70's Funk/Soul Legend Continues Comeback with New Album
Neo-soul revivalists like Aloe Blacc, Raphael Saadiq, and Mayer Hawthorne most certainly owe a portion of their pedigree to Lee Fields. While the more polished (but still funky) crop of modern-day/under-40 acts have enjoyed increased success and acceptance in recent years, Fields (along with contemporaries like Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley), has a career in music spanning over forty years. First singing in his church choir then getting his professional start with Kool and the Gang in the late sixties, Fields has been howling, screaming, and grunting over classic, gritty blues and R&B since before most of his modern-day emulators were even born.
Admittedly, his music has changed over the years to reflect more modern tastes, but the end result is still raw, sweaty emotion ; a highly personal sound that is chalk full of soul and cuts right to the bone. While there have certainly been lean years/decades (Jones famously spent years as a Rikers Island Prison corrections officer before beginning her comeback on a Fields studio session in the 90's), Fields plugged away and gained some national acclaim with 2009's My World, teaming with Truth and Soul Records' house band The Expressions, on tracks like "Ladies," and "My World is Empty Without You."
His new album, A Faithful Man, is set to be released March 13th (30-40 tour stops are planned as well) , and the first single, "You're the Kind of Girl," is below:
"You're The Kind Of Girl" by Lee Fields & The Expressions by truthandsoulrecords
A Faithful Man is due for release on March 13th (Truth and Soul Records).
FIRST LISTEN: First Serve De La Soul Members Reincarnate as Basement-Bound Queens Emcees ; Album Due April 2nd
Long Island hip-hop legends De La Soul could loosely be considered a 'concept' rap group. From their participation in the Native Tongues hip-hop collective alongside acts like A Tribe Called Quest and The Jungle Brothers in the late 80's/early 90's, to theme-ish albums like De la Soul is Dead and the Art Official Intelligence series, they've long been comfortable assigning a back story mythology to their work.
It seems at least two of its members are poised to take things a step further. Kelvin 'Posdnous' Mercer and David Jude 'Dave/Trugoy' Jolicoeur are in fact presenting First Serve as an entirely new band ; a press releases describes it as "...a dynamic hip-hop group, an album, a concept, the soundtrack to a movie that has yet to be made and a fable for our times."
In the cartoonish alternate-reality seen in this comical YouTube sketch, they are Deen Whittier (Dave), and Jacob 'Pop Life' Barrrow (Pos), two young friends from Queens, New York, with "...big dreams and larger rhymes (press release)." Hunkered down in Deen's mother's basement, the pair--which bear a striking resemblance at times to Rick Ross and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas--have just hit the big time, signing a record contract with 'Goon Time Records' (another veiled shot at the mainstream music biz?). Both their costumed alter-egos and the dance-friendly first single, "Must B the Music," have many thinking that the entire First Serve project is to serve as one big middle finger to the industry at large (not totally unfamiliar territory to De La), but one listen to the laid back, expertly-sampled "Pushin' Aside, Pushin' Along" (below), have many others thinking differently: De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 present First Serve - Pushin' Aside, Pushin' Along by FIRST SERVE
De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present...First Serve is due for release on April 2nd through Duck Down Music
Blundetto, Warm My Soul (Heavenly Sweetness Records)
Just in time for winter's stretch-run, a ray of sunshine from French producer/beat maker/remixer Blundetto. A sizzling, simmering concoction of dub reggae, funk, R&B, hip-hop, and Latin grooves, Warm My Soul is the second solo offering from the somewhat reclusive Parisian, and is littered with contributions from an international roster of collaborators, including ethio-jazz quintet Akale Wube, Jamaican Courtney Love, and many others. On Hercules (a cover of the Aaron Neville classic), Blundetto teams with British vocalist Hugh Coltman, and American multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee:
A Completely Biased and Un-Scientific Guide to Music's Biggest Night
Award shows--as a general rule--are awful. With occasional exception, its a bunch of very wealthy people in a room congratulating each other on how great they are. The religious and politically-laced acceptance speeches, the contrived pairings of 'new' and 'old' artists (Elton John and Eminen come to mind), the overt campaigning by publicity firms and movie/music studios for awards like the Oscars leave so few surprises, that a Kanye West stage rush can be viewed as a welcome diversion.
Ehhhhhh, Thanks?
The Grammys are not terribly different. Winners are decided by the members of the mysterious Recording Academy. Anyone with accredited work on six tracks released via 'traditional retail method' can be a member (they only need to fill out an application and pay $100.00 in annual dues). The good news? It seems reasonable to assume that at the end of the day, nominees are being judged by their peers. The bad news? There are thousands of recordings submitted every year, and many voters probably have actually listened to only a fraction of them. As such, there has been wide criticism leveled that the Grammy Awards are ACTUALLY decided on the basis of chart/sales performance, or record company loyalty. In 1996, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder took the stage after winning Best Rock Performance, and famously droned, "I don't know what this means, I don't think it means anything." Get em, Ed!
