rock 'n' roll. But the fact is, it all started at SUN Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. (I highly recommend you visit SUN when in Memphis. Feel the vibe left behind by Jerry Lee and Elvis. It still hangs in the air. – MBS) This is by far the definitive Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun collection. There are 623 tracks, including more than more than 100 previously unheard versions of his songs. All of the mono versions. All of the stereo ver- sions. Buy the box. There’s gonna be a whole lot
of shakin’ goin’ on! Just like the man him- self, this set is priceless and KILLER!
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Royal Southern Brotherhood Royal Gospel (Ruf) Super groups come and go, but once in a very blue moon, a group gets together
that defies the odds by staying together for years. Such is the case with Royal Southern Brotherhood. Although they have been trough several personnel changes, the group has always revolved around their core, Cyril Neville of the famed Neville Brothers. If the guys in the band were planets, Cyril would be the sun. The current band lineup bonded on
2015’s excellent Don’t Look Back, reorded in the legendary Muscle Shoals studio FAME. Cyril Neville (percussion/vocals), Bart Walker (guitar/vocals), Tyrone Vaughan (guitar/vocals) and Yonrico Scott (drums) have now added Darrell Philips (bass/vo- cals), and the album features Norman Caesar as a guest on the B-3. The record was pro- duced by the great David Z, and recorded “old school” style, live in the studio. It comes down to sheer chemistry. Bands
either have it, or they don’t. RSB has it in abundance. In my book, they have yet to re- lease a bad album. As a matter of fact, I would classify every record they have recorded somewhere between “very good” and “great.” Royal Gospel, their fourth out- ing, leans more toward great. Starting off with the soulful and rocking
“Wherever There’s Smoke,“ the album begins with a punch that hits hard, just to get your attention. But pace yourself, this is a 12- round contest, and you don’t want to get worn down. Truth be told, there will not be one winner here. We are all winners. “Can’t Waste Time” is another good one, bolstering a funky groove and a lyric abut a two-timing lover, and “Coming Home,” a great song about being on the road, is enhanced by a nasty slide guitar solo. Another standout track is “Blood is
Thicker Than Water,” a tune with an unstop- pable groove, solid percussion from Rico and Cyril, solid bass and more of that smoldering guitar work that bleeds into a twin lead wor- thy of The Allman Brothers Band. Just great. The Royal Gospel will take you to church.
Not the little Baptist church you went to as a child, but the Church of Life. The church where shouting and dancing in the isles is commonplace and expected. Get up in it and testify!
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Cameron Johnson Stack Your Stones (Ten ‘til Two Music) When She D’Ambro-
sio gifted me with a copy of this new EP a few weeks ago, all I
could think was “Oh great. Another DIY CD to add to my never-ending stack for review consideration. But even then, as I sat at a
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