Neo Soul — All Formats  

The second set for Columbia by evolving R&B great Raphael Saadiq – possibly the best album he's ever done! We were knocked out by the preceding The Way I See It, his neo throwback gem, especially for the way he so masterfully flaunted decades of soul/R&B influences on that album while still giving it a modern and timeless sense of urgency. He takes that superb craftsmanship even deeper on Stone Rollin'! Raphael rolls with raw, punchy rhythm & blues backdrops tricked out with mellotron and other unique twists – with strings and brass on some tunes – all with a tight, hooky accessibility that's so damn catchy! It's so immediately appealing on the surface level, you could roll through this a dozen times before the innovative, impeccable skill really sinks in. Truly brilliant material from one of the best of his generation! He gets some help from Taura Stinson, Amp Fiddler, Wah Wah Watson and other excellent musicians on the sessions, but Raphael handles a heap of the instrumentation himself – and the guests are utilized beautifully. Titles include "Heart Attack", "Go To Hell", "Radio", "Over You", "Stone Rollin'", Movin' Down The Line", "Day Dreams", "Just Don't", "Good Man" and "The Answer".

Recent grooves, but often done with a richly classic feel – one that recalls the waning years of the Chicago Soul scene at the start of the 80s! The package is an effort from the re-activated Chi-Sound label – and it takes up where Carl Davis modern soul imprint left off – a smooth, mellow approach to contemporary R&B that's served up with plenty of class, and pointed directly at the new wave of dancefloor steppers in Chicago! Vocals here are by a variety of different singers, but there's a unified feel to most of the music – an approach that stays mostly in the mellower side of the spectrum, but still maintains a good sense of groove – one that comes from gently stepping beats, warm keyboard parts, and some slight jazzy touches to class things up a bit. Titles include "Soul" by Barry J, "Steppin All Over The World" by Gold Boy, "1st Fruit" by Stephen Dawson, "Steppin Into Darkness" by Paris, "Hang Time" by Kozii, "Better Step Up "by Theresa Davis, "High Steppin" by Sherry Scott, and "Time & Time Again" by Nicole Steel.