Anyone who has ever met, had dealings with, or known this man will be able to sum him up in one word: Gentleman. I would add legend to that too. The sheer amount of music this man has made over the past 40 years is IMMENSE. Dance music, funk and soul music would definitely be a much poorer idiom without his input, and having long established himself as a giant of the music scene, it has been great to follow this gentleman through the decades and see him spread out over genres. His more recent deep house work and garage tunes have been superb, and when Throwback Volume 1 was released a few years ago, we were treated to some real gems. Well, time has moved on again and here we are with another phenomenal release - due to hit the stores on June 14th, 2010. Throwback Vol 2: Harlem carries on the good work of its predecessor: great up-tempo soulful dance music with the unique stamp of Leroy Burgess all over it. The vibe may be '80s but it's definitely had a Y2K tweak and more to the betterment too. It fits in perfectly with today's trend of returning to the groove and the soul. This suits me very much, sir!Every track is a winner for me, and I would recommend that you pop this on it your car and soak it up. Soak it up. Although this is dance music, the melodies and rhythms interplay and interchange in a very delicate yet stoic fashion. Check the superb opening song, "Don't Stop" which has more layers than an onion! It all comes together brilliantly, and when you think you have the groove under your belt in come the darting strings! Genius. A solid pounding beat greets "It's The Weekend" and is fortified with slap guitar - taking us back to the good old Aleem days. There's a ghost of the catchy "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" in the bassline to "Doin' Me Tonight", complete with synth strings and freaky keyboards. Now, this I like. The Brass Construction-like "Shinin'" whets the appetite as does the piano filled "All 'Bout U". It's "Once You Got Me Goin'" that really grabs me, and gets the old two-left-feet stumbling about. I've nearly trodden on the dog twice, but I'm sure he understands! For my money, though, the KILLER track is "Can't Keep On". I cannot tell you how many times I have played this song. And I have played it LOUD. It is CLASSIC Leroy Burgess and a song that will, once it enters, never leave your head. Again, the composition is layered and crammed with all sorts of great stuff. Rhodes keyboards, slap bass, heavy bass and soulful synth. Not to mention the unique vocal harmonies that we can trust to drench this man's work. This, dear readers, is soul heaven. One word to sum up this CD...bliss. Keep an eye out for this CD and when you get it...enjoy! For further information on this fine release please email info@soulchoonz.com
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
The Vibe Scribe
Available now for download - http://www.junodownload.com/products/1586886-02.htm?ref=label_sedsoul
