Thursday Night Oldies

A decent collection of standard soul ballads. A good pick up for those who do not have an extensive collection. For those who do you will quickly notice all is now available on various other CD's out there.
6 out of 10

Sexy Soul

Do yourself a favor and skip picking this one up. Disc one contains live or re-sung material. Disc two has original tracks but nothing you can't find elsewhere with better sound quality.
1 out of 10

Back To Skool

Earth, Wind And Fire's "I Think About Lovin' You" drove this purchase. Only other track I enjoyed was "Ooh Boy" by Rose Royce. The rest of the material had too much modern sound for my liking.
4 out of 10.

The Classic Example

Not well known within the low rider crowd, The Classic Example counts with a few tracks that would fit right in with many sweet soul comps out there. Highlights include "I Found A Girl", "My Friend Heartaches" and "Without You". Digitally remastered but sound quality still falls a bit short.
4 out of 10

James Conwell

A hard to find CD featuring The Exits' lead voice James Conwell. Highlights include "I'm So Glad" and "Second Hand Happiness".
4 out of 10

Lost Without You, The Best Of Kent Ballads 2

A solid start to this CD with "Stay Away" by The Turn Arounds. Other notable tracks include "I Love You More" by Lee Williams And The Cymbals, "Nobody But You" by The Exotics and "Everybody Knows" by Peggy Gaines. Usual excellent sound quality and liner notes that Ace Records brings to their releases.
5 out of 10

The Edge Of Daybreak

The latest soul release from the good folks at Numero Group. Highlights here are "Let Us", "Our Love" and "Let's Be Friends". A solid addition to your slow jam collection.
5 out of 10

Formula IV

A very good track here ("What Am I To Do Without You") that brought to my mind The Stylistics. The rest I skipped though rather quickly.
3 out of 10

Black Merda

A couple of slow jams mixed in with hard hitting funk. Highlight is "For You" with OK tracks in "I Don't Want to Die" and "My Mistake". Nothing here that would make me tell you to run out and pick up a copy.
2 out of 10

Raw Soul Express

"All Alone" is the standout here while "Dedicate All My Love" is also decent.
4 out of 10

George Kerr

A couple of nice slow ballads in these CD's by George Kerr. Highlights include "Sunday", "I'm So Glad You Stayed" and "Telling The Truth".
4 out of 10

Wilmer & The Dukes

This CD counts with a very good cover of Billy Stewart's "I Do Love You" and that is it for the ballad lover.
2 out of 10

The Mad Lads

Post # 1000 goes to one of my personal all time favorite soul groups. Back in the mid 80's I borrowed a mix tape put together by Toker of Toker's Oldies fame and got my first taste of The Mad Lads. Not very long after that I was picking their 45's, cassettes and the "In Action" LP, pretty much anything I spotted before CD's came out. There is a huge empty spot in your collection if it does not include The Mad Lads.
8 out of 10

The Intruders

A long time favorite among soul music fans The Intruders are an essential part of any soul music collection. Pick up the 2 CD set and if you can the Super Hits release out of Japan with bonus tracks and you will be set with most of their material that is out on CD format.
8 out of 10

Mirage

If you are into 70's mellow soul this will make a good addition to your collection. Highlights here are "Tag Along", "Just A Phone Call Away" and "It's All In The Way (You Treat Your Woman)"
5 out of 10

The Ethics

If you have to choice which one to pick up here go with the Jamie Guyden release as it counts with a killer slow jam not on the Collectables release and overall better sound quality. Highlights include "Not Enough Love", "Tell Me", "That's The Way Love Goes" and "Sad Sad Story". A must have for your soul collection.
6 out of 10