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Morning Star
  Morning Star  
  Recommended if you like:
- Teedra Moses
- Jill Scott
 
Review
Lina 'Morning Star' [Moon Star]
 

Three words: Lina’s back y’all!!! This is such a great album from one of the great talented performers out there that somehow never get the respect and recognition they deserve. Some of you may remember Lina from her hit single "Playa No Mo’" which received a lot of air play and generated some interest in this beautiful lady singing with the swagger of a jazz chanteuse, yet the soulfulness of an R&B princess. Her sound dipped into the jazz from Harlem nightclubs blended in with hip hop sounds of the streets in the 21st century. Her first album Stranger on Earth was followed by the critically acclaimed The Inner Beauty Movement on a new label. Great things were envisaged, and many hoped that she’d get even more exposure and acknowledgment, but somewhere along it didn’t happen. From this bump in the road Lina has arisen, signed up with Mood Star Recordings and released an amazing album with 17 beautiful, melodical, and ear pleasing tracks. After a gentle intro the album opens up with "Wake Up" in which Lina tells her “love” to wake and get out of bed so she can go out. Reading between the lines methinks it’s a gentle push she is giving herself to go out and enjoy the world and fulfil her dreams. I’ll Stick Around is the gentle plaintive track where Lina declares that she’ll stick around waiting for this guy to choose her, even though he doesn’t know how she feels. It’s refreshing to hear a song about longing which isn’t all sexual and lust filled. The harmonies on this track especially near the end are divine. My favourite track on this CD however is "Feel The Love" which is a radio friendly track, fuelled with some bass guitar licks, which I guarantee will have you humming along and bobbing your head. The beauty of this track is that Lina is simply giving a shout out and giving love to some of the major cities in America- simple! But this album is not all fluff, Lina also talks about serious issues which should be talked about a lot more. In Who’s Your Daddy Lina uses her trademark jazzy vocal sound, and asks what is inspiring us in life these days. Is it media or society that is teaching our children? We are allowing them to be misguided and putting focus on the wrong things like celebrity and having a nice car. The song is a call for all of us to refocus and concentrate on the more important things in life. Similarly in Everyday We are reminded to be thankful and to think about what we have as far away there are people struggling o a daily basis. I can envisage an acoustic version of this Lina; it is a very moving song. In Get It Right she asks women by who’s standard do they judge their men? Modern women are sometimes raised in a certain way which could actually alienate men because they want the men to change overnight, when they should actually try and give time and help him get it right- Amen to that sister! However be warned guys Lina says “I aint gonna wait for ten years- I’m out y’all!” Lina may not scale the notes like Mariah or Whitney, or melancholy voice of Billie Holiday, but what she has she uses very well. Not only that her lyrics are enriching and wholesome, in an age where standards can easily be compromised. I really enjoyed this album, and hope all and new fans of Lina will do.

Richard "Ricardito" Ashie [Just Soul]

The Awakening Of The...
  The Awakening Of The Heart  
  Recommended if you like:
- The Brand New Heavies
- Methodology
- God Made Me Funky
- Erykah Badu
 
Review
Soul Basement 'The Awakening Of The Heart' [Inner Worlds]
 

A lot of artists today claim to be soulful in their niche. Some say they are neo-soul artists, some say they are rhythm and blues soulful artists and others claim they have soul when in fact they do not even know the definition. Though the adjective “soulful” might seem like such a bland overused word today, artists sometimes feel the need to use it to exemplify their talents. Then you have artists such as Soul Basement who actually know what the term means. Dubbed as European's neo-soul, Soul Basement brings out their debut album: The Awakenings of the Heart. Consisting of producer F. Bugsli with featured singers including Marlon Sanders, Genieq and Domenko Cheri Jonez. Listeners will instantly notice how much soul is in this album. With tracks such as "I Wanna Make It Easy, "What Can I Do (to make you mine)" and "A Little Love,” this album attempts to achieve the level of neo-soul. "Make Me" is a nice soulful house track that offers a fast paced twist to the album. Listeners will agree that this neo-soul inspired album is like a tossed salad; it has a mixture of different types of soulful tracks all tossed and blended in this one album making it diverse and appealing, all except one track "Let's Dance All Night." Though the lyrics of the song are meaningful, simple yet enjoyable, the actual song unfortunately sounds more like a theme music to a cancelled 80's sitcom making listeners question why they added this song to their album. With a mixture of spoken word, smooth R&B and some soulful house, Soul Basement has easily defined and illustrated what soul is.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

Soulprint
  Soulprint  
  Recommended if you like:
- Paebo Bryson
- Jesse Powell
 
Review
Karl Frierson 'Soulprint' [Phazz-a-Delic]
 

