r&b Archive
11 Apr 2018
Soul Stalwart: Sidney Barnes (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… The group with Barnes and Feemster cut a demo recording “I spent $10 to make it,” Barnes says. He played it for one of the members […]
10 Apr 2018
Soul Stalwart: Sidney Barnes (Part 1)
Sidney Barnes’ early recordings and songwriting efforts are prized by aficionados of Northern soul. But that music represents only a fraction of his massive body of work. Barnes has had […]
31 Mar 2018
Hundred-word Reviews: Reissues, Archival Releases, Compilations
My shelf full of albums to be reviewed has run out of space. So once again it’s time for a raft of hundred-word reviews. All sixteen titles in this roundup […]
05 Feb 2018
2017’s Top Ten You Might Not Have Heard/Heard Of
My brow furrows a bit when I read “Best of” lists published in November or early December; are December releases set aside for consideration in the following year? Or are […]
11 Jan 2018
The Fritz: A Vibe of Their Own
Keyboardist and songwriter Jamar Woods was part of an all-star lineup celebrating New Year’s 2018 at New York City’s Gramercy Theatre. Billed as the James Brown Dance Party, onstage that […]
24 Dec 2017
Boxed Set Review: Isaac Hayes — The Spirit of Memphis
Isaac Hayes was the man. Certainly, he developed an outsized public persona, with his bare chest, furry boots, wide-brimmed hat, chains and gold-played Cadillac (though not all at the same […]
11 Dec 2017
Sidney Barnes: A Preview
Note: I recently conducted a wide-ranging and lively interview with Sidney Barnes; the result of that is an in-depth feature running soon in Record Collector Magazine. In the meantime, this […]
10 Dec 2017
Book Reviews for the End of 2017
With so much of 2017 spent writing a book of my own, I’ve found less time than usual to read the works of other authors. Happily, three titles that I […]
04 Dec 2017
Album Review: The Fritz — Natural Mind
The phase-shifted synthesizer pads that introduce “Stuck in Between,” the opening track on The Fritz‘s new album Natural Mind, evokes thoughts of 1970s r&b outfit like the Brothers Johnson. But […]
18 Nov 2017
100-word Reviews for November 2017: New Music
So much great music and so little time. Here’s ten reviews: all new music, each summed up in 100 words. All are worth your time. Bryant Fabian Marsalis – Do […]