Deborah Bond - DayAfter

Deborah Bond - DayAfter (2003)
This is quite simply one of the best soul albums of this past decade. In a period where many so-called soul artists are sacrificing substance for style, one really has to dig deep to find gems such as this splendid debut from Real Soulstress, Deborah Bond. Deborah possesses a voice reminiscent of Chaka Khan, which is evident on the opening track 'See You In My Dreams' - a gem of a track that oozes a freshness that's unfortunately lacking from so much contemporary soul music. A Sade influence can be heard on the haunting closing track 'Things Will Never Be The Same' and in 'Keep On' which samples Sweetback. Whereas 'Sweet Lullabies' is just that - a simply beautiful track from a thoroughly magnificent album.
Visit Deborah's MySpace page.

Randy Brown - Welcome To My Room

Randy Brown - Welcome To My Room (Parachute/Casablanca 1978)
Randy Brown is a great soul vocalist and this, his first album, is the REAL DEAL. This must be one of the best soul albums of all time, so it's amazing how it hasn't crossed over into the mainstream, but fortunately time serves all great art. This record fits nicely next to Marvin Gaye, LeRoy Hutson, Teddy Pendergrass, Leon Ware et al. In other words, soul masters. In terms of soulfulness, this album has it all - something for lovers of deep soul (I'd Rather Hurt Myself), 70s modern soul (Always In The Mood) and rare groove (Love Is All We Need) - all in one package! I read somewhere that many soul fans hail the song "Too Little In Common" as the greatest of all time, it's easy to see why - real honest deep soul sung from the heart, soul doesn't come much deeper than this! Randy went on to record 3 more LPs for Casablanca, namely Intimately (1979), Midnight Desire (1980) and Randy (1981).

J R Bailey – Just Me N' You

J R Bailey – Just Me N' You (MAM 1974)
For one of the all-time underground soul classics, look no further than this gem of an album. Still unknown to many unfortunate ears, J R Bailey and his Just Me N' You set is comparable with soul's greatest. Like many cult soul artists, Bailey penned all of this beautiful album and numerous soul classics for other performers. A few highlights to mention, although there are many, are the sublime opus "After Hours / Heaven On Earth", and the original versions of "Love Love Love" (also recorded by Donny Hathaway) and the title-track (later cut by Eramus Hall). This is an album overdue wider critical acclaim, acquire it if you can.

Stepper's Delight

Beverly & Duane (Ariola 1978)
There have been some great soul duos over the years. One such, Beverly & Duane, were signed to Ariola in the late 1970's to record this joyous album which will appeal to fans of modern soul and rare groove. From the album they had hits with the uplifting groovers 'Glad I Gotcha Baby' and 'We Got To Stick Together', great tracks. However, if you dig deeper you will find two definitive steppers in the delightful 'I Wanna Be With You', beautifully led by its shaking piano, and the heartfelt yearning of 'Living In A World'. Sublime stuff.

Con Funk Shun - Secrets

Con Funk Shun - Secrets (Mercury 1977)
Some of the greatest soul ballads and quiet storm gems often come from unexpected sources. Many soul purists may have missed many a fine stepper by overlooking albums from some of the 70's and 80's finest funk bands. Some of the greatest street soul songs appear on albums such as this one by Con Funk Shun. Secrets, their second album on Mercury, is a balance of funk and soul with jazzy touches and slick production which help to make this album a fresh softer affair than some of their other output. The big single from the album was the aptly-titled "Ffun" but the hidden secrets (excuse the pun) on the album are the magnificent mid-tempo groover "Who Has The Time", the beautiful stepper "I'll Set You Out OK" and the cosmic instrumental "Indian Summer Love" (which is more than slightly reminiscent of Kool and the Gang's wonderful "Summer Madness").

