Soul Symphony Review

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(More customer reviews)Soul Symphony is Will Downing's TWELVE album! Did you read that correctly, people? Album Number 12! Will Downing came out 17 years ago when he released his debut self-titled album in 1988 under the 4th & Broadway record label, the same people that put out Paid In Full for Eric B and Rakim! Usually when people talk about a long-standing career, they are talking about a dozen or so albums over 20 or 30 or even 40 years. This man is cranking out albums like there is no tomorrow. And if you're already familiar with his music, then you know that his crooning has for the most part remained consistent since day one. So with Soul Symphony, Will Downing is pretty much continuing to please his faithful followers and entice new listeners to become fans.
One of my favorite songs of all time is his duet with Rachelle Ferrell entitled "Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This" from his Love's The Place To Be album in 1993. I've been a fan ever since seeing that live-in-concert video on BET that day (that was the first year I ever had cable!) More than a decade later, and I'm still amazed at the vocals and the lyrics that Will Downing has always had in his repertoire. He's often slumped into the Smooth Jazz category, but Will Downing can easily be enjoyed by R&B lovers as well. "Put Me On" is sort of like a stepper's song only without the illustrious R. Kelly at the helm. Another song entitled "Soul Steppin" is obviously geared towards the stepping crowd as well as "Will Still Loves You." But Will Downing slows it down with songs like the groovy "What's It Gonna Be," the seductive "Make Time For Love," and "Crazy Love." But his most noticeable album tracks tend to be cover songs, and he does his own rendition of the classic "Superstar" that another crooner named Luther Vandross made a great remake of.
His other two songs on the album are traditional Will Downing songs, namely "A Promise" and "Heart Of Mine." There's not a lot of bad things to say about Will Downing...and why would you? The man has put in his time and done what he's needed to do to stay in the music business for so long. Sure he doesn't go Gold or Platinum like other fly-by-night artists, but in the end Will outshines them all when it comes to worthiness and having a long-standing career. I've had the pleasure of seeing him in concert a few years ago, sharing the stage with Phil Perry, Chante Moore, and Gerald Albright. It was easily one of the most delightful concerts that I got to share with the woman who would ultimately become my wife. And sitting in the front row to see her favorite singer Chante Moore perform and one of my favorite singers made it all worth it. Hopefully Will Downing will support Soul Symphony with a tour and you'll be able to witness it all for yourself.


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White Pony Review

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(More customer reviews)Depth, layers, twisting and turning textures...this is what "White Pony" is all about! The boys have done it again, continuing with the growth evident from "Adrenaline" to "Around The Fur". A stand-out album in 2000 and in the whole genre.
The seething, boiling rage is still there - pure and untouched. It's just channeled and expressed with more maturity, nuance and sophistication now. The Deftones make more use of texture, contrast and atmosphere/space in the music on this album to get their point across. It makes the music more compelling and even more dark and haunting...listen to the brilliance of "Digital Bath" and "Rx Queen" to hear what I mean -- brooding rage played with grace and finesse.
There's more variety here...different song structures, experimentation with different beats, layers and instrumentation, more contrasting sound choices...but make no mistake, THIS IS THE DEFTONES. They have not made the classic mistake of "growing" so much that they sound disjointed, incoherent...or like another band altogether. It still bears the classic Deftone scars....relentless, oppressive, biting guitars, pounding bass, precise, grooving drums...and Chino's sensual, keening, expressive vocals.
Some of the best, most aggressive riffs the Deftones have come up with are on this album...check out the fury of "Elite" and the syncopated, chunky metal-laden "Street Carp." More textures and sounds coaxed out of the guitars on this release.
Also, Chino has grown by leaps and bounds. His sultry, whispery howl is still present...but he explores the higher registers more often (singing, not screaming) and there is more modulation and shading to his voice, more of a sense of melody and nuance. And there's vocal harmonies at some points...a virtual first for the Deftones. They work. But do not fear -- Chino's blood-curdling, savage screaming intensity is still in full force.
Once again, the secret weapon of this band is Abe Cunningham...the drumming on "White Pony" is full of precision, monstrous grooves, tension and release, and coloring and subtlety. Abe gives the songs breath, momentum and finesse. Great stuff.
There is absolutely no filler here. So picking standouts is tough...but don't miss "Feiticiera", "Digital Bath" (with a riff/motif that will stick in your brain), the haunting yet melodic "Knife Party", the monster groove of "Korea" and the absolutely scary "Passenger" -- a collaboration with Maynard James Keenan of Tool and A Perfect Circle.
Groove that will stand your hairs on end.

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Japanese version of alternative metal act's 2000 album with a limited edition sticker exclusive to the first pressing and a multimedia component with features on each band member, lyrics, photos, live footage, video game and a link to an exclusive Quicktime video and the band's web-site. Includes the first single 'Change (In The House Of Flies)'. Standard jewel case.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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