Marvin Sease : "Hey Robb, I love the Soul Presciption CD so much, I gotta have you on my next album. Are you available to do some recordings with me ?"
Bigg Robb : "Oh no doubt Marvin ! Just give me a date and time, and I'm there !"
Marvin : "Cool ! Cool ! Here's a blank check from one of my personal bank accounts, fill in as many zero's as you like, just don't get too crazy, ya heard ?!"
Robb : "No problem Big Dawg, I gotcha !"
Marvin : "Nice ! Nice ! Here's the address to Muscle Shoals Studios, see you next week, and don't be late, ya dig ?!" ...... LOL !! ;-)
Let's a closer look at some of the highlights of this Mississippi Delta/Memphis Soul Stew/Cincinnati : Dayton, Ohio "Sweet & Tangy Bar-B-Que Sauce Trunk Of Funk" of an album he aptly tiled, "Soul Prescription".
"Backtracking" - Is a song for those who can't enough of an old flame's, ahem, "lovin'" .... hint, hint ! ;-) .... and I don't mean the kind of loving when someone sends you a card, a box of chocolates, or the usual email saying, "Oh darling ! I miss you ! I'm here at work thinking about you ! What are doing right now, I wish I was there with you right now ! Boo Hoo Hoo !" .... Nah ! Not that kind of lovin' ! Please !! I'm talkin' 'bout, .... "Hey sweet thing ! What are you doing right now ?! What !! Nothing ?! Cool ! I'm be right over !!! .... What, what did you say ? Don't forget the Trojans ?! Are you kidding me ?!?! I'm like American Express ! I never leave home without them !!" .... but add a soulful Hammond B3 organ, sustained synthesizer strings chords, synthesizer horns, Robb's auto tuned easy and laid back lead vocal, "chuch" like background vocals, a nick pickin' rhythm guitar, a upper mid rangy bass guitar, and you got the kind of lovin' some of us have in our lives ..... and in additional, a smash on your hands !
"Country Twang" - Now mind you, I'm not a huge fan of the auto tune, but somehow, Robb utilizes it in a way, even the snobbiest of auto tune critics such as myself, could tolerate. This track come complete with the, once again, synthesizer horns, and a bouncy bass synthesizer, the ever present Hammond B3 organ, soulful and chicken scratched flanged rhythm guitar, programmed hand claps, and something I've never heard from an auto tune executed performance .... "A thick and heavy country accent ala Arkansas by way of Cousin Hoyt ". A short, but sweet, talk box performance in the mode of Roger Troutman, is thrown in the mix to give it that "funky bounce".
"Crying Zone" featuring Mz. Jackson - Robb slows the pace down a bit with this Hot Buttery Soul jam that demands you to shut the cell phone off, take the kids over to Nana's, dim the lights, and get out your favorite bubbly .... and you know what else follows ;-) .... Here's another first, for me at least, Mz. Jackson's soulful and sensual co-lead vocal's are auto-tuned at select spots. To hear a female's voice auto-tuned certainly was an eye opener for me. But the track itself is sexy, mellow, laid back, chilled, and "crying zoned". You'll hear gently performed electric piano chords, synthesizer fills, light programmed percussion soundscapes, meticulously performed bass guitar notes and phrasings. Bigg Robb gets his "Barry White/Marvin Gaye/Luther Vandross/Teddy Pendergrass' "Turn Off The Lights" groove on, in his lead vocal performance. In case you haven't figured it out, the "Crying Zone" is that particular moment in the baby making process when "tears begin to fall from your eyes, and they get mixed in with your lover's sweat, you just start tingling all oveeeeeerrrrr" ..... you have to accentuate the "oveeeeerrrrrr" ..... Bigg Robb's words, not mine !! LOL ! :-)
"Juke For Me" featuring Da Problem Solvas - The Blues is in full swing here !! .... along with the Bar-B-Que'd Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Ribs, Corn Bread, Collard Greens, and all the Southern/Delta cuisine you can handle. The jook joints are packed and people are having a ball ! That's the image and feel of this track ! The B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King, Booker T & MG's imprints are all over this Memphis, Stax sprinkled track. You got the lower registered guitar thang happin', the Booker T. organ thing going on, the live human handclaps in the backgrounds {Robb knew better ! He couldn't have a drum machine doing this ! NO WAY !!!} .... and the "juke for me" chants adds that spicy Cajun spice. This Mississippi River Blues blessed track comes complete with a tasty harmonica in the break down. Robb sings about his excursion to the local Jook Joint and watching those sexy ladies, well ... "juke".
"So Delicious" featuring Sure 2 B The Talkbox Guru - What better way to homage to one of Robb's mentors, the late great Roger Troutman, than to incorporate a Zapp influenced track on this album. The rhythm pattern is very reminiscent to Zapp's 1982 hit, "Dance Floor", as well as 1983's "Heartbreaker". Sure 2 B's talkbox performance is exceptional to say the least, he kept Roger's flavor in the mix, so it work well with the accompanying rhythm track. The drum programmed handclaps are kept in perfect unison with the sub octaved bass synthesizer performance, and the Roland G6 Advanced Synthesizer keyboard stabs. Of course, no track like this is complete without the heavy kick drum, and that's in full supply here. Overall, "So Delicious" is taylor made for toe tappers, baby gappers, and love lappers !
It's just a matter of time before Bigg Robb breaks through to the mainstream as he tours relentlessly all over the country. One thing that'll keep Robb relevant for years is his relationship with his legions of fans worldwide, for whom he's the most grateful for. He does everything in his power to keep a close bond with them, whether through his tight knit Facebook community, or his shows. He never takes anything or anyone for granted, and believe me, they love him for it. Pick up this CD or legally download it, you'll be glad you did ! .... and when you do, call Bigg Robb and tell him yourself. Just call (937) 367-8650, that's all ! .... and if you're wondering if he's going to pick up the phone and actually talk to you ? .... Well, just call (937) 367-8650 and find out ! :-)
Musically Yours,
Ran Man
You can either purchase a CD or download "Soul Prescription" at Amazon.Com :
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_27?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bigg+robb+soul+prescription&sprefix=bigg+robb+soul+prescription
You can either purchase a CD or download "Soul Prescription" at CDBaby.Com :
www.cdbaby.com/cd/biggrobb9
You can download "Soul Prescription" at iTunes :
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/soul-prescription/id408679232
You can download "Soul Prescription" at Rhapsody :
www.rhapsody.com/bigg-robb/soul-prescription
You can download "Soul Prescription" at eMusic :
www.emusic.com/album/BIGG-ROBB-Soul-Prescription-MP3-Download/12286661.html
Please visit Bigg Robb's Official Website at : www.heybiggrobb.com/start.html
Become a friend of Bigg Robb on Facebook {Tell 'em Ran Man sent ya !} : www.facebook.com/heybiggrobb
Become a friend of Bigg Robb on his 2 MySpace pages :
www.myspace.com/115620487
www.myspace.com/76741316
Check out Bigg Robb on Reverb Nation : www.reverbnation.com/#!/biggrobbanddaproblemsolvas
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