SHABAZZ - BETTER DAY (FER CD9)

The recently released Shabazz second album is a fine discovery for those who like indie Soul. If you have appreciated Beverlei Brown's and Dennis Taylor's works, make yourself a favour and purchase also this one. Paul Stewart (now renamed himself Omari Shabazz) is the only original member of the previous Shabazz line up, hitting the music world in the late eighties. He has an excellent pedigree, having worked with people like Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, and Frankie Beverly and Maze. His voice is very warm and soulful and turns out to be one of the main attraction of the whole CD. Personal favourites are the dancefloor oriented "Tell Me You Love Me", "Will You Be There", and "Glad You're In My Life", but it is the whole album that sounds good (to certificate the quality, the recording sessions and post productions took place in New York and Philadelphia). It would be great if commercial radio stations, between a couple of what is now called R'N'B, would broadcast this kind of stuff just to let the world know what real soul music is.