FEATURES

Whatever Happened to R&B? Hip hop stole its thunder. Luckily, Soul-Patroller Bob Davis is here to announce its return. Oddly enough, this new soul music is called NuSoul

Covers: When coming in second (or third) counts as a lofty ambition. Rock authority Wayne Robins and Suzanne Cadgene examine the merits of reworking a known quantity. With excerpts from Mr. Robins’ book, A Brief

DEPARTMENTS

Letter from the Editor: With courage and talent you can make the leap and land on your feet, maybe even in a good spot

Influences: Soul singers Bettye LaVette and Solomon Burke have both stayed true to their music, despite a fickle industry and public. Now—again—it’s their time to shine

Kickin’ in Your Stall: Why do we think musicians go to Heaven? Carl Gustafson explains what may be an Urban Myth

On The Record: Delta Duke Tab Benoit racks up another success with Night Train to Nashville, a live album; Solomon Burke, the Black Keys, George Strait and Marcia Ball again live up to expectations, while relative newcomers Jimmy Wolf, Heybale! and Justin Townes Earle initiate expectations

Also Appearing: Bettye LaVette live, Ray Charles, and Albert Collins recorded live, a whole bookshelf of guitar lore and photos worth framing, and Naturally 7 play the opposite of air guitar—big band sound, but no instruments

Collecting: Soul survivors: collecting the best of Wilson Pickett, when LPs and soul music were both in their prime

Re.Issues: Gamble & Huff created the sound of a city— Philadelphia, to be exact—and their Greatest Hits is now on disk; rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Doors reappear, as do jazz greats Bill Evans and Miles Davis and more earthbound talents like Jim Kweskin