soul Archive
28 May 2022
EP Review: Diplomats of Solid Sound – The Live EP
This nine-person ensemble released a fine album, A Higher Place, in 2019. That was my first exposure to the Iowa group, but I soon discovered that they have been together […]
06 Feb 2022
Album Review: Chris Lujan & Electric Butter — The Real Thing
A couple of months ago, I wrote a Metro Silicon Valley feature about Raza del Soul, a California record label dedicated to preserving old (and celebrating new) Chicano soul music. […]
22 Jan 2022
Album Review: The Freeway Jubilee — On the Horizon Volume 1
The close vocal harmony that opens “In Motion” sets a mood and establishes a high bar. The first track on The Freeway Jubilee’s On the Horizon Volume 1 is suffused […]
08 Dec 2021
Raza del Soul’s ‘Revolución del Vinilo’
In California of the 1960s, a style of music known as Chicano soul (sometimes referred to as brown-eyed soul – took hold among listeners. Groups like Cannibal & the Headhunters […]
03 Nov 2021
Graham Parker: Those ‘Soul Shoes’ Still Fit
Guitarist, singer and songwriter Graham Parker first came to the attention of American audiences during the punk and new wave era of the late 1970s and early ‘80s. As a […]
28 Aug 2021
Album Review: Etta James — The Montreux Years
Announced in March 2021, an archive of historically significant musical recordings is now beginning to be shared with the wider listening audience. Run by Claude Nobs, the highly regarded Montreux […]
23 Aug 2021
Album Review: Alex Chilton — Boogie Shoes
If there’s such a thing as an obscure legend, Alex Chilton is one. While he was in fact the lead singer in a popular ‘60s pop group (Box Tops) and […]
16 Jul 2021
Album Review: True Loves — Sunday Afternoon
If you have an appreciation for – heck, even an awareness of – the sort of kinetic soul jazz that formed the musical component of late ‘60s and early ‘70s […]
15 Jul 2021
30 Days Out, July 2021 #2: Jameron, The Honeycutters, Carly Taich, Marbin
Lots of choices for live music in the next 30 days in and around Asheville. Go see some. Here’s a quick look at four solid choices: Two local bands, two […]
14 Jul 2021
Album Review: WRD — The Hit
Far more often than not, the term supergroup is hype. Even when it isn’t use of the word can create unfairly high expectations. The members of Blind Faith understood that, […]