PRINCE SAMPSON - Living In The Moment (2010)

Smooth guitar from Prince Sampson, a hollow-body player who nicely mixes up acoustic and electric tones, often set to mellow stepping rhythms, but in ways that have a lot more depth than the usual mainstream effort of this nature!! There's echoes here of the older Craig T. Cooper mode, but Sampson also has more of a Soul-based vibe at times too, thanks to guest vocals from singers who include Chimaine Sampson, Chris Ballin, Andrew Banfield, and the mighty Noel McKoy!!

Tracklisting:

1. Let The Sunshine Through
2. Living In The Moment
3. The Corner Turns In To An Edge
4. Be Will Be
5. Part Finder
6. Real Love
7. Chill In
8. Harmony In Green
9. Culture Shock
10. Sao Paulo
11. Eyes Of A Child
12. Dream Catcher

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RAY GASKINS - A Night In The Life (2009)

Sweet jazzy work from Ray Gaskins, saxophonist, keyboard player, and a surprisingly great singer too, working here in a smooth little set that gives him a chance to show off every side of his talents!! Ray plays a good deal of the instruments on the record himself, overdubbed with a cool sort of groove, and he also gets help from a core rhythm combo too, as well as some hip guest work from Roy Ayers on vibes and Jocelyn Brown on vocals, each of whom guest on a track apiece. The best numbers here have a smooth-stepping groove that's really great, much more stripped-down than the usual mainstream work of this type, and with an undeniably soulful groove that's right up there with other great work on the Expansion label!!

Tracklisting:

1. Ray's Strut
2. Crystal Clear
3. Butterfly
4. Lullabye
5. Naima
6. Ashes To Ashes
7. Never Say Die
8. I Want To Talk About God feat. Jocelyn Brown
9. Down Home
10. New York State Of Mind
11. When I Fall In Love
12. Summertime
13. Shady Lane
14. We Had To Say Goodbye
15. Christmas Time
16. Shady Lane (Remixed)

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MAVIS - Mavis (Ashley Beedle, Darren Morris & Others) (2010)

Mavis isn't the name of an artist, but a special project headed up by UK producer Ashley Beedle, one that draws vague inspiration from the older genius of Mavis Staples, but which also encourages a range of hip contemporary singers to seek out fresh new territory!! The actual sound is a bit hard to describe, but like all of Beedle's previous work, it's completely compelling, and balanced beautifully between classic and future Soul modes, often moving at a slower pace than some of his other projects, with some wonderfully sensitive moments too. Vocals are by Candi Staton, Kurt Wagner, John Turrell, Cerys Matthews, Disa, Chris Coco, Edwyn Collins, Danielle Moore, and others!!

Tracklisting:

1. Gangs Of Rome feat. Kurt Wagner
2. What You Looking For feat. John Turrell
3. Nemesis Required feat. Cerys Matthews
4. Revolution feat. Candi Staton
5. Puzzles & Riddles feat. Ed Harcourt
6. When I Walk With You (Heartbreak Song) feat. Sarah Cracknell
7. Sinful Love feat. Disa
8. Dreamers (Interlude) feat. Chris Coco
9. Let Your Love Shine feat. Danielle Moore
10. 4:14 feat. Cherilyn MacNeil
11. Feeling Lucky feat. Edwyn Collins
12. Revolution feat. Candi Staton (Heavy Soul Extended Mix)

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ELIZABETH SHEPHERD - Heavy Falls The Night (2010) (Fixed)

A wonderful third album from Elizabeth Shepherd, possibly her best yet, taking the stripped down, yet adventurous jazzy Soul intimacy of the debut and the deeper, dreamier sound of her Parkdale album, and coming up with a lovely, unique and wholly excellent sound on Heavy Falls The Night!! There are some heavier moods at play, but, the production and arrangements have a light touch, leaving plenty of space from Elizabeth's lovely voice to pull you in. Shepherd handles most of the production and all of the arrangements, with one track produced by DJ Mitsu The Beats, his jazzy dancefloor Funk groove well suited for the style!! Elizabeth sings and plays keys, with Ross Macintyre and Scott Kemp on bass, Roman Tome on percussion, Colin Kingsmore on drums and percussion, with some guests and guitar on just a couple of tunes. Why Elisabeth hadn't yet become a superstar by the time of this album's release is a mystery and an injustice!!

