Nina knows it like some other few singers like e.g Dianne Reeves to make a coverversion her own. I Shall Be Released is an old Bob Dylan song but it never sounded better with Nina Simone singing it, as does Mr. Bojangles, a song about a once famous dancer who've sunk into oblivion ('He said I dance now at every chance in honky tonks/For drink and tips/ But most of the time I spend behind these county bars/'Cause I drinks a bit' ')(click here for complete lyrics)

This song was the inspiration for Black Science Orchestra's Keep On Keepin' On from 1999...and guess it's still true what Gladys sings 'You got to make the best of a bad situation'.

Isn't it funny, that sometimes you've bought a compilation for a few marks, pounds or dollars but this record remains nearly unheard in your collection until the day you just wonder what type of music it may contain. This happens to me with The Sound Of Alabama Soul on Timeless Records, an obscure collection of some very southern soul songs. But with these two songs from Frankie Saunders there were really two hidden gems I have missed all the years. Very soulful stuff.

Denise still puts out a new album everynow and then. What Am I Doing Wrong is from On The Loose that also features There Ain't Enough Hte Around and her cover of Bill Withers' Lean On Me. Her cover of Barbara Lynn's You'll Loose A Good Thing is from Trapped By A Thing Called Love...another one of albums (actually a 2 LPs on 1 CD album) I bought a long time ago but never really listened close enough to.

That's very old...from 1959 actually, way back when Ruth was one of Atlantic Records first famous singers...in fact so famous and successful that Atlantic once was called The House That Ruth Built. I found I Don't Know on a 2xCD compilation Miss Rhythm - Greatest Hits And More that features lots of other songs that got more Rock than Soul...but we all know how our favourite music evolved.

It's still a great song and my favourite Sam Cooke song. Just love it!

Two songs from Shirley's debut album Woman To Woman from 1974. So that's the one that made Shirley and her story telling style famous. Poor Barbara (that's the woman Shirley talks to in Woman To Woman)...she'll never be able to compete with Shirley.

From his Pieces Of A Man album that also features the famous The Revolution Will Not Be Televised or Lady Day And John Coltrane (recently covered by Courtney Pine with Lynden David Hall on vocals)...unfortunately I have to admit that this song first caught my attention as a (great) coverversion by Bossa Nostra ft. Vicki Anderson (that's Carleen Anderson's mother and they sound very alike).

From Curtis Back To The World album from 1973 that had a very political content dealing with Vietnam at home, de-education (listen to the lyrics of Right On For The Darknes), environmental issues, racial harmony and trust and love...this is a quite disturbing song with a great string outro that sums up the quite hopeless lyrical content.

Like Mr. Welfare Man or The Makings Of You another Curtis Mayfield song that sounds great sung by another singer. Although Melba's voice on the album This Is It (from which this song is from) was quite thin on the most songs on offer, Make Me Believe In You is for me the best song on offer, sounding so damn funky and not drifting into the more disco-styled end of music like the Van McCoy written and produced title track or the most other songs here.

You certainly will recognize an album by the Ohio Players in an instant because of the nude female on each cover. But they had more to offer than just an eye-catcher. Good Luck Charme from the album Mr. Mean is one of the best ballads I've ever heard and with over 9 minutes it really has epic proportions...and you know, they don't make records like that anymore!

One of the advantages of a CD compared to LP is the length that fits on this medium. That becomes quite obvious on the re-issue of Monk's Straight, No Chaser. On the original album Japanese Folk Song was shortened by 5 min and 41 sec (here it's featured in it's 16:41 glory), We See is now 11:35 (that's 2:47 more than on the LP) and even the title track is 56 longer on this CD. Finally we're able to listen to the music the way it was intended. And there's even two bonus tracks (I Didn't Know About You and Green Chimneys). Together with extensive liner notes and a re-print of the original liner notes this is a must-have!

Nobody knows the movie Claudine with Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones anymore but the Curtis Mayfield written and produced soundtrack from 1974 is still worth listening. The Makings Of You was recently covered by Angie Stone but here you get it in it's full glory sung by Gladys Knight and it's still the best version. Compared to the stuff Gladys is recording these days you really can say that the 70ies were her best days...every song's a winner, take Mr. Welfare Man, To Be Invisible, the funky On and On, Hold On or Make Yours A Happy Home, even the instrumental Claudine Theme sounds fine. Some songs were also recorded by Curtis himself for various albums but I prefer the versions sung by Gladys. Hate to admit it, but they don't make records like that anymore.

