Review: Kamal Abdul-Alim is an accomplished teacher, bandleader, composer and trumpeter who has been making high class music for many years. It has taken him to gigs all over the world and to working with all manner of bands, big and small. Drawing on the post-box sounds of the 50s and layering in 60s free-form jazz with his own fine textures, he is a real underrated artist and master of improv. This record includes hugely sought after jazz-dance bomb 'Brotherhood' as well as four other lengthy classics.
Review: Who knew the Federal Bureau of Investigation maintained a front as a funk band? FBI (which supposedly stood for Funky Bands Inc., or so those investigative bureaucrats would like to claim) allegedly consisted of such false identities as Herscel Holder, Lloyd Smith, Lennox Meade and Raffi Pereira, and - in a startling move of the establishment co-opting counterculture into its own milieu - has its lead track decry the FBI. "You can't hide, so stop your supercoolin' groove, baby," urge the undercover feds. We don't buy it, FBI, but perhaps you will!
Review: Johnny Hammond was a prolific organist, composer and multidisciplinary artist active throughout the USA for the majority of the 20th Century. By the time the lesser-known LP and meditation on devilish excess 'Gambler's Life' was released in 1974, Hammond's sound had grown unusually cacophonous and was noisy to a kind of perfection that could only be described as an acquired taste. That doesn't deter us, though: this reissue from Soul Brother carefully pays homage to the late great's 28th album, with the broken wonk of 'Rhodesian Thoroughfare', the voluptuous funk of 'Star Borne' and the melismatic virtuosity of 'Virgo Lady' all tempting us back towards the broad gate.
Review: Bobby Lyle's 1977 classic jazz-funk album showcases his well-renowned keyboard mastery with standout tracks like the inventive title cut, 'The Genie,' which is a wild groove-driven journey through multiple shifts. His rendition of 'Night Breeze,' previously recorded by Ronnie Laws, is another highlight and the mystical 'Mother Nile' features deep rhythms while the dreamy mid-tempo roller 'Pisces' soothes. Up-tempo 'Magic Ride' and atmospheric 'You Think Of Her' showcase Bobby's rich vocals and a stellar lineup including Roland Bautista, Babatunde, Victor Feldman, Ernie Watts, and Donnie Beckhelp make this it's a definitive jazz-funk fusion gem.
Review: Idris's fifth and perhaps most popular of his near-20 LP strong solo discography (that's not including the epic array of artists he's worked with from Fats Domino to Art Davis) Ranging from the heavily-sampled stone-cold soul stunner "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This" to silky disco funk such as the album title track and the sleazier "Crab Apple" to the frenetic jazz blasts of tracks such as "Camby Bolongo", this is the sound of a man fully committed to the craft and spirit of the groove. Nothing short of essential.
B-STOCK: Slight tear and creasing to corner of outer sleeve, but otherwise in excellent condition
Could Heaven Ever Be Like This
Camby Bolongo
Turn This Mutha Out
Tasty Cakes
Crab Apple
Moon Hymn
Say What
Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight tear and creasing to corner of outer sleeve, but otherwise in excellent condition***
Idris's fifth and perhaps most popular of his near-20 LP strong solo discography (that's not including the epic array of artists he's worked with from Fats Domino to Art Davis) Ranging from the heavily-sampled stone-cold soul stunner "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This" to silky disco funk such as the album title track and the sleazier "Crab Apple" to the frenetic jazz blasts of tracks such as "Camby Bolongo", this is the sound of a man fully committed to the craft and spirit of the groove. Nothing short of essential.
Review: If you're looking for a top-notch introduction to the collaborative work of pioneering poet/spoken word vocalist/singer Gil Scott-Heron and musician/producer Brian Jackson, we'd suggest taking a serious look at Anthology: Messages. Originally released in 2005, it contains most of the pair's most celebrated soul/jazz fusion works - including 'The Bottle', 'Winter in America' and 'Home is Where The Hatred Is' (albeit in expanded live form) - alongside some deeper picks, slept-on album cuts and genuinely inspired moments such as 'Racetrack in France', a 1977 cut that boasts some seriously squelchy, proto-acid electronics, and 'Hold On To Your Dreams'.
Review: The formidable combination of Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson sees new life on the Soul Brother's label with the reissue of Anthology: Messages. It's a similar transmission to Arista's 2007 release of It's Your World, and features loved classics "It's Your World", "New York City", "The Bottle" and a very special freeform rendition of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is". A superb release for fans of these two soul, jazz, and poetical dignitaries, and a great retrospective for those who came to learn of Gil Scott through his I'm New Here LP for XL Recordings. The revolution will not be televised.
Review: The original Mothers Records & The Snarf Company release of Spanky Wilson's 1969 sophomore set Doin' It has long been an in-demand item on the funk collecting scene. Happily, Soul Brother has decided to give the LP a warranted reissue. Presented in near identical artwork with the same killer line-up of tracks, it sees a then young Wilson wrap her ling-busting vocals around a range of hot-to-trot funk and soul grooves. Highlights include the soul singer's brilliant - and much-played - cover of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love", the deep and evocative "Loveland", the raw torch song "That's What a Woman Should Give To a Man" and the rip-roaring heavy funk business that is "You". Also worth checking is Wilson's often overlooked cover version of the Doors' "Light My Fire".
Willie Hutch - "Ain't That (Mellow Mellow)" (3:00)
Sisters Love - "Give Me Your Love" (4:19)
The Voices Of East Harlem - "Wanted Dead Or Alive" (3:03)
Mighty Ryeders - "Evil Vibrations" (3:46)
Etta James - "All The Way Down" (5:33)
Bobby Blue Bland - "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" (3:54)
The Dramatics - "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" (3:34)
The Four Tops - "Strung Out For Your Love" (5:41)
The Reflections - "She's My Summer Breeze" (4:28)
Ronnie McNeir - "I'm Your Lover" (3:37)
Thelma Houston - "Nothing Left To Give" (3:23)
Jeannie Reynolds - "I Don't Want To Be Second Best" (4:21)
Penny Goodwin - "Too Soon You're Old" (5:12)
Marlena Shaw - "Save The Children" (4:08)
Mike James Kirkland - "Hang On In There" (5:14)
Review: Soul Brother does all soul and rare groove lovers a favour by collection totters a load of desirable hits on this 30th anniversary edition of the fifth volume of their The Wants List series. The collection focusses on tunes form the 80s onwards from two steppers to modern soul. It's pure gold from the first needle drop with Barry White's buttery smooth baritone seducing beneath gentle sax sounds on 'Playing Your Game Baby.' Elsewhere the likes of Sweet Charles, Etta James, The Four Tops, Bobby Blue Bland and many more soul icons all serve up some of their warmest grooves.
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