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HAPPY MAY, SOULTRACKERS! Well, the last couple of months SoulTrackers have had a great time voting on the Greatest Albums of the 70s and  80s. Thousands of you responded and you can see the final results for those two decades by Clicking Here. Our voting for the Greatest Albums of the 90s is almost done, so get your votes in by visiting our 90s Voting Page! The voting is so close that the top three albums are separated by less than 5 votes!
In this issue we have a great bunch of new CD reviews and updates on your favorite soul artists, from old schoolers like Lionel Richie to great new artists like Tuomo. So kick back, grab your coffee and enjoy your monthly dose of Soul!
Chris
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Music Reviews  Lionel Richie is one of the biggest singers of the last three decades and remains and remains an international sensation as we end the first decade of the 21st Century. And he returns to record this month with his newest, Just Go, working with a number of young producers. The result? Check out our review to get our thoughts.  Ann Nesby has flirted with both R&B and Gospel since her days with the Sounds of Blackness. But she successfully makes the full plunge into Gospel on her newest disc, The Lula Lee Project. See what our Melody Charles thinks of the disc.
 George Huff was one of the most likeable finalists in American Idol history, and his first two releases were enjoyable, if not smashes. But the third time is a charm for Mr. Huff, who has issued a fine new album that shows off his warm vocals and strong songwriting.  Gospel fans have multiple reasons to cheer this month, as two all-star albums have been released:
Songs 4 Worship Soul, featuring such artists as Peabo Bryson, Freddie Jackson and Deniece Williams, as well as Oh Happy Day! featuring Michael McDonald, Heather Headley, Mavis Staples and Bon Jovi. See our reviews of these welcome issuances.
 Lou Rawls mesmerized listeners for 40 years with his smooth baritone, but he also won fans for his years of charity work, especially with UNCF. This month, we take a look back on the brilliant career of this soul and jazz musical legend.
 Oleta Adams will always be known for her beautiful rendition of the ballad "Get Here," but she has gathered a solid following for her work both as a solo work and as a guest on the albums of many other artists. She's just released her much-awaited new album, Let's Stay Here, and we have a review.
 Mini-Reviews! Our Music Editor L. Michael Gipson speed dates with a number of new releases from Keri Hilson, Nate James, Case, Day 26, Mya and more. Click Here to catch his quick take on these notable new discs.
Other New Releases
 Bruce Sudano - Life and the Romantic
76 Degrees West - 76 Degrees West
Tuomo - Reaches Out For You
Darien - If These Walls Could Talk
Various Artists - Soul Unsigned Vol. 2
Also see the latest goings on in Soul Music in our our News Section.
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Where Are They Now? -- The Trammps  In the mid-70s, the lush Philly soul sound began to give way to a hotter, dance-oriented style that ultimately became disco. And in the forefront of that movement was an often unheralded group that had the hottest sounds around. They're known best for "Disco Inferno," but the Trammps had much, much more going for them. Come catch up with this classic dance group, which is still performing in 2009. See our update on The Trammps |
| SoulTracks Popularity Index - Teena Marie
 Teena Marie is readying the release of her newest album in June, but her fans can't wait. They were so excited that the flocked to SoulTracks to read about it in advance, making her the most popular artist on our site last month. Click Here to see this month's Popularity Index, with our top 25 artists.
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Upcoming Recommended ShowsThere are some upcoming shows around the country that we're very excited about, and so, in addition to our SoulTracks/4DaSoul Concert page, we also have a new page with billboards from some particularly notable shows, including:
 The Jazzy Soul Collective, with Eric Roberson, Angela Johnson and Anthony David - The Atlanta Soul Session (in Detroit), featuring Algebra
- The Soul Sista Summit, featuring Conya Doss, Sy Smith, Maya Azucena and Yahzarah (aka Purple St. James)
CLICK HERE to see our Recommended Shows page
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CD of the Month!  Darien
Darien has been wowing East Coast audiences for a few years but has left them consistently
wondering when he was going to release his debut album. Well, the wait is over and his first album, If These Walls Could Talk (Click here to see our review), is an absolute gem and a great introduction to a great new artist. So we're extremely pleased to have If These Walls Could Talk as our CD of the Month. CLICK HERE to listen to it. |
Choice Track Free Download  James Day James Day logged one of the biggest months in our chart history a couple years ago when he released his debut album. And now his long-awaited follow-up, Natural Things, is out and it sounds great. This month we're offering to SoulTrackers the first cut from Natural Things, the excellent "Speak Love" featuring Mikelyn Roderick as this month's Choice Track FREE SONG DOWNLOAD. Come check it out! And also see a special offer from James and Expansion Records for SoulTrackers! |
Top 10 Albums  K'Jon On the strength of the rising smash "On the Ocean," new singer K'Jon topped our charts last month with his album Ballroom Xplosion, one of the surprise hit albums of early 2009. But close behind were new albums by Israel Houghton, Leela James, Randy Crawford/Joe Sample and more. We had a lot of movement on our charts and plenty of surprises. To see our entire top 10 chart, CLICK HERE. |
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