Love
of all things soulful first brought together the
collective of Denmark based Frank Kyle and in demand
German producer Rob Hardt. Under the genesis of Cool
Million they collaborated with talented Danish singer
Lene Riebau in the opening track of this album
'Naughty Girl' which first came to my attention on
the superior compilation 'Soul Togetherness 2007'
Now,
encouraged by the feedback to that track they have
continued their vision of taking soul back to the future
by completing a 15 track debut set which is full of
uplifting modern soul classics. Bringing together
independent and largely unknown musicians and vocalists
they have produced an exceptional album of uplifting
soulful gems. All tracks share that homage to the days
of the SOS Band, 52nd Street and Loose Ends with the
latter being uncanningly brought to life again with the
talents of Londoner Aaron Washington in 'Pride' . Maltese
singer Laura Jackson contributes the most vocally with
three songs to her credit, including one which is my
favourite of the album, the bouncy, catchy and drop dead
soulful 'Leave Me' The Glaswegian, Eleana Young
leads on the Kleer Inspired 'Walk Away' and
did I mention the contributions of vocalists CJ Anthony
or Donald McCollum?
Indeed, each track is a delight to listen too with its
melodic immediacy and strong production qualities. It is
what I tend to call a 'Blue Sky album' even on
a grey day! One for the soul boys and girls with
something for those who are new to the genre as well. An
album full of uplifting soulful music and magic.
