Marilyn Ashford Brown - Mix 2010 - Ash2Brown Entertainment

This Lady produced a superb set a while ago and now we are treated to a limited edition Mix Cd of five cuts that have been revitalised, remixed and generally sprinkled with uptempo dancefloor magic. The first song is the slamming remix of "I've Got A Feeling". This Burley remix adds some extra percussion, and a slight Salsoul flavour underneath the relentless, pounding bassline. This really does make a great song greater and Marilyn really does carve out a niche for being a strong female soul singer capable of blasting the dancefloor as well as whispering gently through the bedroom. A much improved version, methinks yet without diminishing the strength of the original. The chunky mid '90s flow of "You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine)"is a real killer piece of choonage and her vocals strike us swiftly with a heady mix of Patti LaBelle and Stephanie Mills. the groove here is strong, addictive and totally essential!

The house groove of "Respect Me" takes us back to the early 90s and material from, say Loni Clark or CeC e Peniston. Her version of Phyllis Hyman's seminal "You Know How To Love Me" is a strong modern version, although even Marilyn would admit that nothing can better the original version - however good it is, and believe me, this is a very good version! the final offering, "Can You Handle It" owes a lot more to an 80s club sound complete with horns and early 80s styled vocals. This is a cracking track and Marilyn definitely knows how to craft a decent tune for the dancefloor complete with all the intrinsic, essential additions that make a real, proper dancefloor tune...melody, direction, groove, bass and SOUL. Forget all the crass 'club'# stuff pumped out by today's cookie-cutter artists. This track blows them all away and if her voice doesn't then the killer soulful sax blowing on the song will sweep the rest away with ease! We need more artists like this, and certainly more up[tempo soul music of this nature./ Let's grasp the mantle back from the clueless whippersnappers and let's reclaim the dancefloors!

Barry Towler

The Vibe Scribe

Marilyn Ashford Brown - Just Doing Me! - 2009 - Ash2Brown

If you are fans of Peggi Blu and Brenda Hillman then you will automatically love this Lady's voice. There is a great, sinuous amount of each classy Lady here and there is a really fiery, no-nonsense approach to Marilyn's delivery which is both traditional, comforting yet totally refreshing to boot. I would like to raise the profile of a number of songs, all of which are toothsome delights indeed. First up is the strong, strong opening cut "I've Got A Feeling" - not a cover of the Barbara Randolph or First Choice cuts, but a brand new original song. A positive, feel-good song which is socially aware, and eventually looks to a certain chappy called Mr. Obama to initiate change. "Anything (In The World)" is another familiar title, yet again is a new song which is superb! Fans of Brenda Hillman will love this, though I venture it's actually a lot better! The guitar that adorns this is jazzy and bluesy in good measure, working very well in an Eric Gale sort of style. For my money, the show-stealer is the beautiful and gorgeously soulful "You're Never There". This hits me like a quality track which was commonplace in the mid 80s - early 90s. I'm so pleased to hear such a tune today and hope to hear more like this in the near future!

A quality ballad where our Heroine questions her Lover on his issues, even asking him if he's "in the closet". Well, if he is then maybe he can find all those odd socks that I seem to have lost....? They're not in my sock drawer! Anyway, I digress...there is a "remix" on here of a tune called "You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Me)" which was originally produced by the legendary Al Johnson. I have not heard the original and would love to do so. This remix features a very annoying rap which really does nothing for me. Some things, I think, should be left well enough alone. "Commitment" is a great song with a real and pertinent message that goes deep under the skin of today's fractured family network. I totally agree with you, Marilyn and applause for saying it so soulfully. My last choice pick is the sax-drenched ballad "Gonna Give Love (One More Try)" which also has some great backing vocals and harmonies. I think that this Cd will definitely appeal to the connoisseur amongst you, and as such heartily recommend it!

Buy it now on CD Baby

Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe