The Sure Shots Of Soul

While I was confirmed in the United Church when I was younger, me and organized religion have since parted ways and I count myself among the agnostics of the world now. But I still get a dose of spirituality thanks to one part of my personal holy trinity (music of course; the other two being literature and film). Today's entry is all about feeling the spirit with a new gospel album out on the ever-reliable Daptone Records and a fantastic soul record from the folks at Truth and Soul.


The first of these is What Have You Done, My Brother from Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens. I heard about this one recently thanks to Justin - the MD at CFUV - who ducked out of official CMJ partying to take in a live show and raved about it. He's already calling What Have You Done... the album of the year. While my personal opinion is to award that accolade to Veckatimest (so far it's the one to beat in my books), I've been spinning this album a fair bit of late and with repeat listens it hasn't lost its luster. In fact it only gets better. An Alabama native who now calls New York her home (she plays a weekly Friday-night gig at the Fat Cat if you happen to be in the NYC...), Shelton has a wonderfully rich voice that is perfectly suited to the soul/gospel she sings. For proof, take a listen to "What Have You Done" and the b-side "I'll Take The Long Road" from the 7" available now (the full-length comes out May 26th but you can pre-order it here).


The second album that's been speaking to my soul is My World from Lee Fields & The Expressions, an album that's due out on June 2, 2009 on Truth & Soul Records. Mark your calendars now and remember to head down to your favourite local record shop a couple weeks from now to pick it up because as soon as you check out the mp3 of "Ladies" you're going to want this record. Fields released several 7" singles and an LP in the 70's but My World isn't some unearthed gem from yesteryear. It was in fact recorded over the past four years and features some stellar material you'd swear was classic soul. "Love Comes And Goes" could have come from that Four Mints record I wrote about last year, and the rhythm guitar on "Honey Dove" is so smooth it could out-seduce The Stylistics. With this and the El Michaels Affair albums, Truth and Soul are on a roll - I can hardly wait to hear what they come up with on the forthcoming Aloe Blacc record (Blacc actually appears on the My World bonus track "Truth, Deception & Lies")

Thanks for reading, now start listening...

F is for The Four Mints

Thank god for the fine folks at Numero Group. Whether it's their amazing Eccentric Soul series, the two entries they've delivered in the Cult Cargo series or their collections of rare folk releases, they put together consistently amazing releases. The track-listings are excellent, the production quality is top-notch, the liner notes educational and the packaging is beautiful - if you're a music lover, can you really ask for more?

I would have said 'no' but apparently when the folks at Numero Group asked themselves this question, the answer was instead 'yes' and so now we're treated to a new imprint called Asterisk (*). This 'sub-label' will focus on releasing full-length albums from a variety of artists discovered while researching the minor labels they've excavated. As the news section at Numero Group's website puts it: "While we were busy compiling obscure soul labels and documenting non-genres like gospel funk and kid soul, fantastic little albums got stuck on our turntables. Not long enough to warrant the elaborate Numero treatment, and yet too good to keep secret, we had to start an entirely new label to house these curiosities."

There are four Asterisk titles so far (of which I've heard three - still waiting to check out Johnny Lunchbreak's Appetizer/Soup's On) and while I'm especially impressed with the self-titled album from Chicago's Boscoe, in keeping with my alphabetical postings so far, we're going to talk a bit about The Four Mints' Gently Down Your Stream.

Fans of the Eccentric Soul series will no doubt notice that The Four Mints were included in the very first release, The Capsoul Label, which featured "You're My Desire" and "Row My Boat" (which lead off Gently Down Your Stream).

The Mints - like the Capsoul Label itself - were from Columbus, Ohio and Gently Down Your Stream was their only album. It was recorded in 1973 and served as a ten-track vehicle for the five singles the group recorded. As Numero Group explains, the 1997 pressing of a CD version was terrible due to a faulty turntable drive that slowed the crisp soul harmonies, creating a sonic sludge. The remastered version Asterisk has issued rectifies this problem, and adds three rehearsals and instrumentals to boot. I strongly encourage you to pick up this record if you're a soul fan.

Here's an mp3 of the 45 version of "You're My Desire" that I found on Derek's Daily 45 blog.

And here's a 'video' of "Why Did I Go"


Don't forget to check out the Numero Group website and all their great releases.

Thanks for reading, now start listening...