Tracklisting:

1. What Else
2. The Taking
3. Heavy Falls The Night
4. Numbers
5. Seven Bucks
6. One More Day
7. A Song For Dinah Washington
8. High
9. It’s Coming
10. On The Insufficiency Of Words
11. Danny’s Song

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DIRA - Something About The Girl (2010)

A mellow Soul killer from Dira J Sugandi, working here with production from Bluey, and help from the rest of the Incognito crew!! In a way, the album's almost an Incognito record at heart, yet Dira's vocals and overall approach really help give it a fresh feel too, a mode that stays away from some of the upbeat groovers you might normally get from Incognito, with a stronger focus on mellow tracks and laidback numbers that really show off her vocals!! Other guests on the record include Omar, Ski Oakenful and Matt Cooper!!

Tracklisting:

1. Inside Love
2. Time Out Of Time
3. Let's Go Back
4. Get Through To You
5. Loving A Stranger
6. Daydream
7. Essentially Yours
8. Bring It On
9. Hand On Your Heart
10. Won't You Come With Me
11. No More Tears

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SILHOUETTE BROWN - Two (2010) (Fixed)

The second effort from Silhouette Brown, every bit worth the 6 year wait we've had since their first album!! The sound here is even more deep than before, not just a 4 Hero offshoot, but a complex bit of Cosmic Soul that shows that the 21st Century spirit is alive and well, if you just know where to look!! Lady Alma handles lead vocals on all tracks, and gets tremendous musical backings from Kaidi Tatham and Dego, lots of bristling beats and jazzy keyboards, all fused together with a subtle sensibility that's really wonderful, almost a bridge between London experimentation and American underground Soul, yet with a flavor that's all its own, that beautiful sound we immediately loved on Silhouette Brown's first album, equally wicked here as well!!

Tracklisting:

1. Bitter Pills & Butterflies
2. Casualties Of Honey
3. Constant Questions
4. Fools Gold
5. Get With It feat. Sadat X
6. Hear Them Often Say
7. Interlude
8. Leave A Note
9. Strawberries In Vinegar
10. We Used To Run Steady

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SUN CIRCLE - Reborn (2009)

A warm blend of Soul and laidback jazzy beatcraft from Sun Circle, the duo of producer/DJ/soundscape generator Simon S of Break Reform and lovely & soulful UK singer Deborah Jordan, taking the Broken Beat and jazzy Future Soul groove to a higher level!! It's the glowing natural warmth that puts this project a step ahead of the pack, having been won over by the work of each partner in the past, this one seemed like it would be a winner from the outset, and it surely is. The beats, bass and stirring elements floating over the melodies are nice enough, and Deborah's voice carries it straight to the heart & soul, while a few tunes offer of a broader palette of colorful sounds, including vibes in the title tracks and some strings!!

Tracklisting:

1. Reborn
2. Stars Fall Down
3. Sun Circle Theme
4. I Can See The Sun
5. Peaceful
6. Interlude
7. If You Speak
8. Stand Still
9. Beginnings
10. My Story

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MILES BONNY - Smell Smoke (2006) / Incense & Wine (2010)

Double feature from the great Miles Bonny, with his first album Smell Smoke and the newest and fabulous Incense & Wine!! The slow rolling moody Soul sounds from Miles Bonny are a mix of relaxed beatcraft that's rich in hypnotic atmosphere. Beats, bass and keys flavor the sound, with Miles' vocals laid down as part of the overall atmosphere as much as the driving force of the tunes, and makes for an interesting blend of danceable keys & synth Soul to more of a headphones head nodding experience!! Fantastic!!

