A Baker's Dozen of Soulful Tunes

When I started this blog back in 2011, I occasionally posted playlists of music I thought my readers might enjoy. I haven't done one of them in a while, so I thought I'd post this list of some fine modern, yet retro, soul tunes you should check out. Enjoy the music, and feel free to comment below!

1. Old Songs – Betty Wright & The Roots sing about the virtues of love and (of course) old school soul on this track from their very cool collaboration from 2011 on the album Betty Wright: The Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTsDIgByFG8.

           2. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out - Mayer Hawthorne gets into the Motown groove on this tune from A Strange Arrangement (2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBKx8PyE5qQ.

           3. Sugarfoot – Black Joe Lewis & The Honey Bears do their best James Brown impression on this funk-filled track from their disc Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ-M_8pY6TI.

           4. Love That Girl - Raphael Saadiq channels equal parts of soul men Eddie Kendricks (of The Temptations) and Curtis Mayfield on this entry from the excellent album The Way I See It: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dkPFyubi_M.

           5. Mama Knows  - Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds fire up a great combination of rock and soul on this track from The Weather Below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOjFVuiUJPY.

           6. Tighter – A haunting ballad from Fitz & The Tantrums’ excellent debut album, Pickin Up The Pieces (2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UW_yRj-NlI.

           7. Longer & Stronger – From the late great Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. Wonderful song featured on the B-sides and rarities collection, Soul Time! (2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6ikMqmjo9c.

           8. Howling at Nothing– The incredible Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats sound like a combination of Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson on this fantastic track from their 2015 debut album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzqmVa6n-es.

           9. Make A Change – Durand Jones and The Indications get deep into a very Sly Stone-style vibe on this tune from their self-titled debut, which was released in 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZJ-7BJ46U0.

           10. Broken Bones and Pocket Change– St. Paul & The Broken Bones, a Birmingham-based soul outfit, shine on this number from Half The City (2014), featuring a powerful vocal from lead singer Paul Janeway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyeGzSA_Ua8.

           11. Call Off Your Dogs – Lake Street Dive’s lead singer Racheal Price has one of the most expressive voices in rock and roll these days, and she's comfortable singing in multiple genres; rock, soul and jazz. This is a fun, disco-fied track from Side Pony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMEPgLxvNPk.
12. Changes – The late Charles Bradley takes a Black Sabbath tune from 1972 and turns it into an incredibly mournful, emotion-filled piece of classic R&B. From the deeply soulful album Changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi49yirJiEA.
13. Smooth Sailin' – Leon Bridges sounds very smooth indeed on this soulful number from Coming Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTrKkqE9p1o.