soul Archive
18 Jun 2020
Album Review: Nat Turner Rebellion – Laugh to Keep From Crying
I’ve written of similar observations before; here I am doing it once again. It amazes me to no end that so many years after the fact, never-before-heard recordings surface, and […]
25 May 2020
Album Review: Four Early Allman Brothers-related Titles
A group as great as The Allman Brothers Band doesn’t simply burst forth fully formed. There has to be a back story. And while it’s true that the greatest bands […]
14 May 2020
Album Review: Marvin Gaye — More Trouble
I’ve read critical essays that characterize Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man as part of a triptych of albums, one of three soundtrack albums for ‘70s “blaxpliotation” films. Yet against the backdrop […]
09 May 2020
Ryan RnB Barber: Can’t Hold Him Down
Ryan RnB Barber is one of the busiest musicians in Western North Carolina. He does it all: singing, rapping, songwriting, producing and arranging. And he stays busy with several bands […]
30 Apr 2020
Album Review: Bobby Hatfield — Stay With Me
The history of popular music is scattered with tales of aborted projects, albums that for one reason or another never saw the light of day. Though it finally saw a […]
02 Mar 2020
30 Days Out: March 2020 #1: The Yawpers, The Fritz, Southern Culture on the Skids, Eric Johnson
Punk/Americana hybrid. Funky soul that’s equal parts Donny Hathaway and funk/fusion. Unbridled rock ‘n’ roll with a sassy Southern flavor. And some of the most appealing electric guitar tone you’re […]
26 Feb 2020
Fantastic Negrito: Never Give Up
When Fantastic Negrito emerged onto the music scene in 2015, he looked to all the world like a new, emerging artist. Winner of that year’s Tiny Desk Contest for his […]
20 Feb 2020
Seratones: Power Takes Time
In the music business there’s something known as the “difficult second album.” Some call it a sophomore slump, arising from the idea that the artist has his or her entire […]
07 Feb 2020
Jerry Jemmott: The Groovemaster (Part 5)
Continued from Part Four… Starting in 1978, Jemmott’s group, Souler Energy, played a mix of styles that showcased the range and versatility of its rotating cast of players. Jemmott also […]
06 Feb 2020
Jerry Jemmott: The Groovemaster (Part 4)
Continued from Part Three… The studio gigs kept coming. “I was busy,” Jemmott says. “I was real busy.” But as much as he enjoyed his heavy session schedule, he was […]