Let’s Celebrate! When Hidden Beach was introduced to the world on June 1, 2000, its mission was to become an oasis for artistic creativity, attracting to its shores real artists dedicated to making real music. 2015 marks the 15th Anniversary of that mission to provide The Orphaned Consumer with quality music that moves your soul.
Featured Artists: Jill Scott, Brenda Russell, Mike Phillips, Kindred The Family Soul, Unwrapped™, Darius Rucker, BeBe Winans, Al B. Sure!, Jeff Bradshaw, Glen Scott, Marsha Ambrosius, TWyse, Dennis Nelson, Angie Fisher and Naturally 7
The compilation Producers, Thornell Jones and Marilyn Batchelor, wanted to take the listeners on a journey through time with the music of Hidden Beach as your tour guide. However, because there could only be one song to represent each year, there are many gems from the Hidden Beach catalogue which by necessity don’t appear on this collection. As one would imagine, Jill Scott kicks off the proceedings with the near classic “A Long Walk,” followed by Brenda Russell keeping in the theme with “Walking In New York,” which we learn from the liner notes was slated for release on 9-11 but never received the attention it deserved. Then, Darius Rucker, who has now fashioned himself into a platinum-selling star of Country music, slips into a Philly vibe with the soulful “Wild One” from his sessions with the A Touch of Jazz crew. Up next is the debut single from Kindred The Family Soul, “Far Away,” the song which brought them all the way from the Five Spot in Philadelphia to national attention on the stage at Soul Train. The mood brightens with Jill Scott’s anthemic “Golden,” with its spirit of self-empowerment which now ten years later inspires small business owners in a television spot for Bank of America. BeBe Winans continues the inspirational vibe with “Have You Ever Had” from his sterling Dream album. The vocal music takes a break with an instrumental track from Unwrapped™ Vol. 4 – “Treat ‘Em Right” showing that Mike Phillips, Jeff Bradshaw and Dennis Nelson can rock the track like the original by Chubb Rock.
Up next comes the Quiet Storm worthy suite of tunes led by Ft. Worth native Keite Young. With N’dambi guesting on “If We Were Alone,” they take us into a sensual fantasy land from Young’s underrated The Rise and Fall of Keite Young. Turning up the heat, the vibe continues with the Unwrapped™ version of the Snoop Dogg groover “Sensual Seduction.” Al B. Sure! finally makes it plain under the covers with “I Love It (Papi Aye, Aye, Aye).” Unwrapped™ returns with a dreamy rendition of rapper T-Pain’s “Can’t Believe It.” The suite closes with the thick as molasses groove of British soul man, Glen Scott, with “Deep In It,” which appears on the Hidden Beach Valentine’s collection from 2011.
Jeff Bradshaw, the new soul movement’s populist Trombone player, offers his tribute to the tenacious spirit of the people of New Orleans with “Got Til’ It’s Gone” with an assist from Marsha Ambrosius and rapper TWyse. Internationally celebrated a cappella group Naturally 7 brightens the mood with the all-vocal “Need You With Me” from their Hidden In Plain Sight collection, daring us to believe there are no instruments on the record. Then the incomparable Angie Fisher – fresh from her standing ovation performance on the Grammy® Premiere show – wails and growls her way through her nominated “I.R.S.,” proving that pressure indeed makes diamonds closing out the heart of the album.
Hidden Beach has always referred to its artists, staff, and even its customers as Hidden Beach Family. Fittingly, the collection ends with a bonus track, Mike Phillips‘ rendition of the Maze classic “We Are One.” Swooping and wailing his way around the classic melody and ‘can’t stop your feet from shuffling’ groove – we are reminded of why for the last fifteen years Hidden Beach has been so important to us all. We are one with them, they are one with us. They are indeed the Guardians of Soul™.