Karl Frierson is not your typical artist. Not only is he a singer, he is also a songwriter, a vocal coach and an actor who has produced a number of albums, been in movies and written a number of songs. Karl now presents his new album: Soulprint, which is a 10-track album showcasing Frierson's meaning of soul. Digging more into the blues type of soul, Frierson entertains his listeners with tracks such as "Young Rebel" "Good Thang" and "Freak Life." Frierson's sound, though more blues oriented, does an adequate job - mixing up his soulful style with tracks such as the slow ballad "Only You " (where he sounds similar to Peabo Bryson) and his modern influence R&B flavoured tracks such as "Under Investigation" and "Ten Minutes." A vast amount of listeners will appreciate Frierson's album but a few listeners who are familiar with Frierson's extensive background might wonder why such an experienced and talented individual produced such a short album (the album is 41 minutes long.) This might be a smart move on Frieson's part as the last thing an artist wants to do is pour out their entire heart and soul in one album, only to be left dry for their upcoming albums - which has relentlessly been seen in a number of musical artists. Frierson's lyrics and hard-hitting voice overpower this insignificant matter and with a strong voice his live performances would surely be entertaining.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

Confection
  Confection  
  Recommended if you like:
- Prince
- Nile Rogers
- Shalimar
 
Review
Confection 'Confection' [Soulchoonz]
 

One reaches a certain age when you get a little disillusioned and you hanker for the sweet tunes of yesteryear that your folks used to dance and get jiggy to, or that you listened to on the radio as you grew up. Well Confection’s debut is a very good attempt to replicate that sound, which is 80s funk/soul, and boy do you get a lot of it here! Mariah Carey attempted to recapture this era on her Glitter album; unfortunately we all know where that ended. Confection however does a far better job, and from the opening bars of I Choose You you feel swept up in a ball of nostalgia and good vibes.
Sweet synthesizer sounds, funky bass lines, melodic harmonies are all part of Confection’s package. I Choose You is affirmation that lead singer Juanita Tippins has chosen her partner; whilst Put Me On Your Playlist has Juanita demanding this guy’s attention and declaring she will get him so he may as well put her on his playlist. In You Got It Coming as the title suggests the man does not know what is going to hit him, as Juanita is ready to get it on and have this man and give him all her love. Within a few tracks into the album you soon get the drift that this is a light and fun album full of teasing and pleasing over sumptuous 80s funky club grooves. With song titles like Flirt, Fantasisn, and I’ve Gotta Thing (4U); you know that it’s not a heavy album, but a joyous album to dance your cares away.
Whilst overall the album is sweet and fun, it’s not too long before you become a little bored with the CD, which is a shame as the band have so much potential. It’s almost as if there is too much of a good thing and you almost want them to do something different on a few of the tracks. The cover of Janet Jackson’s Diamonds is weak; especially as they have done away with the sexy horns which helped made the original so classic. On Lover or Best Friends you soon loose interest Juanita’s plea for clarity and want to move on to the next track swiftly, which is again a shame as it was a chance for Juanita to really showcase those vocals over the funky slow jam.
I was surprised to find that Confection is actually an Australian duo formed in 2006; it’s given me a whole new appreciation of Australian musical exports. The duo know their stuff and are able to tap into the era of 80s soul heaven seamlessly. All the sugar on the album however gave me a toothache, but that didn’t stop me wanting to put the CD on again the following day and continue my love affair with grooves from yesteryear. Good on ya Confection- sweet as!

Richard "Ricardito" Ashie [Just Soul]

Life & Music: All Of It
  Life & Music: All Of It  
  Recommended if you like:
- Bilal
- Alicia Keys
- Dwele
 
Review
Rogiérs 'Life & Music: All Of It' [Fibby]
 

Rogiérs debut CD release, “Life and Music”, is awesome and will put Rogiérs right up there with the very best of them. Get ready for a musical journey. His debut CD is packed with hits, every song written by Rogiérs.
According to a press release from Fibby Music Recordings, Rogiérs is a true musician with unsurpassed experience and knowledge of the music industry. His talents have seen him touring the world, singing and playing keyboard alongside the likes of Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Wil-i-Am (Black Eyed Peas), Bilal and Dwele to name but a few. When you are in such high demand to support other artists, it can be hard to find the time to concentrate on making your own moves!
The title track, "Life and Music" featuring Big Tome, neo funk at it’s best with expressive lyrics and sulky vocals. Don’t be surprised if you’re up dancing! "Hollywood Story" featuring Bilal is sure to be a favorite. "Come When You Call" is a wonderful ballad where Rogiérs showcase his vocal range. And you’ve gotta be grown up to appreciate a ballad like Come "Into My World".
Production credits include Bernard Belle (Remember the Time/Michael Jackson), Robert Glapser (Bilal), Keith Harris (Black Eyed Peas) and Charles&Mitch (Jeff Bradshaw/Floetry), how can he go wrong?
I give Rogiérs’ new CD release Five Stars!!! If you’re a real soul music lover, you MUST add this one to your collection!
For more information visit www.fibbymusic.net or www.myspace.com/rogiers

Joarvonia Skipwith [Just Soul]

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