Terry Callier: "Timepeace"(Talkin' Loud)
Terry Callier is the lost prince of Chicago soul. While other Chi-town legends such as Curtis Mayfield, The Impressions and Gene Chandler smooched their way into the charts, Callier remained on the outside, a cult figure with albums such as What Colour Is Love? and I Just Can't Help Myself gathering acclaim on the Northern Soul and jazz-dance scenes but nowhere else. Now, thanks to long-time fan Gilles Peterson at Talkin' Loud, Callier may finally reap some rewards. With his unmistakeable deep, seductive and resonant voice, Callier's songs are beautiful fusions of folk, jazz and soul idioms. Expertly crafted and arranged, tracks such as Lazarus Man, Love Theme From Spartacus and People Get Ready/ Brotherly Love build from a gentle murmur into intense and rare delights.
By Jim Carroll
Craig Armstrong: "The Space Between Us" (Melankolic)
Craig Armstrong is one of the new school of film score composers who create music which is not merely intended for the cinema stalls. Besides his much-praised score for Romeo + Juliet, Armstrong has also arranged the strings for Massive Attack's Protection album, and it's apt that this debut is released on the Bristol collective's new joint venture with Virgin Records. The Space Between Us is full of sultry post-club shuffles, music which hints at moods and themes, yet doesn't rely on visual stimuli to propel them. Weather Storm takes the Massive Attack tune of the same name and reinvents it in a gorgeous classical manner, like a dubbed-out Arvo Part movement. The delicate ballad This Love has Cocteau Twin Liz Frazer taking care of the vocals and soars like the best chill-out music always does. One for the after-hours party people.
By Jim Carroll
Kid Loco: "A Grand Love Story" (Yellow/EastWest)
Yet another album of pedigree dance-floor gems from France, the country which shows no sign of letting up when it comes to clubland creativity to put the rest of the EU to shame. Joining Air on the up escalator this month, Kid Loco released two fine 10inch singles last year showcasing his slo-mo porn beats and A Grand Love Story expands on this fascination with sleazy easy-listening. Low-slung and splendidly downbeat, tracks such as Alone Again So and Cosmic Supernatural are highly polished windows into his world, where everything is neatly arranged in rows for all to see. Lilting vocals from Katrina Mitchell on Love Me Sweet add to the sense of bliss, where floating through the deep-pile is the only way to get from A to B. Relax, stretch and climb on board.
By Jim Carroll
