For over twenty years with the funky, horn-driven back-up band, The Dap-Kings by her side, Sharon Jones has been a driving force at keeping the spirit of good old-fashioned soul music alive and well.
Back in 2013, Jones was in the process of releasing another record and going out on tour to promote it when the singer was diagnosed with cancer. After postponing the album, she had surgery on her liver and underwent chemotherapy. In "Miss Sharon Jones!", Oscar-winning film maker, Barbara Kopple examines her struggle to recover from the disease while Jones' long-time band mates, who are all very close and supportive, have growing concerns about money and the future of their careers since they are far from household names. As pressure mounts and the situation looks very bleak at times, Jones' deep faith and infectious optimism keeps her steady on a positive path.
The documentary made it's premiere at last year's Toronto Film Festival where it was rapturously received. "Miss Sharon Jones!" will open in New York on July 29th before hitting the rest of the country throughout August. Be sure to check this out.
And that postponed album, "Give the People What They Want" was released a year after her recovery with Jones and the band making it back on the road. The record received plenty of critical acclaim and would earn the band their very first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album. Now, it you are unfamiliar with Miss Jones and the Dap-Kings, here's a little sampler of exactly what they do:
First up, we have Britney Spears who has just dropped a new song, "Make Me" which is the first release from her upcoming ninth studio album. With an obligatory guest appearance by a rapper (here we have G-Easy), this beat-heavy, sexy ballad has Spears cooing seductively about having her man make her do whatever he'd like. I think this just might be the hit that will bring her back to the top of the charts.
With the 2016 Rio Olympics just a few weeks away, it's time to hear an inspirational anthem to help get everyone pumped up for the event. Katy Perry has been assigned that job and "Rise" is the song. This Max Martin produced ballad is intended to lift up and inspire and does so with Perry's robust vocals and lyrics with an encouraging positive message. The music video drives it all home with powerful images from past Olympics.
Finally, we have Tinashe with "Superlove", an '90's inspired, throw-back jam. The track is a part of "Joyride", her highly anticipated follow-up to her 2014 studio debut, "Aquarius" that featured the million-selling smash, "2 On". This hypnotic song, produced by The Dream and Tricky Stewart, may feature a familiar vibe that will certainly remind you of the great Aaliyah yet Tinashe manages to make "Superlove" stand out as a modern classic.
It's quite clear that Maxwell likes to take his time, After an eight-year gap between his 2001 release "Now" and 2009's "BLACKsummers'night", the neo-soul vocalist has finally returned with a follow-up. This sequel, "blackSUMMERS'night" arrives seven years later and is certainly worth the wait. With his reliably smooth voice, Maxwell delivers more lovely ballads and inspirational songs on love and relationships. Despite the still quite striking forty-three year old artist calling this new collection "progressive soul" which is a merging of gospel, disco, rock and a touch of psychedelic pop, the album doesn't offer any real surprises or major shifts in sound, just his sensual, old-school, funk-driven vibe that made him a major player back in the '90's.
The first single, "Lake By The Ocean" has been riding high on top of the adult r&b chart and I'm sure there will be more to come.
BLOOD ORANGE
Dev Hynes, or as he's better known, Blood Orange, has been devoting much of his time of late working on music for several pop artists. Solange Knowles, Sky Ferreira, FKA Twigs, Florence and the Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen and Kylie Minogue are just a few of the artists that have benefited from the dynamic writing and producing talent of this thirty-year-old Brit. Now, he's ready to focus on himself with a third Blood Orange CD, "Freetown Sound". Far removed from the lightweight fizz of hit-making pop, this record explores the racial, sexual and political tensions happening in the world today. Adding to the quirky rhythms and hook-less tunes are a collection of eclectic guest performers ranging from the expected (Jepsen and Debbie Harry) and the unexpected (author, Ta-Nehisi Coates and slam poet, Ashlee Haze).
I love that a track now on this record, "Hadron Collider" (that features a long-absent, Nelly Furtado) was first released only as a promotional cassette tape last December and sold during his shows at the Apollo Theater. Have a listen:
Fergie is once again back with some new music. Much like what happen with Gwen Stefani, Fergie dropped a song, "L.A. Love (La La)" way back in 2014 after a long absence from the scene but nobody was feeling much love for the tune.
After regrouping, the forty-one-year-old singer is giving it another try with a sexy little ditty called "M.I.L.F.$" (pronounced "MILF Money"). If you don't know what a M.I.L.F. is, well, let's just say it means someone that would enjoy an intimate encounter with a mature woman with children. To be perfectly honest, I'm not really feeling this song but I do love the music video. The colorful, hyper-sexual clip, directed by Colin Tilley, is littered with hot fashion models like Alessandra Ambrósio, Chrissy Teigen, Amber Valletta, Devon Aoki, Angela Lindvall as well musician, Ciara and the notorious, Kim Kardashian who all happen to be mothers. And model, Jon Kortajarena plays the milkman lusting after all these women. You must check this out:
Finally, here is that infamous video by Kanye West for his latest single, "Famous". Inspired by the painting, "Sleep" by Vincent Desiderio, the clip features notable figures like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bill Cosby, Taylor Swift, Rihanna (who provides vocals on the track), West, former girlfriend, Amber Rose and his wife, Kim Kardashian, all sleeping nude in a bed together (with the help of synthetic look-alike bodies). Personally I think all the outrage and shock about this video is much ado about nothing but take a look and see for yourself. BE WARNED: NUDITY MAKES THIS NSFW:
This week's number one flashback goes back forty years with "Silly Love Songs" by Wings. This group was formed shortly after Paul McCartney left one of the world's most famous rock bands, the Beatles in 1971. The original Wings line-up included Denny Laine on guitar and bass, Denny Seiwell on drums and McCartney's wife, Linda on keyboards. Over the years, musicians would come and go and at the time of their fifth studio album, "Wings At The Speed of Sound", the band featured the McCartneys, Laine, Jimmy McCullouch on guitar and Joe English on drums.
