06 Dec 2023
Phyllis Hyman – 1983 – Goddess Of Love

When Phyllis Hyman signed with Buddah Records, each party had the mutual understanding—and goal—to work together in getting her music into the marketplace. Phyllis Hyman (1977) got the ball rolling and though its commercial receipts were limited, her eponymous debut established Hyman as a promising...
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06 Sep 2023
Al Johnson – 1980 – Back For More

Solid 80’s two step effort brought to us by the smooth vocal cords of Mr Johnson. This is a Norman Conners production and bears the hallmarks of his work from this era. While there is a good deal of overproduction in soul from this time...
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15 Dec 2021
The Jackson 5 – 1970 – Third Album

Third Album featured the group’s fourth consecutive No. 1 single on the US pop charts, “I’ll Be There“, the Top 5 single “Mama’s Pearl“, and album tracks such as the semi-autobiographical “Goin’ Back to Indiana” and “Darling Dear“. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Top LPs chart...
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21 Nov 2021
Dionne Warwick – 1968 – Valley Of The Dolls

Dionne Warwick followed The Magic of Believing (1968), a collection of spirituals and religious material, with her first Top Ten LP Valley of the Dolls (1968). Interestingly, the familiar rendering of the title track wasn’t the one that was in the motion picture. This is all but academic, as the...
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08 Mar 2021
Al Green – 1973 – Call me

Al Green reached his creative peak with the brilliant Call Me, the most inventive and assured album of his career. So silky and fluid as to sound almost effortless, Green‘s vocals revel in the lush strings and evocative horns of Willie Mitchell‘s superbly intimate production, barely rising above an...
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18 Apr 2019
Ohio Players – 1973 – Ecstasy

The Ohio Players’ last album for Westbound, ‘Ecstasy’, shows the group already moving toward more commercial terrain. This was mostly evident through the swapping of drummers; heavy hitter Greg Webster was replaced by the more refined James ‘Diamond’ Williams during these sessions. But it still...
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