Search - Soulful Strings :: Groovin With

After years of searching . . .

S. Roberts | 01/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this album is an album of uncompromising brillance. I first heard this album as a child. I recently located a tape I'd made of my mother's record album of Soulful Strings and wonder if I could find it. This is a must for any lover of music. Words can't describe what's on this album. Pure ecstasy for the ears and soul! It makes you feel good! I can't go on, I'm too excited . . . 5 Plus Stars!!!!!"

Enjoyable sounds from the Soulful Strings

S. Roberts | 05/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is up tempo, as well as mellow sounds to it. Whatever the mood maybe this cd can provide a sweet experience. This cd truly has a very nice sound if you're a lover of jazz music.Burning spear has a nice up tempo rhythm beat to it, very smooth. The selection of within you without you, has a far eastern sound,yet very delightful. And Alfie which was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick, was done with a nice touch, in keeping it smooth and romantic."

Second album from brilliant Chicago string-jazz-funk-soul ou

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 11/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At first glance the Soulful Strings could be lumped into the many mainstream opportunists who adapted popular hits songs of the 1960s and early 1970s to orchestral and string arrangements. But unlike aggregations such as the Living Strings, Melachrino Strings or the Leon Russell led Midnight String Quartet, the Chicago-based Soulful Strings weren't an attempt to lure young listeners to easy listening or older listeners to pop. Instead, Cadet producer Esmond Edmunds and arranger-conductor Richard Evans were interested in exploring the intersection of a soulful Chicago jazz band and a full string section. At the time of the Soul Strings' creation, Evans was already an experienced bassist and arranger, having worked with Ramsey Lewis, Kenny Burrell and others. Even more importantly, the Soulful Strings albums were populated by the cream of Chicago's jazz and soul scene, including Charles Stepney, Lenard Druss, Bunky Green, Phil Upchurch, and many others. This second Soul Strings LP (their debut was titled Paint it Black), was released in 1967, and includes their best-known (and most thoroughly anthologized) tune, Richard Evans' "Burning Spear." Also heard here are reworked jazz tunes (Miles Davis' "All Blues"), psychedelic pop (George Harrison's "Within You Without You") and top-40 pop (The Rascals' "Groovin'"). Evans' arrangements are masterful, weaving the string section and jazz players together without artifice or novelty, lending the weight of the former to the solid funk of the latter. Sadly, as of the writing of this review, all seven Soulful Strings albums are out of print, and Universal (which currently owns the Cadet catalog) doesn't seem in any hurry to get them reissued. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]"