Juno Recommends Soul: May 2023

Review: BunnDebrettQuintet has got a monster modern soul tunes on their hands here with the legendary Brian Auger on Hammond B3 helping bring the style. The glorious A-side 'Truth In My Tears' has a raw but heartfelt vocal and big horn energy over driving drums. It's a real dancefloor heater and then the flip is 'Wasn't It You', a more soulful groover with lush backing vocals but still dynamic drums powering it onwards. This outfit's last single went on to become a much sought-after release that is now well spenny on Discogs so do not sleep on this limited follow up.

Review: St Paul's Catholic Church in Louisiana was hosting a summer youth program in 1970 and 1971 and it was there that Tunnie Smith was spotted by Father George Artist, who saw potential in his great singing abilities. Smith was introduced to local musicians and bands as a result and was soon playing the local circuit. He landed a record label 18 months later and his first single came in 1973. Success followed as did an album that never actually got roasted. It was then in 1983 that he laid down the slow-burning mid-tempo soul numbers which feature in this 7" for the first time.

Review: Cairo Music present a brand new compilation, intended as 'all-killer, no-filler', detailing the best in American soul music in its heyday, 1963-74. The double comp comes in a comprehensive shiny gold cover and aims to present the music in a nostalgic, sophisticated light. Not focusing so much on the megastars, it homes in on recorded gems by relatively underground soul artists, such as Lee Moses, JP Robinson and Connie McGill. Many of the tracks are lifted from live performances or lost studio sessions, making this a wealth of curiosity for any fan of musical rarity out there, soul fan or not.

Review: Spanky Wilson has a famously powerful voice but that is matched by just as potent a horn section, with some added staccato guitar chords and a super groovy rhythm section here on this much warranted reissue. She is a conduit for "The Funk' here with a mega fine vocal performance time after time on this well curated selection of classic covers. The likes of The Doors' 'Light my Fire', Cream's 'Sunshine of your Love' and 'Loveland' are all included and stand right out. Each one shows a different but equally essential side to the voice of Spanky Wilson. All tunes have been newly remastered for this release by P-Vine.

Review: Soundway brings the West Indian funk from 1977 on the new and raw double-sider. King Wellington's 'Shango' goes first and is a tune taken from his Sooner Or Later album. It now finally makes it onto 45rom for the first time and is inspired by the ritual from which it takes its name with roots in Yoruba culture and hints of Calypso music all powered by hypnotic bass with Wellington's signature vocal adding to this unique Caribbean blend. Canadian musician Tony Springer fronts the B-side cut 'Mystery Man' which is a dreamy and psyched-out trip with electric keys and floating horns.

Review: It's now a quarter of a century since Terry Callier released his Timepeace album, which was his first after a 15 year break. The record won the United Nations's Time For Peace award for outstanding artistic achievement and for "contributing to world peace." It features standout tunes like 'People Get Ready' and 'Brotherly Love' composed by Curtis Mayfield, as well as a guest spot from Pharoah Sanders on tenor-saxophone on the title song 'Timepeace' and seven other wondrous tunes that showcase soul, jazz, folk influences. This reissue includes an insert with lyrics and liner-notes by Tom Terrell.

Review: Vocal trio The Petersons hailed from Waycross and took their name from Kenneth Peterson, the band leader, founder, drummer and vocalist who worked with keys man Salem Chatman and vocalist and bassist Johnny Members. They performed all up and down the East Coast of America and answered an advert they saw in Philadelphia in 1973 which led them to sign for Omega Sound, a small independent recording company formed by Frank Fioravanti. They recorded the tunes presented here but didn't make much noise at the time, though listening back now it's hard to see why.

Review: This reissue of a rather boxy, yet warm and spirited soul rarity came about as the result of a back-breaking search by the label Cannonball to scour every corner of the United States to find the correct Joe Johnson. As it turns out, there were many Joe Johnsons active in the 60s golden era of soul. But after a hard-pressed castaround, they finally managed to track down the original artist behind this lofty paean for an on-the-fence love interest, and were able to relicense it for this reissue. 'What's The Matter With You Baby' is a unique take on the soul formula, with the Louisianan crooner operating in his distinctive low tenor drawl. Bravo on this rekindling, Cannonball.

