Ace’s Songwriter Series and Black America Sings compilations always promise a good time, but their latest may have outdone them all: a hits and rarities packed tribute to the songs, sound and style of Stevie Wonder. Black America Sings Stevie Wonder, available March 27, collects 20 compositions by the Motown legend from across the pop and soul diaspora. From familiar tracks in less familiar versions to songs he gave others both on and off the label he was part of for more than half a century, there’s quite a bit to appreciate here,…
Let’s Do It Again: Playback Records Returns with Curtis Mayfield, Timi Yuro Collections
Australia’s Playback Records label returned to the scene in 2019 with a pair of new releases and the promise of more to come. Today, we’re looking at those new titles from Curtis Mayfield and Timi Yuro! As a writer, producer, and artist – both solo and with The Impressions – Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999) was one of the foremost exponents of Chicago soul. He penned such favorites as Jan Bradley’s “Mama Didn’t Lie” and Major Lance’s “The Monkey Time,” not to mention such Impressions hits as “Gypsy Woman.” But his deep social conscience…
Everybody Plays the Fool: SoulMusic, Cherry Red Collect The Main Ingredient’s “Brotherly Love: The RCA Anthology”
When Cuba Gooding, Sr. passed away in April 2017, it marked the true end of an era for the venerable soul group The Main Ingredient. The Harlem-founded group had endured tragedy, personnel shifts, and the changing sound of music to prosper for decades, but the heart of the Main Ingredient remains in the group’s RCA recordings. The recent 2-CD collection from Cherry Red’s SoulMusic Records imprint, Brotherly Love: The RCA Anthology, brings together 41 tracks originally issued between 1970 and 1981 on the venerable label. Friends Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, and Tony…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 12
Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Dionne Warwick, Odds and Ends: Scepter Records Rarities (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) From 1962 to 1971, Dionne Warwick, working primarily with songwriters/producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David, notched over twenty Top 40 hits on the Scepter label and garnered two Grammy Awards. Yet while there have been numerous reissues of Warwick’s work at Scepter, some material has been overlooked. This new collection rectifies that! All 27 tracks on this compilation are new to U.S. CD, including 11 previously unreleased tracks. You’ll…
Release Round-Up: Week of January 6
Jackie Moore, The Complete Atlantic Recordings (2-CD Release) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) / Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain: Original Soundtrack Gatefold Double-LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) or CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) / Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Dance of Reality: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack LP (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) or CD (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Real Gone Music kicks off the new year right with a slate filled with vintage R&B, classic rock and beyond including The Complete Atlantic Recordings of soul songstress Jackie Moore (“Sweet Charlie Babe”), two haunting soundtracks from…
It’s A Happy New Year with Real Gone Music’s January Slate
Real Gone Music is saying “Happy New Year!” a couple of months early with the announcement of the label’s January 6 slate of releases. This customarily eclectic batch is highlighted by the classic soul of The Main Ingredient and Jackie Moore, blue comedy from Redd Foxx, two otherworldly soundtracks from the films of cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (on both LP and CD!), and more live jam-band greatness from Grateful Dead. Real Gone’s press release, with full details on each title, follows! LOS ANGELES, CA – One of the ironies of the career…






