GREGORY PORTER: All Rise (Decca/Blue Note)
It was way back in January that Gregory Porter announced he was set to release a new album – his first since 2017’s ‘Nat King Cole & Me’. The LP, ‘All Rise’, we were...
DAN PENN: Living On Mercy (Last Music)
A few weeks back we highlighted a compilation album on The Memphis Boys – a collection of archive recordings featuring the studio band of Chips Moman’s legendary American Sound Studios down there in Memphis....
ALBERT AYLER: ‘New Grass’ (Third Man Records)
It’s 50 years since ALBERT AYLER‘s body was fished out of New York’s East River. He’d been missing for three weeks and his death at 34 was a mystery that some still speculate on:...
VARIOUS: The Soul Of The Memphis Boys (Ace)
Over the years Ace Records and its Kent subsidiary has made easily available a treasure trove of Southern soul. Via licensing deals with studios/labels like Stax, Goldwax, Hi, FAME and American Sound, they’ve royally...
DON BRYANT: You Make Me Feel (Fat Possum)
Don Bryant won’t mind being called a veteran soul man… he’s proud to say he’s pushing 80! But proper soul fans will know that and also know about Don’s remarkable career. They’ll know that...
THE HAGGIS HORNS: Stand Up For Love (Haggis Records)
Despite their Scottish flavoured name, the Haggis Horns originated up there in deepest, darkest Yorkshire… Leeds to be precise! That was way back in 1999 and since then they’ve won a reputation as one...
VARIOUS: Ready Or Not… Thom Bell (Kent)
The wonderful Thom Bell is the latest backroom boy to be honoured with a Kent compilation of some of his best songs, productions and arrangements. Can’t be too many soul fans/collectors who don’t know...
ROBERTA FLACK: ‘First Take: The 50th Anniversary Edition’ (Run Out Groove)
As debut albums go, Roberta Flack‘s ‘First Take,’ released by Atlantic Records in June 1969, is one of the most impressive in the history of soul music. It was a compelling showcase for the...
LEXSOUL DANCEMACHINE: Lexplosion II (Solid Gold/Funk Embassy)
The former Soviet republic of Estonia has been the source of some decent blue-eyed soul of late. That country’s Rita Ray impressed many with her ‘Our Love Will Rust’ album, while guitarist U-Nam’s collaboration...