Review: Brooklyn-based band 79.5 make music right now, rather than being some long-lost acts from the 80s as you might expect from the cover. The group consists of singer, songwriter and composer Kate Mattison, singer and rapper Lola Adanna, drummer Caito Sanchez, bassist Andrew Raposo and sax player and flautist Izaak Mills. Their self-titled album comes on Razor-N-Tape and captures the sound of New York City perfectly with soul and psychedelic melodies that are hard to match. From 70s underground disco to acid jazz to and sweet pop sounds, they draw on it all for this fine concoction of dancefloor gems, which also serves as a protest at the often all too male dominated world of dance music.

Review: It is fair to say that Demon Singles Club has another top nugget on vinyl here. 'Days Like This' by Shaun Escoffrey is a proper good slice of modern house music and it gets remixed here by top dogs Spen & Karizma, MJ Cole and DJ Spinna. This reissue of the 2002 original has been remastered by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering with the new remixes including the first-ever vinyl appearance of the MJ Cole contribution. There is lots to love in each of these with all of them being standouts and perfect for playing as the days warm up.

Review: Millie Jackson's classic soul album It Hurts So Good has gone down in time as a shining example of what many hardcore soul fanatics might call 'deep soul'. Darker and more austere than the usual idea of soul at large, deep soul was known for its added grit and pain behind the beltings and breakbeats. Millie Jackson had this yet-nascent formula down to a T. Active in the early 70s and beyond, Jackson released It Hurts So Good as a testament to the test of love, an analogy for life itself. Yes, it hurts, but the pain is worth it when balanced out by the glorious highs. Heartbroken but jubilant, Jackson's sound is refined and always full of energy, occupying a juxtaposition between lyricising about crying and loss, and laying the fonk on thick, groovy and plentiful. The overall sound, firmly rooted in both the funky and tearjerky camps, is that of 'getting on with it'.

Review: Dojo Cuts are a heavy Australian funk unit, renowned for delivering crisp, tight and funky ones since 2008 - the stench wafting off these ones is pungent to say the least. 'Ain't Go No Reason' is their latest offering; a two-tracker featuring the instrumental backing and production of Ed Halls, Guy Kilty, Nathan Aust, Sasha Imrich, and finally - the delectable vocals of Roxie Ray. The track describes a certain anomie, 'ain't got no reason to fight / to cry / to play', an amusingly prescient theme to set to a disco backing. 'Uptight', meanwhile, brings back the sense of meaning with a loosening of the figurative grip, with fast laboured breakbeats - or shall we say, breakbeasts - and tingly bass licks underpinning Ray's liquidly improvisatory vocals.

Review: Normally found recording with his band The Indications, on this new record for Dead Oceans Durand Jones goes solo to explore a more idiosyncratic dimension to his Southern soul. Wait Til I Get Over is a highly personal record which finds Jones digging deep into his roots growing up in Louisiana, reflecting on his ancestry and delivering a potent black music which draws on gospel, rock n' roll and soul and pushes those fundamentals into exciting new places. It's a record to feel with every fibre of your body, with Jones' grit-edged but oh-so-sweet voice at the centre.

Review: Best known as a titular member of Durand Jones & the Indications, a group whose signature soulful sound has seen them reach international audiences, Wait Til I Get Over marks Jones' first foray into solo work. Using this as an opportunity to delve into the more personal, storytelling potential of solo artistry, the record is firmly situated in his hometown - Hillaryville, Louisiana -; a town initially founded as a form of reparations to previously enslaved African Americans. The first single to be released from the album, Lord Have Mercy, travels through Jones' family history, recalling his grandmother's memories of moving to the town as a child, via cathartic, wild and raucous vocals. This is a release that masterfully bridges the internal conflict of feeling connected to a place that's at once home but also a historically complex space for its African American community.

Review: The Ritz Band are a shockingly obscure soul band from Charleston, West Virginia - once locally famous for their hosting of the local Ritz nightclub in the city. 'I Should Have Known' is the product of one of the few efforts by the establishment to release music of their own; with a constantly rotating roster of musicians, this iteration of the band hears Raye Smith on vocals - the rest has been lost to history. The tune is a sweet, hazy and soft restoration of the original 1985 gem.