ROBERTA FLACK (ABO#426)

ROBERTA FLACK
SOFTLY
(1969-2003)

Sure I did want to Baistophe Roberta but how hard was it to find all of her albums especially her youngest ones. I really wanted to compile this artist even if I didn't really know her complete work. In fact, I only knew her best period (1969-1975). This golden era completely fills the first CD of this chronological compilation. The second one gathers songs from 1977 to 1999. A last album, Holiday was been recorded in 2003 but was in fact a re-recording og her 1997's Christmas Album. This second period is much more smoothy and much more RNB than Soul. I'll understand you'll prefer to reduce this compilation down to the first CD... However, even if there are no real highlights in CD2, there some songs that are honestly listenable. Make your own opinion, if you want to...

Extracts :

Go Up Moses
(from Quiet Fire, 1971)


Feel Like Making Love To You
(from Feel Like Making Love, 1975)

My Roberta Flack TOP3 :
1. First Take (1969)
2. Killing Me Softly (1973)
3. Quiet Fire (1971)

My Roberta Flack BOTTOM3 :
1. Born To Love (feat. Peabo Bryson, 1983)
2. Oasis (1988)
3. The Christmas Album / Holiday (1997/2003)

RARE EARTH (ABO#412)

RARE EARTH

PROTECT AND SURVIVE

(1967-2008)

Known as the only white band signed on legendary Motown Records label, Rare Earth remains the band with the one hit single. And what a hit! Get Ready! The band however recorded a non-negligible number of albums that are far from a crapy collection of forgettable songs. Almost until the end of their first "life", Rare Earth brought some (hard-)rock in their funky soul (or some soul in their rock). As an evidence, the 80s weren't in a funky-soul mood at all and the band broke up after nothing less than 12 studio albums. After that, some reunions were programmed here and there, like the widely forgettable live album "Made In Switzerland" and two much appreciated studio albums : Different World (1993) and Brave New World (2008). But the heart of Rare Earth live in the 70s, that's for sure.

note : some songs are nothing but vinyl rip. If you have any better versions, feel free to send us and we'll update the link

Rare earth-get ready
envoyé par thesnike. - Regardez la dernière sélection musicale.

wait if it's temporary unavailable

LAURA NYRO (ABO#406)

LAURA NYRO

1967-1995

This will be a very short. Why ? let me tell you...

Several months ago, we recieved in our mailbox this Laura Nyro compilation to be posted in this blog. First of all, many apologies to the autor of this selection, the old mails had been deleted for long so that I completely don't know who the hell is the guy (or the lady) who done that. If you are that one, just say it, I simply thank you for that choice.

And why I thank someone I don't even know the name to have sent us a Laura Nyro comp' ? Simply because before that, I had just no idea at all of who she was and what she sounded like. I've just read her article on wikipedia (see the german one, it is well documented !) and a piano-playing lady who is (was, sorry) influenced both in pop, jazz and other sweet stuff like that. To that description, I would say that she is the main inspiration for artists such as Fiona Apple, Nora Jones or Regina Spektor... I may be wrong but not far I guess.

Just to say to you that I haven't listened to it yet but I'm quite sure I'll like it as she is also known for having written songs for bands like Blood, Sweat & Tears or the 5th Dimension...

Hope you'll like it too.

wait if it's temporary unavailable

JOE COCKER (ABO#405)

SOUL SURVIVOR, THE LEGEND OF

JOE COCKER

(1968-2010)

Joe Cocker is not a rock'n'roll singer. That's probably the mistake everyone make about him and that's why so few people have really understood the change in his career in the late 70s. Of course there was this problem of drug abuse and, over all, of alcoholism. Very early in the 70s, Cocker was convinced of that kind of addiction and his inspiration has rapidly decreased beacause of that. When he returned in the early 80s, he had become a cleaner and wiser person and his music sounded like him then. It may or may not be in some people's tastes but Cocker's music has always been true to his values. Joe Cocker is more a Soul Man than a Rock'n'Roller. You will be convinced by listening his whole discography as I did. What a surprise for me to discover that! Of course that couldn't helped me to like much his later career but that changed my point of view.

