Customer Reviews

Midnight Soul

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't be put off by the 'sexy' cover art. This is NOT another of those smoothed out 'lounge' mixes of bland & forgettable downtempo house. This is soulful stuff. But you can see that from the tracklisting: kicking it off in high style with Roy Ayers (& Erykah!), Detroit soul from the likes of PPP & Amp Fiddler, quality SF stuff from Greyboy & Kaskade, the UK broken sound..

I bought this straight from Tom Thump's hands in a store on Haight on Saturday. So support the good stuff, and the good guys. B/c not only is he a quality selector, but he's a nice guy as well. If you can't disintermediate like that by tracking him down in SF, buy it here..

Compilations this tightly produced, mixed, and arranged very rarely come along. What are a rare find to have the likes of Alison Crockett's "U R," Fertile Ground's "Live in the Light" and Only Child's "U Bring Me Vibes" all included on this record. And you cannot go wrong with anything that includes the "vibe-father" Roy Ayers. I think the only other compilation that comes close to this album is Nova Soul Vol. 2; Otherwise, I highly recommend this one, particularly if you are the type who revels in turning up tasteful music really loud while coasting down a city street with the windows down as passers-by try to listen with envy.

I love Roy Ayers, I love Erykah Badu, and Ayer's "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" is a particular favorite of mine so I was surprised that I wasn't strongly moved by the version on this CD. That feeling of vague disappointment carries for me through much of the first disc, which has some strong tracks (Alison Crocket's U R, PPP's I Got You, and Fat Freddy's Bluey) mingled with others that don't take me anywhere new or different. Whereas the first disc has more of an electronica/soul vibe to it, the second disc leans more towards acid jazz/neo-soul and for whatever reason it works better for me. It's much more cohesive. I give the first disc three stars and the second disc four - hence three and a half. I have zero complaints about the second disc. If you program out the duds on the first disc, you'll end with a compilation that makes for nice "let's get to know each other better" listening. Play it at your next shindig, whether you've got 40 people chillin' at the BBQ on your back patio or an evening party for two with someone you consider fffine.

I buy tons of lounge/chill/house CD's. Too many lack complexity, meaningful lyrics, or sufficiently professional arrangement. Too many feature flat, meaningless, or amateurish electronica. But Kinkysweet is fairly consistent with producing compilations of well-executed tracks that are musically and otherwise sophisticated.

I have listened to this dual-disc complilation about two dozen times front to back. I think that disc one is really fantastic. Disc two hasn't really caught on with me as much, but not due to any specific flaws that I would want to point out. It's just that disc one really strikes a chord with me.

Anyway, this one is in the top 10% of all of this kind of music that's being put out right now. I recommend it.

This is a fantastic compilation and well worth the purchase price. Very hip soul, chill-house/lounge, and nu-jazz music for grown folks. Trust me, you will love it.