​A debut album from Italian singer Mariva Cory with only covers of very well know soul and R&B songs. The Lo Greco Bros. took care of the production, and add some jazz influences. Recommended. 

​This is how Memphis soul should always sound. Unadulterated, uncut. Rodd Bland has managed to put together a very soulful band. In barely six songs he convinces us of the rich oeuvre of his father 'the late great Bobby 'Blue' Bland. What an honor, what a musical tribute..!

​This album needs an introduction, which certainly sheds a different light on many of the songs bundled here. During World War II, a large number of African/American men were also conscripted. Many of them hoped that their fighting in the US military would give their status after the end of the war a serious upgrade. This became reality for a few of them, but the majority of them were still just as at the bottom of the social ladder as they were before their participation in the violence of war. After all, they fought for a country that discriminated them but also denied them basic needs.
Through 28 songs, this album pays tribute to these African/American soldiers, whose role in World War II, in Korea and in Vietnam was just as important as that of their white combatants.
Of all these tracks, Prince Love & His Royal Knights articulate the best of what everyone wants. "Don't Want No War"!
'Soldier Boy' is not only an album with a commendable theme, the downright beautiful blues, soul and doo-wop also make the album an absolute must.

The marketing of the 'Popcorn Blues Party' volumes was the impetus for The Mojo Man to start this 'Popcorn Story' series. Long before the genre was given the name 'Popcorn', the music described as such already existed. Belgium may be a small country, but in this it was big. After all, this music owes its name to the square farm in Vrasene, near Antwerp, which has been converted into 'Dancing Popcorn'. Popcorn is a genre that is still very attractive today. The reason for this can be found in the quality of the songs. After all, the black rhythm & blues of the mid-20th century stands head and shoulders above the other music genres from that period. It is often difficult to find the real Popcorn classics on CD or vinyl. It is therefore commendable that the Koko-Mojo label now bundles a number of those high-flyers. On this first volume you will already find 28 tracks that have the 'real Popcorn vibe'. Exciting black rhythm & blues, soul and rocking rhythm & blues at a high level!
We are already looking forward to volume 2, which is planned for release on October 1.

​A strong debut album from an unknown angle. Proof that there is still plenty of unknown talent hidden!

​A debut album that fits perfectly with nostalgic soul lovers. Great to hear that sound again. And PM Warson is coming to the Netherlands in November for three shows.

​An outstanding album if you want to relive the soul atmosphere of the sixties and seventies. Alan proves that he’s a real good songwriter, musician and producer of that kind of songs!

​Chicagoan Gerald McClendon is almost a definition of old school soul and R&B. The style of Motown, Stax and Atlantic Records is never far away. It actually gives him the nickname 'The Soul Keeper'. On his new pitch 'Lets' Have A party' Gerald once again collaborates with songwriter, drummer and producer Twist Turner. The duo drew with many fellow artists to Delta Roots Sound Studios in Chicago. Together they recorded twelve original songs. Gerald opens with the soul strut 'Keep On Keepin' On' and the shuffle 'If It Ain't The Blues'. The title track is a fat funk song and diverges with the touchingly sweet ballad 'Pretty Girl', which is characterized with that wonderful doo-wop sound. Handsome R&B tracks are 'Pack Your Bags And Go' and the moribund 'Ghetto Child'. From the gospel track 'You Got Be Strong' it goes quickly to 'Throw This Dog A Bone', which is colored with edgy guitar riffs. For the closing 'Funky Stuff' the legendary Chicago blues guitarist Melvin Taylor was hired. Melvin eagerly sprinkles his guitar licks and together they build a 'hot' West Side Chicago blues party. Highly recommended release…!

​Adam Douglas loves the soul expression with (jazz)horns and a background choir.  His way to find the better angel in himself.  A positive vibration flows into the listener.

​Shortly after the live album 'Green Room Rumble', Endrick & The Sandwiches come up with a new record. Their third full-length 'Sunny Soul' is now on the shelves. The nine songs were recorded during the pandemic and serve as a reminder of sunnier times. Blues, rock and soul form the divergence. This is music to make you happy..!

​Seventeen obscure soulful tracks, never before released on a compilation. Lovers and collectors of that kind of music from the seventies and eighties will feast on this!

​About Clyde McPhatter, the previous artist featured in the Bear Family released ‘Rocks’ series, we mentioned that he had a profound influence on the development of soul music. That also applies to The “5” Royales. This quintet also knew via gospel to have more than one finger in the pie in the development of rhythm & blues, which would result in soul. The group started with gospel-soaked songs, but after their contract with New York's Apollo Records in 1951, the worldly rhythm & blues got more grip on their repertoire and the quintet turned out to be a real rocking rhythm & blues band, who also shined by the powerful, beautiful blending voices.
More rocking than the 31 recordings bundled here that The “5” Royales made for Apollo and King, no other vocal group did. This album is therefore an absolute must!

Soul, gospel, roots and of course blues. The 2nd album from Copenhagen act Trainman Blues will blow your socks of

​We were enthusiastic about her album ‘These Years’, released in 2018. Not only us, by the way, because the album earned Jennifer several awards. Versatility is a characteristic that predominates at Porter. Jazz, country and opera already belonged to her fields of action. For ‘Sun Come And Shine’, her eighth album, Jennifer explores rhythm & blues, blues and soul. She does this with rhythm & blues drummer Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie who also fulfills the position of music director. Purdie surrounded Jennifer with an elite corps of musicians who made their mark through their collaboration with artists such as Wilson Pickett, James Brown, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Blood, Sweat and Tears.
As always, the immensely talented and with a unique voice gifted Porter, sails her own course. So don't expect cliché rhythm & blues, blues and soul. No, Jennifer gives these genres a formidable personal twist. Feel free to call it the ‘Jennifer Porter twist’.
‘Sun Come And Shine’ is more than fantastisc album. Jennifer's heavenly voice, her beautiful compositions, the detailed arrangements and the personal twist she manages to give to rhythm & blues, blues and soul, distinguish her from many artists. It is high time for this lady to break through internationally.

Although Clyde McPhatter passed away in 1972 at the age of 39, he still had a great musical influence. In his career that spanned just 22 years, McPhatter laid the foundation for what would become the soul genre. The German Bear Family simultaneously releases two albums that illustrate this. A first album is ‘The Ballads Of’ and a second is part of the ‘Rocks’ series. This album will be covered later, but let's first concentrate on the CD that brings together the best ballads of McPhatter. Ballads that he recorded as lead singer with The Drifters, solo and together with Ruth Brown.
Despite his beautiful recordings, Clyde McPhatter unfortunately remained underappreciated. It was only after his death and the full development of soul music that the true value of McPhatter's musical legacy came to light.
Whether as a member of The Drifters, as a solo artist or in a duet with Ruth Brown, the fact is that Clyde McPhatter was one of the most soulful voices of the 1950s and 1960s.
‘The Ballads Of Clyde McPhatter’ effortlessly convinces you.

​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.