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Soul Recommendations

I really enjoyed the Jazz Recommendations thread, and it is refreshing to get away from the religious debates on equipment. An area of music I want to explore more is soul, and am looking for some help. There is some cross-over between what I like and R&B, but I don't like much R&B released in the last 15 years or so, and there is also much cross-over into Blues. So what I do like in this area is - James Brown, Junior Wells and Al Green. I also like the old Stax stuff (I have the boxed set). But that amounts to my entire soul-tinged music collection - a dozen or so CDs. I don't care for Parliament, Barry White and so-called "sweet soul music" - eg. "Sexual Healing". I know my Jazz and Blues very well, and have very extensive collections there, but in crossing over the line into Soul I have found some great stuff by the artists I have mentioned, but feel I am only scratching the surface and want some pointers (pardon the pun) as to what to go for next. Maybe you will tell me that JB, Junior and Al are it, but hopefully there is more to explore.
redkiwi
jayboard
301 posts
 
Tell me something about Baby Huey, kiwi -- don't know that one. (I know a Baby Laurence, but he was a jazz tap dancer ;-) ) I repeat myself, but do try out Junior Walker and the All-Stars. Lot of grit and drive; I think right up your alley. Have the Staples Singers (singles like "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself") been mentioned yet? You might have some on your Stax collection. Mavis Staples is an awesome voice; rhythm section is lean and mean; good family values from their gospel background to boot! For accuracy, need to correct a Smokey Robinson reference I made earlier. It's "Away We A-Go-Go", not "Disco A-Go-Go." After all, it was only 1966! Still a silly title, I guess. "You're like a broom, I'm like dust in the room... 'Cause I'm swept for you, baby."--Smokey Robinson
uncontop
9 posts
 
You have got to check out the works of Mighty Sam McClain. He is the Best soul/blues singer alive today. His recording are on the Audioquest and Telarc labels. Start with "Give It Up To Love" and "Sledgehammer Soul And Down Home Blues."
redkiwi OP
1,092 posts
 
Hi Jayboard. I have been chasing down most of the suggestions here and have picked up 8 or 9 CDs with more on order. Thanks to you and everyone else here! Now Baby Huey was just a suggestion from my favourite CD shop when they saw what I was buying. I wouldn't say Baby Huey is quite in the class of either of them but he is somewhere between Sly and JB. His real name was James T Ramey, he was big (350 to 400 lbs of him), and he died in the same month as Janis J and Jimi H - when quite depressed about the death of his friend Jimi, apparently from natural causes. His group - Baby Huey and the Babysitters apparently included Chaka Khan and Deacon Jones at various stages. His music was always very brassy and he called it a "cleaned up version of the funky sound - it's like rhythm and soul, man." It is pretty wild stuff. The CD I bought is called "The Baby Huey Story" - NEBCD 405 - which is a posthumous collection put together by Curtis Mayfield. I don't think he ever released a CD in his lifetime, just a couple of singles.
rrsclyde
84 posts
 
Toni Braxton. Try any of her 3 cd's, but the 2nd is great, with the latest (the Heat) a close second.
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Hi Redkiwi; Uncontop mentioned Mighty Sam McClain (very good), which reminded me of Terry Evans. You're maybe familiar with T. Evans as Stereophile has always highly recommended him as a blues singer-- But, I have all of his CDs and there is a great deal of "soul" involved in his music. He's one of my favorite Blues/Soul singers, and Ry Cooder plays slide guitar on his CDs-- a bonus. Before striking out on his own, he and Bobby King made a lot of great music together too-- their version of "Dark End of the Street" is truly great. Also, If you don't have "The Committments" soundtrack, (and Vol. 2 also)-- they're very worthwhile-- mine and my daughter's favorites. Happy Holidays. Craig
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