Hello, " In or Out " That's The Question


Meanwhile a different kind of Soul-Jazz grooves here today to cleanse those dusty parts of soul..

Today's artists drew praise for the fiery passion of all three members. They were able to alternate between soulful ballads, gospel, blues and stomping jazz. Sell-out performance at the prestigious Ronnie Scott’s jazz club confirmed their status within the British ‘new jazz/pop’ scene. In accentuating the ‘jazz’ motif, the music and ‘style’ press unfortunately saddled the singer with an unwanted Billie Holiday image. The band continue to command respect from critics and fans alike  ... N'joy

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The band Carmel was formed in Manchester when two students McCourt and Jim Parris got together with drummer Gerry Darby (Parris's cousin). Their début single, "Storm" reached No. 1 in the UK independent chart and they were signed to London Records. Their second album The Drum is Everything (produced by Mike Thorne) drew some praise. Parris and Darby conjured the effect of a full ensemble backing to McCourt's vocals, and alternated between soulful ballads, gospel, blues and jazz. The resulting singles "Bad Day" and "More, More, More" both went Top 25 in the UK Singles Chart.

The following album, The Falling (produced by Brian Eno, Hugh Jones and David Motion) had considerable success in France, achieving gold disc status, and also charted in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands. "Sally", the first single lifted from the album, sold 500,000 copies in France alone, and led to McCourt featuring in a duet "J'oublierai ton nom" with French rock star Johnny Hallyday. With the critical and commercial success awarded to both The Falling and the follow-up album Everybody's Got A Little... Soul, record producers were keen to work with Carmel.

1989 saw the release of Set Me Free, with Brian Eno and Pete Wingfield adding their touches to the material. Jimmy Somerville provided guest vocals on the track "One Fine Day", a song dedicated to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, only to be assassinated 10 months later. A five star review in Q described the album as "incendiary" and the decade was closed with the 1990 compilation Collected, summing up the band's career to that date.

1992's Good News saw Carmel moving to East West Records with Parris producing. That album was followed by 1995's World's Gone Crazy with producers including Carmel McCourt, Jim Parris, Gerry Darby, Julian Mandelsohn and Mike Thorne. A single was released from World's Gone Crazy, the ballad "If You Don't Come Back", an English-language version of "Si Tu No Vuelves" by the Spanish singer-songwriter and actor, Miguel Bosé. In 1997, Ronnie Scotts provided the venue for their last album for over a decade, Live at Ronnie Scotts, a partial retropsective of their work to date, also containing some previously unreleased material.

Live performance has always been central to Carmel's work and they are successful on the European touring circuit, and have frequently found greater appreciation on the continent than in the UK. The French christened McCourt the new Edith Piaf[citation needed], and in Italy she won the accolade of best jazz vocalist at the Messina Festival.

During much of the 1990s the band members were living between Barcelona, Paris and Manchester, and it was hard for them to work together, so they pursued other musical projects. Parris created the band Nzi Dada with Paris-based multimedia artist Xumo Nounjio, and McCourt worked on various projects as a singer, writer and teacher.

The start of the millennium saw them all back in their adopted hometown of Manchester, but Darby decided he no longer wanted to continue. In 2002 Parris and McCourt undertook a tour playing the old material with a nine piece band. This resulted in a 2004 live DVD entitled More, More, More, comprising a full band performance and an interview with McCourt and Parris.

In December 2011, McCourt and Parris released their first studio album in over 15 years. Still working under the name Carmel, they released the album Strictly Piaf, which consisted of 10 reinterpretations of classic and lesser-known songs by Edith Piaf. An initial single from the album was Sous le ciel de Paris before the album was made available via download. The collection later received a full CD release in August 2012 via Secret Records.

As of October 2012, McCourt was set to return to live work with a new band formation, performing Carmel classics as well as material from the Strictly Piaf album. Dates included those at London's Islington Town Hall, Stockton Georgian Theatre, and Manchester Band on The Wall. Of the shows, she has said: "It will be wonderful to work with the new musicians. They are all great in their own right and it will be so sweet to hear the many songs that Gerry Darby, Jim Parris and I wrote together in the years spanning the 1980s and the 1990s".

Carmel took the band on a European tour of Germany and Switzerland towards the end of May 2013 and began to start playing some of the new songs she'd been writing.

