Soul Express Album of the Month - November 2006 BROWN'S BAG: Soul Satisfied (UK Soulchoonz, 2006) 1) You Touched My Heart 2) You Love Me 3) You’re Contagious 4) Me Around 5) More Than Friends 6) Stay 7) Can’t Let Go 8) Toss ‘N’ Turn 9) Open Your Soul 10) Rain 11) No More Love (Diskonauts Remix) 12) Things You Say (Markydisco Jazzy Remix) YES! This is exactly what I want to hear: REAL soul by REAL singers. Call me an old fart if you like, but I really do not believe that most of what is touted today as "great music" is really great music. It takes a real artist with some individuality, creativity and personality – as well as passion for real music – to grab my attention nowadays. Ward Brown and his friend Sherrod Brown have already received plaudits from many including myself this year for their aptly titled "Labor Of Love" set and I was cockahoop to see that the gents had deigned to serve us up with another platter of real soul food prior to Christmas. So what of this album? It’s not as good as the last one. No. It’s a LOT better! And that is some mean feat too. The love and passion of the music is obvious in every note, every word and every breath. The defenders of soul are on the offensive again and wish to capture more hearts and minds with their warm, smooth and earthy production, which hark back to the days when music was real. There isn’t a bad track on here and is a very worthwhile purchase. I loved it from first listening, but I have found that it has grown on me even more after each play. What better song to open this album – "You Touch My Heart". THOSE dreamy keys and fluid synth and drums support some tasty Dramatics-styled vocals with Ward even picking up some of L.J. Reynolds vocal style for good measure. This really is a top-draw track and if you like this then it will no nothing but auger well for the rest of the album. "You Love Me" again is a tour-de-force of real instruments, singing and a musical direction that powers the song forward. I am sure that you will live this song, too. One song I know has been a hit on the UK soul scene is the aptly titled "You’re Contagious". If ever a track has been on repeat play then it has been this. Its mid 80s vibe is sure to get my approval, and I guarantee this will be a track I’ll be enjoying for many years to come. If you like a more 70s flavour then the gentle "Can’t Let Go" will be one for you. The song has echoes of the recent work by The Temptations when Bo Henderson was fronting the group. There is a raw passion, a rough edge and a power behind these vocals and the sympathetic if understated instrumentation allows this to shine in the limelight. Great stuff indeed. "Open Your Soul" blasts off with an early 70s Motown feel to it, and the gutsy groove rests on a funky bass; the ricochet-type drum also adds some extra dimension too. The vocals again speak a lot of classic male soul vocalists of years gone by. I often used to ask ‘where today are the type of great voices from yesterday?’ Here they are. Well, two of them at least. Another song that I particularly rave about is the beautiful "Rain". This is classic soul balladry that is all too rare nowadays. I can hear echoes of Harry Ray / Ray, Goodman & Brown here, and whether that is intentional or not I don’t care. It sounds FANTASTIC. I really applaud all concerned with this project and take a bow to them. This is exactly the sort of material that many of you will want to hear – and with Christmas coming up upon us there is no excuse for not owning this set. It should be massive, and deserves all the play and attention it gets. This album is available from www.soulchoonz.com. The official US Release will be on SoulChoonz Records in December 2006. Highly recommended. - Barry Towler The Latest CD Reviews Albums of the Month in 2007 Albums of the Month in 2006 Albums of the Month in 2005 Albums of the Month in 2004 Albums of the Month in 2003 Albums of the Month in 2002 Albums of the Month in 2001 Albums of the Month in 2000 Albums of the Month in 1999 Albums of the Month in 1998 Albums of the Month in 1997 Other CD
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