This song is such a masterpiece with which to launch a career. And Donny Hathaway is rightly regarded as one of the greatest of all soul singers.

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Cream’s original version of this song was played a lot when I was at school, driven along by a bassline Jack Bruce apparently inspired by seeing a Hendrix concert. It was only much later that I heard this funky soul version by Spanky Wilson, with its exuberant horns and serpentine basslines.

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There’s nothing like a Northern Soul stomper to start the day with a lift – and this is one of the best. Rita and the Tiaras do the trick better than a triple espresso.

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After 31 years together Nada Surf stick to their recipe of jangly guitars and vocal harmonies on this tune from their forthcoming 10th album Moon Mirror.

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I didn’t see much mention in the news of the death of Kinky Friedman, the self-styled “Texas Jewboy” of country music. It’s probably fair to say his records would not be released these days because of their close-to-the-bone satirical content; and their language (including this one).

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Summertime, and the listening is easy (Harry Chapin, Micah P Hinson) – and funky (Mirwais, Baxter Dury) and lots more. There’s vintage country (Connie Smith) and ska (Phyllis Dillon), there’s old soul (Jackie Day, Jackie Edwards) and nu-soul (Jordan Rakei), some powerful blues (Buddy Guy, Ruth Copeland), hip-hop old (Nas) and new (Kneecap) and much more.

What a tune this is! Brilliant by The Rolling Stones, it’s equally brilliant by Jagger’s co-shrieker Merry Clayton, and perhaps even more brilliant in this funked-up version.

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I’ve never heard of Sugar Pie DeSanto before, and I’ll be surprised if anyone here has come across her music. But she deserves wider appreciation.

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One of the last of the old Chicago bluesmen still standing, Buddy Guy is still going strong at the age of 87. And arguably the best. (more…)

The moment you first hear Jordan Rakei’s stunning voice, you imagine you must be listening to some long-lost soul singer from the Sixties or Seventies.

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