Recorded in 1961 this still sounds fresh as ever. And it contains great songs like Night In Tunesia, Stella By Starlight, 'Round Midnight, Cry Me A River (made famous by Julie London), a cover of Billie's Good Morning Heartache, (I Was) Born To Be Blue, the excellent Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most. There are even three previous unreleased songs and the highlight of them is the swinging This Could Be The Start Of Something Big. Good music is really timeless and can be heard again and again...

Recorded in 1988 the more uptempo songs sound a little dated compared to what's hip today. But that's not what's important on this album (and it weren't the uptempo songs why I bought this release way back in the 80ies), it's really the ballads that make 4U wothwhile. In Congratulations Vesta tells us about a lost love who's going to be married ("Why was I the last to know/ I thought that we were special/ My soul shakes, my heart breaks/ As I turn and walk away/ I can't believe it's over/ We really never said goodbye/ Thought we'd give it one more try/ Felt our love was here to stay/ And now today's your wedding day" read full lyrics here). Running Into Memories is another story-telling soul song, Hunger and Best I Ever Had rounds of the better second half of this album.

Maysa is of course Maysa Leak of Incognito fame. So many may know her voice though they may not her name. And even less people know that she recorded two albums. This was her debut in 1995. Ok, it sounds a little like some more soulful, relaxed Ingognito songs, and yes, there are even some Incognito musicians involved like Randy Hope-Taylor or Richard Bull. So Mays isn't a real suprise. But songs like What About Our Love?, Can We Change The World, Let It Go, Raindrops or Peace Of Mind still sounds great and there's no denying Maysa's vocal abilities.

That's not the original cover here, just a pic of Larry Heard, who, together with Harri Dennis on vocals was The It. They had some 12" before this album release from 1990 like Gallimaufry Gallery or Donnie, that were more house than On Top Of The World. This is more an early version of what Larry did in the coming years...more relaxed, electronic mainly instrumental soundscapes that can tend to become a little boring. But here you have Harri's vocals added for good effect. Not a straight house record like the early releases with Fingers Inc. but still interesting to listen to it today.

Whatever happened to Alyson? Except for some guestsinging on some more smooth jazz albums I haven't heard anything from her for some years now. And that's such a pity if you listen to Raw again. Just Call My Name, I'm So Glad (with Chuck Stanley) or Make You Mine Tonight (also with Chuck) are still great soul music everyone can be proud of having recorded it. But like Alyson, the rest of the more soulful releases of Def Jam in the late 80ies/early 90ies all artists like Tashan, Oran 'Juice' Jones have sunk into oblivion these days.

Back at the beginning of the 90ies Atlantic/Eastwest Records were quite innovative and released a lot of more soulful garage/house records like the Underground Dance Music compilation that featured Micheal Watfords Holdin' On, Tony Ransom's Spread Love or Rudoulpho's Touch Me or albums by Cybil (here featured on First Mistake), Ce Ce Rogers or Ten City.
Unfortunately Michael's debut album wasn't a sucess though he has one of the best voices in the house area. The only worse thing about this album is that the songs are too short...an extended version here and there would've made this a real classic amongst house music lovers. But even withou it, this is stil a grat album that shows how much soul house can offer you. Except for the Roger S. produced Michael's Prayer all songs are produced by the Smack Team (whatever happened to them?)...so you may know what to expect from Luv 4-2, Love Me Tonight, Happy Man, So Into You or Love To The World.

Recorded at a time when Prince was at the peak of his success back in 1985. And like in 1985 the best song on offer is still the 12:18 long A Love Bizarre that sounds so damn funky in a way I wish some music these days would sound...the rest of the album hasn't stood the test of time in my opinion...but who cares with a killer cut like A Love Bizarre?

With all the re-releases of old Ten City records by Ibadan you know it's time to check out your record collection again. And you may discover some long lost gems like this album. Foundation was the first Ten City album recorded at times when Byron Stingily hasn't discovered or developed his full vocal range in the highest department. Classics like That's The Way Love Is (with 12" remixes on the CD release), Devotion, Right Back To You or One Kiss Will Make It Better are all included here.

Sadly overlooked debut and only full length album so far by the talented Adriana (she then had a very jazzy song "Lucky Dayz" for the Hoodlum MPST). She may look like Minnie Mouse with her hair-do on the innersleeve, but she sounds far more superior (by the way the Minnie Mouse job was taken by Macy Gray as we all know). Stuck in the more classic 70ies soul music with vibes, flutes, horns, strings and even an oboe (on Lookin' For Your Love) this is more Old Soul than Nu Soul although the use of modern arrangment makes you aware it was recorded in the present time (well, in 1997 really). A must have if you want to impress your friends with your knowledge of less-known great soul music.

