Tuesday, April 11, 2017

NEW RELEASES: JOHNNY NASH – STIR IT UP: THE ANTHOLOGY 1965-1979; ROHEY – A MILLION THINGS; JC BROOKS – THE NEON JUNGLE

JOHNNY NASH – STIR IT UP: THE ANTHOLOGY 1965-1979

The first-ever collection to really do justice to the music of Johnny Nash – despite the fact that the man himself racked up a few global hits back in the 70s! Nash is a heck of an interesting singer – born in Texas, and able to croon both deep soul and jazz – which he did on a string of labels into the mid 60s – before taking matters into his own hands, starting his own label, and also picking up on the new sounds of Jamaica – which he mixed with American soul in a way that helped catapult him to the top of the charts in both the US and UK! Nash's sound is never straight reggae, but it also has some Jamaican rhythmic elements in it at times – although the range of work here also includes some wicked early singles by Johnny on his own JAD imprint, and some other late 70s efforts that show him moving into some other sophisticated styles too. The 2CD set features a whopping 46 tracks in all – plus detailed notes on Nash's career – with titles that include "Wonderful Woman", "Let's Move & Groove", "Cupid", "You Got Soul", "Groovin", "Yellow House", "Ooh What A Feeling", "My Merry Go Round", "Nice Time", "Celebrate Life", "Closer (12" mix)", "You're The One", "Mr Sea", "Birds Of A Feather", "What A Wonderful World", "Rock It Baby", "Tears On My Pillow", "The Very First Time", "I Can See Clearly Now", "There Are More Questions Than Answers", "Guava Jelly", and "The Edge Of Love".  ~ Dusty Groove

ROHEY – A MILLION THINGS

Rohey's the name of the band, and the name of the lead singer Rohey Taalah – a really great voice that we're betting we hear from strongly in years to come! The album's definitely a group effort – because although Rohey's lyrics are a big part of the sound, there's also a fantastic sort of energy from the trio of Ivan Blomquist on keyboards, Kristian Jacobsen on bass, and Henrik Lodoen on drums – a group who forge these flowing waves of soul that are completely sublime – bursting out strongly at some points, moving more gently at others – always with just the right balance between the keys and vocals. And although the group's from Norway, the album's got a quality that rivals the best American underground soul in recent years – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Now That You Are Free", "I Found Me", "Cellphones & Pavements", "Afterthoughts", "Responsibilities", "My Recipe", and "Tell Me". ~ Dusty Groove

JC BROOKS – THE NEON JUNGLE

JC Brooks parts company with the Uptown Sound – and comes across here with a completely different sound! Brooks is a Chicago soul singer whose risen to great acclaim with that previous group – who've given him a retro-styled, old school soul approach – but here, he comes across with a more contemporary vibe, in a 21st Century funky soul mode that has some sweet electric touches around the edges, while still letting Brooks really soar upfront! The shift is an interesting one, and a great one too – the kind of move that may well get JC some of the bigger attention he deserves. Titles include "Jungle", "Edge Of Night", "ONO", "One For Someone", "Get Gone", "Watch Me", "Playing With Fire", and "Stumble In The Dark".  ~ Dusty Groove


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