Neo Soul — All Formats  

An instant soul classic from singer Frank McComb – awash in warm touches that take us back to the classic 70s work of Donnie Hathaway and Stevie Wonder – but done with a sound that clearly Frank's own! The instrumentation is enough to make us love the record – with lots of Fender Rhodes, mellow basslines, and sweet jazzy touches on flute and sax – but Frank follows up the grooves with some incredible vocals, stepping forth with a warmth and confidence that are immediately apparent, but which are also nicely offset by a personal, intimate quality on the mellower tunes. Titles include "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Shine", "Never Letting Go", "Fools", "When You Call My Name", "Intimate Time", and "Cupid's Arrow".

The long-overdue return of soulsinger Terri Walker – teamed up here brilliantly with Nicole Wray, and served up in a format that's even better than before! Lady have a style that's totally great – a really old school female duo, presented with strong Truth & South touches that really take us back to late 60s/early 70s indie girl soul – a time when things could be powerful one minute, and fragile the next – especially as the vocals going back and forth really find their own sort of intimate space! Terri's still every bit as great as she was on her contemporary soul albums from the past decade – but this old school approach somehow makes her sound even better than before – and Nicole's a great partner, as is the whole El Michels-ish lineup in the backing group! Titles include "Money", "Hold On", "Karma", "Sweet Lady", "If You Wanna Be My Man", "Waiting On You", "Get Ready", and "Tell The Truth".

The long-overdue return of soulsinger Terri Walker – teamed up here brilliantly with Nicole Wray, and served up in a format that's even better than before! Lady have a style that's totally great – a really old school female duo, presented with strong Truth & South touches that really take us back to late 60s/early 70s indie girl soul – a time when things could be powerful one minute, and fragile the next – especially as the vocals going back and forth really find their own sort of intimate space! Terri's still every bit as great as she was on her contemporary soul albums from the past decade – but this old school approach somehow makes her sound even better than before – and Nicole's a great partner, as is the whole El Michels-ish lineup in the backing group! Titles include "Money", "Hold On", "Karma", "Sweet Lady", "If You Wanna Be My Man", "Waiting On You", "Get Ready", and "Tell The Truth".

Do you need a dollar? You just might get one with this stellar and soulful single by Aloe Blacc – rawly produced, memorably composed, and one of the finer underground soul singles of 2010! "I Need A Dollar" may sound familiar – it's the theme song to How To Make It In America on HBO – but that aside, it's a winning single and a sign of the great things to come on Aloe's Good Things LP. He takes a socially conscious tack on the A-side that serves the sound wonderfully. Co-produced and by Jeff Dynamite and Truth & Soul player Leon Michels – the latter providing tight horn arrangements. The flip "Take Me Back" is a more measured funky soul number that's just as excellent.

Strongly emotional and slowly simmering craft from Ty Causey – a veteran of the midwestern smooth, jazzy soul scene – and his efforts are as strong as ever here! There's an easygoing confidence in Ty's approach that he's carried for a while – and that continues in full effect here. His songs speak to straight forward, soulful truth, with a relaxed style and emotional and spiritual depth. The production is just as sweet – with a smooth soul pace, and subtly dexterous musicianship. Some guitar, a bit of flute or sax come into play with nice keys and percolating percussion. Includes "Must Be Magic", "Too Much Baggage", "Tap Into This Chemistry", "I'll Wait For You", "I'll Wait For You", "You'll Never Be Lonely", "False Faces", "Love Call", "A Reason Why", "Hot 2 Night", "The Limit of Love", "Bold And Beautiful".

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".

Incredible work from neo soul maestro Frank McComb – the kind of a record that will have you saying "dang, what's that classic jam" – and then being amazed that it's a brand new set from Frank! The record surpasses even the quality of Frank's amazing album The Truth – and sparkles with a deeply soulful approach that we'd rank right up there with the best work by Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway! (And mind you, we're not making that comparison lightly – as we know the risks of ranking Frank so highly!) The keyboards on the set are every bit as great as the vocals, too – and dip, turn, and sneak around with all these seductive little touches – like bending notes that seem to "sing" of their own accord next to the vocals. We've got Frank to thank for finally letting this record free – and these copies come from the maestro himself, sent to the world on a pillow of soulful love. Titles include "I'd Be A Fool", "To The Left", "The Thing I Failed To Do", "Each Day", "King Of The Open Road", "Morning Glory", and "The Things That You Do".

Sy Smith and Mark De Clive-Lowe – an amazing combination that makes for an equally amazing record! Sy's always been great, no matter what the setting – but this time around, all instruments and production are handled by Mark, who gives the record a sweetly cosmic groove! The album bristles with excitement from the very first note – and Smith's singing has this wickedly spacious quality – all the depth of soul we've loved from the start, but a new sense of power that slides in perfectly with the crackling rhythms and jazzy keyboards from De Clive-Lowe. Rahsaan Patterson guests on the cut "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)" – a beautiful remake of the Billy Ocean classic – and other tunes include a version of Teena Marie's "Teena" – plus great Smith originals that include "The Fast & Curious", "Truth", "Personal Paradise", "The Primacy Effect", "Messages From The Stars", and "The Ooh To My Aah".

Gilles Peterson's hand-picked Brownswood Bubblers series – which is nine volumes strong with the release of this one – and it's getting better and better! While soulful strains are a common thread in the series to date, diversity has always been the name of the game – and that while that continues to hold true, Vol 9 is anchored pretty strongly with funky soul – with tracks by Truth & Soul signees Lady, modern spacey soul singer/producer Slakah The Beat Child, Belleruche and a few more recognizable names – but it's also a got a bevy of artists ripe for discovery! Includes "Money" by Lady, "Nakamarra" by Hiatus Kaiyote, "Wanna Do" by Slakah The Beatchild, "Forgotten Notes" by Hackman, "Wasted Time (Ross PTH Remix)" by Belleruche, "Make It Good" by The White Lamp, "Private Life Of A Puppet" by Bev Lee Harling, Down Illusion" by Memotone and more.

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".

Hip hop soul from Nneka – a fresh perspective given her diverse background, and a fresh sound, too – rolling from rhymes to soulful singing over gritty soul beats and live band instrumentation. The facts of Nneka's life, born in Nigeria and raised in Germany – are bound be the lead of most intro bio and reviews, and it’s a interesting stuff that should be noted – but we're just as impressed with her ability to mix rhymes and singing so deftly. She's a natural for both, and Concrete Jungle is well worth the trip. Titles include "Showin' Love", "The Uncomfortable Truth", "Mind Vs Heart", "Heartbeat", "Come With me", "Africans", "Suffri", "Fro Africa 2 U", "Walking", "Focus", "God Of Mercy" and more.

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.

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.