Here are two tracks from a recent acquisition of mine. I'm not a huge Jerry Butler fan, but I generally flip over his records when digging through the stacks, mostly to find that album with the Method Man sample. This is not the one, but while scanning the back cover I saw two other names that I know and adore: Donny Hathaway and Terry Callier. Donny arranged "Sail Away" and Terry wrote "Windy City Soul." By this time in 1971, Donny was already on his way to fame and Terry was just getting started and both were probably honored to be working with Jerry Butler, Chicago soul royalty.
These two songs make for nice bookends as one longs for an escape from one's locale and the other is about a homecoming.
O Embaixador - Viagem Pelo Brasil Just made this mix last night and it's far from perfect, but I think you might enjoy it. I started out with a few songs I was planning on including, but then it just kinda became a stream of consciousness style mix. Notable on this mix is the three-in-a-row Brasilian tunes by way of A&M records including some promo only Tamba Trio and Sergio Mendes. We also have some funky northeastern tunes, before delivering a dose of samba and then some Brasilian boogie before coming back home to samba. I might be convinced to create a track-list if enough people wanna know what's what. I hope you dig it.
Barry White is one of those musicians that I never really followed too closely because his music was already so ubiquitous, I assumed that I had already heard it all. Sure, I definitely liked some of his stuff a lot and even got down to some greatest hits CD when I lived in Indonesia and was starved of good music. But it wasn't until lately that I realized what a wealth of music he was responsible for beyond his own records.
I have been rocking the Love Unlimited record below for a couple years now and managed to track down the My Sweet Summer Suite 12" a while back, but honestly I was thinking these tracks were just one-offs. Then, more recently, I came across the Gloria Scott record and then the Jay Dee single (also featured on the $20 Worth of Soul Mix and I realized that there really is something to this Barry White dude beyond the hits.
Gloria Scott - What Am I Gonna Do? This album is awesome! It's kinda like the first Love Unlimited album, but with a more soulful solo female vocalist. Most of the songs are mid-tempo and really emotionally-charged, but man the arrangements and the hooks are sooo good! This is the first track of the disc, but honestly I coulda picked one of 5 others that are just as good. Pick up the reissue CD or LP at dustygroove.
Love Unlimited - I Can't Let Him Down This is a later Love Unlimited jam that I absolutely love. The intro is soaring and then the beat just drops and the song is on its way. This song shows Barry in a more rare fast-paced groove.
Jay Dee - Strange Funky Games and Things Another Barry White side-project, Jay Dee is a decent singer but what we have here is really just prime Barry White arrangements and playing from Love Unlimited, Barry's ever-present ensemble. I'm sure there are other individuals responsible for these excellent tunes: the Love Unlimited singers, Jay Dee, arrangers such as the legendary Gene Page and Webster Lewis, but the one thing all these tunes have in common is the larger than life . . . Barry White.
The idea behind this mix is to demonstrate what can be accomplished with $20, some patience, record cleaning solution and some elbow grease. Two weekends ago I went down the street for my regular dig at the Alemany Flea Market. I ended up getting records from two different vendors, neither of which specialize in vinyl. I convinced the vendor at the first spot to sell me a stack of 25 sleeveless and dusty 45s and one Stacy Lattislaw LP for $20. The mix you are listening to was constructed from 18 of these 25 45s a day or two after I got'em. You'll notice that there's a bit of surface noise on some of the cuts, but (speaking for myself here) the mix is pretty darn listenable.
A lot of these tracks are songs I have on album, but I was psyched to find them on 45, like the Faze-O, the Johhny "Guitar" Watson and the Rufus cuts. The scores as far as I'm concerned are the Fred Wesley jam and the Jay Dee tune. Not a bad way to spend $20 I would say. I hope you get some value out of it too.
