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It sounds like a humble title for a debut album, but it"s
not a question that many people will ask for long. Jill Scott
co-wrote "You Got Me" with the Roots
and has graced records from Common to Will Smith. Jill Scott has got soul.
This album is completely free of bulls***, arrogance or clichés. Jill
has a spellbinding voice that conveys real feeling and style. This lady shames
so many famous female singers who claim to be "soul singers". The production
is mellow and funky without a single ounce of overblown pomp. The haunting
laid-back single "Slowly Surely", already a well-loved underground classic
still sounds as affecting as when the DJs first started playing with it.
In places this album is sublimely laid-back, such as on "Gettin In the Way" which
has to be a future single, and in other places it shuffles along on laid-back
hip-hop funk like "Love Rain". It helps that Jill has a personality that
shines through her work. Much has been made of her background as a respected
poet, and this translates into her songwriting. She makes it sound so easy.
Her voice seems to effortlessly hit all the right spots without a trace of
bluster. The adjective just pile up. Somewhere at the top of the list are
sensual, soulful, chilled and funky. To call her this years Macy Gray would
be unacceptable. Jill has a style and substance all of her own. She is this
years Jill Scott and is going to be for a long time. You know you need.
 JOEY AND NORMAN JAY MBE presents "GOOD TIMES 5" (Resist Music)
 the brothers are back and this time celebrating 25 years service to the Notting Hill Carnival. For their silver jubilee, they've put together a double CD of out-and-out classics. Everything from drum 'n' bass classic "Inner City Life" by Goldie to the Jackson Sisters "I Believe In Miracles" are there to get the party started. It's a veritable selection box of soul, funk, rare groove, house, jazz and disco. How about James Brown "Woman"? How about Masters At Work or Ashford & Simpson? Modern classics like Roisin Murphy "If We're In Love", Shaun Escoffery and Recloose also rub shoulders with the oldies. What can you say when you're confronted with such a feast? I suppose all you can say to this album really is "Yes please!".
Two years since their much-loved debut album, Jurassic 5
bounce back with a new, bigger album jammed full of catchy,
intelligent and bouncy hip-hop tunes. There is no mistaking
this crew. The singalong choruses, the funky sounds and
upbeat mood. This time, though, some songs tackle more
serious issues. "Contribution" is
a powerful and thought-provoking track about parental responsibilities. The
production work is as inspired as before and the rhyme skills of J5 still
take some beating. It might take a few listens before it fully hits you,
but this is an essential hip-hop album and up there with Common"s recent
release as the hip-hop releases of the year.
While
some people seem to rely on mix albums to pay their
mortgages and little Timothy"s boarding school fees,
others maintain more mystique and credibility by
only dabbling occasionally. Justin, naturally is
of the later school. It seems like ages since he
released a mix album. In fact, it is ages since he
did a mix album. I"d love to sound all knowledgeable
as music journalists do and make out that I am familiar
with all the tracks here, but to be honest, it"s
nearly all people I"ve never heard of. What I can
say without doubt, is that Mr. Robertson really does
the business here.
Reviewing this, all musical genres seem like blunt
weapons of description. The boundaries between house
and techno have finally come down, and I am not about
to spoil it all by using the "t.h." word. This is music for life. Put
this on in the morning, you"re ready for whatever the day may throw at you.
Put this on before you go out at night, you"re really ready to party. A sumptuous
sonic Ready Brek of a CD. |