On September 25, 2015 Carmel released her first new single with her new band, the double A-Side 'Sad Situation' | 'Second Wife Blues', on new independent label Kultura Recordings. Both tracks were recorded at Limefield Studio in Middleton and mixed and mastered by Kevin O'Toole.

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Carmel McCourt and her band Carmel in 1982 to the UK music scene was a thing to behold.
This hazy, spacey mini LP from Manchester 'torch' singer Carmel showcases the sultry sweetness and sensitive strength of her voice perfectly. Soaked in a smokey nightclub atmosphere - with jazzy hi-hat, moody double bass and wild conga as backing - influences include early Piaf, a young Aretha, Billie Holliday and even Jim Morrison (on the live track, "Storm"). Above all, though, it's Carmel's natural swagger that makes this such a stylish debut.

Carmel - Carmel   (flac 99mb)

01 Tracks Of My Tears 4:29
02 Sugar Daddy 3:06
03 Guilty 2:22
04 Thunder 3:09
05 Love Affair 3:09
06 Storm 3:42

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The songs run from jazz through gospel to blues and soulful balands. An obscure gem of the first order from the days before the neo-soul/Acid Jazz movement. Many would say Carmel helped kick start the groovy fun with their throw-back hipster bop and swing style. This 10 track album features the hit "More, More, More" and, well, Stormy Weather and the insanely primal slink of the title track! Produced by Mike Thorn. Carmel McCourt's wild, swinging jazz voice and beatnik-mixed-with-pop sensibilities is a titilating combination. This white woman deals out blue-eyed soul with driving rhythms and gorgeous tunes, her singular voice which makes this one of the best long players to come out of England in the 80's.

Carmel - The Drum Is Everything   (flac  360mb)

01 More More More 6:26
02 Stormy Weather 3:42
03 The Drum Is Everything 2:00
04 I Thought I Was Going Mad 1:46
05 The Prayer 6:43
06 Rockin' On Suicide 2:00
07 Rue St Denis 4:19
08 Willow Weep For Me 2:45
09 Tracks Of My Tears 3:56
10 Bad Day 6:36
Bonus Tracks
11 Lament 3:12
12 That's Cool That's Neat 3:02
13 Hot Dog 3:54
14 Willow Weep For Me (12'' Extended Mix) 4:27
15 Rue St Denis (Dance Mix) 7:53

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Several of the racks on this recording were produced by Brian Eno. And while the album is squarely in the pop-soul vein, his sonic touches make it all the more distinctive. Not as jarringly original as "The Drum Is Everything," which preceded it but worthy in its own right. Very successful in France thanks to megahit Sally, but it's the chilling 'I'm Not Afraid Of You' that haunts the soul here. Why oh why did Amy Stewart never cover this song, it would have been awesome..

Carmel - The Falling   (flac  405mb)

01 I'm Not Afraid Of You 5:45
02 Let Me Know 4:15
03 Tok 3:57
04 The Falling 4:03
05 Mama Told Me Not To Come 4:33
06 Mercy 5:05
07 Easy For You 3:56
08 Sticks & Stones 4:57
09 Sally 3:52
Bonus Tracks
10 Daddy Long Legs  3:56
11 What A Story 3:18
12 Energise My Soul 5:56
13 All Day Long I Shouted 4:11
14 Mercy (Par Pitié) 4:24
15 I'm Not Afraid Of You (Extended 12'' Remix) 5:45
16 Hymn Of Love 3:18

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Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the 1987 album, beautifully crafted songs, natural & exciting progressions from previous works, this album was, and absolutely remains a true classic. Anyone failing to hum Azure for a week after being seduced by the lush rhythms of this,  it still sounds as great as ever and as fresh as when it was first released. They were ahead of their time and, as such, never got the acclaim they deserved.

Carmel - Everybody's Got A Little ... Soul   (flac 477mb)

01 It's All In The Game 3:56
02 Every Little Bit 5:01
03 Sweet And Lovely 3:40
04 Nothing Good 5:06
05 Azure 4:15
06 Lay Down 3:29
07 Jazz Robin 2:42
08 I Do And Do (Full Length) 8:42
09 A Hey Hey (Everybody's Got A Little...Soul) 2:56
10 A Hey Hey (Reprise) 1:37
Bonus Tracks
11 It's All In The Game (12" mix) 7:18
12 Tracks Of My Tears (Live At Ronnie Scotts) 6:39
13 More More More (Live At Ronnie Scotts) 5:57
14 The Crocodile Poem 5:26
15 Long Come Liberty 8:58

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