Michael McDonald is a blues man to the bone! His deep, distinctive baritone - somewhat similar to James Ingram - is instantly recognizable. It was hard to narrow down my "best of" as I've been a fan of McDonald since the beginning when he was with the Doobie Brothers all the way to his stellar Grammy-studded solo career - that's 40 years of bad-ass music, folks!
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Bobby Caldwell is all over the map with his signature sound. From Soul/R&B to adult contemporary to smooth jazz to big band, his voice is able to adapt & swing to whatever. Many Hip Hop artists have sampled his music - from 2PAC to Notorious B.I.G to Common - which makes him part of the Hip Hop world as well! There are only a handful of artists who can move effortlessly between genres and be successful - Only Lionel Ritchie, Darius Rucker, George Benson, Quincy Jones come to mind. Add Caldwell to this elite group of genre-bending artists.
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Bobby Caldwell is all over the map with his signature sound. From Soul/R&B to adult contemporary to smooth jazz to big band, his voice is able to adapt & swing to whatever. Many Hip Hop artists have sampled his music - from 2PAC to Notorious B.I.G to Common - which makes him part of the Hip Hop world as well! There are only a handful of artists who can move effortlessly between genres and be successful - Only Lionel Ritchie, Darius Rucker, George Benson, Quincy Jones come to mind. Add Caldwell to this elite group of genre-bending artists.
I have always looked upon Sting as more of a poet than musician. Lyrically, he has always been depths beyond his contemporaries and has impressively kept true to himself & his art in spite of fame & fortune. If you have never sat down to ponder over his brilliant lyricism, consider purchasing or downloading Lyrics by Sting. Brilliant stuff!
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George Michael first came across (to me) as a one-hit cream puff when he started off his career as part of a duo called Wham! I didn't take to this bubblegum-pop vibe as it seemed too processed & forgettable - like elevator or office music. It was only when he dropped his first solo joint in '87, Faith, did I take notice of his soulful vibe. Four albums later, Michael is still at the top of his game, musically. The influence of classic soul & rock music (most notably, by Stevie Wonder & Queen), is quite evident in his work & he does a masterful job of keeping the golden era of music (the 70s) alive.
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More Blue-Eyed Soul
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OneLove
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:::MME:::
