We first came across American soul singer RODNEY STITH when he delivered the vocals on Italian producer Alex Puddu’s 2020 offering ‘All I Want Is Your Love’. It was (indeed still is) a wonderful track and we said then that Rodney came on with a style that is in a direct heritage line from Bobby Womack, David Ruffin, Dazvid Sea and Ali Ollie Woodson. We said he was good, very good and we wanted to have more music from him!
Its been a while but now courtesy of DSG Promotions and Izipho Soul we can enjoy six new songs from good old Rodders! He’s just released an mini album (we called ‘em EPs in the olden days). It’s called ‘THE SOUL CHRONICLES OF RODNEY STITH’. The key word in the title is ‘Soul’ and , it’s a cliché, but there’s no duds amongst the half dozen. Little wonder that in and around his Petersburg, Virginia home Mr S is nicknamed “The Soul Singer” – and, need we add, he started out in gospel!
If you like to strut your stuff, the set’s ‘Girl I Love’ is eminently pranceable in the Northern way while ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ and ‘’Heaven’s Door’ are much gentler affairs – perfect for that end of evening smooch around the floor – smooth and sophisticated with an old school soul edge. ‘Feel This Way’ is a gritty, Southern soul flavoured ballad; ‘Ride With Me’ is another ballad but if proffers a more polished, uptown vibe. The set’s sixth cut is an insistent, percussive ‘Something I Wrong’.
Between them, these six cuts make for a quite lovely, satisfying contemporary soul collection. It’s proper grown up music – the kind of music that many complain just isn’t being made these days. Well, it is… seek and ye shall find. Amen!
