With "Simply Good Music" Volume 2, Giant Step Records brings another quality compilation that stands far above all the rest out there. Giant Step has been a force in promoting underground talent over the past decade and is uniquely qualified to put forth a CD with the moniker "simply good music."
This edition features treats from Raphael Saddiq, Platinum Pied Pipers, Plantlife, Bebel Gilberto and Lizz Fields among others. Spanning styles from hip-hop to full-on dance music, Giant Step's Maurice Bernstein and Adam Kurzawa put together a mash-up of tunes that groove. Platinum Pied Pipers "Your Day is Done," featuring Los Angeles-based wunderkind singer Georgia Anne Muldrow lets you know what would happen if Lady Day was alive and well and crooning over hip-hop beats. Two of my personal favourite local bands also make an appearance: Atlanta-based Jiva giving another ATL soul crew, Seek, a deliciously breezy bossa remix treatment. Plantlife brings the funk a la Cameo/Prince/Sly with "Appreciate." This band stormed onto the scene last year and, led by frontman Jack Splash, have left a dust cloud of incredible music wherever they've landed. Renovation Unlimited with Roy Ayers is probably my favourite track from the comp. I'm a big fan of Mr. Ayers, and this tune really captures his classic sound-vibes and scat- incredible!
With a name like "Simply Good Music," Giant Step sets itself up to compile a tall order of top notch tunes. Fortunately they once again deliver.
