ManMade (2013)
After twelve years into a recording career that includes a whopping fourteen independent releases of both EPs and full-length music, it’s strange to say that an artist is finally settling into his groove. Yet, on the last three releases by keyboardist/composer/producer Lorenzo “Zo!” Ferguson, that’s exactly what has occurred: an artist who has comfortably found […]
One Way featuring Al Hudson (Reissue) (2013)
Several years before the R&B record-buying public-at-large was introduced to the deep and velvety vocal stylings of Alicia Myers, the Detroit native was honing her singing and songwriting chops on wax for the first time with Al Hudson & The Soul Partners. Beginning with 1978’s funky shuffler, “How Do You Do,” Myers presented a unique […]
Amplify (2013)
Musical biographies are filled with stories of artists who had to find that balance between their musical dreams, raising a family and working a “straight job.” Music sits on one side of the scale and real life sits opposite. It’s hard to keep the balance, and the scale tips to one side – usually the […]
Freedom (2013)
It’s easy to look at an EP, see the content listing of a whopping three songs, and decide to keep it moving. But when the performer in question is the multi-talented athlete-turned-artist, Elijah Bland, not only does he make the effort worth the while, he also manages to pack enough nuance and musicality to outdo […]
Playlist (The Very Best of) (2013)
After navigating a series of commercial peaks and valleys from the mid-’70s to the early ’80s, Trinidad native Billy Ocean (born Leslie Charles) rocketed to international mega-stardom in 1984. A steady string of top-ten crossover singles such as “Suddenly,” “Caribbean Queen,” “There’ll Be Sad Songs (to Make You Cry)” and “When the Going Gets Tough […]
RoseMary Fiki EP (2013)
For most aspiring vocalists, the audition process can be edifying, even through the grueling times, knowing that hard work will eventually pay recording contract dividends. Yet, sometimes the most determined vocalists who are searching for that major breakthrough end eventually up surrendering the dream that might have been. RoseMary Fiki had walked that relentless audition […]
WomanChild (2013)
I think there is an inverse rule of proportionality regarding song remakes. This inverse rule reigns supreme when the covers in question come from the Great American Songbook or the classic soul genres. And the songs most likely to be remade are the songs that need to be covered the least – if at all. […]
New Orleans (2013)
How does a song become an event planner’s dream? Does an artist say that he or she is going to make a song such as “We’ve Only Just Begun” or “You and I” with the intent of making sure the tune will be available for the wedding season? Or did the betrothed nation reach the […]
A Guy Named Joe Leavy (2013)
“Who is a guy named Joe Leavy? A Father, a husband, a son, a businessman, a musician. A man who believes in God; who believes in life. A man who believes in love.” With that opening, soul singer Joe Leavy introduces himself on his debut release, A Guy Named Joe Leavy, and it serves as […]
Friends (Deluxe Edition Reissue) (2013)
From 1978 to 1984, former Soul Train dancers Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, along with Ohio native Howard Hewett, ruled the R&B charts both stateside and abroad as the vocal group Shalamar. Propelled by the sophisticated production finesse of Leon Sylvers, III and Solar Records’ “Throwdown Brothers” rhythm section, the energetic trio delivered six albums’ […]
