Review: Blues and Soul Magazine
by Bill Buckley
Ask any real soul fan to name their favourite musical cities and I'll bet that Detroit and Philadelphia will top the poll. This isn't the place to describe their contribution to soul's evolution ( we don't have enough space!) suffice to say that it was only a matter of time before the musical luminaries of Motown and Philly came together to celebrate each other's wonderful music – and that's exactly what this wonderful double collection does. "A Soulful Tale Of Two Cities" sees the stars of Motown tackle songs from the city of Brotherly Love while Philly icons take on the best of Detroit's back catalogue. Detroit artists number Ali Woodson, the Velvelettes, Carolyn Crawford, Bobby Taylor, Kim Weston, George Clinton, Lamont Dozier and Freda Payne while their musicians include Funk Brothers Bob Babbitt, Joe Hunter and Uriel Jones. The Philly contingent numbers Jean Carne, Carla Benson, Kathy Sledge, Major Harris, Bunny Sigler, Barbara Mason, Blue Magic's Ted Mills, Stylistic Russell Thompkins, Delfonic William Hart and MFSB-ers Bobby Eli, Vince Montana, T Conway and Charles Collins. If I then tell you that the featured songs include "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", "Just My Imagination", "Ooh Baby Baby", "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", "Me And Mrs. Jones", "Love Won't Let Me wait" and "Close The Door", it's clear that a review is fundamentally redundant. The music (30 big cuts by the way) speaks for itself. We'll all find personal favourites – mine include album co-ordinator Phil Hurtt's take on "The Girls Alright With Me", Barbara Mason's visit to "My Baby Loves Me" and Bobby Taylor's version of "Sadie" where he sounds uncannily like Philippe Wynne. But don't get me wrong, this isn't an exercise in karaoke soul – it's all fresh and vital… witness Bunny Sigler and Jean carne's searing version of Rick James's "Fire And Rain" to hear what I mean. In honesty though any cut will prove that the music and artists of Philadelphia and Detroit can still deliver soul as passionate and committed as they did back in the day. 5 out of 5
Ask any real soul fan to name their favourite musical cities and I'll bet that Detroit and Philadelphia will top the poll. This isn't the place to describe their contribution to soul's evolution ( we don't have enough space!) suffice to say that it was only a matter of time before the musical luminaries of Motown and Philly came together to celebrate each other's wonderful music – and that's exactly what this wonderful double collection does. "A Soulful Tale Of Two Cities" sees the stars of Motown tackle songs from the city of Brotherly Love while Philly icons take on the best of Detroit's back catalogue. Detroit artists number Ali Woodson, the Velvelettes, Carolyn Crawford, Bobby Taylor, Kim Weston, George Clinton, Lamont Dozier and Freda Payne while their musicians include Funk Brothers Bob Babbitt, Joe Hunter and Uriel Jones. The Philly contingent numbers Jean Carne, Carla Benson, Kathy Sledge, Major Harris, Bunny Sigler, Barbara Mason, Blue Magic's Ted Mills, Stylistic Russell Thompkins, Delfonic William Hart and MFSB-ers Bobby Eli, Vince Montana, T Conway and Charles Collins. If I then tell you that the featured songs include "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", "Just My Imagination", "Ooh Baby Baby", "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", "Me And Mrs. Jones", "Love Won't Let Me wait" and "Close The Door", it's clear that a review is fundamentally redundant. The music (30 big cuts by the way) speaks for itself. We'll all find personal favourites – mine include album co-ordinator Phil Hurtt's take on "The Girls Alright With Me", Barbara Mason's visit to "My Baby Loves Me" and Bobby Taylor's version of "Sadie" where he sounds uncannily like Philippe Wynne. But don't get me wrong, this isn't an exercise in karaoke soul – it's all fresh and vital… witness Bunny Sigler and Jean carne's searing version of Rick James's "Fire And Rain" to hear what I mean. In honesty though any cut will prove that the music and artists of Philadelphia and Detroit can still deliver soul as passionate and committed as they did back in the day. 5 out of 5
posted by The Masters @ 1:20 PM
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