New [to me] Music.

Big love to Sarah for hooking me up with a couple of new[ish] songsters. She brought over Ray LaMontagne who has traces of Otis Redding and a little vintage Kenny Loggins (that is pre "FootLoose" Kenny Loggins) in his voice and Leela James, who is the female Anthony Hamilton, whom I adore and who also has a new album. Definitely listen to any samples that are available on these sites. If you like soul with a little country thrown in (in LaMontagne's case), or soul with a little black Baptist church, and some arresting beats (in the cases of James and Hamilton), then you'll like this stuff.

Oh, and major props to Leela for doing a No Doubt cover ("Don't Speak") r&b style while totally maintaining the song's integrity. I have always believed that music, like people, is spectral... it all flows from one origin point. The various expressions are nuances and textures, but it all goes back to one place, and the more of the different genres you listen to, the more you can hear all in the one.