Search - Various Artists :: Midnight Soul

Excellent selection of house/electronic soul

S. Ganguli | San Francisco, CA | 08/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't be put off by the 'sexy' cover art. This is NOT another of those smoothed out 'lounge' mixes of bland & forgettable downtempo house. This is soulful stuff. But you can see that from the tracklisting: kicking it off in high style with Roy Ayers (& Erykah!), Detroit soul from the likes of PPP & Amp Fiddler, quality SF stuff from Greyboy & Kaskade, the UK broken sound..



I bought this straight from Tom Thump's hands in a store on Haight on Saturday. So support the good stuff, and the good guys. B/c not only is he a quality selector, but he's a nice guy as well. If you can't disintermediate like that by tracking him down in SF, buy it here.."

Splendid. Soulful. Blissfully Sexy.

andrewizm | slc, ut | 07/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Compilations this tightly produced, mixed, and arranged very rarely come along. What are a rare find to have the likes of Alison Crockett's "U R," Fertile Ground's "Live in the Light" and Only Child's "U Bring Me Vibes" all included on this record. And you cannot go wrong with anything that includes the "vibe-father" Roy Ayers. I think the only other compilation that comes close to this album is Nova Soul Vol. 2; Otherwise, I highly recommend this one, particularly if you are the type who revels in turning up tasteful music really loud while coasting down a city street with the windows down as passers-by try to listen with envy."

Three and 1/2 stars for a disc that mostly works

Scaliwag | San Francisco | 07/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I love Roy Ayers, I love Erykah Badu, and Ayer's "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" is a particular favorite of mine so I was surprised that I wasn't strongly moved by the version on this CD. That feeling of vague disappointment carries for me through much of the first disc, which has some strong tracks (Alison Crocket's U R, PPP's I Got You, and Fat Freddy's Bluey) mingled with others that don't take me anywhere new or different. Whereas the first disc has more of an electronica/soul vibe to it, the second disc leans more towards acid jazz/neo-soul and for whatever reason it works better for me. It's much more cohesive. I give the first disc three stars and the second disc four - hence three and a half. I have zero complaints about the second disc. If you program out the duds on the first disc, you'll end with a compilation that makes for nice "let's get to know each other better" listening. Play it at your next shindig, whether you've got 40 people chillin' at the BBQ on your back patio or an evening party for two with someone you consider fffine."