Not very aptly titled Soul '69 since this is really a jazz album with Aretha sounding great as ever. I like this album for songs like Today I Sing The Blues, Crazy He Calls Me (love the lyrics "...the very difficult I will do right now, the impossible will take a little while..."), Tracks Of My Tears, the fast Gentle On My Mind and the great So Long. And I guess they're right with the remark "They don't make albums like they used to"...Look at Aretha now, although she still has that magic voice her stuff usually lacks something and she's over-produced in some way. But with so much albums recorded it's easy to dwell in her glorious past.

That was the first release on Arista Records in 1975 (who would've thought they were issuing real quality music back in the days? Look at the home of the soul/pop/diva-heaven label now...such a pity). Gil teamed up with Brian Jackson and Victor Brown, Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles et al. as the Midnight Band. Offering more social conscious lyrics than most other bands in a funky and jazzy environment this is a great album that shouldn't be missed.

Obviously an album full of cover versions of songs made famous by Billie Holiday. OK, you really can't top Billie, but Miki's doing a great job with classics like What A Little Moonlight Can Do, My Man, 'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do, Don't Explain or Strange Fruit. And surprisingly enough this time even David Foster is doing a fine job as producer (for the first five songs - the other five songs are produced by LeMel Humes). Following her version of Good Morning Heartache on Femme Fatale and her appearance as Billie in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (in which she sang I Cover The Waterfront) this was a logical sequel doing a whole album of Holiday songs. And it was the last one on a major record label for Miki.

That's an album that stands out just with the strength of three songs, the fantastic Angela Winbush written Something's In The Way You Make Me Feel, still sounding great although recorded in 1989. Here you have the Extended Version in its full length glory. Home also features the title track with Take 6 on background vocals and another Angela Winbush song: So Good, So Right. The rest is not that bad, but really pales compared to the mentioned three tracks.

Well you could name any Stevie album out of the 70ies, but due to a fine cover version of BeBe Winans (Jesus Children Of America which also features Stevie himself) I had to choose Innervisions. Like Songs In The Key Of Life Innervisions is also a cornucopia of good music featuring the classic Living For The City, Too High (recently available as a house remix), Don't you worry 'Bout A Thing (that was covered by Incognito years ago) and Higher Ground. I'm sure everybody has this at home (at least if you're really into soul music), so take my advice and listen to Innervisions once again.

Ruth Brown was quite popular in the 60ies and Atlantic Records was once called The House That Ruth Built (we all know Aretha's The House That Jack Built...but before Atlantic had success with Aretha there was Ruth). Have A Good Time is a live album recorded at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (doesn't sound like an A venue for top stars) and contains some of Ruth's previous hits like the title song, (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean or Teardrops From My Eyes. But the best song for me is the cover of the Willie Nelson song Always On My Mind with its great organ and saxophone and of course that voice Ruth possesses. Also fine is the cover of When I Fall In Love. And all those who think the name sounds familiar but don't have a clue from where, Ruth was Motormouth Mable in John Waters movie Hairspray.

Hot House made two albums (this being the second) and than they were gone and their singer Heather Small went famous with M People. But she has never sounded better than she did on the sad and bluesy Losing The Feeling. The rest of Movers & Shakers is more nice soul-pop that's not bad but a little bit replaceable like M People for example.

The success of Soul II Soul in the late 80ies/early 90ies paved the way - at long last - for some great soul music albums in the UK. Sad but true, they were overlooked like you won't look at a cockroach in you kitchen for example. Just like The Escofferys or D-Influence, David Grant made a fine album and nobody bought it, although the single Life was quite popular and appeared in various mixes (from Norman Cook to Blacksmith). The Anxious Edge is in the tradition of soul music with a message ("You put the bottle in your hand/ You become a bigger man/ The drugs you thought would set you free/ Chained you in captivity") and it still sounds fresh more than 11 years after recording. Also worth checking out is Keep It Together, Warm Summer Nights (oh how I miss them now in the cold winter) and the decent cover version of Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes' Wake Up Everybody.

Listening to Alice Coltrane you really ask yourself, why is the harp rarely included into today's music. With the perfect surrounding (in this case Pharoah Sanders, Jon Henderson, Ron Carter and ben Riley) it really fits into a jazz session, just listen to Blue Nile.

