Laura Brown

As soul music moved into the early '70s, it became dominated by smoother sounds and polished productions, picking up its cues from Motown, Chicago soul, and uptown soul. By the beginning of the decade, soul was fracturing in a manner similar to pop/rock, as pop-soul, funk, vocal groups, string-laden Philly soul, and sexy Memphis soul became just a few of the many different subgenres to surface. Often, the productions on these records were much more polished than '60s productions, boasting sound effects, synthesizers, electric keyboards, echoes, horn sections, acoustic guitars, and strings.

Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit (2014) [CD+DVD] {Blue Note Deluxe Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 425 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 183 Mb
DVD5 -> 1.69 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | LPCM, 2 ch | ~ 30m | ISO Image
Full Artwork @ 400 dpi (jpg) -> 76 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Blue Note / Gregory Porter / Universal | 0602547091208
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Modern Jazz Vocals / Soul

Gregory Porter presents the deluxe edition of his Grammy Award winning album ‘Liquid Spirit’. This fantastic new edition contains a new version of his popular track ‘Water Under Bridges’ re-worked as a duet with Laura Mvula, a cover of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ where he duets with Jamie Cullum and also a wonderful cover of Bill Withers’ ‘Grandma’s Hands’ featuring Ben L’Oncle Soul. Featured on the CD is also the 20Syl remix of Porter’s title track, ‘Liquid Spirit’. There is a bonus disc with 5 videos taken from a live concert at Stadtpark Freilichtbuehne Hamburg, Germany 2014 and are performances of Grandma’s Hands, Hoochie Coochie Man, She Was Good To Me, Someday We’ll All Be Free and Work Song.

The liner notes that accompany this collection note that '70s soul music has never really gotten its due. One could argue that point for days, but hubris aside, there's no denying that Can You Dig It pays serious homage to the golden years of American soul. The new box set contains 6 CDs and 136 cuts, 65 of which hit the No. 1 spot on the R&B and/or pop charts. As you'd expect with a project that mines such a rich era (the CDs are compiled chronologically), it represents a who's who of stars. Among the notables: Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, the Spinners, the O'Jays, the Staple Singers, James Brown, Chairmen of the Board, Laura Lee, Freda Payne, and Jean Knight. Lesser lights also get to shine, i.e., El Chicano, who deliver the salsafied hippie anthem "Tell Her She's Lovely." But let's be honest–the selling point is the hits, and from the uplifting "Ooh Child" to the sassy "Want Ads," if you grew up in the '70s (hands up), then these tracks are beloved. Sure, the hard-core fan will probably wish for more obscurities, and the exclusion of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and George Clinton is troublesome, but anyone wanting an at-home jukebox loaded with classic R&B will certainly dig this.

JATP concerts from the 1940s were documented in 1998 on a 10-CD Verve boxed set. But until now, the 1950s concerts have been passed over for a retrospective. In fact, since the CD era began very little of the material from that span has been available at all.