Juno Recommends Soul February 2021

Review: Black Cash & Theo AKA Thelonious Beats are Galaxy Sound Co's most experienced editors and they prove that again here with another sure to sell out pair of supreme funk, soul and jazz fusion tunes. You might have never heard the original a-side here but you sure will recognise its chords from a million and one other tunes that have sampled it. It's a lost classic that melts the heart with its gentleness, killer soulful vocals and subtle jazz-funk greatness. The flip comes is another one that has been heavily sampled and is a drawn out and sensuous funk jam with some mad synth work and seductive drumming. This is one gorgeous 7", make no mistake.

Review: Aaron Frazer has the throwback look of a fitness matinee idol and a softly spoken voice that is well aged but contemporary. He has a high register too, which lends his soul music an even more special quality and allows him to convey a wide emotional spread. This is his debut solo album and is a fine testament to his skill and wide raging taste. It ranges for contemporary pop and hip-hop to classic 60s soul and fusions of disco, gospel blues and doo-wop. All 12 songs were were recorded in just a week in an antique and ephemera-laden studio in Nashville.

Review: With Valentine's Day fast approaching, Athens of the North has decided to deliver a licensed reissue of one of the rarest, finest and most loved-up southern soul albums of all time, William Stuckey's 1979 set Love Of Mine. It's never sounded better, too, thanks to some meticulous work repairing and remastering Stuckey's original master-tapes. The album itself is typical of the dancefloor-friendly soul sound of the period, with Stuckey and his collaborators flitting between immersive, glassy-eyed songs, string-laden disco jams, synth-sporting, P-funk style numbers and the kind of down-low instrumentals you'd expect to hear sound-tracking Blaxploitation movies of the period. In a word: essential!

Review: Philly Groove and Brookside link once more for another perfect piece of classic soul with high class strings and big, twirly vocals all shining their way into your affections. Side A gets a subtle remix from Mike Maurro that makes it more suited to this DJ friendly 7'' version and the reverse then has the more lengthy original version for the completists out there. Pressed on limited edition blue vinyl, this is a golden soul nugget from The Finishing Touch that will take any get together to the next level or serve as a perfect send-off tune at lights up.

Review: Burton Inc is perhaps not one of the better-known soul bands of the late 1970s. Formed by married couple Charles and Barbara Burton and featuring their son Tire amongst the backing musicians, the band recorded and released one album, 1976's L.A Will Make You Pay $$$, on their own private press imprint. It's from that set that these two tracks are taken. A-side 'Nation Song' is a glossy, slow-motion call for global unity featuring the twin attractions of incredible horn arrangements and spacey synthesizers (not to mention a fine lead vocal from Barbara), while flipside 'Groovin At The Night Club' is a slightly more up-tempo affair rich in jazzy guitar flourishes, fluid bass guitar and more incredible horn sounds.

Review: Texan soul man, Frank Wilson, receives a timely repress of his 1965 monster "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)", a tune which remains highly sought-after in its original format, and one that is bound to fly off these shelves like hot cakes! Outta Sight's done a great job here, and the quality is class, offering the original cut in all its majestic, romantic glory...oh, do we love this! The flipside is the mellow "Sweeter As The Days Go By", a certified love ballad that is a pleasure to the senses, each and every time...

Review: Izipho Soul once again link up with Sound of Superbad here on a super smooth and seductive funk 7". This one raises the bar even in comparison to the super nice 'I Want Cha' last time out. Chicago-based singer extraordinaire Robert IMtume Owens is the man who offers up his beautifully buttery tones, which are layered over nice classy drums and warm synths, with trumpets and strings all adding ear golden texture. The 'S.O.S. Vibe Mix' on the flip is a heavier jam thanks to the more direct percussion, but with everything else also turned up it's still a super lush tune with those vocals doing plenty of great work.

Review: Jesse James links up with the Soul Junction label to offer up a previously unreleased version of his '(The Girl In) Clinton Park' which is best known from its 1974 version, recorded by Masterplan. The original was written at a time three years previous when James was disillusioned with major labels but undeterred. It was also thought to be lost until the artist was digging through his possessions during the covid-19 lockdown and happened upon it. It's a lush bit of happy soul music that will brighten up any day. Flip over for his cover version of the Terry Callier/Larry Wade composition 'Just As Long As We're In Love'.

Review: During the pandemic lockdown, Fat Freddy's Drop looked themselves away in the iconic Michael Fowler Centre in the band's hometown of Wellington, New Zealand. There was no audience as a reflection of the weird times, but they still set to jamming out a wealth of conscious songs of freedom and hope for a generation. Their whole studio was relocated to the venue along with an MPC and allowed the band to turn out slow burn classics like 'Soldier', 'Hope' and 'This Room' as well as test drive 'Avengers', which was a brand new track in the making.

Review: Daptone does a brilliantly job of serving up new soul sounds that are rich with the sound of yesterday. They utterly authentic tunes that you'd be sure were 40 odd years old if you didn't know otherwise, and one of the many jewels in the label's crown is the Menahan Street Band. Here they're back to their best with a tidy 7" of heart aching blue eyed instrumental soul. 'Midnight Morning' is forlorn but hopefully with its sorrowful trumpets and psyched out guitar riffs while 'Stepping Through Shadow' goes super slow. The horns hang heavy in the air and the tinkling keys are heart broken.

Review: After some time off, The Preservation Project label is back with a very limited re-issue of The Larks's - a U.S. vocal group from Philly - overlooked stunner 'Sleepless Nights', an incredibly soulful 7" from the 60s. It's a track with soaring vocals and a driving backbeat that gets enriched by some lush harmonies that all add up to a soul classic. The vocals muse on heartbreak and insomnia and really hit home. 'For The Love Of Money' on the B-side is a second serving of the same lush soul sound that will swell your heart.