Take From Me (2012)
The art of a music artist or band utilizing a really good and strong rhythm guitar is fast becoming a lost art. Only a scant few mainstream artists in R&B/Soul use it in their music, and most of those acts have been around since the early 90’s. In current mainstream R&B, the use of the […]
Masterpiece (2012)
There’s a popular cliché that posits rats, cockroaches and Cher as the only three life forms capable of surviving an apocalypse, but if the last twenty years have been any indication, Bobby Brown needs to be added to the list. As mesmerizing as he is mercurial, the 43-year-old Boston native and Grammy-Award-winner and former teen […]
Ode to Old Flames (2012)
Some people make music that falls into a listener’s musical wheelhouse. When that takes place – when there is convergence between an artist’s musical vision and the listener’s musical taste – the only thing that stands in the way of auditory bliss is execution. The only thing the listener has to worry about is whether […]
The One (2012)
Eric Benet recently declared in an interview with BoomBox that “This is the one. This is the one that I’ve been working toward my entire career. I’m stronger vocally, creatively, and I’m at the top of my game now. This is the purest representation of Eric Benet.” I couldn’t agree more. While Benet has had […]
F.R.E.D. (2012)
“Music is about passion, not science.” That is how Muhammad Ayers described his vision to a blog talk radio station. Even though he admits that technology is not one of his strongest suits, his relentless pursuit of his passion for artistry has never fazed this Louisiana-born singer/songwriter in honing his craft. Beginning at age fifteen, […]
Live at the Copa (2012)
People who know the history of The Supremes – not the history as told by “Dreamgirls” or “Sparkle,” but real history – will hear two very interesting things in Diana Ross’s introduction of the group that can be heard in Live at the Copa. The album is a recording of the Supremes’ first performance at […]
Transformed (2012)
It is quite commonplace for established R&B/soul artists to revisit their gospel roots from time to time (i.e. Kelly Price, Howard Hewitt, etc.). Then there are those who chose to stay close to their church upbringing from the very beginning, even if they were originally pursuing another genre. One particular singer/songwriter decided that her ultimate […]
Rock Dust Light Star (2012)
Since the release of 1992’s Emergency on Planet Earth, a benchmark in the acid-jazz and reborn funk movements, Jamiroquai – the London-based band led by the uber-stylish, buffalo-hat wearing Jay Kay – proves to be relentless in their vision of birthing a more perfect fusion of clubland epiphanies and Stevie-meets-EW&F experiments atypical of today’s aggressively […]
The Endangered (2012)
I was getting gas a couple of weeks ago when I saw this falcon pursue a sea gull for about five minutes. It was pretty amazing simply because that was about as close as a confirmed city guy like me comes to seeing nature’s primal life and death struggle unfold before my eyes — unless […]
Living Room (2012)
His may be one of the warmest, most recognizable tones in independent soul music. As talented as he is frustrating, the enigmatic Frank McComb returns to the scene for the second time in less than a year with another new release. Cut over five concert dates, McComb delivers a live EP set that is more […]
