​One of the most interesting debuts of the year.  Jaouad Alloul has made a statement: “Set Me Free, And Let Me Be” he sings in ‘Father’.  Inspiring album!

​The first two volumes in these series were released at the beginning of this year and now they are already followed by volumes 3 and 4. Just like the previously released CDs in this series, this disc again contains 25 enchanting 'black woman singer, movers & shakers' . With one exception, all songs date from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s. That only exception was made for the German Bonita & The Blues Shacks. Their ‘Where's The Money Honey’ was recorded in 2019.
Volume 3 in the ‘Rock and Roll Vixens’ series continues the high quality level of the previously released volumes and may we again emphasize the fantastic sound quality?

​What a impressieve voice, what a préséance, what a sound! In short, that is what Joyann Parker presents with her new release "Out Of The Dark". These blues, R&B and soul singers are from Minneapolis, MN. What a heavenly divergent release. Joyann Parker confirms all the good things we already knew about this blues diva. Who will bring this lady to our region! Album of the year 2021 .... it is already a real contender. Here is only one word: wonderful album..!

​In their early recordings in the 1960s, both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones often reverted to hits from others. The club of hitmakers who supplied them was small, but this Larry Williams was invariably one of them. For example, The Beatles covered ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ and ‘Bad Boy’, while The Rolling Stones recorded the B side of ‘Bad Boy’, ‘She Said ‘Yeah’’. The Animals also recorded this last-mentioned number.
‘Rock, Soul and Roll’ that brings together Larry Williams’ songs that he recorded for both Specialty and Chess during the period 1957 and 1961, is therefore a wonderful release. A publication that also shows that American artists and their repertoires were hugely important to the development of British rock and pop.

​With the release of WildRoots Sessions Volume 1, Victor Wainwright and Stephen Dees celebrate a sixteen-year musical partnership that began in 2005. The WildRoots project knows the music and its traditions, which are steeped in a variety of music and this with exceptional songs and a lot of musical craftsmanship. So now there is 'WildRoots Sessions Volume 1', an arsenal of sixteen songs that are inspired with blues, jazz, roots, R&B and a lot of soul.
And put enough variety into "The WildRoots Sessions Volume 1" to keep all this interesting. We are already curious about Vol.2…!

​The album ‘Killer B’S U.S. Pop Hits’, which we recently reviewed, contained the B sides of 32 hit singles that caused a furore in the charts in the fifties and early sixties. Those singles were situated in pop, rock and roll and instrumental music. Following on from that album, Jasmine simultaneously releases ‘Killer B’S U.S. R&B Hits' on the market. Here the same principle is applied, but the label now focuses on the R&B toppers, from that same period, with 32 tracks as well.
Gorgeous rhythm & blues and compelling soul from the heyday of the genre, sporadically spiced with great harmony vocals.

​We recently reviewed volume 1 in the ‘Rock And Roll Vixens’ series, and now it is time for volume 2, which was released simultaneously with volume 1. Traditionally, this release also focuses on the rhythm & blues, blues and soul, which African-American ladies released from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s. Once again this compilation contains superior blues, rhythm & blues and soul, sporadically with a jazzy twist.
Volume 2 of the ‘Rock And Roll Vixens’ is, just like volume 1, another hit from the KokoMojo label.

​This new album by Australian singer Kylie Auldist has pleasantly surprised me. It will certainly appeal to soul & funk, who love the sound of the eighties. The way to an international career lures!

​A very nice anthology, with older and new tracks. A nice introduction to SouLutions. They bring real soul music and sometimes disco, that harks back to the seventies. Highly recommended to soul fans!

At a time when American soul artists rarely performed over here, Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band’s live shows displayed a wonderful sample of all things bright en soulful on Atlantic, Stax and Motown. His dynamic dance parties appeared on live albums that sold rather well. Typically, his only studio album sold poorly. The British adored Washington – the hand-clappin’ & foot-stompin’ show put on by this  black American stationed in the UK was as close to authentic soul as you could get, including a seven-piece band with horns and organ. For a while, Washington couldn’t do wrong and was even rewarded with hit singles such as ‘Michael’.  Was he a mere imitator or cover artist? Surely not. He sped everything up and rolled any song into the funky, sweaty soul mould, including evergreen ‘Que sera sera’ or a Beatles tune such as ‘Day Tripper’.  All in all, Washington was a stage animal who needed an audience that longed for a party. Recordings will never do him 100% justice. This re-mastered 3cd compilation on BGO Records gathers all his sixties albums, singles and EP tracks on Pye, a handful of unreleased Pye studio outtakes plus a series of singles issued later. As we have now been familiar with American soul music for decades, I’d say that Washington’s relevance today lies in his rendition of lesser-known soul songs (e.g. Eddie Floyd’s ‘Raise Your Hand’), straight pop such as The Troggs’ ‘Hi Hi Hazel’ and even the aforementioned ‘Que sera sera’. He’s always powerful and witty too. For some reason, I have returned a few times to his only studio album, Shake A Tail Feather, an underrated piece of work showing that there was a lot more to Washington than shouting and stomping. The attraction ended when pop went psychedelic and we got access to the original artists. Nevertheless, Geno Washington returned to the stage and can still be seen entertaining audiences all over the UK.
A selection from his LPs can be heard in ‘Long-playtime’ on Radio 68  on Mondays 28 December and 04 January.

