Smooth Soul - The UK Collection - Review by Roger Williams

Recently received a great cd from connoiseur collection titled, vsop cd 312 - various artists -smooth soul-the uk collection which to my ears was quite a treat, as 90/00s sounds dont feature that much on my hi-fi at home was surprised by just how good some of these tracks are, and the fact that a lot are uk produced makes me feel a bit guilty of not being aware of them before now!!

anyway as said a great cd, and the press release has it right when it says " a powerful overview of uk produced soul" hopefully a mid-price release as previous releases on this label have been, and should be available from all normal outlets info@connoisseur-coll.demon.co.uk for info thanks go out to roger (the dodger) williams for the informative and entertaining review below :

Smooth Soul - The UK Collection - Review by Roger Williams

Previously known for releasing sixties and Northern Soul classic tunes, the Connoisseur Collection folks venture into modern¹ territory with an intelligently selected compilation of predominantly 90s cuts from UK labels Dome and Intimate, featuring mainly UK artistes with the an occasional appearance from the odd US soul hero or two!

Kicking off the CD is one of the UK¹s leading soul/r&b stars, Birmingham¹s Beverley Knight, with one of her first releases from 1995 "Moving On Up (On The Right Side), which takes the bassline from Curtis Mayfield¹s classic "She¹s So Good To Me" (also sampled to great effect by Mary J. Blige on her monster "Be Happy". "Right Side" is a great rolling dancefloor winner with a tempo that, although released originally five years ago, is just the kind of thing doing the business on the dancefloors of the more progressive modern rooms around the country.

Next up is another early 90s outing, this time from Bristol¹s Sinclair. "I Want You Back" is a lovely tuneful two-stepper with good background vocal harmonies, and I think it was a minor hit at the time of release. It actually sounds much better now than I remember it sounding seven years ago! Track 3 ­ "For Your Love" by Hil Street Soul is one of the biggest dancefloor successes of 1999. For me, this tune is the standout cut from Hilary Mwelwa¹s 1999 CD "Soul Organic", and that is really saying something given the quality of the material on offer. Without a doubt the best UK set for a very long time, and quite possibly Dome¹s biggest seller, and rightly so. Modern soul heaven!

And so we move on to a 90s-style reworking of one of the best soul tunes ever, Al Johnson & Jean Carne¹s "Back For More", this time done by Lulu & Bobby Womack. This version is absolutely awesome and has packed the floor for me on more than one occasion. Again, perfect for today, and shouldn¹t be dismissed just because of Lulu as she turns in an absolutely brilliant performance alongside the god-like presence of Bobby Womack, who himself provides a performance that I don¹t believe he¹s bettered ever since. File under the four F¹s: F*cking Fantastic Floor Filler!!!

Track five is the first of two Jones Girls outings on this compilation; "You Threw Our Love Away" is taken from side two of their 1992 revival UK-produced LP "Coming Back". Written and produced by the superb Erroll Henry, this is more top modern room fodder featuring the spine-tingling vocals of Valerie, Shirley and Brenda. This exactly the style of tune that many of the better modern room jocks are digging out and giving some long-overdue exposure to. I don¹t know who¹s picking these tunes for the compilation but he/she certainly knows the toons!!

The same sentiments go for the next one ­ the brilliant Chris Ballin¹s "Full Time Lover", which four years after its original release on his "Do It Right" solo outing, is finally starting to gain some exposure. Another top slice of meaty uptempo dancefloor soul featuring the amazing soulful vocals of, for me, the UK¹s top male vocalist, who along with the wonderful Maysa Leak, is providing vocal services for the UK¹s top band, Incognito ­ a brilliant, brilliant record.

Track 7 is saxophonist Mike Stevens¹ 1995 reading of a tune originally done by another British band (but I can¹t remember who, possibly Cool Down Zone or 52nd Street), and it features the vocals of US 80¹s soul diva Melisa Morgan. A lovely light jazzy groove for those warm summer nights. Track 8 appears to be a new tune ­ "Reach Out" by Full Flava featuring the wonderful Ruby Turner on lead vocals. Another light melodic summer groover with an effortless performance from Ruby.

Next in line is an easy-paced mellow reworking of Stevie Wonder¹s "Until You Reach Out For Me" by Hil St Soul. Not much can be said about this classic song that hasn¹t already been said and it¹s given a lovely rolling treatment by young Hilary. Another superb track from her solo outing of last year. Beverley Knight¹s anthemic "Flavour Of The Old School" was the first track that brought this now very successful singer to everyone¹s attention way back in 1995. It has a really happy innocent feel about it, with handclaps and shouts of heyyyy in the background. The original CD single is well worth hunting down as it features an absolutely stunning ballad ­ if I didn¹t file my music so badly I¹d be able to tell you what it¹s called!!

The second outing from Sinclair, "Ain¹t No Casanova" is a bouncy little happy number, but really doesn¹t go anywhere and is one of the weaker cuts on display here.

Track 12 is a Mike Stephen¹s 1995 cover of Tania Maria¹s 1983 classic "Come With Me" and features ex-Working Week vocalist and Soul Train¹ presenter Julie Roberts on scat vocal interjects. It¹s an OK effort but pales in comparison with the wonderful original.

The following track is another cover version by Mike Stephens. This time he tackles Teddy Pendergrass¹ 1988 classic "Joy" ­ it¹s mainly sax-led instrumental but again features vocal interjects, this time from the stunning Hazel Fernandez, who sang lead with the brilliant UK duo, The Affair. Real Jazz-FM elevator-music tackle ­ niiiice!! Another new tune in the shape of "Unwrap" from Full Flava, featuring the vocal of Beverlei Brown brings us up to date with a UK garage sounding piece of music. Sorry, but this kind of stuff does nothing for me ­ whilst the vocals are OK, this tune sounds like one of a million of the same kind that you can see/hear on MTV ­ simply a groove with no discernible melody. And who is Full Flava? What a shame being called "Full" by your parents!!!

The penultimate track on the CD brings it back up to standard with the superb "Getting On With My Own Life" by the Jones Girls. Again taken from their 1992 LP, this was the standout cut for me when I first bought the album. A cracking midtempo groove again featuring the girls¹ amazing vocals ­ top tune, although probably too slow to gain any serious dancefloor action these days.

The final cut, "Can¹t Go Back" by DNA featuring Nadia, from 1999, is a surprising choice for the end tune given the quality of the rest of the tracks on show here ­ a really horrible dreary effort with Nadia sounding like a diluted version of Jody Watley. Don¹t listen to this if you¹re feeling down, it may tip you over the edge!! Awful.

Despite the negative comments on the last tune, "Smooth Soul ­ The UK Connection" is an extremely well thought out and intelligently put together compilation and well worth forking out your hard earned dosh for.

The Dodger 2000

track listing

beverly knight-moving on up

sinclair-i want you back

hil st soul-for your love

bobby womack and lulu - im back for more

the jones girls-you threw our love away

chris ballin-full time lover

mike stevens w

mellisa morgan-tell me (how it feels)

full flava w

ruby turner-reach out

hil st soul- until you come back to me

beverly knight-flava of the old skool

sinclair-aint no cassanova

mike stevens w julia roberts-come with me

mike stevens w hazel fernadez -joy

full flava w

beverlei brown -unwrap

the jones girls-getting on with my own life

dna w nadia-cant go back