes that sometimes overwhelmed his earlier songs, and in their place are some sweetly crafted vocal parts with a classic Marvin Gaye/Al Green feel. That warmth is probably what made Voodoo a massive popular success – but what makes it such a creative triumph are the darker undercurrents – which hint at a troubled soul struggling for spiritual truth. One of the rare cases in popular music when great art became music for the masses! Titles include "Left & Right (feat Method Man & Redman)", "The Line", "Spanish Joint", "Africa", "Feel Like Makin Love", "The Root", "Playa Playa", "Devil's Pie", and "Greatdayndamornin/Booty".

A great set from Chicago soul singer Tammy Harris – warm, mellow, and put together with a great deal of care – way more than the simple homegrown set you might expect! There's a really classic vibe going on here – flowing tones that almost feel like they're lifted from mid 70s Marvin Gaye, then recast in a different mode to fit Tammy's smoothly seductive vocals. Yet while the sound is polished, it's never too tight nor too commercial – professional, yet still extremely personal – and just the right sort of indie soul blend we love around here at Dusty Groove! Harris' vocals are as compelling as the backings and overall production – and she's got a great sense of timing and pacing with these tunes – never trying to force her presence too much, but always reminding us that she's there for us. Titles include "Never Stop", "Natural Vibe", "Come Over", "Only To You", "Take Me Away", "I Would Be Your Love", "You Are", "You Know How To Love Me", "Baby I Need You", and "The Sweetest Sound".

Cinematic soul rooted in the rawer organ, drums and horns vibes that resonated deeply in records from north to south in the 70s – done with a lean, tight and head nodding groove no doubt informed by Aloe Blacc's own roots in hip hop – on his best album yet and one of best raw soul styled albums ever to come from our friends at Stones Throw! Good Things is a giant leap ahead of Shine Through, Aloe's previous full length on the label. We loved that record for its gritty, unique approach to funky soul, but, Good Things reaches for the heights of Aloe's heroes from Donny Hathaway to Marvin Gaye – and comes closer than we could have imagined! It's produced by the Truth & Soul team, with a timeless funk & soul vibe comparable to their work with the great Lee Fields. We have a feeling we'll still be listening to this album 10-15-20 years from now. Essential! Titles include the underground breakout "I Need A Dollar", an incredible cover of The Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale" (we must have dropped the needle on that 50 times in the first couple days we had it), "Green Lights", "Miss Fortune", "Good Things", "Loving You Is Killing Me", "Mama Hold My Hand", "Hey Brother" and more.

A jazzy soul stunner Pete Belasco – the singer, producer and sole performer on his completely great third album – possibly the best we've heard from him to date! Pete's first album for Verve Forecast was a really strong effort, steeped in emotionally rich, though laidback soul with jazz-learned arrangements and atmosphere. His second album came a good half decade later, which found him moving deeper into a smoldering, resonant soul sound, appropriately titled Deeper. Lights On is the next step, and it's all the more incredible! Pete does everything here – penning the songs, handling the subtle, restrained instrumentation and the soulful falsetto singing. The man truly earns the comparisons to Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Timeless and totally real! Includes "I Ain't Doin It", "Lights On", "Rock It", "Down", "My Eyes", "Repay You", "Stubborn (Stay Focused)", "Later", "One", "Just Me", "Sweeter" and "Who's The Man". CD includes 2 bonus versions: "My Eyes (Organic Mix)" and "One (Organic Mix)".

Cinematic soul rooted in the rawer organ, drums and horns vibes that resonated deeply in records from north to south in the 70s – done with a lean, tight and head nodding groove no doubt informed by Aloe Blacc's own roots in hip hop – on his best album yet and one of best raw soul styled albums ever to come from our friends at Stones Throw! Good Things is a giant leap ahead of Shine Through, Aloe's previous full length on the label. We loved that record for its gritty, unique approach to funky soul, but, Good Things reaches for the heights of Aloe's heroes from Donny Hathaway to Marvin Gaye – and comes closer than we could have imagined! It's produced by the Truth & Soul team, with a timeless funk & soul vibe comparable to their work with the great Lee Fields. We have a feeling we'll still be listening to this album 10-15-20 years from now. Essential! Titles include the underground breakout "I Need A Dollar", an incredible cover of The Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale" (we must have dropped the needle on that 50 times in the first couple days we had it), "Green Lights", "Miss Fortune", "Good Things", "Loving You Is Killing Me", "Mama Hold My Hand", "Hey Brother" and more.