Garry Glenn - Heaven Kind of Soul

Garry Glenn (PPL 1980)
Garry Glenn had already penned such classics as Al Hudson's disco masterpiece "Spread Love" and the sublime "Intimate Friends" by Eddie Kendricks and Phylis Hyman's "Be Careful How You Treat My Love" before he released his self-titled debut on PPL Records in 1980. This gem of an album is a delightful mix of quirky modern soul steppers and groovers. Garry's style sounds like a blend of Leroy Hutson with Leroy Burgess - the standard is that high! "Cause I Love You / I Need You In My Life" was the album's single, and these two tracks are indeed highlights portraying Garry's unique vocals, harmonies, use of strings and horns. Others standouts include the Hutson-esque "Heaven Kind of Love" and samba-fusion of "Got You On My Mind". Needless to say this classy album was passed up by many on release, one for the Real Soul connoisseurs out there and what fine taste they have!
Garry went on to pen the gorgeous "Caught Up In The Rapture" for Anita Baker in 1986 and release a second album Feels Good To Feel Good, this time for Motown, in 1987 before sadly passing away in 1991.

Bobby Wilson - I'll Be Your Rainbow

Bobby Wilson - I'll Be Your Rainbow (Buddah 1975)
Here's another example of soul music's one-album wonders. Bobby Wilson is yet another in a long list of genuine soul talents who recorded one outstanding, albeit commercially unsuccessful, album and then never released another record. Released on the Buddah label, which was home to many other fine soul recordings, in the mid-70s, I'll Be Your Rainbow is a deep soul delight. The whole album flows beautifully and is stacked full of great songs, though if pushed to name highlights i'll mention the dramatic opener "Deeper and Deeper" and "Don't Shut Me Out". A rare real soul treasure.

Willie Hutch @ Motown

Willie McKinley Hutchinson recorded singles and albums for ABC and RCA in the 1960s before a chance invitation to work at Motown in the early '70s writing for the Jackson Five. Afterwards he was signed up by Motown, initially as a songwriter and producer, working with the likes of Smokey Robinson (co-producing his first post-Miracles album), Marvin Gaye, G C Cameron, and The Sisters Love, amongst others. Between 1973 and 1977, Willie recorded, produced and arranged [such is the talent of the man] eight solo albums for Motown, some of which rank against the greatest soul albums recorded in that period.

Willie Hutch's 1970's Motown album discography:

The Mack OST (1973) Willie's first album on Motown was the soundtrack to the blaxploitation movie 'The Mack', and continued the trend in the genre where the quality of the music overshadowed that of the film. A classic score which contained the funky monster "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" and soulful classic "I Choose You" (later covered to great effect by the Chicago Gangsters).

Fully Exposed (1973) Willie's first studio album for Motown contains the awesome real soul floater "Sunshine Lady", a sweet version of Leon Ware's "I Wanna Be Where You Are", and his seven-minute epic "California My Way" (later recorded by the Main Ingredient).

Foxy Brown OST (1974) Another blaxploitation movie score with the classic title-theme, the cosmic bass-driven groover "Out There" and the funky soul classic "Give Me Some Of That Good Old Love".

Mark Of The Beast (1974) This is perhaps Willie's most overlooked album in that it is only mentioned by those 'in the know' and over-shadowed by the more 'hip' blaxploitation soundtracks. For me, alongside his next album, Ode To My Lady, this is surely Willie's strongest LP. The first side kicks off with the funky groover "Get Ready For The Get Down" and runs through to the soulful street-funk classic "Life's No Fun Living In The Ghetto", which wouldn't sound out of place on one of Willie's blaxploitation outings. A trio of real soul treasures can be found on the second side of this gem of an album. The warm opening of "I'm Gonna Stay" is trailed by the beautifully haunting "Woman You Touched Me" and the honest deep soul of "Do The Thing That's Best For You". Soul with a capital 'S'!

Ode To My Lady (1975) A beautifully slick album and probably Willie's most consistent, Ode To My Lady should have been huge. The two singles which open sides A and B, "Party Down" and "Love Power" respectively, weren't catchy enough to dent to the charts and bring people's attention to the rest of this LP, which is a shame as it is packed with real soul classics. There are many highlights, I will give special mention to "Just Another Day", "Talk To Me", "Love Me Back", and "(I'm Gonna) Hold On" - real soul bliss. Willie's rendition of the classic "The Way We Were" is well worth checking out too, as indeed is the whole album.