The Ambassador - $20 Worth of Soul 1. Johnny Nash - You Got Soul 2. Gene Chandler - A Song Called Soul 3. The Joneses - Hey Girl, Part 1 4. Jay Dee - Strange Funky Games and Things 5. The Isley Brothers - Work To Do 6. Rufus - You Got the Love 7. Earth, Wind & Fire - Evil 8. Suede - Everybody Must Pay 9. Sly & the Family Stone - Loose Booty 10. Muscle Shoals Horns - Born To Get Down 11. Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Gimme Some 12. Shirley & Company - Shame, Shame, Shame 13. Slave - Just a Touch of Love 14. Fred Wesley - House Party 15. Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Superman Lover 16. Faze-O - Riding High 17. Rance Allen Group - Ain't No Need of Crying 18. Garnet Mimms - A Quiet Place
Hello folks, another Disco Monster for you here with no common theme between these two songs other than they are AWESOME and I got them recently and had had them on my want list for a minute. I hope you dig them.
Odyssey - Going Back To My Roots This songs been covered a few times and each version is great. The original comes from Lamont Dozier from his "Peddlin' Music on the Side" album from 1977. According to Allmusic.com: "The Afro-centric disco hit "Going Back to My Roots" was co-arranged by Hugh Masekela and has a message that most can relate to: "zipping up my boots/ going back to my roots/ to the place of my birth/ back down to earth/ ain't talkin' 'bout no roots in the land/ talkin' 'bout the roots in the man." The 12" version of "Going Back to My Roots" is a collectible and the song was a 1981 disco hit for RCA Records group Odyssey ("Native New Yorker")." Richie Havens also has a dope version from the early eighties that is well worth checking out.
El Coco - Cocomotion '79 I had a crappy rip of this tune for years and only just copped the original and ripped it for your listening enjoyment. El Coco was the front for disco music producers Laurin Rinder and Michael Lewis. This song is basically a spacy remix of their 1977 disco hit "Cocomotion". The "Coco" that is not so suitably referenced in many of the "group's" songs is a not-so-subtle reference to the preferred disco-era narcotic. I really like this later version for its dubby production and subtle jazzy arrangements.
The new "ball & chain" making sure I play all the right records at the wedding party
Now that I'm a married man friends and strangers feel obliged to 1) ask me if my life is different now that I'm married; and 2) offer advice about surviving and prospering in married life.
So far, the answer to the first one is, "not yet" as we lived together for 2+ years before tying the knot. For the second bit of unsolicited info, I'm happy to receive suggestions as god knows I could use the help. The best piece of wisdom, received just moments ago was "choose your battles." My coworkers aren't the only ones with pearls of romantic wisdom . . .
Bobby Womack - Woman's Gotta Have It The Poet of R&B here with his ode to "keepin' your thing together." Not only does this song have one of the baddest basslines in the history of music, but the lyrics are 100% truth.
Average White Band - T.L.C. This gem from AWB's under-appreciated first album (with this cover and a later pressing called "Put It Where You Want It") sheds some light on how a lady likes to be treated . . . in the bedroom.
Now, if I had put more thought into this before leaving the house with only these two MP3s I woulda showcased something coming from a more respectable source, say a woman. My first thought would be Aretha's "Do Right Woman", but then I remembered that that song was written by two white, southern gentlemen, Dan Penn & Chips Moman. I guess that'll have to do for right now and anyhow it's pretty darn honest & accurate. I can say that because it's one of my wife's favorites.
This classic soul staple is a brilliant song this is because it can be sung by both man or woman and is equally poignant and powerful. Just check the lyrics below to see for yourself. Here's Etta James' version, recording in 1967 but not released until 1993.
Take me to heart And I'll always love you And nobody can make me do wrong Take me for granted Leaving love unshown Makes will power weak And temptation strong
A woman's only human You should understand She's not just a plaything She's flesh and blood Just like her man
If you want a do right All days woman You've gotta be a do right All night man
Yeah, yeah They say that it's a man's world But you can't prove that by me And as long as we're together baby Show some respect for me
If you want a do right All days woman You've gotta be a do right All night man
A woman's only human This you should understand She's not just a plaything She's flesh and blood Just like her man
If you want a do right All days woman You've gotta be a do right All nights man You've gotta be a do right All nights man
Not a lot of time here today, but wanted to let everyone know that the new Wax Poetics is out and includes my newest feature on legendary Brazilian Soul Godfather, Tim Maia. I culled some awesome video clips together of the legend that you can peep over at Soul Spectrum Videos. I also found a download to one of my favorite Tim Maia albums, his 1976 album on Poydor. You can find it here on the Bossa Blog and check out Loronix for some other Tim Maia albums 1970 & 1973.
