MUSIC
was far from Mary Davis' mind when we sat down to mega-chat just
recently. The remainder of the SOS Band were off doing their own thing
leaving The Two Davises to chat over sandwiches and coffee.
FINDING out that Atlantic Starr? whose music has marked them as a real
staple in anyone's black music diet for the past 9 years ? have only
ever had one gold album came as a shock to me when keyboardists
Jonathan Lewis revealed that very information during the course of our
recent interview, held in conjunction with the forthcoming release of
the group's Warner Brothers' debut, "All In The Name Of Love". You
could, as they say, have knocked me down with a pennyfeather ? or some
kind of feather!
To say Freddie Jackson is at the cross roads of his career would be something of an understatement. As far as cross roads go, Freddie's reached his spaghetti junction .. . in the rush hour! A slew of silky smooth hits in the eighties, kick started with undoubtedly his best collection to date, the two million selling "Rock Me Tonight" in '85, which of course, contained the monstrous title track along with the likes of "Calling" and "You Are My Lady", has, over the course of nine years and five albums gradually slowed down along with record sales. As the era for the smooth candlelight and champagne crooners in the '80's has given way for the riff happy, baggy jeans, bandana and Timberland hip-hop/soul homies in the '90's, naturally many of the older guard have been left concerned with the change of pace of their careers.
You know, it's been fourteen
years since "If Loving You Is Wrong" and something like nine years
since we last had an album from Luther Ingram.
And yet, after one listen to Luther's new album (rather unimaginatively
tagged "Luther Ingram"), it's as if the crooner has never been away.
But he has!
The group name Slave has been with us a long time but not necessarily so the new personnel and the new direction. However, latest recruit Keith Nash explains why the 'new' Slave are ready to carry on the tradition.
You may be forgiven if you think 'Deja' has a sort of familiar ring.
The name may be new, but the duo boast a partnership spanning more than
ten years. And though the name alludes to something we've seen before,
Curt Jones and Starleanna Young are looking forward to the future, not
back to the past. Dropping the name Aurra is a positive move to
exorcise ghosts from the past, and start afresh with a whole new sound.
AFTER a long hiatus and a label change, Steve Arrington is
back in the land of the recorded living! The ex-front man for
Slave marks his
switch from Atlantic/Cotillion to Manhattan with what most critics feel
is his best and, even more importantly, his most commercial effort yet
"jam Packed".