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MP3: JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound – Baltimore Is the New Brooklyn
Editor’s note: This is fairly late because, well, I’m a busy guy. But I think it deserves space and praise.
The merits of Numero Group’s mission, the compiling and reissuing of obscure soul, are apparent. The burning question in my mind, however, is how bright an idea is it to drag these performers out of obscurity, and thrust them into the limelight. Reports from the label’s first Eccentric Soul Revue performance in Chicago earlier this year garnered rave reports. But after seeing their show at the 9:30 Club, I’d say the reality is slightly different.
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01. MP3: Syl Johnson – Different Strokes
02. MP3: Syl Johnson – Come On Sock It To Me (streaming only)
It’s not unusual for friends and acquaintances to ask us how a person should start “getting into” soul music. The general situation looks to be something like this: Soul, though it hasn’t suffered any loss in sheer memorability, has become a somewhat obscure taste among young people of our day. Most everyone still appreciates a hard-hitting 4×4 soul anthem–their dad’s old Otis Redding tapes, James Brown’s cathartic screech–the problem is that few have actually bothered to delve into music made by equally meritable, yet less popular artists of modern and classic eras alike. So how exactly do you go about entering the world of soul?
Obviously, getting caught up in the genre is just as simple as it is for any other type of music–recommendations, criticism, radio, the internet, and ideally: shows. That’s why we cheerfully advise you to attend Numero Group’s Eccentric Soul Revue when it winds its way down to the 9:30 Club tomorrow, Tues Nov 10th (one of only five tour dates). The Vinyl District is also giving away free tickets and swag.
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