Cultures Of Soul US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Greg Belson is a world leading gospel collector and DJ who had great success with his Divine Disco series. He continued his vital work with Cultures of Soul on the Devin Funk compilations series and now the label are serving up the many highlights on 7". Here we have
Pearl Farano & The High Lights Of Joy with 'Who's Your Boss', a high speed funk gem with in the pocket drum playing and energetic guitar riffs. The real star of course is the coarse vocal that cannot help but light your fires. On the flip, Zella Jackson's vocal soars next to summery flutes and raw, dense rhythm sections.

Review: Betty Griffin's 'Free Spirit' gets served up as two new remixed versions in honour of the 10 Year Anniversary of Greg Belson's noteworthy radio show, Divine Chord Gospel Show on Dub Lab. Greg himself joins up with Paulo Fulci as Divine Situation to add their own special fire to the already hot originals. Their first Downlow rework rides on some psyched-out guitar lines with the chunky, percussive rhythms riding rough below. Then, on the flip, the Maceo's dub is more smooth, streamlined and cosmic with its widescreen synth lines.

Review: The Brasileiro Treasure Box Of Funk & Soul gems keep flying out from Cultures Of Soul: Novos Baianos' 1970 rarity "Juventude Sexta E Sabado" is a heartfelt, yearning slice of psychedelic soul peppered with urgent Plant-level vocals while Dom Salvador & Abolicao's "Uma Vida" is the ultimate feel-good song: what begins as a funk soul tracks suddenly rips into gospel with so much gusto you genuinely can't stay still. One of the best 45s to come from the collection so far.

Review: Having previously delivered two near-perfect compilations of gospel-powered disco (the essential Divine Disco volumes one and two), Greg Belson has now turned his attention to obscure gospel-soul and gospel-funk. As you'd expect, the standard is exceptionally high throughout, with Belson digging deep into his crates to present top-notch gems that will be all but unknown to all but the most hardcore gospel collectors. Highlights come thick and fast from start to finish, with our picks including the fiery, breakbeat-driven funk of the Wearland Singers' 'If You See Me Doing Wrong', the organ-heavy sweetness of Allen Gauff Jr & His Combo's 'I Don't Want To Be Alone' and the Gospel Ambassadors' sensational cover of gospel classic 'This Little Light of Mine'.

Review: The "Mighty" Greg Belson has a bit of a soft spot for gospel disco, a sub-genre that proved popular in some of the genre's more righteous clubs. In Divine Disco, he offers up a lesson in the style, gathering together mostly little known gems originally released between 1974 and '84 (plus, it should also be noted, two tasty contemporary re-rubs from Rahaan and Steve Cobby). It's perhaps a little more varied than you'd expect; contrast, for example, the hands-in-the-air, can-I-get-a-witness enthusiasm of Gospel Ambassadors' "What Kind Of Man Is This", and the smooth, slowed-down torch song feel of "Give Yourself To Jesus" by Herman Harris & The Voices Of Faith & Love.

Review: Renowned record collector Greg Belson has dug even deeper on this superb follow-up to his essential 2016 gospel disco anthology, "Divine Disco". In truth, very few will recognize any of the included tracks, many of which originally appeared on private-press releases, but that's entirely the point: Belson has chosen to share some of his secret weapons with us and we're delighted. Amongst the many highlights you'll find the sparkling, synth-heavy '80s gospel soul of Calvin B. Rhone, the soaring and celebratory brilliance of Harrison Jones & The Voices Of Harmony, the low-down gospel disco-funk of the Johnson Family Gospel Singers and the Blaxploitation-era hustle of Paradise's "Keep The Fire". Also impressive is Steve Cobby's wonderfully swinging, floor-friendly tweak of Mr Jesse R McGuire's "Jesus Is On The Mainline".

Review: Trinidad's Wild Fire was a popular local group that formed in the 70s and disbanded in 1985. They amassed plenty of varied tunes after their name change from the Sparks, a name they had as far back as 1962. They were a house band at clubs like Disco Tracks and Upper Level so knew how to get a party going with their hot mix of Caribbean sounds, disco and funk. This Dance Hits album is a great collection of their more dance-friendly material. Some are slow burners like 'Check It Out' which brings racial issues to the fore and the more sunny funkers like 'The Rebels.'