Still, it is fun to attempt to predict exactly whom will be bestowed with music's highest honor, and to contrast that against my own extremely slanted and opinionated take on who/what deserves the trophy. So, in no particular order, a few of the more interesting categories:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Rolling in the Deep : Rolling in Grammys?
21- Adele
Wasting Light- Foo Fighters
Born This Way- Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars
Loud – Rihanna
Who Will Win: Adele
It is widely predicted that 21 will sweep the major album/artist categories
Who Should Win: Adele
One of the rare times that perception meets reality. No album had a larger impact on popular music this year. Everyone--from neo-soul hipsters to top-40 enthusiasts, high-schoolers to housewives--heardRolling in the Deep at least once. While there is minimal chance she will be upset in other major categories, this is one she is almost sure to win.
Bon Iver : Best New Beard?
BEST NEW ARTIST:
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J.Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex
Who Will Win: Nicki Minaj
Who Should Win: Bon Iver / J. Cole
I'd accept the trophy going to either the bearded neo-folksters, or the backpacked Jay-Z prodigy. There's something about Cole's back story--German-born, Carolina-raised, magnum cum laude graduate of St.John's University--that has me thinking he has staying power. That, and the fact that his long-awaited debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story, debuted atop the Billboard 200, Top Rap Albums AND Top R&B Albums chart.
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM:
21 -Adele The Lady Killer – Cee Lo Green Born This Way – Lady Gaga Doo-Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars Loud- Rihanna
Who Will Win: Adele
Who Should Win: Cee Lo Green
Actually, Adele probably should win this, but I've always had a soft spot for Cee Lo's soul-drenched solo work. While he has been plying his trade since his early-90's stint with hip-hop's Goodie Mob, and his amazing collaborations with Danger Mouse in the hit-making Gnarls Barkley, he really went macro this year. Consider the evidence: F**k You / Forget You being driven into the ground by the likes of commercial / television endorsements ; Green taking a seat alongside Christina Aguilera and that jerk-off from Maroon 5 as a judge on NBC's The Voice ; even notching a soft drink deal with Sprite. My selfish misgivings about my beloved Cee Lo being digested by the mainstream masses aside, The Lady Killer is another brilliant musical journey, an effortless mix of pop, dance, and neo-R&B numbers that seamlessly sprinkles in a Band of Horses cover with missing a soulful step:
BEST ROCK ALBUM:
Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul – Jeff Beck
Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
Come Around Sundown – Kings of Leon
I’m With You – Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Whole Love – Wilco
Who Will Win: Jeff Beck
Who Should Win: Foo Fighters
I'm reading the tea-leaves here, but there are two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers in the first nominee. Kings of Leon managed a nomination even after the predictable critical letdown following 2008's Come Around Sundown, and Wilco and Red Hot Chili Peppers are certainly worthy challengers. But I'm gonna guess that the two guitar legends at the top of the list take this one home.
BEST RAP ALBUM:
Watch The Throne – Jay-Z and Kanye West Tha Carter IV – Lil Wayne Lasers – Lupe Fiasco Pink Friday – Nicki Minaj My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
Who Will Win: Watch the Throne
Who Should Win: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
It seems everybody's favorite bum-rusher/fashionista wins either way here. Watch The Throne was one of the most anticipated rap LP's in recent memory, but Kanye's solo Fantasy plays like a rap opera ; several tracks run in the six-to-eight-minute range and are arranged in movements. On Blame Game , sounds move from drum-and-bass-derived expansions on women and watches, to 90-second string-and-piano arrangements, back into guest spots from the likes of John Legend, all without losing the signature Kanye Cool.
BEST ALTERNATIVE ALBUM:
Bon Iver - Bon Iver Codes and Keys - Death Cab For Cutie Torches - Foster the People Circuital - My Morning Jacket The King Of Limbs - Radiohead
Who Will Win: ???
Who Should Win: Torches
Perhaps the most up-for-grabs category on the board, as there are five solid offerings here. Nobody can argue with the efforts put forth by stalwarts Radiohead or Death Cab, or the amazing year had by Wisconsin-bred Bon Iver, and its even more rare for a debut album to capture a Grammy trophy. But the L.A.-based trio's genre-bending mix of pop, rock, and melodic dance on tracks like Call it What you Want, and the obligatory Pumped Up Kicks had many taking notice this past year. Its a long shot, but here's hoping some fresh blood gets rewarded.
The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 12th, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and air on CBS at 8pm EST.
Neo-soul revivalists like Aloe Blacc, Raphael Saadiq, and Mayer Hawthorne most certainly owe a portion of their pedigree to Lee Fields. While the more polished (but still funky) crop of modern-day/under-40 acts have enjoyed increased success and acceptance in recent years, Fields (along with contemporaries like Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley), has a career in music spanning over forty years. First singing in his church choir then getting his professional start with Kool and the Gang in the late sixties, Fields has been howling, screaming, and grunting over classic, gritty blues and R&B since before most of his modern-day emulators were even born.