Smell Smoke (2006) - Tracklisting:

1. Intro
2. Cans Ass City Waltz
3. You
4. We
5. Car Symphony
6. Stampede
7. Not The One
8. I Need A Drink
9. Bridge Breakfast Shortage
10. Garden Work
11. The Garden
12. Shining Ignorant
13. Meditation On Hip Hop
14. When Your Dead
15. Boom Doos
16. War Is The Enemy
17. Sing Your Song




Incense & Wine (2010) - Tracklisting:

1. Spiritual Nutrition
2. Do You
3. Words (I Love You)
4. Endless Possibilities
5. Blue And Green
6. Number 5
7. Satisfy
8. Never Be The same
9. On Impulse
10. Green Chemical Lawns
11. Cans Ass City (Feel Sexy)
12. Something I Can Dance Too
13. Joy
14. Shouts Out
15. Aggressively Calm
16. Marion Truth

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THE BEAUTY ROOM - BEYOND AN INFINITE (2006)

Along with producer Kirk Degiorgio and vocalist Jinadu, 'beyond an infinite' features drummer Chris Whitten (Paul Mccartney, Edie Brickell) and grammy winning engineer Peter Henderson (supertramp) along with classical pianist Tom O Grady and peacefrog favourite and guitarist Ian O Brien. a Gilles Peterson favourite, the beauty room have already appeared on a radio 1 Maida Vale session and appeared as headliners at Gilles night at Cargo in London. with a nod in the direction of Steely Dan ('holding on' ) and prime 70s Stevie Wonder ('soul horizon') alongside glorious orchestral arrangements by brazilian legend Deodato, the beauty room navigate a sophisticated, hugely accessible path between metropolitan soul shimmer and yearning spirituality. this is mellow, but by no means lightweight music. there are lyrical stones tossed into the millpond tranquillity of a track like the string-propelled 'burn my bridges' or elegant closer those days ', proving that while this is undoubtedly music to chill to, it s certainly not aimed at those with either heart or brain in the deep freeze.

Tracklist:

1. Soul Horizon
2. Holding On
3. Burn My Bridges
4. Visions Of Joy
5. Weight Of The World
6. Don't You Know
7. Fortress
8. Shades Of Yesterday
9. Moment
10. Those Days

ADRIANA EVANS - Walking With The Night (2010)

Brilliant work from Adriana Evans, quite possibly her greatest record so far, and that's saying a lot, given how much we've loved everything she's done!! There's a perfect, professional vibe to the whole set that's really amazing, Soul music like Soul music's supposed to be done, tight, yet never commercial, and peppered with these very slight, subtle 60s influences on some of the horn parts and other instrumentation, while still getting bumped along by some modern rhythms at the bottom. The depth to this record is astounding, and we're even more in love with Adriana's music than ever, and bet you'll be too, after hearing this wonderful album!!

Tracklisting:

1. Waiting
2. Suddenly
3. Midnight
4. Love Me On The One
5. Never Thought
6. Surrender
7. Astral Project
8. Let You Get Away
9. Sooner Or Later
10. Walking With The Night
11. Weatherman
12. El Sol
13. Set In Stone
14. Weatherman (Extended 12-Inch Version)

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TUOMO - My Own Private Sunday (2010)

New album from Tuomo, the 3rd one titled My Own Private Sunday!! The album is a bit more personal than the previous ones as it's filled with songs he was too embarrased to include on My Thing or Reaches Out For You. Tuomo also streches his multi-intrumentalist's abilities on this one. Apart from a few songs, he's played most of the instruments himself. He also takes one step away from his funkiest outfit and digs deeper into singer-songwriter world with some Beatles flavours. Great return!!

Tracklisting:

1. Back To Day One
2. Help Me Thru These Difficult Times
3. Where It Counts
4. The Torturee's Mantra
5. Hold Me (Till The Morning)
6. Prepare To Die
7. Future History
8. Mutually Assured
9. The Perfect Day
10. The Circus
11. Make Me
12. My Own Private Sunday

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HUBA - Arriving (2009)

Blue-Eyed Soul from Huba, a sweet Scandinavian act with a classic sort of groove!! Huba's headed by vocalist Tuomas Kaila, a singer with the sort of charm we love in Georgie Fame, particularly during his early 70s years, a style that's steeped in influences from older Blues and Soul, and is never too afraid to show them, but also doesn't ever go for a strict sort of copy either. Kaila's balance here is great, confident and charming, yet never over the top, and always with an easygoing groove that fits in perfectly with the live Funk instrumentation of the group, which has some especially great organ lines that warm up the sound nicely. Production is great too, with some older Memphis touches, mixed in with a slight dose of UK mod too, but never in a rocking way!!

