The ever-wonderful Ann Nesby is real soul heroine. Thos who truly know soul music cherish her work with the Sounds Of Blackness and rate her Perspective LP ’I’m Here For You’ as a masterpiece. The general feeling, though, is that since that milestone, the lady’s not quite fully delivered again. Yes we’ve had odd tracks (’Put In On Paper’ for instance) and uplifting gospel dance workouts, but I for one have longed for another truly defining soul album and , hallelujah, at last its here. The ever-dependable Shanachie label have let Ann loose on a whole bunch of brand new songs and with producers Jay Isaac, Roosevelt Williams and Darnell Davis we’ve got another defining masterpiece on our hands. From start to finish ‘This Is Love’ is stuffed with quality soul music and there’s truly something for everybody here. For modern room people there’s the year’s best cut – ‘I Can’t Explain’. It’s taught and tight, the beats are absolutely perfect; the string fills are a delight ; and the dramatic pauses are just right – and I haven’t mentioned THE voice yet. For those who prefer the steppers beats, there’s the predictably named ‘Step’, while if you want high-energy dance there's the supercharged ‘Its So Easy Lovin’ You’. But to hear the true majesty of Ms. N’s vocal you’ll need to hits the ballads. ‘I Apologise’ is as good as anything Aretha recorded at her peak; Special Occasion’ has a real jazzy feel to it; while on the closer ‘See U Cry’ there’s an almost country feel. You know people often complain that real soul music’s not being made anymore – well here’s the album to prove them wrong. ‘This Is Love’ is sublime modern soul – with the emphasis on that second word and in ‘I Can’t Explain it’ we have one of the year’s great anthems.
Showing posts with label Shanachie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shanachie. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Ann Nesby - This Is Love - Shanachie
The ever-wonderful Ann Nesby is real soul heroine. Thos who truly know soul music cherish her work with the Sounds Of Blackness and rate her Perspective LP ’I’m Here For You’ as a masterpiece. The general feeling, though, is that since that milestone, the lady’s not quite fully delivered again. Yes we’ve had odd tracks (’Put In On Paper’ for instance) and uplifting gospel dance workouts, but I for one have longed for another truly defining soul album and , hallelujah, at last its here. The ever-dependable Shanachie label have let Ann loose on a whole bunch of brand new songs and with producers Jay Isaac, Roosevelt Williams and Darnell Davis we’ve got another defining masterpiece on our hands. From start to finish ‘This Is Love’ is stuffed with quality soul music and there’s truly something for everybody here. For modern room people there’s the year’s best cut – ‘I Can’t Explain’. It’s taught and tight, the beats are absolutely perfect; the string fills are a delight ; and the dramatic pauses are just right – and I haven’t mentioned THE voice yet. For those who prefer the steppers beats, there’s the predictably named ‘Step’, while if you want high-energy dance there's the supercharged ‘Its So Easy Lovin’ You’. But to hear the true majesty of Ms. N’s vocal you’ll need to hits the ballads. ‘I Apologise’ is as good as anything Aretha recorded at her peak; Special Occasion’ has a real jazzy feel to it; while on the closer ‘See U Cry’ there’s an almost country feel. You know people often complain that real soul music’s not being made anymore – well here’s the album to prove them wrong. ‘This Is Love’ is sublime modern soul – with the emphasis on that second word and in ‘I Can’t Explain it’ we have one of the year’s great anthems.
Phil Perry - A Mighty Love - Shanachie
I don’t know many modern soul fans who don’t dig Phil Perry. With a soul pedigree that goes back to the Montclairs, his solo sets are eagerly devoured by anyone with an ear for a truly unique soul voice. Latterly, Perry’s’ found a home with smooth-jazz label Shanachie, who now seem to specialize in allowing soul stars loose on their choice of cover versions under the supervision of producer Chris “Big Dog” Davis. Last year, Phil’s first Shanachie collection, ‘Classics’ was well-received by the modern soul crowd and this new 10 tracker maintains the quality. Like ‘Classics’, don’t come to this set expecting anything radical or mould-breaking. That’s not the game Shanachie are in. They know their market and that’s reflected in the song’s Phil’s chosen. By and large they’re classic pop-soul songs that will bring plenty of pleasant memories to forty somethings everywhere. Amongst the goodies are takes on Smokey’s ‘Just To See Her’ and the Spinners’ ‘Mighty Love’ on which Phil’s scatting almost out does Phillipe Wynne. My favourite cut on the set is a delightful version of the neglected Dionne Warwick song Déjà Vu’. The Isaac Hayes melody is a beauty and so well suited to Perry’ voice while there’s some great Davis piano too. On the downside I could have done without Christopher Cross’ ‘Ride Like The Wind’ ( a bit too AOR) and a Davis original’ Honor’ which comes on like an Earl Klugh vocal-guitar outtake. What holds the LP together though, is Perry’s wonderful emotive soul voice. It’s a thing of beauty and even on the fairly ordinary material it sparkles.
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