Concert In Blues (1976) Deceptively titled, this is not a live album, and is also not as strong as its predecessors. Though it does contain the beautiful heartfelt number "Baby, Come Home", and Willie's sweet take on "Stormy Weather".

Color Her Sunshine (1976) Willie was again unable to recreate the brilliance of his earlier offerings but the mellow title-track and "I Love Everything About You" are exceptionally soulful cuts.

Havin' A House Party (1977) Willie's final Motown album of the 1970's showed a return to form. The stand-out track here has to be the awesome midtempo groover "I Can Sho' Give You Love" - do they make soul music like this anymore?

After these albums, Willie had a stint at Whitfield Records before returning to Motown in the early 1980's. A true soul legend. Rest in peace, Willie.

Leon Ware's Musical Massage

Leon Ware - Musical Massage (Gordy 1976)
Leon Ware is a soul master, another one of those legendary soul artists who has had more 'success' writing and producing for other artists, yet much of his own output was of the highest standard. This album has too many great moments to mention them all but "Learning How To Love You", "Instant Love" (featuring Minnie Riperton - Leon uses quality personnel throughout), "Journey Into You", and "Turn Out The Light" are indeed great tracks. One listen and you'll notice that Marvin Gaye's great 'I Want You' LP owes much to this great soul-man and also this album, the likeness is immense. It is no surprise then that Leon wrote and produced most of that album. However, it is only fair to judge this LP on its own for what it is. This is another essential piece of the soul jigsaw. True sensual soul quality.

G. C. Cameron biography

G C Cameron - Love Songs & Other Tragedies (Motown 1974) / G C Cameron (Motown 1976) / You're What's Missing In My Life (Motown 1977) / Give Me Your Love (Malaco 1983)
George Curtis 'GC' Cameron's biggest hit came in 1970 as lead singer of the Spinners with their Motown hit "It's A Shame". When the Spinners moved over to Atlantic Records, GC remained with Motown to embark on a solo-career. He initially recorded several singles for their subsidiary label MoWest, with the most notable being the Smokey Robinson produced "Don't Wanna Play Pajama Games", before going on to record 3 solo LPs on Motown Records.
For his first album, GC worked with various producers including Stevie Wonder ("If You Don't Love Me") and four tracks with Willie Hutch (including a great version of "I'm Gonna Give You Respect" featuring Marvin Gaye on backing), helping make Love Songs & Other Tragedies a very solid, yet commercially unsuccessful, debut album.
GC's second self-titled offering was not as strong and whilst he again worked with an array of producers and songwriters it is his own song "Strong Love" which is the real soul highlight.
GC's third LP was the most consistent of his trio of albums for Motown, probably because it was produced by returning Motown legend Brian Holland. The highlight is indeed the awesome title-track "You're What's Missing In My Life", a classy modern soul / rare groove masterpiece. Solid throughout, there are other magical mid-tempo moments on the LP such as "Don't Tear Down What Took So Long To Build" and "I'll Be Your Servant". An essential real soul LP.
GC also recorded a duet-LP Rich Love, Poor Love (Motown 1977) with Syreeta and later released the noteworthy single "Live For Love" (Flamingo 1980), but it would be six years before he released another solo-album, the critically-acclaimed Give Me Your Love on Malaco Records, for which the stand-out cuts are the title-track and "Hearts And Flowers". To my knowledge very little of GC's material has been reissued, which is a shame. A great soul artist, with a great soul voice!

Donny Hathaway - Extension Of A Man

Donny Hathaway - Extension Of A Man (Atco 1973)
This adventurous album really does have it all: Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Classical, Funk, Swing, and all the way through Soul. You'll never get more in one record. Donny Hathaway was a genius and we are truly blessed that he was able to create such an album before his premature death. This album will have you in tears such is the emotion in Donny's songs. There's too many highlights tomention, but "Someday We'll All be Free" is surely a modern standard, and "Love, Love, Love" is pure modern soul bliss. I can't get over how AMAZING this record is. This is, without question, one of the GREATEST records of all time. A 'Beautiful Musical Masterpiece'!