There is nobody in music quite like the one known as Res (pronounced ‘Reese’). A classically-trained born-and-raised Illadelphian vocalist with a soaring range, Res was raised on the strains of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Teddy Pendergrass. However, as her musical boundaries expanded, she developed a prurient interest in rock music — diverse artists like Berlin, Pearl Jam and The Eurythmics. Res’s understated power as a songwriter and vocalist first came to light in 2001 with the release of her album How I Do, fusing her vocal fury with a series of rock and soul tracks which many (including me) felt solidified her position as the shape of things to come. The album, which yielded the single “They-Say Vision”, preserved Res’s incomparable collaborations with an equally-young-and-hopeful former A&R rep named Santi White, who so believed in the project, she quit her A&R job to work full-time with Res. (Today, of course, the world now knows her better as the massively successful Santigold)

But back in those strange salad days, the music business became cruel and dark to many artists. Layoffs and broken contracts became a touchstone of the early-mid 21st century, and Res got caught in the crossfire of record labels who couldn’t figure out how to market her music. Was she a soul singer? Was she a rocker? To her hardcore fans, the delineation hardly mattered; they knew what she was capable of, and Res did too.

More info and a free MP3 after the jump.
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