Three Times Soul – Furious R&B

I know, I know. I been gone a minute. Not without a whole litany of excuses, but I’ll spare you those. Accept this as my apology: three of the dirtiest soulful heaters I’ve heard in a minute. A little backlog of Northern fire I been saving up for just the right occasion. I’ve been storming the dancefloors with these tracks for the last few weeks and imagine I’ll continue stormin’ ’em for weeks–nay–months to come.

The common thread to these songs–besides the undeniably heavy dose of soul– is a certain underlying fierceness. From the driving proto-funkiness of Judy Freeman to the almost punk-like jerk of my boy Reggie Garner to the absolutely decimating relentlessness of the Flirtations (listen to the way it goes straight from the pounding opening piano, right into the blasting horns, right into the scorching vocals, without leaving a split second to catch your breath–YIKES!!!). Who says that soul music is for softies? This stuff hits like a sack of bricks.

Aside from the Flirtations who scored a medium sized hit with “Heartache”, I don’t have much info on the other two artists. If you know something that I don’t, do tell. Otherwise, embrace the ferocity and dance with a fury. Till next time…

Reggie Garner: Hotline
taken from the 7″ on Capitol

Judy Freeman & Blackrock:       Hold On
taken from the 7″ on RCA

The Flirtations: Nothing But A Heartache
taken from the LP “Nothing But A Heartache” on Deram