Message From The Nile with Alice Coltrane comes along as some sort of extension of Blue Nile from Ptah The El Daoud, that was recorded January 26, 1970. Extensions was recorded only a few days later on February 9, 1970. His Blessings is another fine piece of jazz that features Alice on harp.

Modern technology makes it possible that six pieces of Silver turns out to be ten songs (three of them declared as bonus tracks, which made the original album consists of seven songs...someone really had difficulties with counting, methinks). You also get a superb vocal version of Senor Blues with Bill Henderson ond vocal duty. Nice for a rainy sunday morning.

Although this album is from 1999, it somewhere got lost in the large amount of music issued everyday. Carl is - like Ursula Rucker - an Afro-American poet telling his poems to modern soul/R&B music. Unfortunately the brilliant Roy Trent Mix of Intro To (R)Evolution isn't included here (it appeared on a Giant Step 12" like Carl's recent release Lamentations (You Son)). But Rux Revue offers enough other food for thought like Miquel, the dark and moody Wasted Seed or the great Human This Morning with it's captivating background and organ.

One of the unsung heros of British Soulmusic. Noel had had some success with Snowboy (doing a cover of Leroy Hudson's Lucky Fellow), The James Taylor Quartet and his family as McKoy (Fight was even issued on a majorlabel), but than fall into oblivion. Out of nowhere some 12"es appeared every now and then on his own Rightrack label. And in 1997 Mind Is The Keeper saw the light of day. A look on the cover gives you a first impression what to expect. Noel's drawn face looks like this is a cover for some obsure 70ies album. And except for the more ragga-inspired first song (Just A Little Bit) the rest is a development of classical Curtis, Stevie, Marvin et al into today's setting. Love In The City even samples Curtis Underground in the beginning. Some songs of this brilliant album were later featured on Take It Personal, but this one's the real thing and besides albums from D-Influence, The Watergates or The Escofferys it's one of the best British soul albums ever!

Although released 1995 on Eightball, a label that was more known for house than soul, this is a straight soul album, produced by Lem Springsteen (of Mood II Swing fame) and featuring the voice of Gerals Latham. Never heard of him before Wall Of Sound or afterwards, and that's really a shame. Storybook made you believe in soul again, before all the Erykahs, Lauryns or Macys came out.

Widely overlooked album from Julian Jonah and Janette Sewell, although Never Gonna Give You Up and Don't Go Walking (Out That Door) were on some compilations of Britsoul at their time of release. The Scandal has everything a good soul album should have, a great voice, real songs and a mixture of mid- and uptempo tracks. They even included a cover of the Ashford/Simpson classic Bourgie, Bourgie (made famous by Gladys Knight And The Pips). Unfortunately Janette and Julian never did anything together again, Julian appeared on some less soulful 2-step/UK garage releases and Janette is still lost in obscursville...if you ever find this album, buy it even without listening

if there ever will be an award for most-underrated artist in soulmusic, it'd go straight to Mr. Madden...Facts Of Life was and is brilliant, but -alas- only few people ever bought it

Bernadette was quite funny and ahead of her time...producing, writing and recording her own stuff and doing songs like I Look Good (An Interview with Bernadette Cooper) or The Howard Hughes Sitcom ("I'll be a friend and companion and in return you give me econommical freedom...Christmas every day")...and again, nobody wanted her Debut album as a solo artist...such a shame

great record and the title song begins very dramatic with strings ... really relaxed and superb British soul from the beginning of the Nineties

her second album, which includes the great You'll always have a part of me and the latin influenced Samba de Laplaya

a must have with Tryin' Times, The Ghetto, To Be Young, Gifted And Black and Misty...such a shame that Donny commited suicide and only has recorded so few albums

that's the one that started it all for the Family Stand and Sandra St. Victor...although it sounds a little dated today -really 80ies like- it's still a good album with If Not For You, Why Does It Hurt When We Kiss, Who's Sorry Now? and Sex w/o love (just listen to the lyrics)

real good with The Dells A Heart Is A House for Love and their classic Stay In My Corner, After 7 with the tearfilled Nights Like This -their best song ever, Dee Harvey with a Kipper Jones song In The Middle and the gospel flavoured I Feel Like Going On

A widely unknown album by an Ex-Temptation singer, that features the brilliant Flesh & Blood, What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted and the duet with Nikita Germaine Heart's Devotion...rare groove for this century