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Southern Soul Corner March 2016

A former Gospel group drummer from Texarkana, Texas, Avail Hollywood is one of the leaders of the current Southern Soul young guns, further verified by his first album title in the genre in 2009, The Young Gunn Of Southern Soul. He followed this one up with more successful album releases: Drinking Again (2011),  Country Road (2012), Rehab (2014) and  Wasted Confessions (2015). Each drop has had at least two or more singles to gain significant chart and airplay action. As I have said in the past, Avail Hollywood's style is to get to the heart of the matter, coming hard bringin'  grown folkz music with swag!   Writing all of his own material, Avail has also gained quite a reputation as a producer, which you may see in some of the credits as Christopher Estell, which is Avail's birth name.   Avail's latest, Old Skool Kinda Girl, just dropped in January. Hmm, Avail looks almost stoic in his album cover picture, very distinguished!  The title track as well as Twenty Five And Up are already receiving some bump. Standing Here Knocking, you know the storyline, is my early fave out of the nine tracks. Hollywood always applies testimonials to his work, heartfelt pleas telling it like it is. Hit Me Up On Facebook speaks to current everyday occurrences, the way the world turns. All original compositions, all the time, you have to admire that kind of persistence that has led to his success. Hip balladry with a funk describes Tight Jeans groove lines. I'm Sorry Baby dramatizes the way it too often can end up  (as in real life!). This is yet another album that definitely hits the mark for the unique stylings of Avail Hollywood!

Rue Davis has been a mainstay in the Southern Soul arena for over 20 years, with double digit albums to his credit across multiple labels. When I hear his name mentioned, I always think of one key Davis tune - the phenomenal I'm In Love With The Girl Next Door , which spent 59 weeks on the Rhythm 'n' Beach Top 40 charts across two years, finishing at #17 in 1995 and at #15 in 1996. He is a tremendous talent, a little bit Johnnie Taylor, a little Al Green, with a straight ahead mellow but extremely soulful delivery, all the while teetering on the edge of major stardom. Also too often overlooked is his vast song writing skills and producing, penning tunes for dozens of artists over the years.   Big Hip Woman is Rue's latest offering on the 1 Stop Graphics label. The title track is the type of bawdy Southern Soul groove that meets chart expectations, both here at the Corner and on many others. I'm Looking For The Real Thing has chart potential as well. Several of the original tunes on the album seem to me to be a retrospective of what the Rue Davis message was over the years. The Love of My Life, Can I Hold On To Your Hand, A Woman Needs Love and When I Was Sad are primarily slows and way down lows that are dead on serious tracks, a couple of which had versions released on earlier albums.  Give The Children A Chance and Forgive Them, which were previous single releases,  get even more serious - Rue is down home soulful and real, religious and humble in his phrasing.  Would love to see more recognition in the genre going forward for this multi-talented artist!