Juno Recommends Soul: Best of 2022

Review: Oooh! Angie Stone's "Wish I Didn't Miss You" definitely belongs in the canon of all time modern soul classics. Taken from her 2001 second album Mahogany Soul, the Swizz Beats produced track made optimum usage of an O' Jays sample and was instrumental in that LP going gold and propelling the former D'Angelo collaborator to stardom. It also inspired countless official and under the counter remixes with Blaze's perhaps the most recognisable. So yes this reissue on 7" from Outta Sight is worthy if you don't have the original in your collection and features a housed up remix from Hex Hector on the flip.

Review: The 'Diplomats Of Soul' are DJs Mike Allin and Ralph Tee, who made a name for themselves by spinning only the most waxen soul bits across all of Asia's highest-end luxury bars and hotels. A diggers' delight, their eponymous label most recently lays claim to Grady Tate's 'Lady Love', a naturalistic, cinematic slice of soul about nothing less than the birds and the bees. It's pitted against the low-swinging 'Moondance', a feverish blues bourbon showing off both Tate's classic singing and drumming. The Diplomats have certainly quelled international tensions between soul pushers on this one.

Review: Soul Flip are the label completely upending our idea of what 'edits' are. Rather than putting 4x4 kicks on disco classics or reinventing funk instrumentals from the ground up, take this treatment of The Jam: 'A Solid Bond In Your Heart' gets a nice glassy flip-up, with sunny rhythm guitar and handclaps backending a song we never knew had the potential to become soul music in the first place. An equal treatment is given to The Capitols' 'Cool Jerk'.

Review: This sizzling new 7" from Super Disco Edits serves up Dayton's 'Sky's The Limit' which is a red hot slice of previously unissued 1982 soul.Hall of fun famers Dayton were a well established and popular group with a lush sound that was couched in soul but with funky grooves, boogie basslines and hints of disco shimmer and shine. This gorgeous single has all that and more including a big, buttery vocal. It is an epic, guaranteed floor filler which on the flip side has 'Sky's The Limit (long version)' for extra devastation.

Review: There's a reason that original copies of Marcia Hines' 1976 single 'You Gotta Let Go' change hands for genuinely eye-watering sums online: it's genuinely brilliant. One of the 'Holy grails' of Australian soul and funk, the track was originally released on a tiny Sydney-based label and, bar plays from a few local DJs, largely sank without trace. Happily Selector Series has delivered this much-needed reissue. As with the original 45, it pairs the astonishingly good 'You Gotta Let Go' - a classic chunk of soaring, orchestra-sporting sing-along dancefloor soul from the era when disco had yet to be defined - with the sweet and cheery 'Don't Let The Grass Grow', which sounds like a long-lost Jacksons record featuring a very young Michael Jackson.

Review: Sam Redmore's 'Tears' 7" is in keeping with his usual eclectic style. He effortlessly brings many different vibes to this pair of covers which are reworked in a cumbia style. First up is Giorgio Moroder's 'Tears' which in his hands comes something likely to win over a whole new generation of fans. An equally standout original is on the b-side, namely a Latin flavoured version of SOS Band's electro boogie classic 'Just Be Good To Me'. It will sashay and swing its way into your affections with its big horns and makes this a vital pick up.

Review: Soul diggers rejoice, as an exquisite and insanely rare piece of treasure from Barbara Lynn comes back within reach of everyday folk. 'Mellow Feeling' came out in 1979 on Love Records, but it was clearly a very limited pressing given how scarce copies have been since, and how lofty the second hand prices reached. The hype is not without merit - this is a flawless slice of funked-up soul with Lynn on imperious form, and the two-part hit across both sides takes the groove deeper and further. Top work to Soul Brother dusting this one down for a fresh outing - it's a track that needs to be danced to.

Review: Freda Payne began her career in the 1960s and is best known for recording plenty of soulful sounds up until the 80s Fun fact - she is the older sister of former The Supremes singer Scherrie Payne, and is best known for her 1970 hit 'Band of Gold'. Here Expansion have carefully dug out a pair of classic gems that offer two different vibes. 'Tell Me Please' is a lazy and rolling soul sound for Sunday afternoons on the sofa, while 'I Get High (On Your Memory)' has cosmic feels and sensuous vocals for a different kinda trip.

