Songs on repeat

Dissatisfied with the lack of recognition accorded to R&B/Soul, I want to provide a list of songs of that genre that I’ve gotten into lately, as well as some other music to balance it out.

“Touch and Go” by Al Wilson.  Wilson is most famous for the song “Show and Tell,” but “Touch and Go” is more up-tempo and uses the genre’s characteristic female backup singers to good effect. (To listen, click here and play song number six.)

“Break up to Make Up” by the Stylistics.  I love so-called Philadelphia soul, which, according to the Wikipedia description, features “sweeping strings and stabbing horns,” and The Stylistics are one of the standard-bearers of this sub-genre.  I’m not crazy about the lead singer’s falsetto (I like that of Temptation Eddie Kendrick(s) much better), but this is a great song. (Listen to the song on YouTube).

“We Belong Together” by the Spinners, another Philadelphia soul band from the 1970s.  (Listen to the song on YouTube).

Other Songs:

“Alone Again” by Illinois.  The name of this Pennsylvania band is a misnomer, and I don’t love all of their music, but “Alone Again” is a nice song, especially the harmonizing.  (Give it a listen on their MySpace page.)

“Before we Begin” by Broadcast.  This is a nice, mellow song with an ambient female lead (one of my vocal weaknesses). (Listen on Amazon, song number 3).

“Space Moth” by Stereolab.  It seems I am always coming across a new (to me) song by Stereolab.  This one does indeed have a lost-in-space and confronting-extraterrestrial-life sound to it. (Listen on YouTube).