​Although Johnny Rawls is a “senior member” of the music community, after more than 50 years, he still stands as a soul blues man. And that he shows no signs of stopping, proves this CD!

​Blues Lee is proud to present the new album "Twenty Five". The songs were released during the second Covid-19 lockdown, although guitarist Jan 'Catchy' Corthouts, JB Biesemans (vocals / saxophone), drummer Carlo Smeyers, bassist Steph Collart and Karel 'Helix' Phlix on guitar worked in the Hechtelse Rootshouse Studio between 2019 and 2020. A lot of original songs and 37 minutes, more was not needed again to overwhelm us. Almost every month, one song was ​taped, which now results in the album "Twenty Five". Swing, jump, blues and R&B, the diversity is almost like a trademark for the band.

Although the Mods were mad about Soul music, the British hardly produced any soul music themselves. Instead, they relied on two live acts that had it all: a great singer, a tight band (including horns!), a true knowledge of the genre and the ability to turn every show into a true dancing party. Both were on the Pye label and both were produced by John Schroeder: Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band and Jimmy James & The Vagabonds. The singers (and most band members) were black, and together with their country of origin (Washington hailed from the US, James from Jamaica), they were as authentic a Soul act as you could get those days. In the mid-sixties, performances by the original, American artists were few and far between and so was airplay. Hence, both bands were a grandiose success wherever they played. Regretfully, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds did not make the charts, notwithstanding minor hits such as ‘Red Wine’ and ‘Come Softly To Me’. Apart from their performances, the band will be remembered for its albums which caught the overall live atmosphere quite well and sold in reasonable quantities. I still stick to their very first one, 1966’s ‘The New Religion’ (after all, Soul was a substitute ‘religion’ to the Mods), which has it all: funky rhythms, soulish horns, a singer incarnating anyone from Marvin Gaye to Otis, a slower number for good measure, a few classics (‘People Get Ready’), the obligatory sing-a-long song (‘Amen’) and a feel for the right tempo at the right time. They simply could handle any Stax or Motown release. The band never really beat the originals (try beating Otis Redding!) and penned few originals, but put so much heart and soul into their music to make everything sound just right and authentic. And Soulful.
BGO Records assembled all 48 Pye and Piccadilly recordings (1966-1970) on 2 cds. Andrew Thompson re-mastered everything to splendid effect. Accompanied by a great booklet, this is an essential release for anyone who likes British soul and is into Mod. Go and find your dancing shoes!
Radio 68 www.radio68.be plays choice tracks on Mondays 7 en 14 December from 11 a.m. onwards

​In addition to Adams' hits ‘Shake A Hand’, ‘I'll Be True’ and ‘Hurts Me To My Heart’, this compilation includes all of her recordings she made for the Herald label, as well as her early Atlantic songs. It’s a fact that Faye Adams certainly paved the way for the ‘Queen Of Soul’, Aretha Franklin. Nice compilation!

​An album that will regularly be found in the cd player of fans of rhythm & blues, blues, swing blues, jump blues and soul during the holidays. All 28 tracks on this album always have some link with American roots music. Play loud and start the party!

​Vintage soul music from Amsterdam with this excellent album by The Tibbs!

​The rhythm section of Drive-By Truckers, with bassist Matt Patton and drummer Bronson Tew, provides a solid foundation and acted as producers of the album.The intention was also to bring out the rock side of Bette, while maintaining the mixture between gospel and a lot of soul influences. Some guest guitarists are present here, while multi-instrumentalist Henry Westmoreland plays all the horn parts and organ. Bette’s raw soulful voice immediately comes into the spotlight in the opening song ‘Fistfull of Dollars’. 

​His music combines New Orleans style R&B, with Philly and Memphis Soul and Texas Swing into a churning gumbo sound that traces its roots to the Acadiana region of southern Louisiana and southeast Texas affectionately called Swamp Pop.

​Born in Portsmouth, Virginia on January 30, 1928, Ruth Brown emerged as Rhythm & Blues Queen in the 1950s. A title that she deserved, but that actually did her a little bit too short, because in addition to her jazzy rhythm & blues style, she later also performed well in the then emerging rock and roll, teenager ballads, soul and gospel. All her well-known songs are on this compilation. But there is more! You will also find beautiful rare recordings of her, such as her live recordings  packaged as bonus tracks during the 'Rhythm and Blues Revue', which you will get on CD for the first time here. 'Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean' is definitely recommended. 

​Refined by life itself and the events that accompany it, Dan Penn injects all 13 songs, with an unprecedented dose of soul. Emotional songs about making a dream come true, the need for love and the loss. Usually quiet songs that catch your scruff, with ‘Edge Of Love’ as a slightly more uptempo song.
‘Living On Mercy’ is one hell of an album, begging to get stuck in your cd player. Forget about the albums often hyped up by commerce and sold as ‘soul’. Prefer to listen to the real thing. ‘Living On Mercy’ is Soul with a big S. Not to be missed!

​There’s no doubt that Gerald McClendon is a real soul singer. This is an excellent album, that I strongly recommended!

​Warm and soulful album from Texas based duo Greyhounds.  Modern soultunes, incredible vocals and engaged lyrics: ingredients to dance and melt away at the same time.

​On Part Two, Will proves again that he’s a master in sophisticated soft soul. Highly recommended!

​This seems like the soundtrack of a seventies movie about women’s rights. Highly recommended!

​Again a nicely initiative by this label, that will certainly appeal to collectors!