Leela James - "A Change Is Gonna Come"(Warner Bros, 2005) * * * *

Below you'll find reviews of three soul / r&b albums you need to have in your collections. They're all recent releases, making their mark on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but they're not (as of yet) getting the airplay they deserve. You can help by going to Napster or ITunes to buy them. There is good music being made today, but you just have to dig a bit to find it.



"I can't even turn on my radio without somebody hollerin' about a bitch or whore," Leela James sings early on her album. "Right now I'm missing music." Right on, Leela. This is soulful r&b that pulls from influences ranging from the likes of Tracy Chapman to more modern artists such as Alicia Keyes. And she blends everything well, creating a sonic landscape that is unlike anything else on the charts today. Leela wants to know where the soul's gone, and I can't answer that question. But perhaps she's answered her own question, when the whole album sounds like she's taken everything that was great about soul and r&b (everything that's been missing in the hip hop meets pop radio world) and brought it into 2005. All while making it sound new. It's no short order, but she pulls it off like she's been doing it for decades. I'm going to lay it out straight. Buy this album now. It needs to be heard. "They say you don't know a good thing til it's gone," she sings on "Ghetto". It would be a horrible waste if this becomes an album that's so great no one heard it.