War, the Biggest Funk Band of the 1970's, to Cutting an LP with an Early Influence, Jazz-blues Great Jimmy Witherspoon, to Coming Full-circle and Reuniting his Original Band, the Animals, for a Series of Projects and a World-wide Tour, to Forming a New Group of "Animals". On "my Secret Life", He Reminds his Loyal Fans that his Voice is Unmistakably Original, and Show his Diversity on the 12 Songs. Sometimes Soulful ("Once Upon a Time"), Jazzy ("Motorcycle Girl") and all Out Rocking ("Over the Border"). In "Factory Girl" You Can Hear the Passion that Eric Feels for his Music, Only his Voice Accompanied by a Lone Guitar in a Sea of Emotion. His Authentic Blues Voice is Still in Top Form and So Are his Energetic Live Performances.  (less)

that made him a Nashville trailblazer mostly slumbers here. But the main problem with this comeback, helmed by Keith Stegall, Alan Jackson's longtime producer, is that for a man with such a rich and remarkable history of songs ("Pure Love," "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends," "It Was Almost Like a Song," "Smoky Mountain Rain," "No Gettin' Over Me," "Lost in the Fifties Tonight"), Milsap turns up a paucity of memorable material. The title tune, about the necessity of living a full and authentic life, resonates melodically as well as lyrically, and Dean Dillion, Scotty Emerick, and Donny Kees service Milsap with a fine heartbreak ballad in "If It's Gonna Rain." But the bulk of the repertoire falls into the safe, bland, and predi...  (less)

to put steamy sensuality back into the threadbare theme of lost innocence. Nine years later, she's still crossing the line and watching love slip through her fingers, though perhaps not as memorably as before. The Story of My Life , her first record for an independent label, is a full Carter showcase--she wrote, produced, and played on all eleven cuts. That's both the album's strength and its weakness. Carter starts out like a house afire with "The Girl You Left Me For," a declaration of desire ("I want your perfume on my pillowcase... I want to feel you on my fingertips") wrapped in a blanket of smart, sexy pop. But as the relationship sours in subsequent songs, Carter loses her producer's chops, even as the...  (less)

1980s-early 1990s acid-jazz/funk didn't make it as a solo act. Hints can be found in the title of her long-awaited follow-up, for all the people involved here have been with Maysa throughout her professional life. American-born, Maysa became a star as lead singer of the band Incognito, and she now sounds more comfortable than ever, in part because Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick took the production reins and held them tight. Maunick, the brainchild and leader of Incognito, is in a much better position to make Maysa's jazzy--yet soulful and funky--voice stand out on these 14 tracks, which have more hooks than Canadian fishermen in the North Atlantic. The record is a lot less jazzy than the usual Incognito album, which should make dance-...  (less)

on this album is certainly one of thought-provoking, almost visceral, emotion. On A Letter Nackman sings, 'Did I love you away / Closing walls / Did I move too fast / I think it's fast enough.' There is a certain feeling of Nackman questioning and wondering why certain things ended up in specific ways and what the true design of such events are for. The song Stone opens with the lines 'I can feel the river's end, my sunfish had survived.' Producing was a task I had never taken on entirely by myself, says Nackman. But, this time around it was something I felt I had to do. These songs were born out of a tough year between 2006-2007, with the untimely passing of my drummer, Chris Williams. I wanted to take these songs from the mom...  (less)

11. gone away 12. she's pissed 13. im still lovin u 14. imitations 15. shine 16. everythang 17. im not the one 18. it might be u 19. weekend thang 20. feelin her 21. no worries  (less)

6. 4 Ever (f/ Cozmo) 7. Waitin 4 My Time 2 Come (f/ Genevieve) 8. Come Over Here Interlude 9. Nobel House Radio (f/ Rick Dangerous and Tha Riddla) 10. Word of Mouth 11. Gen and Tha Riddla (f/ Tha Riddla) 12. Creative Control (F/ Dj Raw B) 13. The Years of My Life 14. War Zone Interlude 15. Any Day Now 16. Rebecca  (less)

groovyness. Now they redefine their role in independent music with the Sexsational release from their own Sleazebox Records label, packaged in a Digipak.  (less)

The String-a-Longs; 7)Mama Said - The Shirelles; 8)Little Egypt - The Coasters; 9)A Little Bit of Soap - The Jarmels; 10)Gypsy Woman - The Impressions; 11)This Time - Troy Shondell;12)Pretty Little Angel Eyes - Curtis Lee; 13)Take Good Care of My Baby - Bobby Vee; 14)Gee Whiz - Carla Thomas; 15)Every Beat of My Heart - The Pips; 16)Rama Lama Ding Dong - The Edsels; 17)Last Night - The Mar-Keys; 18)Barbara-Ann - The Regents; 19)Ya Ya - Lee Dorsey; 20)A Hundred Pounds of Clay - Gene McDaniels; 21)Please Stay - The Drifters; 22)I Love How You Love Me -The Paris Sisters  (less)