Harold Ray Live in Concert
While its fans may sport ironic mustaches, wide neckties, and other kitschy affectations of hipsterdom, there's nothing sarcastic about Harold Ray's devotion to old-school soul. In fact, like the Godfather of Soul James Brown and the Rev. Al Green, the musicians who comprise Harold Ray Live in Concert have become sonic evangelists of sorts, espousing a devotion to vintage equipment, analog recording, live performance, and mostly forgotten catalogs of obscure soul pioneers. Sure, Harold Ray (real name: Jason Morgan) and his backing band, Live in Concert, play mostly covers, and the band's appearance -- somewhere between geek chic and just plain geek -- is a far cry from the flashy sophistication of its forebears. But none of that matters when the guys take the stage with their rollicking blend of sweaty melodies and over-the-top antics. As its name suggests, Harold Ray Live in Concert boasts a religious allegiance to live performance, even with its recently released self-titled debut for Alternative Tentacles. The album, recorded live in one night, is an aural embodiment of the band's onstage energy, where the sextet exudes such a feverish enthusiasm that onlookers might expect drum kits and mike stands to come hurtling toward them at any moment. Crowd-pleasers like the Showstoppers cover "Ain't Nothing But a House Party," James Brown's rough-hewn "Tell Me That You Love Me," and the foot-stompin' "Soul Dance No. 3" by Carl Holmes & the Commanders roil with strutting bass lines, brawny saxophones, and, of course, the band's bread and butter: the hollers and shrieks of Morgan, which the vocalist spreads on thick.
Mas Cabeza.
O-Maya.
Liz Payne
Project Pimento.
Tom Jonesing.
The Vanishing.
Katherine Copenhaver
Faun Fables.
Kitten on the Keys.
Shadow Circus Creature Theatre.
Shadow Circus Creature Theatre.
The Aislers Set.
Loquat.
Andrea Good
The Pleased.
Bottles and Skulls.
Matt Kennedy
Fleshies.
FM Knives.
Coach Whips.
The Cuts.
Andrew Wingler
Phantom Limbs.
Lisa Keating
Goapele.
Harold Ray Live in Concert.
Martin Luther.
Related Content
More About
Martin Luther
You better believe San Francisco singer Martin Luther knows something about being a rebel soul, and you better believe it goes deeper than the name his parents gave him. Born and raised Martin Luther McCoy in Hunters Point, Luther came up -- like most soul singers -- with a firm ethical base due in part to his singing in the church choir. But it was his older brother who, by turning his sibling on to Parliament/Funkadelic, brought him into the canon of late-20th-century, rocked-out soul. While the spirits of Hendrix and Sly lurk throughout both of Luther's independently released albums -- 1999's self-released The Callingand this year's Rebel Soul Music on Goodvibe -- the vocalist transcends the easy "neo-soulster-with-guitar" pigeonhole into which many media types have tried to stuff him. Rebel especially typifies Luther's complexities. The psychedelic "Pimpmobile" (which features guest hero George Clinton) hails the gumption behind street hustling, while the downtempo jam "Sleepwalking" addresses the lack of consciousness in the black community. It's the kind of scope that's attracted stars like Oakland's Mystic and the Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon to appear in Luther's video for "Soul Assassinator" and scored the singer/songwriter live slots with the Roots, Saul Williams, Eric Benet, Cody Chesnutt, Medusa, and Dwayne Wiggins. While these accomplishments are pretty sweet, perhaps the biggest tell is this: How many other new-generation soul men can you name who can maintain credibility after writing and performing an exclusive anti-stress rap for Real Audio release on Oprah's O Magazine Web site?
