While the business side of the music industry continued its dramatic changes in 2014, it was another excellent year for new music. And the collection of great releases by both new and old stars gave SoulTrackers plenty of great listening -- whether they were doing it on CD, vinyl, mp3 players or the growing music streaming services. And while the picture for 2015 is still a bit cloudy, there is plenty of good news for soul music lovers. Music galore will be released by longtime favorites and some newer faves, too. So we're giving SoulTrackers a sneak peek at what's in store for soul music for the new year.
Here's your 2015 Preview!
The Hitmakers
Many of the biggest commercial stars of today will be back, led by Adele, whose long awaited follow up to the 10x platinum 21, appears to be nearly there. But the year begins in January with a bang with Charlie Wilson delivering another grown-and-sexy release with Forever Charlie. Other huge hitmakers sharing the January stage include Motown's new creative leader Ne-Yo (Fast Forward), and Motown-loving producer Mark Ronson (Uptown Special). And let's not forget Jazmine Sullivan; no longer a teen singing sensation, she'll return a grown woman on January 13th with Reality Show. Ledisi will be following up her hit album The Truth with a seven-song EP that will feature acoustic versions of songs from that album, and Jill Scott's years on the Hidden Beach label will be compiled in a new collection called Golden Moments. Other top sellers on the horizon include Frank Ocean, the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie, thoughtful rapper Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Rihanna.
Many Happy Returns
It's always fun to hear new music from old favorites, and there some big reunions that are headlining 2015. The funky R&B men of Jodeci are back together after more than a decade and are finishing up an album that should be hitting in the first half of the year. New Edition is reportedly following their 30th anniversary reunion tour with a new album. Two popular female groups will also be making sweet sounds together again, as Floetry and En Vogue find their way back. Melba Moore is close to releasing her much discussed new one, Forevermoore, and the all-star group of UK soul music royalty, The British Collective, will release their debut album in the Spring. Club Nouveau's Jay King goes solo for the second time this Spring with his new one, Helen's Son, while Philadelphia legend Bunny Sigler continues his burgeoning second career with the new album When I Think of You. Also Deborah Cox returns after a long absence with her 6th album and Michael McDonald returns after a long recording absence. And then...what's 30 years between friends? Apparently nothing to disco legend Georgio Moroder, who returns (fressh off his work with Daft Punk) with his first album in over three decades, 74 is the new 24.
Indie Soul Stars
Many of the independent soul music stars who have been gracing articles on SoulTracks for years will be back with new material in 2015: Fans will get a double-dose of Bilal: the talented singer/songwriter will issue a remix album earlier in the year, followed by a disc of all new material. And the pride of Ohio, Conya Doss, is just about finished with her latest album. Rhonda Thomas returns on March 3rd with her fifth solo album, Vinyl Daze, while talented Texan Carmen Rodgers ends her long absence with the lush, buzzed-about Stargazer on February 17. Newcomer Angie Fisher follows up her amazing "IRS" single with a debut album, and if you're looking for amazing harmonies, Naturally 7 will be delivering the goods come February with Hidden in Plain Sight. Also on deck are new ones by Raheem DeVaughn, Vivian Green, Teedra Moses, Case, Brian Owens, Water Seed, Anissa Hargrove, award winning guitarist Marcus Machado, Shannon Sanders, and Japanese soul sensation Nao Yoshioka. We're also hoping for new music from BJ The Chicago Kid, Kia Bennett, Offiong Bassey, Gina Carey, Russell Taylor, Martin Luther, N'dambi and Jon Bibbs.
The Jazzier Side
SoulTrackers for years have embraced the jazzier side of soul, and new releases in that arena promise to be, well, promising. Phil Perry is a two-time SoulTracks Award Winner, and his fans will get a treat with his new album A Better Man on Shanachie Records in late January. Meanwhile, Brian Culbertson celebrates his 20 years in the music business with a live album in January, and we're very excited about Jeff Bradshaw's all-star release slated for the Spring, with an amazing supporting cast of vocalists. Najee has begun work on his new disc, producer Bey Bright is issuing another in his Nu Soul series and hot vocal group DW3 teams with a number of contemporary jazz greats for their new album in March. Meanwhile, Cassandra Wilson brings her eclectic brand of jazz vocals with Coming Forth By Day in the Spring, Jose James pays tribute to Billie Holliday, and new albums by Mike Phillips and Marian Meadows will also hit stores.
And we wait...
A number of legendary stars have been teasing us with talk of new releases for what seems like ages. Stevie Wonder hinted at a new album called When the World Began, but its long-delayed release makes it feel more like When the World Ends. Similarly, Anita Baker issued the first single from her to-be-released album three years ago, but the accompanying disc, Only Forever, is taking forever to hit the stores. And when Maxwell released the first album of his planned trilogy, BLACKsummersnight, we expected the second disc would follow soon behind. More than a hundred Summers nights later, we still have no firm word on the release of blackSUMMERSnight. Only slightly less notable are long-delayed releases by Chaka Khan, Kenny Lattimore, Ray Parker, Jr., Tony Rich, Donnie and Erykah Badu. So we'll be patiently (or maybe impatiently) waiting to hear more from these long time faves.
Are you excited about these upcoming releases? Did we miss any? Leave a comment below.
By Chris Rizik
Click here to see the full list of upcoming albums