Southern Soul Now! [Mardis Gras] in Bloomington, MN

A sampler for some of the modern
urban
soul
artists handled by
Mardi Gras Records
out of New Orleans,
Southern Soul Now!
is somewhat of a disappointment, since little here rises above the ordinary, and given all the sampled beats and other
hip-hop
nation techniques applied to the backing tracks, some actual soulful singing would have been a nice addition to the mix. The label may be based in New Orleans, but this stuff sounds like it could have been recorded in Anywhere, U.S.A. A few tracks manage to have some impact, like the opening cut,
"Get out of Town"
by
Snatch Nelson
,
Willie B.
's
"Dr Jealous & Mrs. Hater,"
and
Nathaniel Kimble
"U Don't Want to Be Loved,"
but most of what is here slips out of mind as soon as the track winds down, and sometimes even before that. ~ Steve Leggett