(July 2022) Episode 422 is SAM & DAVE. A top soul act with so many songs that have become American standards. The duo format, Sam high and Dave low, brought the call-and-response style over from gospel. It’s not my favorite soul, but it is still very good.
Favorite album: Hold On I’m Comin’
Favorite song: Hold On I’m Comin’
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: no soul playlist should do without
(June 2022) Episode 418 is OTIS REDDING. Indisputably one of the top soul voices of all time, with a voice that could equally evoke happiness and heartache. He died young, so all his recordings were in the mid-60s golden age of soul. While it would have been interesting to hear what he would have done as soul evolved in the 1970s, it means all his music hits that classic tone.
Favorite album: Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Favorite song: Hard to Handle
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: a must-have for any soul playlist
(May 2022) Episode 408 of the “opus project” is WILSON PICKETT. One of my favorite soul singers; his voice has a right level of rawness that feels close to the soul ideal. The songs in his late 1960s prime are funky and danceable without resorting to schlock or saccharine. After the early 1970s the output becomes sporadic and forgettable.
Favorite album: The Exciting Wilson Pickett
Favorite song: Land of 1000 Dances
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: a must-have for any soul playlist
(April 2022) Episode 401 is BARRY WHITE. “If chocolate fudge cake could sing, it would sound like Barry White” – the baritone-bass voice that catalyzed countless romances. Smooth, soulful, iconic.
Favorite album: Stone Gon’
Favorite song: Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up
Favorite instrumental (could it get any more 70s in here?): Love’s Theme (credited to Love Unlimited Orchestra)
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: essential in any spin of 70s soul
(March 2022) Episode 391 of the “opus project” is ISAAC HAYES. You can’t top his early 70s albums for sensuous soul and hot funk. Man I love that stuff. Not to mention his contributions to southern soul at Stax, development of disco, soundtracks (Shaft!) and as an actor, and a Chef.
Favorite album: Black Moses
Favorite song: Good Love
Best enjoyed: Making sweet love by the fire, with Chocolate Salty Balls
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: essential funk and sexy soul
(February 2022) Episode 388 is JACKIE WILSON. This was a disappointment. He had a strong voice with a big range, and he was a hitmaker and showman. But his version of R&B and soul comes off as milquetoast, laden with sappy strings and chrome and lacking in emotional depth.
Favorite album: Jackie Sings the Blues
Favorite song: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: look elsewhere for your soul
(December 2021) Episode 372 is AL GREEN. Simply one of the best soul voices ever. His early 1970s albums are canon for soul music. He later moved on into religious music which is not my cup of tea.
Favorite album: I’m Still in Love with You
Favorite song: Take Me To The River
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: early 70s are a must for any soul review
(April 2021) Episode 328 is SAM COOKE. There’s a reason they call him the King of Soul. It starts with that glorious voice, and continues with catchy tunes that bridged appeal across Black and White audiences (not to mention his civil rights activism). It’s a tragedy that we never got to see what he could do as soul music got more gritty, socially-conscious and funky in the later 1960s.
Favorite album: Night Beat
Favorite song: Lost and Lookin’
Compared to expectations: same
(February 2021) Episode 315 is NINA SIMONE. There is so much that is remarkable about Nina Simone. Her deep and expressive voice, best suited to the jazz tunes of her early career IMO. Her skills on piano, arranging and songwriting. The diversity and eclecticism of her musical tastes (from gospel and blues to The Beatles and Hall & Oates). Her independence and activism for civil rights. She owned the 1960s.
Favorite album: Pastel Blues
Favorite song: Four Women
Compared to expectations: same
(January 2021) Episode 311 of the “opus project” is MARVIN GAYE. His silky voice and songwriting tracked and defined the arc of R&B through its evolution in the 1960s and 70s. That voice could be sweet, sexy or serious, and matched well with female vocalists on several duet albums. The peak are the early 70s albums that melded sophisticated soul with social commentary and an assertion of artist independence from the Motown label.
Favorite album: What’s Going On
Favorite song: I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Sexiest song: Let’s Get It On
Favorite duet album: United (with Tammi Terrell)
Compared to expectations: same
Opus Project 