Angie Stone - Unexpected - 2009 - Stax

I will freely admit that I have not liked ANY of this Lady's solo material, prior to or following on from her stellar work with Vertical Hold. I have found her seriously lacking on many fronts and feel that she has aimed too much for the bling bling generation too much, relying on street cliches, sampling and heavy beats. Not exactly what gets my juices flowing. I read a pre-release amble on this CD saying that this was 'more youth orientated' than previous albums. This I struggled to imagine so with trepidation sat down and listened to the album thinking it would be far worse than anything else I had heard to date. I was very nicely surprised, actually and think that this has to be the best material she has recorded since the last Vertical Hold CD way back in 1995! Most of the CD does pander to the Akon / Chris Brown / name your faceless act here sort of artist but some songs really do shine and it's on these nuggets I wish to labour upon.

"I Ain't Hearing You" is a really great jam which, I admit features a sample and some turntable scratching, BUT isn't exactly what your local hoodie would appreciate. It has a wonderful upbeat vibe, a catchy melody and a feel of a classic Emotions song. I really recommend this song as one that will lift the spirits on these dark, cold nights. An instant panacea for the post Christmas pre new year blues! The ballad contribution, "Maybe" is also a very adult cut which would possibly bewilder owners of her previous works. Her soulful vocals do shine brightly here and I think that fans of her supremely impressive works with Vertical Hold in the '90s will take to this a lot easier than tracks such as "Free" which will easily impress daytime BET viewers. Similarly, "I Don't Care" with it's interesting bassline harks back to her 90s work, and the beat ballad "Why Is It" easily triumphs over her previous solo material. This is a great song, and the more you hear it the more ingrained it becomes. This is definitely more like it, Angie! If the recent N'Dambi album was your cup of tea then "I Found A Keeper" plays up to the particular strengths of that album. OK, I see where this 'youthful' comment may come from BUT as far as I am concerned this album contains more tracks of note than any and all her previous solo works. All thanks, possibly to the encouraging atmosphere of Stax Records. Whatever the case, "Unexpected" lived up to it's name and as such comes recommended.

Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe

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Various Artists - John Morales: The M and M Mixes - 2009 - BBE

This compilation is SUPERB! BBE have really done a great job here compiling this nugget of a release...every track a winner and to be honest most songs do not need an introduction. It's simply a Clubber's paradise put to disc - and of course, a double Cd will only suffice. Full-length 12" mixes deserve nothing less, and the quality of this Man's work also deserves no less than a double compilation. With the late Sergio Munzibai he formed M+M productions and together they waved their musical magic wand over many, many classy dance cuts and giving them added dancefloor power! This compilation proves this in a very concise and succinct way. Class Action's evergreen "Weekend" still gets the feet moving and can - or at least should! - pack a dancefloor or two today. This stuff sounds amazing with the volume pumped right up, and so I heartily suggest you do so to this and all tracks! Ronnie Dyson...I had totally forgotten about "All Over Your Face"! The shame! This mix has a great Willie Colon "Set Fire To Me" Latin Vibe complete with bells and freaky synths. These RnB puppies of today with their autotuners etc cannot even come within a galaxy of creating music as strong, progressive and dancible as this.

The late, great and sadly missed Curtis Hairston really impressed me back in '83 with "I Want You (All Tonight)" and still gets a serious walloping out at home and in the car to this very day. The crowning glory though has to go to the KILLER tune "Barely Breaking Even" from the dear old Universal Robot Band...still a classic and every bit as essential in 2009 as it was back in 1982. They simply don't make tunes like this any more, and such is my gripe with the insipid US scene at the moment. CD two is a melody of Salsoul tunes...Inner Life, First Choice, Skyy and Logg. Each and all artists of much esteem, and these are also previously unreleased mixes to boot! Logg's "Lay It On The Line" is one of my favourite tunes from Salsoul in it's declining 80s years, and this version here adds a lot more percussion and vibrancy than the aforementioned LP track. So much effort and soul has been pumped into these tunes...in truth, as BBE and Morales know to well, you really do need more than a bassline to make a great dance record. You need to FEEL the groove, and his mixes here certainly do this in great measure. Check out the remix of Funk Deluxe "This Time" as an exemplifier...another solid dancefloor tune from the mid 80s that wipes the floor with EVERYTHING that the kids throw up at the scene today. Hopefully some young buck will pick this CD up, take a listen and feel that real FIRE that was injected into these songs...and takes that afresh and injects it into today's scene. If any compilation can do that, this will!

Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe

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William Scott - Kooly - 2009 - William Scott Music

This is a BRILLIANT album! I am sure most commentators in the soul music world will slate it as it sounds old school and isn't street enough but this is EXACTLY why I like it - it's an honest to God real soul album for pity's sake in the tradition of Bert Robinson, Jeffrey Osborne, Scott White or Chris Walker. If you love the deep, rough soul men of the 80s then this album is for you! Forget the cloned New Jack / RnB artists this guy is the real deal and his latest CD is one that any lover of proper soul music worth his or her salt will want n their collection! "Twelve O Five" doesn't kick off the CD, but more like shoots it into the stratosphere! The 80s flow is strong and the slap bass really pleases these ears. The groove is akin to Carl Anderson's "Hurry Back", and that automatically wins this grumpy old scribe over without fail! This guy's vocals are superb...he would have definitely been lauded as a real talent back in the days when the Major labels were run by intelligent adults.

Another clear winner is the second track, "Love Gone Bad". This groove would easily sound great with someone equally as powerful a vocalist such as Glenn Jones or Chris Walker. Imagine Chris Walker making an album circa 1986 - 1987. Superb! As a downtempo effort, "If You Let Me" is also excellent. William's spoken intro is explosive and his voice is so, so similar to Larry Graham...deep and rich with real edge. Again, the soulful vocals and quiet storm groove is amazing and exactly what I love to hear. The music here reminds me of what we would expect to hear from, say, Nicolas Bearde! An indie sounding "Everything I Am" reminds me of material that would have surfaced on Macola records - think Sergeant Tucker and "Come See Me" and you ain't far from that particular vibe. The uptempo material is a bit weaker to be honest and dated as some of the latter 80s material can be. What is of importance, though, is the undeniable talent that this man possesses...and the quality songs that I have underscored for you here...please, please, please, do NOT overlook this album. One for the connoisseurs out there.

Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe

The Manhattans - Forever By Your Side - 1983 / 2009 - Vinyl Masterpiece

One of my all-time favourite groups, the Manhattans may have had a scarcity of hits in the 1980s, but at least they were fortunate enough to have been recording at a time where belief in artists and artist development were still important. This classy, classy set from 1983 boats being the first time on CD yet it was actually released in the early '90s by Sony in South Africa of all places. The thing is, that album is highly sought after and was allegedly from the Columbia masters. I was never 100% sure on that front and having had the opportunity to revisit this set on the new reissue from PTG / Vinyl Masterpiece out of Holland it's my opinion that the edge on quality - sound and artwork / presentation - truly falls to PTG as the overall winners! A label after my own heart, releasing quality material from the 80s, a decade I personally feel has been both maligned and ignored. December 2009 may be cold, snowy and icy but albums like these really warm my heart no end.

No-one should be able to resist the upbeat opening cut, "Crazy"...an excellent 80s dancer, still fresh as a daisy today, and highlights how wonderful a vocalist Gerald Alston is. The harmonies here in the 80s are still very close and exactly what you would expect of a group of this caliber. Fans of the mighty, mighty Leo Graham will be happy to see that his work with them continued into the '80s and tracks such as "Starting All Over Again" and the KILLER "Just The Lonely Talking Again"will be more than enough to satisfy. If you, like me, adore the wonderful Columbia work of Tyrone Davis then the latter cut with it's gentle flavour and sunny, summery demeanor will undoubtedly satisfy. Again, Graham wins with the guitar / moog number "Love Is Gonna Find You" - a great number for Alston and the boys . Many may have overlooked or passed over this album back in '83 in favour of more Electro-fied sets. A pity, as this material certainly won out over the trendy, flash-in-the-pan stuff of the day. True will be said of today's quality material that is overshadowed by rap cum children's RnB. It is fitting that this material, 25 plus year later is still as fresh and relevant today as it was back then and a ripe choice for Vinyl Masterpiece to bring to our attention today. Planet Rock anyone? No, I seriously doubt it.

Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe

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