I've been thinking about "space funk" for quite awhile. In fact, I have a special record box where I keep space-related records and obvious space funk gems for the day when I make the long awaited space funk mix. Given my dedication to the subgenre its a bit surprising that it's taken me this long to commit a Soul Spectrum post to the topic. No doubt that this will be the last, today we're just gonna dip our toes into the milky way of intergalactic funk.
I don't think many people would argue that George Clinton and his P-Funkateers were the first conquistadors of the interplanetary funk, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. What I find interesting and will surely comment on in a more detailed post (maybe accompanying the long-delayed Space Funk mix) is how for a solid decade or more (let's say 1968-1983) SPACE was a big inspiration for musicians, artists and civilians alike. Space represented a whole number of things. To some, like Manzel, it was an excuse to play with some pretty crazy keyboards. For Marvin, Space was a romantic getaway where you take a group tour and maybe do some space drugs ("no, this thing I got it ain't classified as dope, stuff I got from Venus, I had it all week, it's gettin' old, come on and try this new stuff with me baby") or take a spin in some futuristic sex machine (I'm thinking the "Orgasmatron" from Woody Allen's "Sleeper"). For some, like Marty Moore, or is it Maxwell - it's not clear who the artist is on this 45 - Space represents a scarier place where technology runs amok and we're stranded to deal with the "fall out." I love how the dance involves that "everybody, fall out!"
Don't underestimate the Space Funk as Dr. Funkenstein once said:
Funk upon a time In the days of the Funkapus The concept of specially-designed Afronauts Capable of funkatizing galaxies Was first laid on man-child But was later repossessed And placed among the secrets of the pyramids Until a more positive attitude Towards this most sacred phenomenon, Clone Funk, Could be acquired
There in these terrestrial projects It would wait, along with its coinhabitants of kings and pharoahs Like sleeping beauties with a kiss That would release them to multiply In the image of the chosen one: Dr Funkenstein. And funk is its own reward. May I frighten you?
With the wedding just a couple weeks out I've been narrowing down and perfecting the various wedding playlists. Being a collector and DJ I'm naturally pretty particular about the music that will accompany possibly the most significant ceremony of my life. There will be no ABBA (sorry) and likely nothing else that has ever been featured in a TV commercial or any wedding movies. Jamie pretty much knows what she's getting herself into and for the most part enjoys my musical contributions to our shared life, but I've been intentionally playing her songs that I'm planning on putting on the wedding playlists. These Barney Wilen tunes are some that got strong support from the soon-to-be wife. I love the carefree vibe of these two tunes. They're really unlike anything else I can think of and I wish there was more out there that sounded like this, so if anyone has suggestions, leave em in the comments.
I don't know much about Barney Wilen, other than he's a French saxaphone player who graced many an American jazz leaders' group in the 50s and 60s when American expats were setting up shop in Paris. He then became pretty engrossed with the hippy scene, as evidenced by his "Dear Prof. Leary" album from the late 60s. The album from which these two tunes were pulled was released in 1971 on the French label Saravah, discussed here. The back story goes that Barney and friends spent two years travelling from Tangiers to Dakar and documented their trip musically and with film. The resulting album is a double LP that fetches a pretty penny when it comes up for auction in the original pressing (the image featured below) or the simpler, and less appealing reissue cover. Orgy in Rhythm has the album for download here.
Barney Wilen - Gardenia Devil Both songs are making the wedding mix, despite the barely noticeable "f" word usage in this one. If it weren't for that I would think it would make a great kid's song. Maybe it still can? I mean I plan on being an open-minded parent and have every intention of raising my child(ren) on african jazz freakouts. You with me Jamie?
This audio blog has song files for listening on the site or downloading for listening later.
If you want to listen now, slide your mouse over the greyish tab on the lower left side of the screen to pull out the yahoo media player. Or, you can click on the ">" play icon next to the song title.
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