Tracklisting:

1. Vagabond Jive
2. The Kind Of Music
3. The Raven
4. No Need No Ornaments
5. Refugee
6. Ain’t Got / I Got Life
7. Duplicate This Sunday
8. My Lair
9. Dust My Broom
10. Absalom
11. Arriving

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DJ CENTER - Everything In Time (2010)

Soulful and blissed out Funk grooves from producer DJ Center, bringing in a world of influences into a tight package steeped in Soul, with guests including underground Hip Hop mainstay Oddisee, singers Renee Neufville, Njimole, Gretchen Parlato, Middle Child and Samia Farah. This is a wonderful surprise of a producer driven effort. That center has a love for the styles of music that we do certainly helps, but the way he blends spacey keys flavored and crackling Funk based Soul sounds, Dilla influenced beats that pluck the heart strings, and elements both soaring and searing. Awesome stuff!!

Tracklisting:

1. Everything In Time Intro feat. Renee Neufville
2. Leave The City Outside feat. Oddisee
3. A Few Good Words feat. Njimole
4. The Rain
5. You Got The Love feat. Gretchen Parlato
6. In A Song feat. Middle Child.
7. Strings
8. Yes! feat. Zaki Ibrahim
9. Tout Passe feat. Samia Farah
10. Center’s Groove

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PORTFORMAT - The Repeat Factor (2009)

Great debut from the producer Ibrahima M,Bodji aka Portformat, and one who definetly lives up to its title!! That’s not a diss-this set is in fact some sublime and spacey stuff that stays true to its theme while offering enough subtle variety to make it compelling. If there would be a point of reference here, think a young J Dilla if he happened to create some jams for a chill out session on the P-Funk Mothership and you’ll have a good idea of what’s going down here!! NASA-compatible Hip Hop Funkadelica is what to expect on Portformat’s debut album released into orbit, musically combining space themes of the 70s with the golden moments of 90s R&B!!

Tracklisting:

1. Knock Knock feat. Bless1
2. U Gotta Find feat. Shuanise
3. Purple Planet
4. Mothership feat. Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow
5. Provide Everything feat. Obey The Altar Native & Denone
6. Thunder and Lightning
7. Fairy Child feat. Shuanise
8. Bionic Arms
9. The Myth feat. Caits Meissner & Yarrow Lutz
10. Everything U Change feat. Obey The Altar Native
11. 37 Degrees
12. It’s On feat. Blaktroniks
13. Put Your Love To The Test feat. Joe Kickass
14. Life Water feat. Thesaurus Rex
15. For The Hungry Cats
16. U$ feat. Suzi Analogue
17. So Thankful feat. Gajah & Olmeca

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VARIOUS ARTISTS - The Cosmic Soul Syndicate Presents Interstellar Soul: The Final Chapter (2010)

Newest and last chapter of the Interstellar Soul series, a kinda different Soul compilation conceived by the prolific DJ GP from DOVELHOAONOVO Camp!! This time GP join forces with long time GGC fellows Vlada Stojanovic and Jay Fusion, plus the legendary Lord Blak and his partner Joaquino De Lorenzo from the Blak´s Lair Family, to form The Cosmic Soul Syndicate, a supergroup responsible for this awesome compilation!! As the title suggests, this is the last volume of the series, where the ideas reach a level never before seen in the previous volumes!! When we get the album to see the tracklist it´s clearly noticeable that there are some hardcore changes in the concept, and it runs through the entire album, from the beginning to the end, with future and vintage Soul, Jazz and Funk tracks changing places all the time, all with that spacey feel we always loved from this series. The cosmic approach is so strong that it seems we're listening to music in another dimension, such seriousness the group implies to it. It´s a shame this astonishing compilation ends here. Hope these guys can come with more and more from this kind, although not with this series!! Definetly a work we´ll be proud to listen for a very long time!! 42 tracks divided in 2 CDs, and titles include “Dawn” by George Duke, “My Music” by Samuel Jonathan Johnson, “Quasar” by Herbie Hancock, “Space Odyssey” by Marcus Belgrave - Just to name a few from the vintage “galaxy” - and GPs rework for “Falling Down” by Julien Dyne, “Glory Us” by Jimetta Rose, who appears two times – alone and together with Shafiq Huseyn and Bilal in the great “Lost & Found” – “Piece Of Art” by Lorett Fleur and LMNO, “Hope” by Mark De Clive-Lowe´s protegé´s Rahel, just to mention some of the many 21st Century Soul tracks figured in this stuff.

