“Sam [Cooke] was the best singer who ever lived, no contest. When I listen to him, I still can’t believe the things that he did. It’s always fresh and amazing to me; he has control, he could play with his voice like an instrument, his melisma, which was his personal brand - I mean nobody else could do it - everything about him was perfection. A perfect case.”
The words of Jerry Wexler, legendary producer at Atlantic Records who helped shape the careers of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Solomon Burke.
High praise indeed and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve recently been listening to an album of Sam Cooke’s gospel recordings when he was a young man in his early twenties singing with the group ‘The Soul Stirrers’.
I’m not a religious man but I certainly am thankful to religion for giving us gospel music. Listening to these songs and the heavenly voices that sing them is absolute bliss.
Jerry Wexler had it right. There is nobody else that could or can sing like Sam Cooke and there is no better way to listen to his unquestionable brilliance than on one of his early gospel recordings.
Listen to the song above and rejoice in a voice like no other.
An apology to Jessie J
Deeply sceptical about this Jessie J if I’m honest, a worthy winner? Not for me
That is what I tweeted on Friday morning when I found out that Jessie J had won the prestigious BBC Sound of 2011 competition. Her single ‘Do It Like A Dude’ is not to my liking, full of street slang and of the moment production.
However, once I had got out of bed and turned off my radio I came across a link to one of her videos on YouTube, out of interest I watched the video and instantly knew I had made a mistake with my earlier criticism. Singing alone in a bathroom to an instrumental from her laptop. Gone were the cringe worthy ‘do it like the mandem’ lyrics, in their place was a voice of stunning range and control.
I was completely blown away and went on to spend the next hour looking at various videos of Jessie J performing her growing repertoire of songs in all manner of locations from her bedroom to smoky London clubs to the bright lights of Los Angeles, California.
A particular highlight is the video of her singing ‘Price Tag’ on Jools Holland, she is the only artist I’ve ever seen who’s managed to get the audience singing along with them on that show. Impressive.
I will leave you, however, with the video that first captivated my attention and revealed the premature nature of my original disdain. The BBC got it right, Jessie J is extremely talented and she has the potential to be a huge star.
I was wrong. Jessie, I apologise.
Raphael Saadiq is back!
After nearly 3 years since Raphael Saadiq last blessed our ears with his retro 60’s sounding album ‘The Way I See It’, the great man is back with a new single and a new album.
The single is called ‘Radio’, the album is ‘Stone Rollin’. Raphael has been blogging recently about some of the artists that have influenced the sound on this album and they include the likes of Howlin Wolf, Black Keys and Grizzly Bear. This points to a lot more raw, rough and ready feel than the Motown-esque smoothness of The Way I See It.
Radio certainly confirms that train of thought, it is reminiscent of 50’s rock and roll and has an irresistible bass line. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album.
I came across Rox in the summer whilst playing FIFA World Cup on my PS3. Her reggae infused track ‘Rocksteady’ is on the soundtrack to that game and I enjoyed it enough to seek some more of her music. Rox is half Jamaican, half Iranian and her debut album ‘Memoirs’ was released last year. Its a great mix of reggae, soul and pop. I urge you to check it out.
So Jamie Woon is getting the red carpet treatment from the BBC and has been named one of the sounds of 2011.
Well I was playing Jamie Woon on my student radio show 2 years ago, so take that BBC!
Here is ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ for you to enjoy and remember where you heard him first!
Wake Up by John Legend and The Roots is my favourite album of 2010. It’s a covers album with a difference, not just the same old standards regurgitated as usual. It is full of lesser known soulful classics all with a political or social message that still resonates today, none more so than the Bill Withers song ‘I Can’t Write Left Handed’. It’s about Vietnam but could easily have been written today about Iraq and Afghanistan.
Today the legendary reggae artist Gregory Issacs passed away aged 59. I grew up listening to reggae music my mum played in the car, Volvo’s and ‘Night Nurse’ will forever be linked in my mind! I was lucky enough to see him perform live at Bestival in 2008. Here is a video of one of my favourite songs of his ‘Mr Cop’. Rest in Peace Gregory.
Two old men singing…and singing bloody well
The Roots are back with their new album ‘How I Got Over’…here is the title track for you to enjoy. Check out the rest of the album on iTunes, absolutely fantastic hip hop from Questlove, Black Thought and the rest of the crew.
So I bought Dwele’s new album and I was searching on YouTube for some album tracks to post up here for your listening pleasure but instead I came across this McDonalds advert from the states. It’s features Dwele singing a jazzy little song about the McCafe, probably the best song ever to feature in a McDonalds advert, certainly better than Mr Timberlake’s effort thats for sure.
