Z.z. Hill

Jerry Williams Jr. reinvented himself in the late ‘60s as Swamp Dogg, releasing the landmark 1970 album Total Destruction to Your Mind; it introduced the world to a smart, funny artist who wrote poignant, profound songs about the world around him. The man himself considers this set to be that landmark album’s spiritual equal. Whether he’s singing about nuances of race and racism in the title track or on “Prejudice Is Alive and Well,” asking what happened to a soul music superstar on “Where Is Sly,” or working through Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” and a few other covers, this is pure timeless Swamp Dogg–styled R&B, soul, and funk.

Authentic, occasionally obscure, but always groovy, West Coast soul. Southern blues abounds, while gospel and Motown’s influence are also present.

Various Artists - Behind Closed Doors: Where Country Meets Soul, Vol. 1 (2012) {Ace Records CDKEND 375}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks) +CUE+LOG -> 416 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 181 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 31 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012 Ace Records / Kent Records | CDKEND 375
R&B / Country Soul / Soul / Southern Soul

It may open up with Aaron Neville's 1993 rendition of George Jones' classic "The Grand Tour," but Ace's 2012 compilation Behind Closed Doors: Where Country Meets Soul focuses on the golden age of country soul – the late '60s and early '70s, the age when the borders between these two strands of southern American music became decidedly blurring. And many of the 23 cuts on Behind Closed Doors are firmly within the Southern soul tradition – slow, smoky, gritty, and soulful, anchored by languid stride piano and buttressed by muscular horns.

Enuff Z’nuff are the living, breathing example of what a rock ‘n roll group should be. Now centered around bass player and vocalist Chip Z’nuff, Enuff Z’nuff are still delivering the band’s patented power pop melded with hard rock stylings. Their new album, “Brainwashed Generation” is the follow-up to 2018’s well received “Diamond Boy”.

It is my opinion that Jean Langlais has written some of the noblest, richest and most awe-inspiring sacred music there has ever been. He wrote more organ music than J. S. Bach, and most of it is as suitable for liturgical performance as sung music. His style is a powerful mixture of chant-like motifs (including actual quotations from Gregorian chant), organum, and bold dissonances that give way to pure, radiant tonality. He draws on a wide range of expressions too, from radiant and blazing to quiet and ecstatic. He was truly a craftsman of the highest calibre, and a credit to the distinguished musical heritage of his native France.