Music Review: Billie Ray Martin, The Soul Tapes

Name: Birgit Dieckmann, Check. Birthplace: Hamburg, West Germany, Check. New album: The Soul Tapes, what the ??

Now in her 40s Birgit has been known as Billie Ray Martin for more than 20 years now.

She's put in a lot of miles and countless gigs and many incarnations.

In that time she's made music of just about every genre, but since time spent in Berlin way back she's had a soft spot for Motown and soul music.

Better still she has a great voice for it. In other words she's ready to deliver on the promise she made to herself years ago. The end result is The Soul Tapes and it's here now.

The Soul Tapes has been a labour of love and the realisation of a long-held dream for Billie Ray Martin and her voice really is the business.

All of the songs bear testament to not just a soulful voice but an affinity for the music that's been in her blood for years waiting for the right time to make it happen.

Highlight tracks are That's How Strong My Love Is, written by Roosevelt Jamison in 1964, and made famous by Otis Redding, and Ann Peebles and Don Bryant's soul classic One Way Street.

But really all the songs come with a tender touch that demonstrates her love of the music.

Billie Ray Martin, after a musical journey that's taken her down many pathways and genres, has, at last, delivered her the album she's been hankering for.

Luckily for us The Soul Tapes is now available in New Zealand through The Label.

If you haven't heard of her before, now's the time to right that wrong.

Rating: 5/5 stars.