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RECENT BLOG POSTS from T-Mad’s Music
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL BLOG POSTS
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INTERVIEWS from T-Mad’s Music
Bernadette Cooper of Klymaxx — September, 2009
Jean Baylor, formerly of Zhané — March, 2007
Jim Brewer, formerly of Mazarati — May, 1998
(retired from the website, at Mr. Brewer’s request)
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ARTIST FANSITE PORTAL from T-Mad’s Music
Back in the day during the original run of T-Mad’s Music, I featured
a series of unofficial fansites for various artists who at the time did not have a presence on the Internet. Believe it or not, there are still artists
that either do not have their own websites or who have websites but with limited information on themselves. This section is a portal to my fansites
for these artists listed below.
KLYMAXX — Updated version of a landmark mini-site from the early years of
T-Mad’s Music for the eighties female soul and funk band Klymaxx and its alumni and associated acts.
CHOCOLATE MILK — Updated version of a landmark mini-site from the
early years of T-Mad’s Music for the seventies New Orleans soul and funk band Chocolate Milk.
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MUSIC REVIEWS from T-Mad’s Music
This is not your typical music review section. Since this site
deals with classic soul and funk and so forth, I will feature either a new or recently released CD or an older release which
I consider good music that may have slipped under the radar and was ignored when originally released.
BETTY WRIGHT & THE ROOTS
Betty Wright: The Movie
© 2011 Ms. B Records
The return of Florida-based soul vocalist Betty Wright, and a solid return it is.
Backed by Philadelphia-based hip hop/neosoul band The Roots, Betty Wright checks in with a CD chock full of soulful and funky nuggets. Fourteen, in fact — taking up almost the full capacity of an audio CD.
The opener is a nice ode to her “roots”, if you will. Old Songs pays homage to classic soul and funk music and talks about the days of enjoying them on 8-track and vinyl (I know — foreign items to anyone younger than thirty).
Real Woman is a message to the brothers to get themselves a real woman so they can be real men. It features a very short but unobtrusive rap from Snoop Dogg which fits right in the pocket.
Don’t Change The Play (In The Middle Of The Game) is typical Betty Wright, which is nice and funky. Next is Surrender, a song that could easily have fit in any of her seventies output. A true testament to the soulful playing of The Roots.
Grapes On A Vine follows and talks about how people should not give up on each other just because other people want to gossip about you. This song has a short rap in the middle which I could have done without.
Folks, Betty Wright doesn’t need rap in her music to sound good. But, again, it is for the most part unobtrusive. This shows that she is being allowed to be who she is as a soul artist and that no one is trying to change her sound or her style, which is good.
Next is Look Around (Be A Man), a moderate tempo funk jam that could have worked easily in the eighties but does not sound dated at all. Tonight Again follows and I surmise that it is intended to be a modern follow up to her 1978 classic Tonight Is The Night (That You Make Me A Woman). A nice, funky groove.
Next comes Hollywould (not a typo), which has a rolling, soulful groove and deals with a girl named Holly who is lost to the streets. This song also features a rap which fits in very well.
Whisper In The Wind is a nice, moderate tempo jam where she says is that all our love has been, a whisper in the wind. Next, she checks in with a mellow, soulful ballad with The One. Again, my hat is off to The Roots for some truly nice instrumentation on this one. Truly, they know their subject well on this collaboration.
Now it’s time to get funky again with a nice duet, Baby Come Back, complete with some funky drumming. So Long, So Wrong follows and sounds like it could have followed such classics as No Pain, No Gain and After The Pain.
You And Me, Leroy follows and is another soulful, moderately funky masterpiece.
The CD closes with a live performance from last year by her, simply titled Go!, about abuse in a relationship. A near-ten-minute opus from her which sounds hauntingly wonderful.
Simply put, this CD is 100% solid from beginning to end, and it’s not often that I can say that about CDs today any more. There is not one single filler song on this CD whatsoever.
GO BUY THIS CD!!!
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FEEDBACK
Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think of the new look of the site, make requests for
music you want to hear, pass on music-related information you want me to share here, or just say hi.
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MUSIC-RELATED LINKS
This section will now feature ten random music links for you to check out.
The Funk Store
Where is a good place for finding rare funk CDs, books, videos, and other related items? Where else but The Funk Store!
N’Dambi’s MySpace Page
She started out as Erykah Badu’s backup singer before coming onto the scene as a solo artist in the late nineties. Now on her third CD,
check out soul singer N’Dambi, who I’ve had the pleasure of corresponding with, at MySpace.
Soulive on Soul Patrol, Co-Hosted by T-Mad
Yours truly, T-Mad, had the pleasure of co-hosting the Labor Day Weekend edition of Soul Patrol’s Internet radio program with
“Nighttrain” Bob Davis. The featured artist is jam band Soulive, who have joined the newly relaunched Stax record label. Listen to
the hour-long show here.
Soul Patrol
From the ancient to the future. Get some enrichment about Black music and culture at this site from a fellow classic soul and R&B
lover—music, news, and more.
Renée Neufville, formerly of Zhané
Check out the official MySpace page for this former Zhané singer/songwriter/musician, now a member of jazz artist Roy Hardgrove’s
band RH Factor.
Soul Walking
The U.K. has a great appreciation for Black music. This site, run by a man named Toby Walker, is no exception. Check out his impressive database
of bios on various artists and music personalities in the world of soul music.
Official Stevie Wonder Site
Follow the “innervisions” of this beloved Motown legend.
Fats Gallon
Check out the official website of legendary funk studio drummer Eric “Fats” Gallon, who has worked with the likes of The Dells,
Sly Stone, The Manhattans, Millie Jackson, and various other classic soul and funk artists.
The Original Klymaxx
This website represents the classic lineup of the eighties female funk band Klymaxx — Bernadette Cooper, Joyce “Fenderella”
Irby, Lynn Malsby, and Lorena Shelby. Find out what they are up to.
Dusty Groove America
If you collect classic soul and funk in vinyl, this is a good place to go for rare vinyl albums and 12″ singles.
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