Johnnie Taylor This Is Your Night 1984/2018 / (Part of the Malaco Definitive Collection, The Truth Of Southern Soul Series!)

 A real killer from Johnnie Taylor – recorded on a return to the indie underground after years on bigger labels, but done with all of the care and class that Taylor picked up during his late 70s run on Columbia! As with Taylor's best from that time, there's a newfound love of the mellow cut here – delivered with this mature, masculine style that's really Johnnie's own – and which was his greatest contribution during this stretch – a way of blending older southern soul roots with styles that were tight, and often grooving in a laidback way – but never too slick at all. There's loads of great overlooked gems on the set – and titles include "She's Cheating On Me", "This Is Your Night", "A Love To Call Mine", "Lady My Whole World Is You", and "Good With My Hips".