Releases
Officially Missing Canadian Soul
For some reason I
consistently overlook Canada. It isn't for lack of good Canadian
musicians who have produced equally good music over the last several
years. Tamia, Esthero and Deborah Cox all hail from up north. Maybe it's because out of that group only Tamia has released an album of new material since 2005 or earlier. And with the exception of a recent house single, where exactly did Glenn Lewis go?
Anyway, when I received news of Canadian singer Divine Brown releasing her second studio album, The Love Chronicles,
today I was eager to listen the offerings of a different Canadian
voice. The album is premised on her love of soul music and each track
is inspired by a different era from the 1950s to now. Of all the the
incarnations of soul on the album, Brown's powerful voice seems most
comfortable on catchy disco homage "Boogie Slide," one of the strongest
tracks. Generally though, her vocal affects are way too contemporary to
evoke anything as nostalgic as some of the instrumentals and background
vocals suggest. Sharon Jones she is not, and I don't know if lead single "Lay It On The Line" would be better without the doo-wop posturing or not.
The video for "Lay It On The Line" is after the bounce. You decide if The Love Chronicles is worthwhile or if you should just wait for Deborah Cox to release her album later this year.
Divine Brown [Official][MySpace]
Tags: deborah cox, divine brown, esthero, glenn lewis, oh canada, sharon jones, tamia
Comments
where did Glenn Lewis go? And I didn't know any of those ladies were from Canada. Wow.
DNLee | August 20, 2008 2:19 AM | PermalinkDon't sleep on Jully Black. Her last album, 'Live', was eponymously recorded: she used a live band and live vocals for every track. The end result was outstanding.
Ironic | August 20, 2008 12:37 AM | PermalinkI'll second the notion on Remy Shand...that entire album was dope, guy just dropped off the face of the earth.
JC | August 19, 2008 11:54 PM | PermalinkRemy Shand! "Take a Message" was my jam. We'll put his photo right next to one of Glenn Lewis on the milk carton.
Ro | August 19, 2008 11:37 PM | PermalinkHey hey hey! What about Remy Shand? =]
Felisa | August 19, 2008 9:59 PM | PermalinkGlenn Lewis was and still is pretty amazing, his debut album was hot. Also, Sarah McLachlan is a very good Canadian artist too, I know she's not Soul music, but she is a very talented musician all the same.
woosh | August 19, 2008 6:45 PM | PermalinkLet us not forget about Ayah...she just has the mixtape though (right!??) and I was glad to see her featured on Elzhi's new album. I still rock to that solitary Glenn Lewis album, and I like a lot of his unreleased stuff (thank God for imeem), but hat D.Cox jazz album didn't really do anything for me, which is weird cause I usually really dig her AND jazz, I guess just not together eh?
MuseSik | August 19, 2008 4:09 PM | Permalinki'm happy to see divine brown back out. she had a cd a couple of years ago (self entitled) that was nice! girl definitely can blow and she's always had a hip hop/retro soul appeal to her music. ain't nothin changed. lend your ear to her.
marq diggy | August 19, 2008 3:40 PM | PermalinkI think we need to add Glenn Lewis' pic to the milk carton.
Nikki | August 19, 2008 2:32 PM | PermalinkI think she sounds good. I like the song. It's catchy.
DLS77 | August 19, 2008 2:21 PM | Permalink