When was the last time you heard a really good soul album. Real R&B, not the dross that gets labelled R&B these days which neither has any hint of rhythm or blues in its content. If you look you can still find some, but it's getting harder. So Imagine my delight listening to Joss Stone's debut 'Soul Sessions'. The 16 year old from the UK is a delight as she rips into a collection of souls classics such as the Isley Brothers' "For the Love of You", the Drifters' "Some Kind of Wonderful" , Aretha Franklin's "All the King's Horses", and Bettye Swann’s“Victim of A Foolish Heart”. Also thrown in for good measure the White Stripes' "Fell in Love With a Girl (now a Boy)," which features the Roots, which in Stone's interpretation feels right at home in the company, and confirms the song as a true classic. If you like real music, and especially if you like old Stax and Atlantic Soul, then this album should be an essential purchase. A contemporary album, containing material co-written with desmond child and Nile Rogers is due out later this year and will tell us if Joss can take that next step.
Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...
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