Soul Express CD Review

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CORNELIUS MD
Step Baby
US Domain Records CD, 2008

1) Step Baby
2) Lifetime of Love
3) Do It
4) Work That Neck


This man is, as far as I know, no doctor of medicine but his tunes certainly do more good than dropping your trousers, caughing and taking 2 aspirin!  Good grief, does this man sound like Barry White or what?!  For good reason.  Cornelius MD made a decision to rekindle the unforgettable sound of one of the worlds most romantic soul singers.  History repeated itself as Cornelius signed with Domain Records, owned by Barry White’s former General Manager, Tony Sepe, as well as Bill Sepe, Barry  White’s former Stage Manager, and Mike Nunes, son of the late Larry Nunes, the  man who discovered Barry White and became his spiritual advisor.  Furthermore, Steve Guillory, former guitarist and songwriter on the SUPERB  “Don’t Play Games” on  Barry White’s last ever CD ‘Staying Power’ and his guitarist, Emmitt North are Cornelius' band members.

To mark the unbelieveable 5th anniversary of Barry White’s death Cornelius MD released his new CD, Cornelius MD ‘The Legend Continues’. Cornelius was, as i said, actually born on the same day as The Master, so the likeness is definately uncanny.  His voice is deep, it growls with a barely restrained male passion and has the same intonations as our late, great, Hero. I am sure this is intentional, and the music that Cornelius employs unsurprisingly very much in the Barry White bag too with horns, strings and Love Unlimited styled backing vocals. The groove though is dedicated to the stepping phenomenon; yet another dance that would make me look like an arthritic scarecrow stuck in glue! “Step Baby” is the said song, and very good it is too! The muted trumpet, reverberating guitars and synth work very nicely in tandem with the warmly familiar delivery.

The CD is but a four-tracker and by “Lifetime Of Love” we already half way through! No matter…the sexy groove again uses synth strings, 70s styled guitar and passionate vocals in the Barry White bag. I appreciate the restrained electric guitar that opens the song; not up to Ernie Isley’s handiwork but still very welcome! This man really does have his own musical fingerprint though, and I can listen to this style all day quite happily. This song is very much what I would recommend to those who love their soul music in a more traditional style.

Tracks three and four have a more contemporary leaning. On “Do It”, Cornelius is addressing his Lady love, and the keys used here to permit this delivery are very much late 80s, the beat programmed and slightly on the street side, though this works very well. I can imagine this being a good play for radio. The same can be said for the oddly titled “Work That Neck” which has our hero sound a little more like Larry Graham than Barry White, especially with the funky guitar and ticking drum beat in the forefront.

OK, only 4 songs but all 4 are worthwhile and better than anything coming out of the big companies so I am pleased. Here’s to more from Cornelius MD very soon - check him out on www.soulchoonz.com  as well as his previous album "Any Way You Want It" on CD Baby. - Barry Towler

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