To me, the heart of his career is his very first years, until 1973 or 1974. Somewhat because his music is more powerful, more energic. This is also in that period that Cocker's albums were majoritarily composed of covers song. This particularity may be one other reason people don't like him. To me, who am not really found of covers, this has however never caused any problem because his works on his covers have always been a good work of recomposition. Very often, the song had been completely become another one.

Just give him a try, you'll see he's not only made two hit singles like With A Little Help From My Friends and You Can Leave Your Hat On.

Joé Cocker-Summer In The City
envoyé par guysou. - Regardez plus de clips, en HD !

The best album COCKER! (1969) The first album, With A Little Help From My Friends was a great album with good tracks on it but its follow up blows it away. This is nearly a zero fault.

The worst album COCKER(1986) If I had to be bad, I would have said that their are lots of albums that could have been stamped "Worst Album" but this one is truly a worst one. While the others are not that bad, just useless, this one is really hard to listen to, at the exception of the Hit Single You Can Leave Your Hat On. The music is something hardly no one has ever done worse. Of course, this is the 80s but this sounds pretty uglier than I would have ever guessed

The best live album LIVE IN L.A. (1976) I'm a bit dishonest because every one knows the best album is Mad Dogs And Englishman but I really wanted to make the highlights on that forgotten live album recorded in 1972. This album is pretty amazing, really sound different as Mad Dogs and is a good complement to this one. This really a must have album!

The best alternative to this baistophe THE ABSOLUTE BEST 1968-1974 (1994) Many compilations have been made but so many (too many) only focus on his later works. This collection exists on both 1 and 2CDs. The 1CD is only a reduction of the 2CDs that have the particularity to be a 1 CD studio + 1 CD live. Really great work done on that part of Cocker's Discography. The 1CD can be the best choice for a Cocker Comp'.

wait if it's temporary unavailable

OTIS REDDING (ABO #394)

OTIS REDDING
RHYTHM & SOUL

One of the most influential soul singers of the 1960s, Otis Redding exemplified to many listeners the power of Southern "deep soul" -- hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, and an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads. He was also the most consistent exponent of the Stax sound, cutting his records at the Memphis label/studios that did much to update R&B into modern soul. His death at the age of 26 was tragic not just because he seemed on the verge of breaking through to a wide pop audience (which he would indeed do with his posthumous number one single "[Sittin' On] The Dock of the Bay"). It was also unfortunate because, as "Dock of the Bay" demonstrated, he was also at a point of artistic breakthrough in terms of the expression and sophistication of his songwriting and singing.

My OTIS REDDING Top Three
1 - Complete & Unbelievable:
The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966)
2 - The Dock of the Bay (1968)
3 - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (1966)

RIYL:
Rufus Thomas, The Temptations, Don Covay

MARVIN GAYE (ABO #392)

MARVIN GAYE
FEEL THE LOVE

One of the most gifted, visionary, and enduring talents ever launched into orbit by the Motown hit machine, Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of popular black music. Moving from lean, powerful R&B to stylish, sophisticated soul to finally arrive at an intensely political and personal form of artistic self-expression, his work not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change.
With Gaye's death came a critical re-evaluation of his work, which deemed What's Going On to be one of the landmark albums in pop history, and his 1987 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame permanently enshrined him among the pantheon of musical greats.
Here’s Baistophe’s humble attempt at summing up such a relevant, rich and fruitful career. A three CDs set has been necessary to do so. We hope you’ll enjoy it.

Baistophe's MARVIN GAYE Top 3
1 - What's Going On (1971)
2 - Let's Get It On (1973)
3 - Here, My Dear (1978)

RIYL:
Isaac Hayes, Earth Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE (ABO #389)

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE
FAMILY AFFAIR
(1967-1983)

