Steve Matteo surveys a new trio of deep-dive music books on Muscle Shoals, the Grateful Dead and the Record Plant with simply stunning visual presentations.

Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ arrived 55 years ago today as one of the 1970s’ most important records – and one of music’s most complex joys.

Here is the second advance single from Mama Guns’ 2026 album ‘DIG!’, the title track with special guest Brian Jackson.

Burnt Sugar fuses improvisational funk, jazz, rock and soul on ‘If You Can’t Dazzle Them With Your Brilliance, Then Baffle Them With Your Blisluth Pt. Two.’

Here’s the satisfyin’ retro-soul single “Say It Again” from Shawn Lee (Young Gun Silver Fox) and Kelly Finnigan (The Monophonics).

Narada Michael Walden’s music and that of the artists he works with varies intriguingly from genre to genre. So do the albums that shaped his career.

The few who heard him described Sterling Harrison’s music as “deep soul,” with a voice that conjured up aural images of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett.

This album will always be defined by its lead-off moment, as the Temptations take a kid’s song and transform it into a funked-out Yuletide hoot.

Best described as “acoustic soul,” Hall and Oates’ underrated ‘Abandoned Luncheonette” arrived 50 years ago today.

Cheryl Pawelski spent 17 years saving great music from irretrievable oblivion for ‘Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos.’ It was time well spent.