New March Soul Music Newsletter!

Here is a copy of the newsletter that went out to SoulTracks subscribers on March 1st. Want to receive newsletters in the future? Just sign up (top left of this page). It’s Free!

Happy March, SoulTrackers! In February we began our decade-by-decade poll of the Greatest Soul Songs of All-Time. You all came out in force, voting the Temptations’ "My Girl" as the Greatest Song of the 60s. And now we’re taking your nominations for our next poll: the Greatest Soul Songs of the 70s. If you want to nominate a song or two, just CLICK HERE.

But now let’s get back to 2010. The last couple weeks have brought some long-awaited new music from artists like Jaheim and Sade, and we covered it all. It’s also brought some really bad "popular" music (see my rant on whether popular music on the radio has hit bottom yet), but we’re not going to waste much time on that — there is too much good stuff that we enjoy. So sit back, grab your coffee, and get ready for your monthly dose of soul!

Chris

PS – And come be a friend of SoulTracks at Facebook!

Music Reviews

Sade – Can it really be that is has been a decade since Sade last graced us with a new album? It has, and fans have been anxiously awaiting the new "Soldier of Love" disc for months. Well, now it is here and our Howard Dukes says it was worth the wait. Check out his review.

Jaheim has long straddled the line between lover man and man of the streets, but his brand new release, Another Round, shows a level of maturity that his prior discs only hinted at. Our Melody Charles says it is an unadulterated triumph, one that SoulTrackers will love.

Adriana Evans was one of the great new soul artists of the 90s and early 2000s, but her fans have gone almost a half decade without new music. She new returns with the excellent new Walking With The Night, a disc that will please both old school and new school music fans.

Jose James is one fine singer. An underground favorite for a few years, he’s now getting the broad acclaim he deserves for his newest album Blackmagic, which our L. Michael Gipson says is one of the first great albums of 2010.

KeKe Wyatt rose to the top of the R&B music world with her debut album early last decade. Since then, her fans have had to wait eight years for her follow up album, and the fine disc shows her to be in very good form.

Ebony Evans won some fans a couple years ago with her attractive, wispy voice and some good moments on her debut album. And she shows both greater maturity and solid musical development in her new sophomore album, You Did It All. Come see our review.

Tomeka Williams is a new singer who doesn’t pull any punches, and our Howard Dukes wouldn’t have it any other way. Sir-Mixx-A-Lot is her producer, but her debut album is a great combination of R&B and rock, all featuring Williams’ frank, intelligent lyrics.

Other Reviews Various Artists – The Contemporary Soul Songbook, Vol. 2
Dreemtime – New York Lounge Funk
The Neo Jazz Project – TNJP
Kristina Train – Spilt Milk
The Temptations – Truly for You (reissue)
The Sojourners – The Sojourners
Various Artists – Jump Start Music .

And check out our News page for the latest soul information, including: another "The Story Behind the Song," that tells the story behind the Boyz II Men/Mariah Carey smash, "One Sweet Day," a facsinating 5 minute video that shows how to create a pop star, even if the singer has no talent… News on new albums by Anthony David and Elisabeth Withers, thanks to an important new deal between Purpose Music and E1

Whatever Happened To…Richard "Dimples" Fields To some he was a clever "everyman" who told truthful, humorous stories about love and lust. To others he was a lightweight singer who carried his "loverman" schtick about 10 years too long. But just about everyone had an opinion about "Mr. Look So Good," Richard Dimples Fields. This month we take a look back at the singer/songwriter who gave us some of the most…er…unusual musical moments of the 80s.
Read more about Richard Dimples Fields

Hot Artist Index

Sade has been in a class by herself for nearly a quarter century, and her fans love her now as much as ever, as she released her newest album, Soldier of Love. Those fans came out in force this past month, making Sade the most popular and sought after artist on SoulTracks. Come see our entire Hot Artist Index

CD of the Month!

Steve Wallace

Steve Wallace has been a hot producer and songwriter for several years. So how come so many people have never heard of him? Well he plans to take care of that now with his CD/DVD set, Urban Soul, a great collection of new songs and an accompanying video that brings them to life. We are proud to have it as our CD of the Month, with a special page where you can hear the album. We think you’ll like it a lot!

CLICK HERE to listen to our CD of the Month!

Choice Track Free Download

guilty pleasures

If you’ve been hanging around SoulTracks over the past few months, then you know we’re really into the new album by guiltypleasures. And part of our guilty love is the amazing lead off cut, "The One."

So we were REALLY happy when the band agreed to offer "The One" as our Choice Track FREE DOWNLOAD. One of my favorite songs of the year. You’re going to love it!

CLICK HERE to visit our free download page

Top 10 Albums

Maysa

Frankie Beverly and Maze have dominated our charts for four months, but longtime SoulTracks favorite Maysa ended his streatk, capturing the sales crown for February with A Woman In Love, barely edging out soul man Jaheim.

But there was plenty of other action on our charts, including new albums by Sade and Corinne Bailey Rae.

To see our entire top 10 chart, CLICK HERE.

SoulTracks Video Countdown!

Our girl Ann Marie is back again this month with a great new selection of 10 hot videos, including new music vids by Julie Dexter with Zo!, Maiysha, Coko, Melba Moor and Phil Perry, Patti Austin and more!

See the SoulTracks Video Countdown