Sometimes, you get the right album submitted for review at just the right time. In my case, it was a week ago when I was recovering from yet another surgery but was actually starting to feel good and hopeful for the first time since January. The album was alternately funky and blazing, hipsway and mellow cool, hip hop and old-style horns and rhythm section soul. Canada’s Ron Littlejohn & The Funk Embassy’s “Shining On.”
Who are these guys? Ron Littlejohn, formerly of Planet Earth, has a voice like a God. He should be up there with all the soul greats. He and co-songwriter Thierry Matrat, an extraordinary keyboard player and French hip hop artist, formed a collective. They wrote the album via e-mail, and then brought local area musicians to record this masterful record.
I can’t rave about it enough. If this doesn’t move you, you’re either dead or beyond hope. Buy it. Support the artists.
