Bunny Sigler Let It Snow

Bunny Sigler let his fertile, prolific imagination run wild for his final Salsoul album, "Let It Snow", issued in June 1980 with the end results being fun, funny, and funky. The first single, "Super Duper Super Man," has great cartoonish sound effects and the chant: "I don't like Kryptonite/ but I like Lois Lane and some serious tympani rolls." The snap-laced, quiet storm-ish title track not the holiday standard seductively swirls around in a frosty mix of echoing "oohs" and lazy don't-give-a-darn guitar lines. The track became a steppers standard, so copies of "Let It Snow" maybe extremely hard to find. "Girl You're Driving Me Crazy" skates along on a hi-hat, a sense of wacky humor, and a great horn and string arrangement by Lenny Pakula.

The first track on Bunny Sigler’s "From Bunny With Love & a Little Soul", "Sweet Lorraine," sports a title straight out of the Great American Songbook. I hear that title, and the first thing that comes to mind is Nat King Cole tinkling the ivories as he leads his trio. Knowing a bit about Sigler’s history as a vocalist and a hit maker during Gamble and Huff’s wheelhouse days at Philadelphia International, a record of standards would kind of make sense. He’s an industry veteran who is not exactly a household name with the younger generation of fans. However, an album that only looks back would ignore the more contemporary part of Sigler’s resume. He has also worked with some hip-hop and R&B stars, and has the artist’s natural curiosity about what’s happening now. So, in that respect, it should not be surprising that every track on From Bunny With Love & a Little Soul is original.

Philly soul artist/producer Bunny Sigler's third album for Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records label, My Music marked the first time he used his protégé band Instant Funk on an entire album. Sigler seems better for it since he lets his creativity fill the album with engaging surprises. The opener, "I'm the Bunny From the Other Side of the Ocean," is filled with humor, jokey asides, and a tight horn section. The thumpin' percolating title track, co-written by Sigler, Leon Huff, and McFadden & Whitehead ("Aint No Stoppin' Us Now"), slowly builds instrument by instrument as Sigler directs each band member to come in, then the whole funk lesson becomes peppered with James Brown-ish horn riffs.

The Odyssey: A Northern Soul Time Capsule is the single most comprehensive overview yet of a truly unique UK musical culture which has now lasted over 45 years and has spread across the world. The music follows the evolvement of Northern Soul, from it's early beginnings at Manchester's Twisted Wheel club in 1968, through to The Golden Torch, Blackpool Mecca, Wigan Casino and Cleethorpes Pier in the 1970s, Stafford Top Of The World and The 100 Club in the 1980s and the huge dearth of Soul weekenders and the 100 Club again from the 1990's to the present day. Featuring a mind-numbing 222 tracks, all licensed from legitimate sources. The most comprehensive Northern Soul track-listing ever. The Odyssey: A Northern Soul Time-Capsule truly does what it says on the tin. This is the most exhaustive history of the Northern Soul scene ever released.