Soul Plans

Bill Haney's Atlanta Soul Brotherhood is a 1998 compilation released by the Kent Soul label. It focuses on records produced by Bill Haney, who covered a lot of ground and was able to release a number of singles on both indie (some owned by Haney himself) and major labels throughout the 1960's and 1970's. A few songs were unreleased at the time this CD was put forth.

Since the ’80s, Soul Asylum have been a group known for their raucous but emphatic combination of punk energy, guitar-fueled firepower, and songs that range from aggressive to heartfelt. All of these things are present in spades on the Minneapolis band’s gloriously, joyously loose 13th studio album, 'Slowly But Shirley'. For 'Slowly But Shirley', it also helped that Soul Asylum turned to a familiar name for production: Steve Jordan, who had also produced the band’s 1990 effort 'And the Horse They Rode In On'. Back when they first worked together, the members of Soul Asylum were still figuring out how best to capture their sound in the studio—and Jordan’s approach of having the band play live together in one room was ideal. “He taught us a language of players playing music in the studio,” Pirner says. “Which we were not at the time. We still didn't really understand what you were supposed to do in what order.” Decades later, both parties are in different places. Jordan is currently the drummer for the Rolling Stones, and Soul Asylum remains one of the most inspiring and hardworking bands in the rock scene, having broken through commercially with the double-platinum 1992 album Grave Dancers Union.

Since the ’80s, Soul Asylum have been a group known for their raucous but emphatic combination of punk energy, guitar-fueled firepower, and songs that range from aggressive to heartfelt. All of these things are present in spades on the Minneapolis band’s gloriously, joyously loose 13th studio album, 'Slowly But Shirley'. For 'Slowly But Shirley', it also helped that Soul Asylum turned to a familiar name for production: Steve Jordan, who had also produced the band’s 1990 effort 'And the Horse They Rode In On'. Back when they first worked together, the members of Soul Asylum were still figuring out how best to capture their sound in the studio—and Jordan’s approach of having the band play live together in one room was ideal. “He taught us a language of players playing music in the studio,” Pirner says. “Which we were not at the time. We still didn't really understand what you were supposed to do in what order.” Decades later, both parties are in different places. Jordan is currently the drummer for the Rolling Stones, and Soul Asylum remains one of the most inspiring and hardworking bands in the rock scene, having broken through commercially with the double-platinum 1992 album Grave Dancers Union.

Lucky Soul are back today with stunning new single 'No Ti Amo' - the first from their forthcoming third record, entitled 'Hard Lines', which will see a release on August 11th on Crystal Paris Records. The band have also been confirmed for a main stage slot at this year's Indietracks Festival, with news of further live plans and headline shows (having previously sold out London's Lexington, Bush Hall, 100 Club and more) expected in the coming weeks.

Nao Yoshioka was preparing to capitalize off the positive reception of her 2019 album Undeniable, a record that included the song “Got Me,” when 2020 happened. The pandemic year nixed her plans for a world tour to promote Undeniable. That clearly had to be a disappointment for an artist who brings her sound and story as a Japanese singer/songwriter making waves in the R&B world.

Get into the holiday spirit with these magical stories of family and friends… giving and sharing… joy and blessings!

Plans is the 2005 CD by Death Cab For Cutie. This was released by Atlantic on 30 August, 2005.

Twenty-six of the duo's 1964-1967 recordings (five previously unissued) for the Kent and Modern labels are on this compilation. Note, however, that this is just a partial retrospective of their mid-'60s work, since during this time the Turners were also releasing sides on several different other labels. It remains, though, a good sampling of their sound during this era, when their soul tracks still betrayed much of their blues/R&B roots, and before the arrangements had gotten as heavy and beefy as they would in the late '60s and early '70s. Tina Turner's vocals are unflaggingly enthusiastic and committed, if perhaps not as nuanced as they could be. What keeps this from the top rank of mid-'60s soul, however, is the largely average, occasionally below average material (mostly written by Ike Turner). It's often a collision of blues, chitlin circuit R&B, and brassy pop-soul that sounds a bit dashed off. There are some ace moments along the way, of course, like the infectious "I Can't Believe What You Say," the down-and-bluesy "Hurt Is All You Gave Me," and the swaggering soul-swing shuffle of "Chicken Shack." Ike Turner's twangy guitar seems underutilized for much of the set, and there's very little of the vocal sparring that would be such a big part of their act by the early '70s. Tina Turner goes into a big rap on the previously unissued "All I Could Do Was Cry" where she really overdoes the raspy breast-beating; Etta James' more famous version has a big edge. "Give Me Your Love" is minor-keyed blues/R&B that's not too far from Otis Rush territory; at the other extreme, "Makin' Plans Together" has gossamer strings typical of the New York pop-soul on the Scepter/Wand labels. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide