At the advent of the CD revolution I set out to build a comprehensive library of classic soul. Each week I'd diligently purchase a title by the likes of Percy Sledge, Al Green, James Carr and Joe Tex. I scrimped and saved to acquire pricey box sets compiling the works of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Stax Records.
I also made seeing the giants a top priority. I took in multiple performances by the likes of Charles Brown, Solomon Burke, Bobby Bland, Etta James, Isaac Hayes, Marvin Sease, Ike Turner and James Brown.
My obsession has a downside. I've never managed to muster the same level of enthusiasm as my peers for soul revivalists like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. A lot of these new acts are undeniably great, but when Millie Jackson, Jimmy Scott, Bobby Womack, Charlie Wilson and Bobby Rush are still out there doing it, it's hard for me to get worked into a lather by expert mimics.
That said, I'm smitten by
Half City, the new release by
St. Paul & the Broken Bones. The throwback approach of the Alabama-based band works largely because vocalist Paul Janeway doesn't try to be what he's not. He's obviously obsessed with Otis Redding, but much like the late, great Eddie Hinton, he's not an embarrassing parodist.
St. Paul & the Broken Bones merit their prestigious position in my collection between the Staple Singers and the Stylistics.
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I
reviewed a concert by Slayer, Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies.
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I contributed to a
feature on Dominique Sanders for KCUR's
Up To Date.
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Tech N9ne's
Strangeulation by the the numbers: the album topped
Billboard's rap, R&B and hip-hop charts last week and landed at #5 on the Top 200.
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I hadn't realized that the
Dan Conn Collection at the Marr Sound Archives existed until a link posted by There Stands the Glass reader BGO led me to the discovery. Dan, a former co-worker, introduced me to the music of artists ranging from Red Garland to Doc Watson.
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Here's another nice
video feature on Radkey.
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Anyone who likes vintage Approach and Miles Bonny will love the new video for
"Chief".
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The
ninth episode of the second season of the KC Cypher Series is not worth your time.
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The highlight of Dolly Parton's charming
Blue Smoke is a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." RIYL: Silver Dollar City, Elvis Presley, America.
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If Outkast and Kelis aren't booked in Kansas City prior to the festival, I may travel to St. Louis in September for
Loufest.
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I innocently hit "play" on the Juilliard String Quartet's
Elliott Carter: The Five String Quartets on a recent afternoon. After several interruptions, I finished the epic cycle five hours later. It's stunning.
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From a purely sonic perspective, Michael Jackson's
Xscape is an extraordinary achievement. Tracks like "Blue Gangsta" sound as if they were recorded last month. M.J.'s original demos are also worth a listen.
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I'm hardly a Black Keys fanboy, but I suspect Dan Auerbach's production of Nikki Lane's
All or Nothin' is responsible for the album's excellence. RIYL: Whiskeytown, something borrowed, Rosanne Cash.
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Love in da club. Troy Ave's
BSB Vol. 4 is RIYL: 50 Cent, prison, Wu-Tang Clan.
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Back On the Controls, ostensibly a new album by Lee "Scratch" Perry, baffles me. RIYL: eternity, Mad Professor, confusion.
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Lantlôs'
Melting Sun isn't quite as good as many reviews would have you believe. RIYL: Deftones, dreaming out loud, Isis.
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Jody Stephens of Big Star is featured in a
segment of "What's In My Bag."
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Joe Louis Walker is challenging Buddy Guy for the title of the most vital blues veteran of 2014 on
Hornet's Nest.
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CNN aired a
15-minute documentary about Clipse.
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My cousin is in fine form on
Virtuoso Rossini Arias.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