Sly & the Family Stone harnessed all of the disparate musical and social trends of the late '60s, creating a wild, brilliant fusion of soul, rock, R&B, psychedelia, and funk that broke boundaries down without a second thought. Led by Sly Stone, the Family Stone was comprised of men and women, and blacks and whites, making the band the first fully integrated group in rock's history. That integration shone through the music, as well as the group's message. Before Stone, very few soul and R&B groups delved into political and social commentary; after him, it became a tradition in soul, funk, and hip-hop. And, along with James Brown, Stone brought hard funk into the mainstream. The Family Stone's arrangements were ingenious, filled with unexpected group vocals, syncopated rhythms, punchy horns, and pop melodies. Their music was joyous, but as the '60s ended, so did the good times. Stone became disillusioned with the ideals he had been preaching in his music, becoming addicted to a variety of drugs in the process. His music gradually grew slower and darker, culminating in 1971's There's a Riot Going On, which set the pace for '70s funk with its elastic bass, slurred vocals, and militant Black Power stance. Stone was able to turn out one more modern funk classic, 1973's Fresh, before slowly succumbing to his addictions, which gradually sapped him of his once prodigious talents. Nevertheless, his music continued to provide the basic template for urban soul, funk, and even hip-hop well into the '90s. (allmusic)

My SLY & THE FAMILY STONE Top 3
1 – There’s a Riot Going On (1971)
2 – Stand! (1969)
3 – Life (1973)

My SLY & THE FAMILY STONE Bottom 3
1 – Ain’t But the One Way (1983)
2 – Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I’m Back (1976)
3 – Back on the Right Track (1979)

RIYL:
The Average White Band, Parliament, The Undisputed Truth

ERYKAH BADU (ABO #388)

ERYKAH BADU
SOUTHERN GIRL
(1997-2010)

She grew up listening to '70s soul and '80s hip-hop, but Erykah Badu drew more comparisons to Billie Holiday upon her breakout in 1997, after the release of her first album, Baduizm. The grooves and production on the album are bass-heavy R&B, but Badu's languorous, occasionally tortured vocals and delicate phrasing immediately removed her from the legion of cookie-cutter female R&B singers. A singer/songwriter responsible for all but one of the songs on Baduizm, she found a number 12 hit with her first single, "On & On," which pushed the album to number two on the charts.
Born Erica Wright in Dallas in 1971, Badu attended a school of the arts and was working as a teacher and part-time singer in her hometown when she opened for D'Angelo at a 1994 show. D'Angelo's manager, Kedar Massenburg, was impressed with the performance and hooked her up with the singer to record a cover of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duet "Precious Love." He also signed Badu to his recently formed Kedar Entertainment label, and served as producer for Baduizm, which also starred bassist Ron Carter and members of hip-hop avatars the Roots on several tracks. The first single, "On & On," became a number one R&B hit in early 1997, and Baduizm followed it to the top of the R&B album charts by March. Opening for R&B acts as well as rap's Wu-Tang Clan, Erykah Badu stopped just short of number one on the pop album charts in April. Her Live album followed later in the year.
In 2000 she returned with her highly anticipated second studio album, Mama's Gun, which was co-produced by Badu, James Poyser, Bilal, and Jay Dee and contained the hit single "Bag Lady." Worldwide Underground, a loose affair billed as an EP despite being longer than many full-lengths, was released in 2003. Her next step, 2008's New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War, was a heavy and abstract release featuring collaborations with the members of Sa-Ra and Georgia Anne Muldrow; it reached number two on the Billboard 200 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh, looser and more playful than Pt. 1, followed in 2010. (allmusic)
(Thanks to our new collaborator [GEMY] for this one.)

RIYL:
Alicia Keys, Kelis, Me'Shell Ndegéocello

ETTA JAMES (ABO #387)

ETTA JAMES
BURNER'S CHOICE

Few R&B singers have endured tragic travails on the monumental level that Etta James has and remain on earth to talk about it. The lady's no shrinking violet; her autobiography, Rage to Survive, describes her past (including numerous drug addictions) in sordid detail.
But her personal problems have seldom affected her singing. James has hung in there from the age of R&B and doo wop in the mid-'50s through soul's late-'60s heyday and right up into the '90s and 2000s (where her 1994 disc Mystery Lady paid loving jazz-based tribute to one of her idols, Billie Holiday). Etta James' voice has deepened over the years, coarsened more than a little, but still conveys remarkable passion and pain.
In concert, Etta James is a sassy, no-holds-barred performer whose suggestive stage antics sometimes border on the obscene. She's paid her dues many times over as an R&B and soul pioneer; long may she continue to shock the uninitiated.

RIYL:
Mavis Staples, Ernestine Anderson, Bessie Smith, Dinah Washington