So, here we are, just over six months after the release of Volume 1, and I’m delighted to bring you the next instalment of The Contemporary Soul Songbook series. Volume 1 took quite a few people by surprise, especially those who had previously ignored our “unsigned” series of compilations. It’s rather ironic that the majority of artists featured on the first Songbook were also unsigned and independent, but it’s amazing how differently an album is perceived when you drop the words “unsigned” and “independent” from the title and tag line! Something else that I learnt from Volume 1 is that everyone has their own idea of what soul music is. Indeed, several reviewers questioned whether the music featured on Volume 1 was actually, in their opinion, soul music at all. Others went to great lengths to try to apply their own categorisation of exactly what they were listening too. On the positive side, the vast majority of review websites and D...