Review: A welcome return to the compilation arena from Luke Una, whose deep record collection and pleasingly open-minded record collection make him a perfect curator. E Soul Cultura has a concept of sorts - the kind of vaguely Balearic but not genre-bound jams that the Sheffield-born, Manchester-based DJ would play to fellow E'd-up party survivors at 5am - but it's the quality of the music on offer that makes the compilation so essential. For proof, check the spiritual space disco shuffle of King Errison's 'Space Queen', the deliciously sub-heavy, post-bleep deep house soul of Sheffield outfit On's cover of 'Southern Freeez', the bruk-up soul of Type Sun's 'The PL', the Brazilian sunshine of Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti's 'Eva' and the deliciously percussive, intergalactic jazz-funk vibes of 'Every Time I See Him' by Metropolis.

Review: Mamiya Takako cut her teeth in late-'70s Japanese girl group Pao before striking out on her own with 1982 debut album Love Trip. Full of sweet, sugary, synth-laden pop songs that drew on then contemporaneous jazz-funk and soul sounds, the album sold relatively poorly at the time but is now considered something of a classic. It has been proceeded by a seven-inch single offering up two of the record's more sought-after cuts, but now this full album reissue offers the ultimate collector's piece. It's packed with undeniably loved-up gems, FM synth sounds, soft focus sax solos and bubbly jazz-funk bottom-ends.

Review: This new compilation on Outta Sight deals in some precious cuts of rare soul from names you may well not be familiar with, such is the long and winding nature of soul music through the ages. The main focus is the 70s and a rich treasure trove of tracks you'd be parting with serious cash to own in their original form. Even if you've been a dedicated soul digger for decades there's sure to be something on here you've not heard before - this is a compilation put together by the heads, for the heads.

Review: Lady Wray is one of the brightest talents in the field of neo-soul, and now she's back with her second album. There's something ultimately classic about her sound on this new record, tapping into the deep heritage of US soul as you might expect to hear from Gloria Ann Taylor or Minnie Ripperton, with bombastc songwriting and a gutsy, 70s-indebted production that sounds like honey in your ears. Throw in a tough boom-bap slant on the drums - not least on 'Games People Play' - which should have old-skool hip-hoppers nodding with approval, and you've got a new essential from the ever-strong Big Crown stable.

Review: Monophonics haven't been on the scene since 2012, but they're now back with their fifth LP, grandly unveiling the new bougie build that is Sage Motel. Blending heavy-hearted soul with psych rock - and building off the sound that earned them their standing as one of the most impactful modern soul bands of this generation - lead single 'Warpaint' works in a lo-fi proggy soul that recalls Gnarls Barkley or Lee Fields, with lyrics singing of something beautifully simple and endemic to soul: not being able to climb down off a high.

Review: This limited Love Record Stores release really is a special one. It is the work of Grammy Award-winning guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada who was between projects back in 2017 and started laying down some grooves. He called up a selection of friends to join in even though there were no plans for the recordings. The need for a vocalist arose and Eric Burton stepped up - his buttery smooth and soulful deliveries providing the perfect finishing touches to the classy and timeless instrumentals. It adds up to a stunning debut album.

Review: Mr. Bongo continues in their mission to peddle the feel-good, compiling rare Brazilian, gospel, modern soul and jazz fusion music, all with a bent towards ecstatic dance. Not taking itself too seriously yet still dipping one toe in the mystical and romantic, our favorites from the comp include 'Don't Need No Fortune Teller' and the patient 'Waiting For Love', all compiled by Mr. Bongo director and former Spiritland programmer Miche.

Review: A half century may have passed since the release of Marvin Gaye's conscious soul masterpiece, What's Going On, but the album still sounds as fresh, otherworldly and intoxicating as ever. That much is proved by this half-speed remastered 50th anniversary edition. It backs the original album - a detailed, deep, emotive and melancholic masterpiece packed with much-loved classics (the title track, 'Inner City Blues', 'Mercy Mercy Me' and so on - with a second album of outtakes, demos and alternate versions. These include mixes that track the development of the incredible title track and various hard-to-find mono mixes initially released by Motown as singles.

Review: Light In The Attic have taken it upon themselves to put together the ultimate collection of Nancy Sinatra songs. This definitive compilation takes in solo recordings, rarities and duets with Lee Hazlewood and has been specially remastered from the original analog tapes. The music comes with an extensive essay by Amanda Petrusich and never before seen photos from Nancy's own archive. It opens with 1966's huge hit 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'' and includes the likes of the title track for James Bond's 'You Only Live Twice' as well as 'Sand,' 'Jackson' and 'Summer Wine.'