February 2010 Soul Music Newsletter!

SoulTracks Soul Music Newsletter

February 2010

Happy February, SoulTrackers! January brought the sad deaths of soul music greats Willie Mitchell, The Chi-Lites’ Robert "Squirrel" Lester, Kleeer’s Woody Cunningham and, of course, Teddy Pendergrass. But it also brought the promise of a new year that should be a great one for soul music fans, as the next few months will be full of welcome releases. To see part of what is coming up, check out our Upcoming Releases page. We also want to thank all of you who responded to our survey last month. Your comments helped more than you know! But for now, we have a bunch of great new music to tell you about. So sit back, grab your coffee, and get ready for your monthly dose of soul! Chris

Music Reviews

Beyonce has been the queen of the musical world for the past few years, with the biggest hits, the best videos (or so Kanye says) and a movie career to boot. So she’s decided to mix it up a bit, issuing her first concert CD/DVD, recorded live in Las Vegas. Come see what we thought of it.

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes: They were the pride of Philly in the 70s and the group that introduced the world to the late Teddy Pendergrass. And they gave us some of the hottest music of the 70s. We take a look back this month at this legendary group.

Donell Jones: While fans wait for an all new album by the street-wise soul man, Donell has gone back to his archives and issued an in-between album of previously unreleased material that our Howard Dukes says was worth unearthing.

Maysa is a longtime SoulTracks favorite and the winner of our 2007 Readers’ Choice Award as the top female vocalist. And she’s now back with another new album that our Melody Charles is a pure winner, front to back.

Toni Hill is getting props from everywhere as a bright new soul music voice. And our J. Matthew Cobb calls her album Only Love "a rich cremÃ© de la cremÃ© musical affair." Check out the full review.

Corinne Bailey Rae busted out four years ago with a huge debut album that mixed pop, soul and a bit of folk. But personal tragedy soon struck her, and the death of her husband Jason is clearly still upfront in her mind on her much improved sophomore disc, The Sea. Check out my review.

Darnell Kendricks has been a Detroit favorite for many years, and with his new album Smooth Soul Cafe he brings his very enjoyable jazzy soul to the rest of world. Come see what we thought of it.

Michael Jackson – There has been a ton written about the King of Pop since his untimely death last Summer, and a rediscovery of much of his long-forgotten music. Now Motown has reissued a compilation of his four solo albums from the 70s, and our Melody Charles says it is a revelation.

Other Reviews
KG – The Art of Love
Greg Hester – Hustler, Killers & Thieves
Ty G – Fire Storm
Soul Cycle – Mosaic
Georgia Ann Muldrow – Early
Rihanna – Rated R
Gail Pettis – Here In This Moment
Eddie Sea – Starz
And check out our News page for the latest soul information, including a touching new piece, "The Story Behind the Song," that tells the poignant background that led to the Commodores legendary song, "Zoom."

Where Are They Now? — Peabo Bryson

He may just be the smoothest singer on earth. And more than three decades after he first convinced his fans to "Feel the Fire," Peabo Bryson is still going strong, performing his dozens of great ballads around the world and sounding great. So we decided to take a look at all things Peabo, past and present. Read more about Peabo Bryson

Hot Artist Index

Teddy Pendergrass was a one of a kind singer, who established himself both as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and as a solo star. His millions of fans paid tribute to him upon his death in January, and thousands came to read our biography and tribute to him, making him the most sought out act on our site for the month. Come see our entire Hot Artist Index

CD of the Month!

KeKe Wyatt She has one of the great voices in soul music, but we’ve had to wait eight years since her last album. But the wait is now over and SoulTrackers are excited that KeKe Wyatt is returning with a great new album called Who Knew? We love it so much we’ve made it our CD of the Month, with a special page where you can hear it. What a welcome return! CLICK HERE to listen to our CD of the Month!

Choice Track Free Download

Ihsaan Khatim New York-based singer and songwriter Ihsaan Khatim has already made a name for himself as a producer, but now he’s getting ready to go upfront this Spring with his debut album. And we’re proud to be featuring his great first single, "Pump Our Brakes" as this month’s Choice Track FREE DOWNLOAD. You’re going to love it!
CLICK HERE to visit our free download page

Top 10 Albums Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly For the record-setting fourth straight month, SoulTrackers flocked to the great new multi-artist tribute to soul legends Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly, making it our biggest selling album of the month. But our charts also included some other hot new albums, including discs by Donell Jones, Mary J Blige and more. 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 our 10 favorite videos, this time celebrating the nominees at this year’s Grammy Awards. SoulTrackers have let us know they love our newest feature, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, try it now!

See the SoulTracks Video Countdown