richarde's profile

21st Century Garageband, 9 Oct 2008

This is great stuff. Raw and alive and it hits you right between the ears. For anyone familiar with the Nuggets collection featuring some of the greatest US garage bands of the 1960's, this is garage band music for the 21st century. For younger readers, once you've checked out Cage The Elephant, dig out some tracks by the likes of Count Five, Chocolate Watch Band, The Remains and the Electric Prunes and you'll see what I mean. It's the best debut album I've heard for ages.

Enjoyable New Direction, 1 April 2007

Macy Gray's voice will always be distinctive and there will always be those who love her and those who hate her, but I reckon she might win over a few converts with this album. Smoother and more soulful than her previous efforts, I found it demanded my attention on first listen. A thoroughly enjoyable album in my view and Macy's most memorable since her debut.

As Good As It Gets, 10 Dec 2005

You will struggle to hear a better soul album this or any year. The important thing is to give it time - some tracks will grab you on first listen, others take longer to seep into your brain. Don Varner was quite simply one of the great undiscovered talents of soul - 'was' because sadly he died not long before this compilation was released. Stick with it and you'll taste a little bit of gospel, blues, Motown, smooth soul a la Barry White, northern dancefloor, Stax and much more. In an era when so many black music voices are indistinguishable and bland, despite the many influences, Don Varner has a sound all of his own.