Trust in Alex Piyevsky

Adrian Younge's career is fun to ponder from a nerd's perspective.... In the next month the man will release albums with both soul legends The Delphonics and rap legend Ghostface Killah. Judging by early previews, the results of both collaborations are stellar. What does this mean? Is this a singular work of an auteur who is just as talented at making rap ballads as he is at soul ballads? Or are the lines between genres just blurring in general, with influences becoming circular and sounds more homogenous? You could make a good case for both points. You could also strike a reasonable compromise - Younge's music is as much a product of his talent as it is a product of our times.

The great thing here is that regardless of how you choose to feel about these developments, this song will still sound awesome.

(via Wax Poetics)

Apple And The Three Oranges - I’ll Give You A Ring (When I Come, If I Come)

Stones Throw spin-off, Now-Again has been consistently doing god's work on the reissue front. I'm not very familiar with the work of Edward “Apple” Nelson, the subject of their newest anthology Free And Easy. Based on this one song and Now-Again's pristine track record, I'm looking forward to finding out more about it. [ed note: if you like the funk, you will like this verily.]

MP3: Apple & The Three Oranges - "I'll Give You a Ring, (If I come, When I come)"

Jimmy 'Preacher' Ellis - "Looking Through The Eyes Of Love"

I don't know who Jimmy "Preacher" Ellis is. But that's OK, that's the whole point of reissues, to get us familiar with obscure gems like these. Tramp Records' The story of Jimmy Preacher Ellis showcases another talented R&B artist, whose unfortunately forgotten work is worth consideration. On first spin, my favorite from the set is 'Looking Through The Eyes Of Love', an excellent warbling slice of bluesy psychedelic deep soul.

(more info http://www.tramprecords.com/artists_cd_lp.html) **********************************************************************************

Soul Controller: Three New Soul Songs from…