Tracklisting:

CD 1:

1. Welcome Aboard (Intro)
2. George Duke - Dawn
3. Julien Dyne - Falling Down (GP Rework)
4. Skymark feat. Deva Mahal - The Shadow
5. Samuel Jonathan Johnson - My Music
6. Lowrell - Mellow Mellow Right On
7. Opolopo feat. Ed Blak - Trips To The Moon
8. Bobby Lyle - Night Breeze
9. Azymuth - Manhã
10. Kirk De Giorgio´s As One - Out Of Darkness
11. Catalyst - Little Miss Lady
12. Cloud One - Dust To Dust
13. Emanative - We Travel The Spacebeats
14. Lorett Fleur feat. LMNO - P.O.A. (Piece Of Art)
15. Shafiq Husayn feat. Jimetta Rose & Bilal - Lost & Found
16. Bottom Fly - Ego
17. Cesar Mariano - Poluição
18. Kool & The Gang - Winter Sadness
19. Breakthrough feat. Amp Fiddler - Highway 2 U
20. The Raah Project - Will You Be There
21. The Temptations - Mother Nature


CD 2:

1. (Interspace)
2. Dexter Wansel - Life On Mars
3. Ian Pooley - What's Your Number (Jazzanova Renumber)
4. Mark De Clive-Lowe feat. Cherie Mathieson - Move On Up
5. Intuit feat. Andy Bey - Planet Birth
6. Lesette Wilson - Caveman Boogie
7. Dwele - Lady Love
8. Rahel - Hope
9. Jimetta Rose - Glory Us
10. Suzi Analogue - The Thing
11. José James - Made For Love
12. Ra-Re Valverde - Take Me Back
13. The Clonious - Emora
14. Flying Lotus - Camel
15. Herbie Hancock - Quasar
16. Marcus Belgrave - Space Odyssey
17. Marcos Valle - Previsão do Tempo
18. Gene Harris - Losalamitoslatinfunklovesong
19. Manchild - We Need We
20. Tettorybad feat. Paul Randolph - Ruff And Tuff
21. Eddie Henderson - We End In A Dream


Alternative Download Option HERE

ZO! - ...Just Visiting Too (2009)

Fantastic stuff from keyboardist and producer Zo!, the follow up to his Just Visiting EP previously released!! There’s nothing better than when the future of Soul all comes together for an album. But when the announcement of the formation of Foreign Exchange Music came several months ago, we held out hope that more music would be forthcoming, allowing the loose consortium of friends and artists to collaborate more. The time is now as Zo! manages to bring together some of music’s most talented, if yet unrecognized voices like Sy Smith, Darien Brockington, Phonte, Yahzarah & Carlitta Durand to assist in …Just Visiting Too. The free, seven track album features talented singers alongside the creative hands & mind of Zo! handling the production and majority of the instruments. Taking a handful of originals by Prince, The Isley Brothers, Quincy Jones & others, Zo! revisits & revamps them with warm, mellow arrangements of keys, guitars, handclaps & fingersnaps. Classy 21st Century Soul sounding!!

