Joi Cardwell - The Art Of Being

Joi's brand of Soulful House music with thoughtful, inspirational lyrics is always welcome. She has released a handful of singles here and there in between albums. The Art Of Being is the singer-songwriter's first album in nearly 3 years. It contains a few of the singles that were released separately. This is her strongest album to date. Every single one of the songs is beautifully produced by many of the heavy hitters of clubland. All of the songs have a melodic sound that is distinctly classic but also sounds current. Joi's vocals are amazing! There are a couple of revisits to her earlier singles "Jump For Joi" and "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" as well. Every one of the songs is great so it is hard to choose the best ones, but "Confusion", "Return To Love", "Je T'Adore", "Shot Through The Heart", and "Lucky Charm" really stood out. All of the songs could work as singles. With the recent shift towards early 90s House sounds, this record arrives at just the right time.

 Tracklisting:
1. Lucky Charm (Quentin Harris Production)
2. Return to Love (Director's Cut Mix)
3. Confusion (NovoGain Production)
4. Love Somebody Else (Maceo Plex & John Dasilva Mix)
5. Shot Through the Heart
6. Indian Giver
7. I Just Wanna (Kraak & Smaak)
8. Sweet Sadness (Mlle Lucy Mix)
9. Je T'adore (Life+ Mix)
10. Feels Like Heaven
11. Music Saved My Life (Maurice Joshua Mix)
12. Jump 4 Joi (Mike Cruz Radio Mix)
13. Jump 4 Joi (J Zuart Remix)

Purchase the album here (iTunes) and here (Juno) [Juno has it in lossless DJ friendly/collector format]

Grade: A+

Joi Cardwell - Music Saved My Life

The always soulful House veteran's latest single speaks of the power of music. Joi is in fine form vocally. Maurice Joshua, Wayne Williams, and Azza K provide the mixes. Maurice's Disco/Tribal mixes are stunning. They sound straight out of the early 90s recalling the flavor of David Morales and Masters At Work's productions from that period. Wayne's are in a similar vein, though they are more Discoey. Azza K's is far more contemporary, adding a techy element to it. This is a solid release with every mix being well-done.

-Purchase here (TraxSource)

Grade: A

Ralphi Rosario and Abel Aguilera vs Tamara Wallace - C'mon Get Funky

This is their second major collaboration after the track "Lookin' 4 Men" a couple of years back. "C'mon Get Funky" is a straight up, fun song that is perfect for the clubs. Tamara's vocals playful while being soulful. The lyrics a tad cliche, but they're nice. The "where'd you learn to funk like that?" line which is used as an alt hook throughout the song is taken straight out of the underground disco classic "Come On And Do It" by Poussez. The main version by Ralphi Rosario has a disco-tinged circuit sound with strings and plenty of horns. There are additional mixes by Ralphi with Abel (as Rosabel), Mark Picchiotti, and Maurice Joshua. The Rosabel mix is the hard, tribal stormer that one would expect from the duo. Both the club and dub are fun. Mark and Maurice both go in a disco/house direction. Mark's has some electro sounds as well. Maurice's piano-driven mix is very classy and soulful. His mix truly embodies the classic disco aesthetic. Overall, all versions are great, but the standouts are the Ralphi and Maurice treatments.

Purchase the digital single here (Amazon), and at iTunes and Masterbeat

Grade: A-

Kim English - Nothing's Impossible

After a short break, she is back with a new single entitled "Nothing's Impossible." It is a nice inspirational, soulful track. It almost calls to mind the earlier part of her career in the 90's. It has a classic feel to it already. The remix package has a little something for everyone. The Str8jackets Asylum Dub is electro/house oriented while ATFC's mixes are slightly electro, but mostly piano house. Really good. Maurice Joshua's Club mix is different from his Nu Soul mix. The Club mix circuit/tribal-oriented while his Nu Soul one is more in line with his usual productions. It's an elegant mix. The Duwayne Motley mix is also quite soulful.

Tracklisting:

01. The Str8jackets Asylum Rub (8:37)
02. ATFC Main Mix (10:46)
03. ATFC Dub (7:11)
04. Maurice's Club Mix (6:50)
05. Nu Soul Club Mix (7:27)
06. Maurice's Club Instrumental (6:50)
07. Duwayne Motley's The Counselor Remix (7:50)

Buy the release here (TraxSource), here (Masterbeat)

Grade: A-