r&b Archive
26 Mar 2014
Album Review: Barry White — Can’t Get Enough
James Brown might have been Soul Brother Number One, but it was Isaac Hayes who brought soul into the mainstream with his lush, romantic workouts such as his cover of […]
07 Mar 2014
Hundred-word Reviews: Deluxe Packages
Each of these is a multi-disc set collecting archival (and sometimes previously-unreleased) music, but other than that, there’s little to connect these releases in any stylistic fashion: Celtic soul, proto-funk/pop, […]
10 Jan 2014
Concert Review & Photoblog: Fitz and the Tantrums, Asheville NC, 5 Nov. 2013
Modern r&b-flavored pop act Fitz and the Tantrums returned to Asheville recently for an enthusiastic, packed-house reception. Focusing on tunes from their second album (2013’s More than Just a Dream) […]
06 Dec 2013
Clearing the Backlog: Ten Micro-reviews
As the end of 2013 closes in, I look at my inbox and see a massive stack of CDs. Best as I try, I don’t always follow a first-in/first-out policy […]
26 Nov 2013
Album Review: Various — Pete Townshend’s Jukebox
UK-based Chrome Dreams has released a number of these Jukebox titles over the last few years, including titles exploring the influences upon Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and even […]
17 Oct 2013
Cody ChesnuTT: Everybody’s Brother
by Special Guest Blogger Annelise Kopp Though hailed in some quarters, Cody ChestnuTT‘s debut album, Headphone Masterpiece, received mixed reviews, some unforgiving. While critics seemed to agree that the R&B/neo-soul […]
16 Oct 2013
Shuggie Otis at The Orange Peel, Asheville NC 9 October 2013 (Part Two)
Continued from Part One… Once the doors opened, we entered and secured our barstools, settling in to wait for the show. Minutes earlier, the Orange Peel’s Facebook event update status […]
15 Oct 2013
Shuggie Otis at The Orange Peel, Asheville NC 9 October 2013 (Part One)
One evening early in September 2013, I was on the phone with a good friend. “Shuggie Otis is playing next month at The Orange Peel,” I announced. “What?! No…” Clearly […]
18 Jul 2013
July Capsule Reviews, #3 of 3
Today I present yet four more capsule reviews. Today’s crop includes reissues on the Real Gone Music label. RGM is committed to unearthing long- (and unjustly-) forgotten music, and these […]
16 Jul 2013
Album Review: Various Artists — The South Side of Soul Street
Not meant to diminish in any way the staggering contribution Stax made to popular music, but that Memphis label was not the be-all and end-all for quality Southern soul music […]