Tracklisting:

1. Perfect Angel feat. Yahzarah
2. Nights Over Egypt feat. Carlitta Durand
3. Crazy You feat. Sy Smith
4. Holding You, Loving You
5. My Flame feat. Phonte
6. Somethin Special feat. Yahzarah
7. The Highways Of My Life feat. Darien Brockington (Pts. 1&2)

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JIMETTA ROSE - The Barber´s Daughter (2010)

Full length debut from Jimetta Rose, with spacey Soul production and spiritually resonant lyrics, maid all the more rewarding thanks to warm, emotional vocals and deft vocal arrangements from Jimetta!! We first heard Rose providing a sweet vocal foil for Shafiq Husayn of Sa-Ra on his excellent En-A-Freeka album, and she steps out wonderfully on The Barber's Daughter. The spacey Hip Hop Soul sound is akin to Georgia Anne Muldrow, but Jimetta has her own, perhaps more grounded and focused vibe than the astral atmosherics. Also like Georgia, she has a talent for arranging her vocals to lead, follow and respond to hypnotic effect. This set should be a harbinger for even more wonderful things to come, great set and likely to be one of our favorite independent Soul efforts from the LA scene for a long time to come!!

Tracklisting:

1. Intro (I Got A Dream)
2. Glory Us
3. Life Unfolds
4. Sweet Necessity
5. Revolution Out There
6. On My Own
7. Middow (Days Of Our Lives)
8. America (Revisited)
9. Constellations
10. Drifting Far Away
11. I Got God
12. So Easy
13. Outro (Heaven)

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DAMN! - Let's Zoom In (2008)

Don't let the faux boy band cover of this one put you off, because this is a damn soulful little album!! Damn's groove is sharper, a wicked blend of funky beats, smooth Soul instrumentation, and some surprisingly wonderful blue-eyed Soul vocals, all bubbling beautifully at a level that's right up there with some of our favorite Soul from the contemporary underground. The songwriting is great, filled with great hooks, and the instrumentation's a cool blend of older Raw Fusion beat-heavy modes, and some warmer Soul touches that are especially welcome, and which really show a depth to the group's music. We really wish they'd come up with a hipper cover for this one, but after the first few grooves of the record, we can more than forget what the thing looks like, and just enjoy the quality of the music. Things are so solid, we might almost rank this one up with Jazzanova's excellent album for Verve, and also mention that it's got a few Lewis Taylor-like touches at times too!!

Tracklisting:

1. Get Your Grown Man On
2. You're The Light For Me
3. Country Ways
4. Headstone
5. I'm Not Going To Live A Day Without You Girl
6. Let's Zoom In
7. Disco Lady
8. One Day
9. That's No Way To Play The Bongos
10. Man Is Not A Bird feat. Rubén Juárez
11. Rattle My Brain
12. Winter Letter
13. Another Language Died

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VIDEO - Ra-Re Valverde - "Take Me Back"

As Interstellar Soul V.04´s becoming real and real and very near to its release, DVAN Staff caught another interplanetary act to be part of it - Ra-Re Valverde with her new single "Take Me Back", from the forthcoming Bootlegs On Ice - and also another tune to figure in the next volume of our spacey comp!! Coming soon...HERE!!

Video Courtesy Of Rarefootage Music

SAUNDERS SERMONS - Classic Delight (2009)

Jazzy goodness from Saunders Sermons, a damn great talent we're happy to be hearing, and just the sort of artist we need to keep things fresh in the contemporary Soul underground!! Sermons plays trombone on the record, as well as sings, and that mix of talents definitely comes through in his sound, as his vocals have a great sense of inflection, almost a Jazz-trained approach, but one that's solidly grounded in Nu Soul elements too. Most instrumentation is live, arranged by pianist Jon Notar, and beautifully blended from alto sax, trumpet, piano, and just a touch of strings, a classic delight at points, but with a wickedly contemporary feel too. The set's a stunner, giving us the same sort of fresh energy we got when first hearing artists like D'Angelo or Eric Roberson!!

Tracklisting:

1. Day Dreaming
2. Don't You Understand
3. Straighten Up And Fly Right
4. I Need
5. Gee Baby, Ain´t I Good To You?
6. In A Sentimental Mood
7. Most Beautiful

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