TNJP
Detroit ‘s musical scene is typical for a city of its size. There are thousands of bands and players performing in every genre. History tells us that for every Motown act that made it big in the 1960s, there were hundreds of acts on smaller labels that never made it beyond regional status. Those bands […]
Starz
If there is one child of the seventies to be found these days, it is Eddie Sea . On his debut Moon City , the Chicago-based producer/songwriter transported the listener to a decade when music was free of auto tunes and filled with pure joy. And why mess with precious memories? Sea’s follow-up disc, Starz, […]
50 Trib to the Brothers Gibb
The Bee Gees became a victim of the massive success they earned during the disco years of the late 1970s. For many people, the clock on the Bee Gees started ticking in 1975 when the group released "Jive Talkin’" and stopped in 1979 at the old Comisky Park during Disco Demolition Night. Nothing the Bee […]
Lovestories
A couple of years ago, I heard British songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson being interviewed by Terry Gross on the NPR show Fresh Air about his CD 1,000 Years of Popular Music. The CD features songs from the 11th Century until the present time. It also includes a song that is the definition of a […]
A Woman In Love
If a CD of covers, based on past experience, strikes you as vapid or something that doesn’t exactly rank as a must-purchase for your music rotation, then do yourself the favor of getting to know A Woman In Love. The fact that it happens to be Maysa’s eighth solo release is reason enough for her loyal […]
Smooth Soul Cafe
Darnell Kendricks is proof that following dreams no matter where they lead can be a virtue. Earlier this decade, the native Californian’s dream of becoming a recording artist led him to Detroit . That move appears counterintuitive and not just because the recession hit Detroit earlier fand harder than other parts of the nation. Detroiters […]
Shine
I never thought I’d be saying this about a CD in 2010, but Innosphere’s Shine is the definition of brevity. This 10 track CD checks in at a little more than 20 minutes. That would have been a short record even in the days of vinyl and cassette tapes when the total running time on […]
The Sea
When Corinne Bailey Rae crossed the Atlantic in 2006 following one of the last blitzkreig major label promotions, she arrived to a very welcoming US audience. Already a hit in the UK for her languid pop/folk sound, she was the perfect new star for 20- and 30-something year old women silently protesting that they were too […]
I Am Yours…
fBeyonce’s quest for fame seems like it’s been going on for ages. Yet, even though her hip-hop natured R&B showed glimmers on the pop ladder, her launch into the pop stratosphere didn’t feel official until 2007, when "Irreplaceable" earned a coveted Grammy nod for Record of the Year and became the best-selling U.S. single of […]
Sex Therapy
There is no doubt Robin Thicke has grown to become the consummate ladies man of R&B. His thin but calming falsetto (one just a tad bit lighter than Bobby DeBarge’s) along with his finely-tuned ear for infectious, soulful melodies has earned him a proper place in the hallway of modern R&B’s balladers. But Sexual Therapy: […]
