Vel Omarr - If I Should Get To Heaven

THE NEW RECORD INDUSTRY

THE RECORD INDUSTRY ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE. For the most part, with some money and a little ingenuity it’s relatively easy for just about anyone to go into a studio and create a record, but, as I was forewarned by a good friend, “That’s the easy part. Marketing and sales are the key.” After nearly 30 years in this business, I’d have to say he’s right. Marketing, or the lack thereof, is also where some of the best projects live, die or are never heard.

As a mostly independent artist who has recorded six CDs, I’m often asked when I will record my next project. When I hear that question, I can’t help but feel a sense of urgency to get into the studio and start recording. I think the contention is that churning out new songs is the best way to stay relevant, to let everybody know you’re still kicking. But as an artist whose work is still new to billions who have not yet heard or purchased my existing music, I say if six records fall in the forest and they haven’t made a sound (at least not the uproarious sound many of my fans say they deserve), the solution isn’t cutting down more records, but rather picking up their fruit and taking them to the market.

I’m reminded of many ‪#‎legendaryartists‬ who hit their stride with what many consider to be their best or most notable work. They kept recording or kept creating, as I surely will but will forever be known for what their audiences deemed their greatest work. Consider Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, or Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill—all great work. But what if they had not been widely heard or sold simply because of limited marketing budgets? Would that have made them any less genius or any less appreciated if these albums were released for the very first time today? I certainly don’t think so.

So, rest assured that I’ll never stop creating, but for now I’m gonna hang my hat on records like The Greatest Song I Ever Sang, Ain't No Telling, How Can I Make You Mine and Rhythms & the Blues and on songs that I know my fans and radio stations are still playing and enjoying, like "The Power Of Your Love", “Everybody’s Dancin’,” “That's All That Matters To Me” and “If I Should Get To Heaven.” I think you’ll still find your place in the groove.

Soulfully Yours,
Vel Omarr (Sales and Marketing)
http://Vel-Omarr.com
Edited by Rashida Syed

Buy Classic Soul Music by Vel Omarr

Sam Cooke & Other Legends "If I Should Get To Heaven" Tribute by Vel Omarr

Vel Omarr

Vel Omarr

Soul Express' Heikki Suosalo reviews Vel Omarr
"VEL OMARR *

Special Soul Music is a new subsidiary of CDS Records (www.cdsrecords.com), and on their CD covers it says “100 % Organic, Real Musicians, Real Instruments, Real Soul.” And indeed, on Vel Omarr’s The Greatest Song I Ever Sang (SPSO 2) they present a real live rhythm section and even a 4-piece horn section. Produced by Carl Marshall, he’s also the main writer with some help from Dylann DeAnna and Robert Conerly.

Vel’s idol is Sam Cooke, and there’s a strong vocal resemblance, too. He’s perhaps closest to Sam of all the artists I’ve heard in recent years. Vel is also an industry veteran having sung in the latter-day’s Robins and Olympics, and - as far as I know - The Greatest Song is Vel’s fourth solo album so far (www.vel-omarr.com).

The opening song, Everybody’s Dancin’, is like Sam’s Having a Party introduced to us all over again after fifty years with its laid-back beat and infectious melody. Happy People is another merry melody along the lines of Another Saturday Night.

I Love you and A Woman’s Love Is Greater are both mid-tempo beaters, whereas Don’t Give More Than You Feel and Joanna could almost be categorized as novelties. The former is somewhere between a circus tune and a nursery rhyme with accordion and everything, and the latter one is built on a Caribbean beat. Lonesome Joe, on the contrary, is closest to the funk you’ll get on this set.

As harmless, joyous and light-hearted as all those mid- and up-tempo tracks are I still prefer the five slow songs on this CD. Still My Love Grows is a tender love serenade, and The Greatest Song I Ever Sang is charged with a lot of passion in Vel’s delivery. I’ll Be There for Ya and Everybody Needs Somebody Sometime are both melodic and wistful beat-ballads, while the very slow Give Me Your Love has a pleading Marvin Gaye feel on it. Although nothing earth-shattering, I thoroughly enjoyed and keep enjoying this Vel’s CD. It’ll certainly find its way into my top-ten this year."

Blues Historian: Vel Omarr: A Change Is Going To Come

Blues Historian: Vel Omarr: A Change Is Going To Come

Also, Visit Vel Omarr at his Home Page http://Vel-Omarr.com 

Also...

http://www.classicsoulpromotions.com/

Hurry Back Home - A Soldier's Love Song/Standing as ONE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3n8tukJh2w