Truth & Shoalin Soul Posted by independent j

Honey Dove - Lee Fields & The Expressions from 7" on Truth & Soul (2004). C.R.E.A.M. - El Michels Affairs from 7" on Truth & Soul (2006) both also available on the compilation Fallin' Off The Reel, Vol. 1 on Truth & Soul (2006). The Truth & Soul label has been putting out great retro-modern funk and soul 7inches for the past few years. While they are relatively easy to find currently if your looking for them, the pressings are all pretty limited, which means whatever the equivalent of audio blogging is in 2025 young Ear Fuzz: The Next Generation will be posting up their pristine copies of these tracks. Well actually it isn't enough to be rare (or rare-ish), but as I found out after picking up the compilation mentioned above recently the label is consistently wonderful. Picking tracks off the CD to post on was tough because they are all so good, so I stuck with a couple I had already known well enough to purchase the singles. Lee Fields has been lending his emotional voice to soul/funk tracks for over 30 years, and recently has been putting some great stuff with the Sugarman 3 or The Expressions backing him. "Honey Dove" is dripping with Lee Fields raw vocals over The Expressions extra smooth keys and guitar music. Since it is break-up/love ballad that rough and smooth duplicity is extra appropriate. And just when you think it's rounding out as a solid song, the horn section comes in and takes it to another level. Definitely garnering a lot of attention is the roughly year-old partnership that has been formed between El Michels Affair and the Wu-Tang Clan (particularly Raekwon). The Affair's rethinking of the Wu classic "C.R.E.A.M." is stop-drop-&-roll fire. Like all wonderful covers it is familiar enough to hook you instantly and different enough to hold you for repeat listens and take you to new places. When that electric piano lick hits, it's over! The flip to this single is another re-interpretation of a RZA track "Glaciers Of Ice" from Only Built For Cuban Links, which is also on the comp. This is the first in a series of Wu inspired efforts called the Shoalin Soul series, and here's hoping they can live up to the promise of Vol. 1. El Michels Affair has done a lot of live backing for various Tang Clanners recently and you can find audio and video from some of those events at the Truth & Soul website under the media section. One of my favorite CDs from 2006, definitely.