Stevie Wonder--Innervisions. The best tracks on this record are played
entirely by Stevie (I think there are three), and this makes me wonder why
he wasn't a one-man project more often in these early raw days.
Lonnie Liston Smith and Roy Ayers-70 to 76- LL Smith and Roy Ayers both
combined
"genuine jazz" (what the hell is that?) with more popular r&b and funk,
and the results are usually intelligent, groovin tunes. In particular,
Ayers' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" is a classic record. If you can
find a repressing of it (not too hard in a bigger city), you will
recognize sample after sample.
The Pharoahs--Luv n Haight's rerelease of Awakenings and their own
compilation From the Basement are some more excellent fusions of jazz with
r&b. Their rendition of "Tracks of my Tears" has made me reappreciate a
song that grew tired in my childhood due to my mother's love of
"soft-rock" stations on the radio. The B side to Awakenings in particular
has a brilliant ten minute long funk-jazz jam. Excuse my screaming, but:
ANYONE INTO "RARE GROOVE" OR OLD R&B HAS TO GET THIS RELEASE. Check out
samples at Ubiquity's web site.
Al Green-- Al Green --could-- really be a cheeseball. But for some
reason,
his love ballads come across grittier, with more honest and simple
reality, than other love-song r&b singers. Once again the early 70s seems
to be his heyday IMHO.
As for today's R&B:
Proudly placing myself in the Anti-Puffy camp, I have to agree that a lot
of what is called r&b (or "hip-hop") is pure commercial schlock--Spice
Girls seem to have more artistic integrity--at least they have no
pretensions to be representing anything but commercialism.
But there are those who certainly rise above:
Erykah Badu--'nuff said about her on these lists--Congrats to a new mother
and a great singer.
Maxwell and D'Angelo--These guys can sing, and while I may not always been
into some of their pop-ier arrangements, I can still give total respect to
their projects.
SADE ADU--WHERE ARE YOU??????? Sade is the epitome of soulful elegance,
and the band's side project proves that Sade is far more than soul-pop.
Concerning En Vogue--The most recent tracks I've heard from this group
have been the only ones I've approached liking. Thank g-d that Dawn girl
left the group. I never could stand her nasal vocals. I'm still hesitant
to say that I like the new album, but I certainly like the direction they
are heading in.
Well, that's all I can squeeze out of my head for now.
-Jay