Official site: http://jacksoul.com/

My space: www.myspace.com/jacksoul

Soul music. Straight-up, raw dawg, takin' no prisoners, goin' for your throat, tear-jerkin, ass shakin', sweet and low down, fried chicken and dumplings with a side of grease, mess around and hurt yourself Soul Music”.

That’s what lead vocalist and front man Haydain Neale is fervent about when asked about the new jacksoul album RESURRECTED.

“We just locked ourselves in the studio for a couple weeks and cranked out 100% soul records, just like they used to make back in the day. These are not the times to mess around with halfway, neo, quasi type music, 'cause that's not the world we live in. Reality isn't neo-hard, it's not pseudo-beautiful... it tends be intensely inspiring, or overly violent or totally heartbreaking... sometimes all at once. It's time for some real deal, full on Soul Music."

For his long awaited new album RESURRECTED, Neale invited his veteran co-conspirators to lay the soul down: Ron Lopata on keys, Davide Direnzo on drums, Justin Abedin on guitar and John "JK" Kanakis on bass. Together with co-producer Kevin "Kcut" McKenzie (of legendary hip hop pioneers ‘Main Source’) and some truly impassioned guest appearances, jacksoul revives the earthy feel and dirty grooves of early Stax and Motown eras by creating the phattest, greasiest and original live tracks of the new millenium. From the Al Green inspired Still Believe in Love to the timeless Teddy P. nod on Every Sunrise, RESURRECTED brings back what has always been timeless - intensely personal song writing and the most earnest and emotional vocal performance of Haydain Neale's career.

RESURRECTED follows jacksoul’s vivacious debut, Absolute, in 1996 and his 2000 Juno Award Winning sophomore release, Sleepless. Sonically, the new CD represents continued growth for a singer and band that started out practicing in a converted chicken coup. "It's cool to look back on the early songs and gigs and see that we've all done well in the industry as individual players and as a group. This album is not just a collection of great songs to get your head bobbin' and your hands beating on the steering wheel, it's a celebration of all the best soul music that inspired us to start playing in the first place.”

When asked about the recording process, "It's the song writing that's the most time consuming," says the Hamilton native. "I've grown a lot as a writer, but to create songs that make you feel like the classics do... well it takes time. To emulate the feel of classic greats like Sam Cook, Sly Stone and Sam and Dave, we decided that the normal studio wasn't a good fit. Pristine recording environments make for great pop songs, but soul is about a certain amount of dirt ... the magic is in the imperfection. So we brought all the new school recording gear to a very low fi rehearsal hall. It was where we felt most creative. From there, we just let the songs speak through us." In fact, the vibe was so good that 8 of the 12 tunes were recorded during 5 consecutive days in July 2002. "When you can really play-- and everyone is in the groove -- why mess around? We're old school like that. The guys would have finished in a day if I hadn't budgeted for five days of catering." jokes Neale.

"The first single, Still Believe In Love, is one of those gifts... I remember the whole song just rushing out of me about as fast as I could lay it down on my computer. A friend of mine, a country artist, was coming over one morning to try a co-write. I woke up still unsure what to bring to the table, not being too country myself, so I got out of the shower with about a couple hours to spare before the session, with a mind to throw down a couple of rough beats. I've always believed that Al Green and Otis Redding are pretty much common ground for all great song writers, so I threw a couple cords down with that kind of flavour and before I knew it, I'd finished the whole track. It just hits you hard and doesn't let go. And I think the message in the song is so important. It's a totally up beat break-up song. This track is going to get a lot of people through some bad times."

Love Jones also has a great story. Most of the track is performed by jacksoul's drummer, Davide DiRenzo. Neale recalls how the song came together, “One afternoon when I dropped by his place he said he had a song. He'd only been playing guitar for a couple of months, but he started strumming to give me an idea and I liked it right away. I turned on his 8 track to record it. I got him to keep playing by telling him I'd get the guitar replayed later. I never did. Something about the way he played made me write one of the most beautiful songs on the record. If anyone else had played it differently, I might not have heard the song at all.”

Every Sunrise and I Ain't No Good Without You are to RESURRECTED what Somedays was to the Sleepless album. jacksoul has been defined by it's love songs and Neale delivers on RESURRECTED. "I won't say much, so people can attach their own faces and stories to the songs. But the two songs are very much for my wife and my daughter. "

Saved and The River are special stand-out tracks, not just because of the sweet melodies and heavy grooves, but because of the issues they deal with-- war, youth violence, and spirituality. According to Neale, "I want to remind people that we've got a lot of work to do in order to change the things we don't like in this world. People complain that music today doesn’t say anything – and it's true. For all the artists going on about keepin' it real, only a few are really using their voices to help change things beyond their bank balances. I remember The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, artists that made music to inspire people's bodies, their minds and their attitudes. I think music needs to start moving with that purpose again.”

Regarding the renowned jacksoul live shows, Neale says, "I'm ready to get back on the road. Our musical influences all had incredible live shows, and that's what jacksoul was about even before we were signed -- a bunch of guys travelling the country, layin' down feel good music that made people excited about life long after we'd packed up and gone. That'll never change..."