soul Archive
26 Apr 2018
Khruangbin: Fascinating in Any Language
Crafting a musical style upon a foundation of Thai funk might seem a bit high-concept, especially if you’re a band that makes your albums in a barn in rural Texas. […]
17 Apr 2018
Album Reviews: Two Various-Artists RSD Releases
The Other Side of Sun, Part 2 Sun Records had seen its heyday come and go by the time Shelby Singleton bought the label in the late 1960s. But purchase […]
13 Apr 2018
Soul Stalwart: Sidney Barnes (Part 4)
Continued from Part Three… Barnes went on the road with Deniece Williams, too, and sang the male part of the Williams-Johnny Mathis duet, “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.” Initially, […]
12 Apr 2018
Soul Stalwart: Sidney Barnes (Part 3)
Continued from Part Two… Jackson got a deal that saw him relocating briefly to London, so he and Barnes parted ways. Around that time Barnes got a call from George […]
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 […]
07 Apr 2018
Album Review: Stax Singles Vol. 4: Rarities & the Best of the Rest
Beginning in the early 1990s, the labels owning the Stax/Volt catalog set about releasing impressive box sets of classic material from the venerated yet ultimately troubled Memphis record label. 1991 […]
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 […]
30 Mar 2018
Muscle Shoals Has Got the Swampers, Part Two
Continued from Part One… Several locales across America each had their own collective of top session musicians. Nashville had a large and varied group of session cats. Los Angeles had […]
29 Mar 2018
Muscle Shoals Has Got the Swampers, Part One
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section – also known as the Swampers – were important players in the development of American popular music in the 1960s and beyond. Their collectively seamless, […]