This classic came about after McCartney, who had been accused for years about writing nothing but songs about love, wanted to give a witty and direct response to critics about his music. Sir Paul certainly had the last laugh with "Silly Love Songs" as it has remained one of the singer's most enduring and popular tunes.
"Silly Love Songs" became the band's fourth U.S. number one single and a year after their sixth and final chart-topper in 1980, "Coming Up", Paul McCartney and Wings parted ways after the former Beatle had re-teamed with producer George Martin to work on a new record and mutually decided to use other musicians.
As a treat, take a look at the original music video for the song. It's the perfect time capsule of the wild, chaotic and seemingly a lot of fun life on the road for Paul, Linda and the band:
Rick Astley, who many Americans will remember for his infectious '80's dance-pop classic "Never Gonna Give You Up", has just returned to the top of the UK pop charts with his latest album. It has been twenty-nine years since the still boyish-looking British singer last hit that mark with his debut "Whenever You Need Somebody" back in 1987. He had retired from music in 1993 but came back in 2002 and later became an viral Internet sensation when his hit song became a meme called "rickrolling".
Taking it's title from Astley reaching this birthday milestone last February, "50" delivers more of the soulful pop songs he's been doing long before Adele was even in diapers. The singer's eighth studio album will not hit stateside until October and there's word he plans to tour the country which he hasn't done in many years. In the meantime, take a look at the video for the gospel-flavored pop single, "Angels On My Side":
It has been a week later and the world is trying to recover from the devastating tragedy that occurred in Orlando at the Pulse nightclub. The senseless loss of forty-nine innocent and beautiful lives is still very hard to comprehend. As a way to heal and to help with the difficult times ahead for the survivors and the families of the victims, a few musical artists have made creative contributions to assist in the best way they can.
Christina Aguilera has released a moving ballad called "Change" She will be donating 100% of the song’s proceeds for the next three months to the National Compassion Fund to directly benefit the Orlando shooting victims and their families. You can purchase the song right now through Apple Music.
Out singer/songwriter, Melissa Etheridge has written a powerful song dedicated to the victims of this terror attack. Using the name of the gay club for inspiration, "Pulse" deals with coping with pain and loss while reinforcing the never-ending power of love. When the single is officially released, proceeds will be going to a LGBT charity.
UPDATE: I have to include the recently released, wonderful single of the Hal David/Burt Bacharach song "What The World Needs Now is Love" sung by Broadway For Orlando. This collective of performers of the New York stage, past and present, came together on June 15th to record this classic with 100% of proceeds going to the LGBT Center of Central Florida. It is available now for download through BroadwayRecords.com and iTunes, Take a look at the video of the recording that features plenty of faces you will recognize
Two British alt-soul vocalist are making their long-awaited return to the music scene. First, we have Laura Mvula, who dazzled us with her 2013 debut album, "Sing To The Moon", back with the follow-up release, "The Dreaming Room". Following the first single, "Overcome" that featured Nile Rodgers, the latest is "Phenomenal Woman" which is inspired by the poem by the late, great Maya Angelou. I love the video for the song which is a colorful, dance-filled celebration of women filmed in Cape Town, South Africa:
It's been about five years since we last heard from Corinne Bailey Rae. After having to cope with the tragic loss of her musician husband, Jason Rae in 2008, the thirty-seven year old singer found love again with another musician, Steve Brown whom she married in 2013. That is reflected on her third album, "The Heart Speaks in Whispers" which finds Rae (who co-wrote and produced much of the album with Brown) in a more upbeat, groove-oriented vibe than on her last release, "The Sea" in 2010. There are certainly moving songs about love to be found here as well. Check out this great video for the single, "Green Aphrodisiac" which features the singer performing interpretive dance with two impressive male dancers. Now, I'm not sure if Rae is actually singing about weed here but have a listen and see what you think:
Sean Combs has taken back the name "Puff Daddy" for his upcoming "Bad Boy Family Reunion" tour. It reunites many of the artists that recorded on Combs' Bad Boy label in the '90's all on one stage. Expect to see such rap and hip-hop greats like Mase, Faith Evans, Mario Winans, 112, Total and Lil' Kim in addition to a musical tribute to the legendary Notorious B.I.G.
This celebration of the 20th anniversary of Bad Boy Entertainment will begin in late August and run through October. In case you may have forgotten, here are just a few of the hits made by some of these performers:
Finally here is our Miss Janet with the last video from her sensational album, "Unbreakable" that was released shortly before she took some take off to have a child. "Dammn Baby" is classic Janet Jackson as she shows the world she's one hot mama that still got the moves:
