Funk Or Die

Genre Bid: Lounge Funk (Blaxploitation Meets The Umbrella Drink)

2011-06-20T17:14:00.004-04:00

In my never ending quest to name a genre, I'll now try my hand at getting some support for Lounge Funk. To be a Lounge Funk tune, I posit that the proposed track should be funky enough to dance to and/or swanky enough to drink an umbrella drink to, while listening. Lemme know if you think this is a coinable genre or if you have other suggestions. My initial Lounge Funk mixtape focused on swingin' psych and mellower, mostly instrumental funk and you'll see my notations and the mix below. Further down you'll see my proposed Kings of The Genre, Gregory James Edition, who fit nicely into this equation- David Axelrod : Whitesploitation :: Gregory James Edition :Lounge Funk, or this one, Cymande: Afro-Rock :: Gregory James Edition :Lounge Funk. Shaken or Stirred, I'd like to know if you think this dozen is genre worthy.

1. James Reese & The Progressions - Jody's Freeze
Nearing the definition of Lounge Funk: Brassy,classy, and sassy. From the brilliant, but not excessively loungey, Funky 16 Corners comp.

2. Bill Lawrence - Pussy Baby
Adding a touch of psych to your cocktail, with a salacious tune from the In-Kraut scene.

3. Henryk Debich - See You At The Disco Tonight
Flute fueled fuzz funk w/strings from Poland.

4. Richard Rome - Ghost A Go Go
A harp is mangled most funkily.

5. Peter King - Mr. Lonely Wolf
His name might be more reminiscent of an accountant from Sheboygan, or a certain xenophobic congressman from Long Island, but flutes, percussions, and horns drive this mellow funker from the usually raucous Nigerian band leader.

6.The Brothers Johnson - Thunder Thumbs and Lightnin Licks
With Quincy Jones at the boards smooth and funky is no contradiction.

7. Mystic Moods - Cosmic Sea
The EL-Lay Studio elite keep it EZ, but with a beat.

8. Phil Upchurch - Cold Sweat
The incredible Chicago session guitarist, associated with the Chess label and others, tears up the JB classic.

9. Gregory James Edition - Changing Things
The leading lights of my genre bid...

10. Herbie Hancock - Fat Mama
A groover from his 70's years at the WB. From the Fat Albert Rotunda LP.

11. Monk Montgomery -A Place In The Sun
A Motown instrumental from '69 released on Hugh Masekela's Chisa label (they had a deal with Mr.Gordy). Monk played bass for the Crusaders and he is featured to fine effect throughout w/some 'lectric piano and strings.

12. Bobbie Gentry-Sittin' Pretty
Trust me, it works. I was surprised as you might be, but this falls into a Lee Hazelwood stoner-country bag, w/ flutes, strings, and Bobbie's pipes gettin' it done.

If you've made it this far and feel like Lounge Funk is for you, take a gander at this disc...

Thanks to the music loving folks over at Four Brothers Weekly Blog (though it seems to be on hiatus these days) , I got schooled in a back to the future way this week. I had never heard of The Gregory James Edition and their 1973 instrumental album, Prophets of Soul, they hipped me, and it is a knockout.

This Chicago band (Gregory Bibb on keys, James Norris on guitar, Anthony McAllister on drums) cut the album for Dakar Records (a division of Brunswick) and it pretty much went no where at the time. Shuggie Otis' Inspiration/Information is the only record of its era that I can even begin to compare it to, but take a listen and you might find it easier to see how their tunes would fit on a Stereolab, or even a Drum and Bass, record.

Go Get Prophets Of Soul

Prophets of Soul is a genuinely tweaked, original take on soul music, whose tunes (great use of farfisa organ and electric piano) could fit into a number of todays genre's and micro genres (lounge,funk,dn'b,soul,psych). Or perhaps it was the original Lounge Funk record.

The cover is suitable for framing too,no?

Follow that link above and make sure to say hi to Mogger Lafayette when you visit 4 Brothers. My kinda people over there..music junkies (with deep crates) who love to share and chew the fat about tunes.

It's All Lies - James Brown At The Garden

2011-06-18T22:03:00.002-04:00

Take a look at the orignal cover of this 1967 King Records Live LP by James Brown..

Now Check this 2009 Reissue of the same LP.....

The new cover is the truthful one..Sure, James Brown made his debut at Madison Square Garden in 1966, but the LP issued as Live at the Garden was not recorded at midtown Manhattan's legendary arena, but instead, at the more modest (but very swanky), Latin Casino, in Cherry Hill,New Jersey. Sadly, the original LP (which is included in Hip-O Select's 2 cd and very deluxe package), doesn't even hint at how good the James Brown Experience was; shifting the order of tunes, eliminating the opening band set (which JB played organ for), editing out most of the stage patter, and adding fake crowd noise/arena ambiance. Maybe that's why it became such a minor part of the JB canon. Although the original LP running order from the January 67 Latin Casino run is presented on disc 1, you'll want to move right on to disc 2.

The new expanded edition of Live At The Garden, dispenses with the lies and half-truths (that were pretty common in the day), and on the second CD, gives you a typical (though a little truncated) James Brown supper club set. The nod to crossover, not included in the original LP, Come Rain Or Come Shine, is more of a wink, 'cause for the most part, JB and the band (led by Pee wee Ellis) rip it up. (Not that there's anything wrong with supper club crossover bids-see Sam Cooke at the Harlem Square Club). On top of the tinkling glasses, there's also a ton of audience interaction and clowning that you never saw in arena or larger venues, and that's what makes this new offering unique in the JB oeuvre.

At the time of the record's original release JB was embroiled in his ongoing feud with King Records head Syd Nathan. Though they respected each other and made each other a lot of money, they agreed on almost nothing. Nathan hated live records and that's why this one was so tinkered with..plus thought Nathan, the LP would be stepping on 45 and album sales for the newest hit, Bring It Up, and JB's latest full length, Raw Soul (March '67), which was released a mere 2 months before Live At The Garden hit shelves. James won the argument, but this time Syd Nathan was right. For aesthetic and marketing reasons the record didn't do too much.

This wasn't of much consequence to JB..he felt that if he recorded it, it was a waste not to put it out. I guess JB and Prince went to the same school of marketing. Chuckles aside though, the gussied up version of Live At the Garden is a nice addition to any JB collection, capturing the band on the cusp of their funk breakthrough. As an added track, a rehearsal piece recorded on an empty stage in Cherry Hill, Let Yourself Go, hinted at the full blown funk of Cold Sweat that would be released in June.

Go Get Live At The Garden pt.1
and Pt.2

JB circa '67

The Freakiest Funk For Friday-The Wicked Witch

2011-06-17T18:23:00.000-04:00

Sure there is plenty of funk that is challenged in the sanitary and sanity department (not that that's a bad thing), but this one here goes the extra mile in dirt and derangement.

Go Get Wicked Witch

My Brief review from about a year ago..
There are times when the various pronouncements, actions, and output of the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince, have caused me to believe he was off his rocker, 3 sequins short of a pants suit,if you will. Whatever you may think of that statement, Prince contemporary and underground DC funkster, Richard Simms, is much more easily classed as certifiable.

Coming off like a cross between Gary Wilson, Jandek, Sun Ra, P-Funk, and yeah,Prince ,Mr. Simms (recording as Wicked Witch) dropped a handful of self produced records through the late 70's and 80's. These psych (and psycho) funk tracks have been reissued by Japan's (EM) label. How they found these records,I don't know. I do know that if I ever saw that album cover, I'd buy it too. Still though, I keep my ear to the ground fairly well about this stuff and I'd never heard boo about Wicked Witch. Could it possibly be a hoax? Naaah, no one could dream this shit up. The Wicked Witch is real, Happy Friday.

Fancy Dancer (remix)

8 Track Mix - That's Nonsense

2011-05-13T14:27:00.000-04:00

Nonsense that makes sense:

Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta - Ernie K-Doe
Bop Ting a Ling - LaVerne Baker
Ookey Ook - The Penguins
Boot-Ta-La-Za - Slim & Slam
Ad-De-Dey - Cab Calloway & His Orchestra
Klactoveedsedsteene - Original Charlie Parker Quintet
Boo-Dah - Duke Ellington
Tee-Nah-Nah - Smiley Lewis
Bam-Sa-Bo - Winston Heywood & The Hombres
Ack-A-Fool - The Sister & Brothers
Bama Lama Bama Loo (Take 10) - Little Richard
Bip Bop Bip - Pretty Boy
Bomazee - Little Roy
Boop Bop Bing Bash - George Braith
Tee Nine Chee Bit - Earth Wind & Fire
ooh ah ee - vern blair debate
Bim Sala Bim - Hudson County
Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop) - Parliament
Barabajagal - Donovan With The Jeff Beck Group, Lesley And Madeleine
Blota Blota - Mike James Kirkland
Great Googa Mooga- Lee Dorsey
Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Parts 1 & 2 - Jessie Hill

8 Track Mix-The Butcher Shop

2011-05-06T17:09:00.000-04:00

Southern Fried Chicken - Bill Thomas
Shake Your Rump - Beastie Boys
Butcher Pete Pt.1 - Roy Brown
Bump Meat - Sir Mack Rice
Latex Solar Beef - Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention
...Pork Chop - Tad
Dave The Butcher - Tom Waits
I Heard The Voice Of A Porkchop - Bogus Ben Covington
Preacher Porkchop - KMD
The Cross Eyed Butcher and The Cackling Hen - Uncle Dave Macon
My Butcher Man - Memphis Minnie
Butcher Pete Pt. 2 - Roy Brown
Fat Meat Is Greasy - Jackie Brenston
Eli's Porkchop - Little Sonny
Beef Rap - MF Doom
Meat Grinder - Madvillain
Mango Meat - Mandrill
Pork Soda - The Headhunters
Gimmie A Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer) - Sylvester & The Hot Band

Baaad Jazz - Melvin Sparks R.I.P.

2011-04-19T15:33:00.000-04:00

Back at the beginning of March, Melvin Sparks jumped to the front of the line, in the crowded queue of thoughts in my head. One of my fave blogs, Record Fiend, did a post about his first record, Sparks! (1970). For the next week or so I listened to the 4 records I have for Melvin, a 2003 live jam, and some of the numerous sessions he played on during the height of the jazz-funk, soul-jazz era. A go to guitarist for organ players, in 1970 alone he cut records with Charles Earland, Leon Spencer,Sonny Phillips,and Charles Kynard. Not to mention his work with other leaders like, Idris Muhammad, Rusty Bryant, and Lou Donaldson. That list was only one year, and , of course, doesn't include his debut as a leader.

Thank You (Sly Stone cover)

Personnel for Sparks! (1970)
Drums - Idris Muhammad
Organ - Leon Spencer, Jr.

Saxophone [Tenor] - Houston Person , John Manning
Trumpet - Virgil Jones

Just after I was coming down off the Sparks groove cloud, some bad news came across the wire. I read in the New York Times that Mr. Sparks had died March 15th, at his home in Mount Vernon, NY. He was only 64 years old. Mr. Sparks was not a long lost musician of a bygone era, he was very active throughout a career that spanned over 4 decades.

Melvin Sparks first came to my attention in the early 90's as a re-discovered hero for the Acid Jazz scene. Always soulful and funky on record, his catalog doesn't see him straying too far from his R&B roots.

Before he got in on the ground floor of the soul jazz scene he backed Hank Ballard, Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, and Little Richard, as a teenager. Coupled with the aforementioned jazz cats, this makes Mr. Sparks bonafides prety much untouchable, in any bag.

Two of his first three records, Sparks! and Akilah (named after one of his daughters) were reissued as a pair in the early 90's. One of the first glimpses young crate diggers (like myself) got of the classic soul jazz records that were a part of groove movement in the 70's, but rare in the 90's. Jazz critics pretty much dismiss this era, but it was a goldmine to me...and evidently to more than a few of the bands that got the hard to shake Acid Jazz tag (more on that later).

Go get Sparks! and Akilah

All Wrapped Up

Personnel for Akilah (1972)
Drums-Idris Muhammad
Flute-Dave Hubbard,Hubert Laws
Organ,Piano-Leon Spenser
Percussion-Buddy Caldwell
Alto- George Coleman, Sonny Fortune
Tenor-Dave Hubbard,Frank Wess
Trumpet-Ernie Royal, Virgil Jones

After his first 3 albums for the venerable Prestige label, Mr. Sparks moved on to upstart Detroit (Ohio Players, Funkadelic, The Counts) label, Westbound, and their jazz-centric Eastbound imprint. I don't know the circumstances of the departure from Prestige, but the fact is, soul-jazz was waning in popularity, and funk was on the rise. His Westbound sides are more produced (horns/strings) and also include vocals. Soul Jazz might have been on the wane, but Melvin's brand of gritty,single note funk never goes out of style.
Texas Twister

Personnel for Texas Twister (1973)
Baritone Saxophone – Edward Xiques
Congas – Buddy Caldwell
Drums – Idris Muhammad
Electric Bass – Wilbur Bascomb
Electric Piano – Sonny Phillips
Guitar – Ron Miller
Guitar, Arranged By, Conductor – Melvin Sparks
Organ – Ceasar Frazier
Tenor Saxophone – Ron Bridgewater
Trumpet – Cecil Bridgewater , Jon Faddis

By 1975, the music that passed as popular jazz, was rapidly infusing funk and disco sounds in order to gain spots on radio outlets that were drifting closer and closer to what would become to be known as smooth jazz. That's probably the reason that 75 is my least favorite of the early Melvin Sparks records. That said, the LP is not devoid of highlights (or funk). It is a bit too polished for me though.

Go Get Texas Twister and 75

Get Ya Some

The late 70's and early 80's were tough times for jazz as a popular music. As record companies became more corporate, more driven by marketing, and beholden to new trends like MTV and the CD, new jazz suffered. Melvin Sparks kept working though, recording as a leader and sideman for indie labels like Milestone and Muse. Jazz, except those great artists enshrined in the (major label) canon, went almost completely underground.

Over in England, the late 80's and early 90's saw the jazz that had gone underground (and almost forgotten) inspiring a new underground: a DJ based, hip hop related, record collector driven movement; that would be tagged as acid jazz.

DJ's led parties that were dancing to jazz, particularly the Hammond B-3-centric jazz from the soul and funk era. Bands also started to get in on the act, and one of the first was the James Taylor Quartet. Led by B3 cat James Taylor and releasing a string of Spy/Mod instrumental records starting in 1987, the JTQ went back to their roots in 1992 under the guise of the New Jersey Kings. This faux-lost classic of Hammond grooves, contained a cover of Melvin Sparks' All Wrapped Up, and was one of the earliest entries in the Soul Jazz revival.
Go get Party To The Bus Stop

All Wrapped Up (JTQ Version)

Get Organized

The hip hop, crate digger part of acid jazz was more pronounced (and came a little later) in the US. Right out front was DJ Greyboy, who mixed DJ styles with live instruments on his 1994 debut for Ubiquity, Freestylin'. Greyboy (a.k.a Andreas Stevens) would later form the Greyboy All Stars with some like minded young jazz players and tour under the banner of the Greyboy All Stars, who made quite a name for themselves on the jam band club circuit, introducing new sax lion Karl Denson, along with calling on Melvin Sparks to open for the All Stars on tour.

Go get Freestylin'

In a lot of ways Freestylin' was the re-introduction of soul jazz (under the guise of Acid Jazz) to American audiences. Groups like The Solsonics (LA), Groove Collective (NYC), and Liquid Soul (Chicago) would follow closely behind. It's no surprise then, that Greyboy's first record would feature a Melvin Sparks cover amongst it's grooves (Texas Twister).
Texas Twister

Lite Bake

So, a lot of things came together (DJ culture, crate digging, acid jazz, hip hop) and opened the door for Melvin Sparks to return. He was more than ready...gigging and recording with old friends (like Houston Person and Jimmy McGriff) and new jacks (Soulive, Karl Denson, Galactic) alike, as folks started to come around to an old idea that seemed new...jazz was a music you could dance to. Mr. Sparks mentored young musicians while continuing to hit festivals and clubs up through the time that high blood pressure and diabetes caught up with him. He will be missed by generations of players and listeners..R.I.P., Mr. Sparks, a true Godfather of the Good Groove.

Check out these 3 long jams from 2003 at the North Beach Jazz Festival

Baaad Jazz - Gary Bartz

2011-03-24T19:31:00.001-04:00

I hang around a lot of new music folks on the net, many of whom just can't take the plunge into jazz....especially anything after 1965 or so. Why is that?

If there were ipods back in the 60's and 70's, a majority of pro basketball players would've been listening to jazz. Why has that changed to hip hop?

Up until the 70's, you could find a large network of jazz clubs in cities large and small...Indianapolis, Newark, Baltimore, Houston, St. Louis, and more, all had bustling scenes that just aren't there today. Why is that?

Some might say Rock and Roll is to blame, others might fault the academy for creating a certain narrative about the music that was not inclusive (ie. "America's Classical Music"), others might point to the splintering of post bop into a myriad of styles that we're incomprehensible to the average fan, still others would point to record labels and excessive commercialization. Then there's the huge decreases in funding for music programs in public schools creating fewer musicians.The list of woes and explanations is long and there's no doubt that the factors above all contributed to a lower profile for jazz as a popular music.

I'm sure you're asking what all this has to do with alto (mainly) saxman, Gary Bartz?

Well, Mr. Bartz was right in the thick of this era of change, arriving in New York from Baltimore to attend Julliard in 1958. He followed the path of many young,talented jazz musicians, jamming with young lions and apprenticing with old masters.

"It was a very good time for the music in New York, at the end of what had been the be-bop era," says Bartz. "Charlie Parker had passed away three years previously but Miles' group was in its heyday, Monk was down at the Five Spot, and Ornette Coleman was just coming to town. Things were fresh."-Gary Bartz

Bartz was part of Mingus' Workshop, Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the Max Roach/ Abbey Lincoln Group, as well as appearing on McCoy Tyner records (a relationship that continues to this day). In a short few years he had connected to the legacy of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, two of his most important influences.

His first records as a leader, Another Earth and Home were acoustic efforts, leaning in a Coltrane-esque, spiritual/space direction. Around this time he was also gigging in Miles Davis' electric outfreakages, appearing on Live-Evil and touring the world with the trumpeter.

Right after the Miles' tour, Bartz began putting all his influences together and stamping his own mark with his own ensemble, NTU Troop. (NTU is Bantu for "unity in all things, time and space, living and dead, seen and unseen".

Harlem Bush Music (Taifa/Uhuru) Lineup (70-71)
Bass - Juni Booth
Bass- Ron Carter
Drums - Harold White
Percussion - Nat Bettis
Saxophone [Soprano, Alto],Vocals,Piano - Gary Bartz
Vocals - Andy Bey
Go get Harlem Bush Music

These first two NTU Troop records are political (in spots), steeped in afro-centric themes, calling for revolution, exhorting movement. They are definitely of their time, but also harken back to Congo Square (music and dance are part of the same cultural package). Somewhat dismissed or misunderstood in the critical canon (perhaps because of the vocals), these records remain vital in my canon.

Mr.Bartz continued working on other folks records during the making of the first two NTU Troop offerings and reconvened his ensemble in California (Harlem Bush Music was recorded in New York) with only Andy Bey remaining from the initial sessions, for an October '72 date that yielded tracks for Juju Street Songs and Follow, The Medicine Man.

Alto Sax, Soprano Sax, Sopranino, Voice, Electric Piano, Percussion - Gary Bartz
Bass, Electric Bass, Voice, Percussion - Stafford James

Drums, Voice, Percussion - Howard King
Vocals, Electric Piano, Percussion - Andy Bey

Additional musicians (New York) were added to finish Follow...

Guitar - Hector Centeno and Electric Piano - Hubert Eaves

The new cats were needed because Andy Bey left the band (Bey would release Experience and Judgment within a year). Mr. Bartz would go on to release one more NTU Troop Record, Singerella:A Ghetto Fairytale, that hinted at the smoother rhythms that would emerge in his later work with Larry and Fonce Mizell. The Mizell records were probably the most popular of Bartz career, but for my money (and I'll always lay down for Larry and Fonce), The NTU Troop records are grittier and funkier, full of experimentation and joy. Talkin' loud and sayin' something .

Go get Ju Ju Street Songs (includes follow and juju)

From the 80's til now Gary Bartz has continued to release quality records, mostly mining a more traditional (post bop) jazz vein, he's continued to tour, and he's also a jazz educator-currently the Visiting Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Oberlin. You can't really go wrong in any part of Gary Bartz's 30 albums as a leader, but from the funk side this fertile period in the 70's should not be missed.

Decoding The Hip Hop Genome- Ultimate Breaks And Beats

2011-03-16T11:10:00.007-04:00

You'll see me quote the website The- Breaks.com quite a bit. The site has tons of information about who sampled what, in what song, the name of the sampled artist, the album the sampled artist's sampled track comes from,etc,etc. All very searchable and cross-referenced and just generally a boon to my existence. I got into sampling because I got into hip hop and DJ's from the first time I saw the Sugar Hill Gang on TV (plus before this time my mom dated a radio DJ, and I was fascinated by all those records).

If you didn't live in New York, Hip Hop was incredibly mysterious in the early days..the records that were out (that you could find), were made with live instruments by house bands, playing music of club hits for folks to rap over. This really only hinted at how real hip hop was made: 2 turntables and a microphone..

With a little persistence I began to find evidence of "real hip hop"..mixtapes of radio shows, films of break dancing, and the legendary Busy Bee and friends X-Mas party tape showed how the DJ's got the crowd moving by extending the instrumental breaks of songs. By having two copies of a record, playing the break on one turntable, then cuing the break on the second table, then starting the break again on the second turntable, when the snippet ended on the first..over and over til the dancers were tired and eventually until a revolution was born.

The records the DJ's spun for their break beats were highly guarded secrets until Lenny Roberts, a cat from the Bronx with an incredible knowledge of 60's and 70's music single-handedly decoded the genome of Hip Hop with his 25 LP series, Ultimate Breaks and Beats (re-issued on a 3 disc-2 CD mp3,1 dvd aiff)..Just about any hip hop record made after 1985 uses a break from records included in this series. Some of the records have been edited from their original form to extend the breaks. Some of the records are awful as a whole, but contain breaks that have launched thousands of Hip Hop tunes. Like it or not, these are the most influential bootleg records ever ,as well as being one of the first DJ tools.

Not only did Lenny chronicle the DJ side of the hip hop movement, he also added tunes to the series that had never been sampled before, that would became standards in the DJ/producer world. On a personal note, these records started me on a crate digging fetish that will prolly end only with my passing. A very eclectic mix..w/many never on legit CD songs. 174 tunes. The DNA of hip hop. See the complete track list at wiki.

Here are a few cuts from the series that you'll probably recognize, followed by a partial list of some of the hip hop artists who used the cuts as samples...

Hector-Village Callers
Beastie Boys - "The Blue Nun"
Cypress Hill - "The Funky Cypress Hill Shit"
Cypress Hill - "The Phuncky Feel One"
De la Soul - "The Mack Daddy on the Left"
Ice Cube - "Jackin' for Beats"
King Bee - "Havin a Good Time"
Redman - "Redman Meets Reggie Noble"
Wreckx-N-Effect - "New Jack Swing"

Heaven & Hell- 20th Century Steel Band
3rd Bass - "Soul in the Hole"
Anonymous ft Eminem - "Green & Gold"
Black Eyed Peas - "Say Goodbye"
Blade - "Mind of an Ordinary Citizen"
Blahzay ft. Uncle Murda - "Make A Livin"
Chubb Rock - "Keep it Street"
Doug E Fresh - "Back in the Days"
Dream Warriors - "Voyage Through the Multiverse"
Jennifer Lopez - "Jenny from the Block"
Jungle Brothers - "Jungle Brother (True Blue)"
Kenny Dope - "Makin' a Living"
Masta Ace - "Go Where I Send Thee"
Positive K - "Ain't No Crime"
Salt-N-Pepa - "Heaven and Hell"
Soul II Soul - "Dance"
Spoonie Gee - "Hit Man"
Stop the Violence Movement - "Self-Destruction"
Whoridas - "Triple Beam Threat"
Xzibit - "LA Times"

Mountain - Long Red
A Tribe Called Quest - "Glamour and Glitz"
A Tribe Called Quest - "Jazz (We've Got)"
Artifacts - "The Ultimate"
Capitol Tax - "Can You Dig It"
Cash Money & Marvelous - "Ugly People Be Quiet"
Compton's Most Wanted - "Growin' up in the 'Hood"
Depeche Mode - "Walking in My Shoes"
Double XX Posse - "School of Hard Knocks"
EPMD - "It's My Thing"
EPMD - "Strictly Business"
Eric B and Rakim - "Eric B is President"
Eric B and Rakim - "Put Your Hands Together"
Esham - "666"
Ghostface Killah - "Child's Play"
Ice Cube - "The Birth"
Inspectah Deck - "Trouble Man"
Kanye West - "The Glory"
Kurious - "Walk Like a Duck"
LMNO - "Grin and Bear It"
MadKap - "Beddie-Bye"
MC Shan - "So Fresh"
Nas - "It Ain't Hard to Tell"
NWA - "Real Niggaz Don't Die"
Peanut Butter Wolf - "A Tale of Five Cities"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "Ghettos of the Mind"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "Good Life"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "Return of the Mecca"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "Searchin'"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "Soul Brother #1"
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "What's Next on the Menu?"
PMD - "I'll Wait"
Public Enemy - "Louder than a Bomb"
Rakim - "New York (Ya Out There)"
Sixtoo - "Duration Project"
Special Ed - "Walk the Walk"
Tragedy - "Shalom a Leck"
Young Black Teenagers - "Roll with the Flavor"

The Champ-The Mohawks
Aaliyah ft Slick Rick - "Got to Give it Up"
Alan Braxe - "Vertigo"
Bahamadia - "3 tha Hard Way Remix"
Big Daddy Kane - "Smooth Operator"
Chubb Rock - "Keep it Street"
Coldcut - "More Beats and Pieces"
De la Soul - "Keepin' the Faith"
Dilated Peoples - "Strength"
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "Groove"
DJ Shadow - "Entropy"
DOC - "Lend Me an Ear"
Double XX Posse - "On a Mission"
El Meswy - "Nadie"
EPMD - "The Big Payback"
Eric B and Rakim - "Eric B is President"
Erick Sermon - "Stay Real"
Everlast - "Syndicate"
Fu-Schnickens - "La Schmoove"
Guy - "Groove Me"
Hammer - "Pump it Up"
Ini Kamoze - "Here Comes the Hot Stepper"
J-Live - "Vampire Hunter"
J-Live ft Lone Catalysts - "Dynamite"
Keith Murray - "Get Lifted"
King T - "At Your Own Risk"
KRS-One - "Step into a World (Rapture's Delight)"
Live Human - "Quick Eleven"
Looptroop - "Four Elements"
Lord Finesse - "Return of the Funky Man"
Low Profile - "Aladdin's on a Rampage"
Maestro Fresh Wes - "Let Your Backbone Slide"
Main Source - "Large Professor"
MC Don & EZ Ed - "Party Rocker"
Michael Jackson - "2 Bad (Refugee Camp Mix)"
Mistress & DJ Madame E - "Hypergroove"
Nice & Smooth - "No Bones"
Original Concept - "Can U Feel It?"
Prince Paul - "Prince Paul vs. the World"
Redman - "Da Funk"
Steady B - "Believe Me Das Bad"
Stetsasonic - "Miami Bass"
Stop the Violence Movement - "Self-Destruction"
T La Rock - "It's Yours"
TKA - "Maria"
Trey Lewd - "Hoodlums Hoo Ride"
Tymez Up - "Klap Tu Dis"

Cavern - Liquid Liquid
De la Soul - "Ego Trippin' (Pt 2)"
Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five - "White Lines"
Jungle Brothers - "Beyond this World"
LL Cool J - "Something Like a Phenomenon"
Notorious BIG - "Nasty Boy"
Ursula 1000 - "Gambit"

Bring It Here - Wild Sugar
Beastie Boys - "Brass Monkey"

Planetary Citizen- Mahavishnu Orchestra (with John McLaughlin)
Jaz - "A Nation Divided"
Massive Attack - "Unfinished Symphony"
Schoolly D - "Black Education"
Slick Rick - "Kit (What's the Scoop)"
Stetsasonic - "So Let the Fun Begin"

Pleasure and Pain From The Ohio Players

2011-03-14T17:50:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of Funk and exploitive album covers I offer up, Pain and Pleasure from the Ohio Players. While the bands' history is fairly well kown, many folks don't realize their origins go way back to the late 50's á la George Clinton and the P-Funk mob.

They started as the Ohio Untouchables in Dayton,OH and featured guitar hero (of mine) Robert Ward., later evolving into the Ohio Players, cutting records for Capitol, and then singing to Westbound Records in 1972, where they were labelmates with Funkadelic. Like Funkadelic records on Westbound, The Players offerings were full of experimentation, jazz,funk,soul, and most importantly...Freedom.

By the time they reached their zenith in '76, the Players were, as or more popular than P-Funk for a minute, but the weirdness was gone. Even the album covers, which were exploitive and dangerous (at least the man gets a whipping on the Pain cover), became just plain exploitive, and Hooters©-esque; in line with the disco age that brought the players fame, but also killed them by association.
Feel Pain
Pain

Pride and Vanity

Players in The Ohio Players:
Cornelius Johnson
Walter "Junie" Morrison
Leroy Bonner
Marshall Jones
Robert "Rumba" Jones
Billy Beck
Wes Boatman
Mervin Pierce
Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks
Jimmy Sampson
Vincent Thomas
James "Diamond" Williams
Clarence Willis
Greg Webster
Bruce Napier
Andrew Noland
Clarence "Satch" Satchell
Bobby Lee Fears
Dutch Robinson
Get Pleasure

(Pre) Funky Friday- Doo Wop Skeletons In Clinton's Closet-The Parliaments

2011-03-11T13:06:00.001-05:00

Name two artists who came into music via their love of doo wop, exploded into the popular consciousness in the 70's, operated with a deep contempt of the music business, put together ultra talented bands, presented (still present) legendary live shows, used humor to make much larger points, and always seemed to be just a little bit ahead of their time.

My answer is George Clinton and Frank Zappa. Sure, some of their methods were different, but their career arcs have many similarities, including loyal worldwide fan bases and massive revisionist critical acclaim. The world just needed time to catch up with what they were doing.

The key similarity, though, is their doo wop roots. Most folks in the 70's would've pegged Funkadelic or the Mothers of Invention as "acid rock", probably because that was the surface look, feel, and sound of their bands and the music they played. But group vocals styles were always a part of their music, from Zappa's tribute/satire to Doo Wop, Crusin' With Rueben and The Jets or P-Funk's constant reinvention of their early doo wop material in songs like , The Goose, I Wanna Testify,or All Your Goodies Are Gone, which became funkier as later versions emerged.

George Clinton and Frank Zappa used "the forms and clichés of their era and perverted them" (The Real Frank Zappa Book). Did one influence the other? If anything, it was probably Zappa that influenced Clinton..although George's genius was the sheer amount of synthesis that went into P-Funk music; nothing short of a primer of rock and roll era music from doo wop to hip hop. In the end both Frank and George used whatever freedom their outsider status conveyed on them to make some timely and timeless records, that repay repeated listens with new revelations. Long lost brothers? Maybe not.

The transitional records made by the Parliaments from their doo wop days to their Funkadelic days have been readily available, and most folks with some knowledge of the history assume the Parliament's 1968 top 20 R&B (Motown inspired, but clearly headed in a new direction) hit , I Wanna Testify, was the beginning of the P-Funk story. Truth is, George and his crew had been paying dues for more than 10 years. So, before the madness of Parliament's Osmium (1970) and Funkadelic's self titled debut (1970), there were these stabs at doo wop stardom, put together by some friends who met at a Plainfield,NJ barbershop.

1958 7" Poor Willie /Party Boys -APT 45-25036
A Side:

B Side:

1959 7" Lonely Island/(You Made Me Wanna) Cry -Flipp FL-45-100/101
A Side:

B Side:

I pulled these off the (I think) bootleg CD I Wanna Testify (go get testify), which includes all the prehistoric P-Funk in one place on CD for the first time.

Finally, here's I Wanna Testify, the first paydirt for George Clinton, and probably the only reason the mothership ever had a chance to leave this planet. Testify's success enabled George and his crew, to tour, to get sued for using the name Parliaments (precipitating the need to invent the name Funkadelic), and most importantly, to relocate to Detroit and psychedelicize into a unit capable of funkatizing entire galaxies.

Cheers to George, for 50 years of survival and subversion..and cheers to Frank for his incredible output of sonic genius and unrelenting truth telling.

(I Wanna) Testify/I Can Feel The Ice Melting- Revilot-207
A side:

B Side:

P.S.-The first song at my second wedding was I Can Feel The Ice Melting.
P.P.S.- To Explain my title pun check out the title cut from this '86 George Clinton solo record
R&B Skeletons In The Closet

Go Get R & B Skeletons In The Closet

Mardi Gras Funk - The Wild Magnolias

2011-03-10T16:29:00.001-05:00

New Orleans Music is a year round obsession here at Funk or Die, so the fact that Fat Tuesday has passed, and the necklaces and vomit have been cleaned up, doesn't mean a thing to me. The bon temps continue to roullez.

Mostly because, New Orleans is the well that America draws its music legacy from, and the depth of NOLA's contribution to American music is more than just historical..it lives and breathes. The city has music coursing through it today, and if you are from there or have visited, you know this. A few weeks of focus on the music of New Orleans once a year is simply not enough. Mardi Gras, of course, is an important part of NOLA culture. Mardi Gras is all about parades, many parades. One of the long time participants in these colorful affairs are the Mardi Gras "indian" tribes.

The first Wild Magnolias record ▲...Go get It
Smoke My Peacepipe (Smoke It Right)

(I watched HBO's Treme with great interest, especially the story thread on keeping the "Indian" Tradition alive)

I'm not gonna go into the cultural and historical significance of the tribes, but if you would like to, I suggest picking up the Wild Magnolia's package that was reissued a few years back. It is about the funkiest history lesson you'll ever get. In person, at the parades, you'll see these incredibly costumed social clubs marching, banging on numerous percussion intruments, and chanting generations old Mardi Gras tunes.

In the 70's a French producer who absolutely fell in love with these songs decided he wanted to get the music out to the world. He felt that in order to gain acceptance, he'd have to pair the chants with modern musical stylings. To my (and I'm guessing many funk/NOLA fans) great joy, the fusion here is with funk. Not just any old funk either..Willie Tee (Leader of the Meters-esque instrumental outfit, The Gaturs) Funk. The 2 albums Phillipe Rault and Willie Tee (Wilson Turbinton)cut with The Wild Magnolias and Chief Bo Bollis were re-issued in absolutely deluxe fashion by my new best friends at Sunnyside Records. Not only are these ultra funky albums sounding better than ever, the second CD also features a downloadable 62 page book! If you are into New Orleans and/Or Mardi Gras in any way the book alone is worth the price of admission. Essential Stuff.
New Suit

The second Magnolias record...Go Get It
I stuffed that booklet pdf in this file.

Finally ,for now, and just for completeness sake (although there are many other Wild Magnolias records you can get of more recent vintage), here's a Funky Delicassies re-issue of some Gaturs singles under the title Wasted..

Go get Wasted

Fun(k) Facts: So...Is It Arlester or Dyke?

2011-03-08T14:12:00.000-05:00

Happily the answer is both. When he was born in Buffalo,NY in '43, it seems like Arlester Christian's parents had him pegged as a future British bon vivant and chat show presenter,not a funk originator. Luckily the toddler had other ideas. By the early 60's he was in Buffalo's baddest band, The Blazers, and his childhood nickname (received for the way he pronounced dice when he was a pup)Dyke, was firmly ensconced. The Blazers were tapped to be the back up band for the O'Jays and Dyke hit the road. Unfortunetly, by the time the tour reached Phoenix the O'Jays were out of dough and The Blazers had to leave the bus. Resorceful as ever, Dyke and the boys stayed in the desert and made history. They cut one of Dyke's tunes for a local label, a little thing called Funky Broadway, that was the first ever record with funk on the label. JB might have found the funk sound, but Dyke named it. Dyke was cut down by street fight gun fire in '71, but his hard funk will live on.
(For an alternate take on the origin of funk see Smokey Johnson..)

Go Get So Sharp!

Fat Tuesday: Drummer / Birther - Smokey Johnson

2011-03-08T13:51:00.001-05:00

"A lot of those New Orleans drummers would come through, and I got a lot of stuff from those guys"- John "Jabo' Starks (Drummer-James Brown)

Some might say James Brown invented funk..some (including Earl Palmer himself) would say Earl Palmer was the man who brought the funk first, melding the New Orleans second line into pop tunes for Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino. Still others look to cat who replaced Earl in Bartholomew's ensemble, Smokey Johnson, as the man who birthed funk. Fact is funk has always been with us, but Smokey might've found it first..(Earl King-Trick Bag '62).

Until recently, I thought it was the Meters Ziggy Modeliste who defined NOLA funk (and therefore funk in general), but a site called Home Of The Groove clued me into the fact that Ziggy (and Idris Muhammed, another funky drummer) were mentored by none other than Smokey Johnson. It's no surprise either, that many of Smokey's laid baid NOLA funk sides were produced by Wardell Quezerque (another highly underrated innovator in the soul funk field.)

Smokey was mostly a session cat, but below you'll find a few of his singles as a leader, including It Ain't My Fault from '64, a tune that might be the first funk tune on record and one that has become a Mardi Gras standard..Also see Funkie Moon for an example of where Ziggy Modeliste might have learned a few of his signature licks..
In the web link above there's a story about how Smokey and a bunch of NOLA cats went up to Motown to audition..they cut a bunch of demos, but it was Smokey who impressed the most and stayed on for two months of production line work in the snakepit. Earl King said," part of the reason why they got in the door was Motown's fascination with Smokey Johnson, who could do more on a trap set by himself than any two of the label's session drummers." I dunno if that's just legend, but if it isn't it makes a lot of sense. From the beginning of recorded music in the US innovation has always spread from NOLA north...

Smokey suffered a stroke in '93 so he no longer plays..he lost his home in Katrina and currently lives in Musicians' Village, a Habitat for Humanity project in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
Tuff City has reisuued Smokey's solo work originally recorded for the NOLA label in the 60's on a comp called It Ain't My Fault. Definitely worth a look.

It Ain't My Fault

Funkie Moon

Go get Smokey..

New Genre Bid-Afro Rock: Cymande

2011-03-07T18:32:00.001-05:00

Luckily for digital and dusty vinyl crate diggers, the actual rock based (or rock-like) music that is/was made in Africa has become a bit of a cause célèbre on the re-issue circuit. Psych, groove, funk, and many other styles are appearing now on a regular basis. Blogs direct from Africa like Oro or Brooklyn's always awesome, Awesome Tapes From Africa are just a few of the spots that continue to explore the staggering amount of music that was and is made in Africa. I mean we're talking about 20 or 30 different countries, all with a fully functioning record biz, major and indie. In case you haven't noticed, music has a little bit more cultural importance to folks in Africa. Oh sure, there are impressarios looking to make a buck, but that can't compare to 50,000 years of musical traditions....At any (rant) rate,the reissue explosion keeps groove hunters busy.

Go get Afro Rock Vol.1

The 2002 comp just above is a definite winner for beat junkies,as it was one of the first all-African artist Afro- Rock comps aimed at English speakers. Those listeners may have had their appetite whetted for motherland funk by the 1999 offering below...which has a few African artists, but also includes the bands that make up the foundation of what I call Afro-Rock. Bands like the Lafayette Afro Rock Band and Oneness of Juju were a part of a brief outfreakage in the music biz, where large, mostly black (but not from Africa) ensembles were making music that was more Afro-centric than straight up African. The deep roots of the music might have been African, but this music was all about fusion.

Go get Africafunk

Wil-Dog Abers of Ozomatli: "I first heard Cymande in 1992. Cut Chemist made me a mix tape...When I first heard Dove, I went nuts. I never heard anything like it before. Cymande mixed so many styles and sounds. They laid the path for bands like Ozomatli.."

Cymande-Cymande (1972)
Bra

Rickshaw

Dove

Of all the bands that came out of the Afro Rock (basically the 70's) era, Cymande is far and away my favorite. Formed by West Indian immigrants in late 60's England, these expats incorporated funk, soul, latin, rock,rasta philosophy, and loads of Nyabinghi percussion on the 3 records they made for Chess subsidiary Janus Records from 72-74.

Cymande-Second Time Around (1973)
Fug

Willie's Headache

They got enough traction in the US (Bra and The Message were charting singles) that they toured here with Mandrill (makes sense) and Al Green (not as sure about that pairing), as well as, making an appearance on Soul Train. (youtube did not come through for me)

After their 70's chart run these records lived on in clubs..especially Bra which is an often compiled club classic. All that percussion sounds mighty good on a big room sound system.Check the bonus beats for the classic Danny Krivit edit of Bra)

The hip hop generation has borrowed heavily from these records, with De la Soul, The Fugees, and many more finding great use for the luminous grooves contained herein.

Cymande-Promised Heights (1974)
Brothers On The Slide

Mighty Heavy Load

If you see the first record in a Salvation Army bin, don't hesitate, it is a classic from cover to cover..but any of their first 3 albums (a 1981 piece,Arrival, meant to cash in on their club cache is to be avoided) offer top shelf funk. Steve Scipio's basslines are worth just about any price..then there's some Santana-esque guitar, and then there's all those drums...mmmm good.

Go get Cymande-The Message (Their first 3 Lp's)- Part One Part Two

Cymande=Dove Of Peace

* Ray King - Vocals/Percussion
* Steve Scipio - Bass
* Derek Gibbs - Soprano/Alto
* Pablo Gonsales - Congas
* Joey Dee - Vocals/Percussion
* Peter Serreo - Tenor
* Sam Kelly - Drums
* Mike Rose - Alto/Flute/Bongos
* Patrick Patterson - Guitar
* Jimmy Lindsey - Vocals/ Percussion (Promised Heights LP)

Bonus Beats

Danny Krivit Edit of Bra

The Fugee's sampling Dove for The Score

For completeness only, I'll include 1981's Arrival...beware..

Don't say I didn't warn you...Go get Arrival

Revolution at 8 Tracks

2011-03-03T19:30:00.000-05:00

1. Rumble - Link Wray

2. If 6 Was 9 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

3. Come In Out Of The Rain - Parliament

4. Bionic Revolution - Urge Overkill

5. The Revolution Starts... - Steve Earle

6. Welcome To The Terrordome - Public Enemy

7. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scott-Heron

8. Coming War- Ozomatli

9. When The Revolution Comes - The Last Poets

10. Trans-Europe Express- Kraftwerk

11. Revolution- Bim Sherman

12. Skanking Dub - Augustus Pablo

13. Luv N' Haight - Sly & The Family Stone

14. Funky President – James Brown

15. Impeach The President - The Honeydrippers

16. Sorrow, Tears & Blood - Fela Kuti

17. Shoot Out The Lights – Richard & Linda Thompson

Egyptology at 8Tracks

2011-03-03T02:38:00.000-05:00

1. My Egyptian Grammar – The Fiery Furnaces

2. Freedom Road – The Pharoahs

3. Egyptian Tomb – Mighty Baby

4. Cairo Blues – Lightnin’ Hopkins

5. The Sphinx – Baby Charles

6. Fire In Cairo – The Cure

7. Latino In Cairo – Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Band

8. Raksat El Kheyl – Omar Khorshid

9. Pharoah Hiding – Junior Byles

10. Egyptian Reggae – Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

11. Egyptian Shumba – The Tammys

12. Sue Egypt – Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band

13. Memphis,Egypt – The Mekons

14. Sphynx – The Brand New Heavies

15. Nights Over Egypt – The Jones Girls

16. Egyptian-Ella – Fats Waller

17. Prince Of Peace – Pharoah Sanders

18. Egypt – Weldon Irvine

19. Pyramid – Duke Ellington

20. I Don’t Intend to Die In Egyptland – Josh White

21. Pharoah, Let My People Go – Theodore Bikel

22. Sphinx – Harry Thumann

23. Egypt,Egypt –Egyptian Lover

24. King Pharoah Dub – King Tubby

25. Egyptian Kings – Brainticket

26. Cairo Rag – Gus Cannon

27. Cairo Blues – Henry Spaulding

28. Clear Signal From Cairo – The Fiery Furnaces

Eddie Fisher

2011-02-21T16:39:00.003-05:00

During the Grammy©'s (which I watch religiously out of some character flaw) one of my favorite segments is when they pay tribute to the folks from the music biz who died during the preceding year. It's often the only national recognition some of these men and women get, and it's often the only thing that I like from the show. This year they mentioned the passing of crooner Eddie Fisher, a cat who I have a personal history with, which I will relate below. After that I'll get to the real (in my case) Eddie Fisher, the guitar player from Arkansas/East St.Louis.
The Other Eddie

Back in the mid-80's I was a furniture mover. The company I worked for was run by a German-American Guy who loved Eddie Fisher..the crooner/movie star Eddie Fisher. This post is not about that Eddie Fisher. In fact, whatever charms the father of Carrie Fisher had were lost on me because of the amount of 50's pop I had to listen to while hauling crates around the warehouse working for Big Jim Messerschmidt. You see he loved 50's pop so much he piped it into his warehouse so we could hear it all day..lovely.

The Real Cliff Richard

When I was able to get out of the warehouse, I was stuck in the truck with his son, who didn't like Eddie Fisher, but instead had a thing for Cliff Richard and Huey Lewis. This would be OK for an afternoon, but on a 500 mile drive, it could become less than pleasing. I don't know if you ever read Brett Easton Ellis' American Psycho (where the psycho character is a big fan of Huey Lewis,Genesis, and Whitney Houston), but Big Jim's son was that crazy about Cliff and Huey, constantly going the extra mile, and explaining to me why Cliff and Huey were such shining stars of the musical firmament (Just like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho). OMG, I almost plotzed..and started bringing headphones.

But I digress.Most thankfully this post is not about that Eddie Fisher, or Huey, or Cliff. I'm here to pay tribute to the St.Louis-based guitarist Eddie Fisher, who passed away back in 2007, but left a legacy in the jazz,soul, blues, and funk fields. Eddie was born in Arkansas and moved to Memphis when he was 18. He made a name for himself in the Bluff City, securing gigs with Albert King and Solomon Burke. Then he settled and married in St.Louis, where he was a fixture at the Blue Note Club. He cut records for Chess, Stang,and his own Nentu label, while continuing to tour the world. Depite his travels though, he always kept St. Louis in his heart, working on community based music projects there, throughout his career.

Sometime around 1970, he cut his first album as a leader, the soul jazz flavored, The Third Cup. The record appeared on Chess Records' Cadet label..

Drink The Third Cup...

Scorched Earth (from The Third Cup)

The follow up came just a year later and was more in the funk vein, as Marshall Chess took over for dad Leonard, and tried to take Chess in a new direction. The hard to see album cover for Eddie Fisher & The Next One Hundred Years (and the tunes) show how psych and funk were the new thing at Chess..

Go get some psychfunk
Jeremiah Puckett (from The Next 100..)

All the while, Eddie was keeping an eye on his hometown, where things (especially in East St. Louis) were not doing so well. He became involved with Allan "Dealth" Merry, another cat who made a name for himself as a band leader and sideman out in the world, but returned home to serve his community. Mr. Merry started a community center, music school, record label, talent agency called Yodi Enterprises and he and Eddie Fisher cut a record for the venture. (This activity , the incredible story of Mr. Merry, and a bunch of great records are included on Numero's Eccentric Soul:The Young Disciples..)

Homeboy Pt.1

Mr. Fisher returned to touring his solo act and with Albert King and Solomon Burke for the next few years, not releasing another LP until 1977's Hot Lunch. Recorded for Sylvia Robinson's (of Mickey & Sylvia fame and later the owner of Sugar Hill Records) New Jersey-based Stang label, this offering is pure funk with more than a little Sly Stone influence.

Go get fed..

Give Me, Lend Me, Loan Me, Let Me Have

As the 80's approached Eddie began spending more time at home and started his own label, ran a community theater/ music venue with his wife, and capped it all off with an induction to the Arkansas Jazz Hall Of Fame (Louis Jordan, Pharoah Sanders, Herb Ellis are among the inductees) in 2004. When told about crate diggers making his 70's records highly collectible he was amused...

"We just appreciate that people are more interested in my music now," he says. "We just hope if they like The Third Cup they'll want to hear my new music. You can't get too focused on the past or on particular milestones in life. To me, it's all about the journey." (Riverfront Times).

Thanks to the crate diggers over at 4 Brothers Weekly, you can check out Eddie's (he goes by Edward here) 1985 ( very,very rare)Nentu Release, The Promise

His 2001 record 42nd Street pays tribute to his East St. Louis jazz roots at the Blue Note Club (a spot where Miles Davis cut his teeth), and is worth checking out as well.

I don't remember if Eddie Fisher was mentioned at the 2007 Grammy©'s, but his contributions should not go unrecognized. Folks who played with him, his peers, and his neighbors knew he was a good man.

" So the journey goes on: You just try and be yourself ... and hope at some point the recognition comes." (Riverfront Times)

RIP Eddie...we heard that.

A Brief History of Whitesploitation

2011-02-11T22:22:00.001-05:00

The definition of a Whitesploitation film seems to be in the eye of the definer. If you are writing for the African-American cultural site, The Black Table, Whitesploitation is an example of "urbanizing" white movies: "In Hollywood, black screenwriters are bringing old white scripts out for a ride around the hood. It's a significant role reversal that the big movie houses seem to be perpetuating with great frequency these days. The question is whether it's reparations for everything whites co-opted, from Elvis to Eminem, or just pure uninspired laziness" (Chris Fara1).

The AV Maniacs forum pairs Whitesploitation with Hicksploitation. This is the slice of cinematic genius where Burt Reynolds is the Orson Wells, and Deliverance is the Citizen Kane. Other "classics" include, Two Thousand Maniacs, Poor White Trash, Shanty Tramp, and Smokey & The Bandit, according to these B-Movie experts. Here's a typical Whitesploitation/Hicksploitation poster...

My searches also led me to Brian C. Baer's blog, where he defines Whitesploitation as a formula based on Death Wish: " a white-collar family man, either inexperienced in combat or very out of practice, becomes fed up with the violence in urban America and decides to fight back. Things get bloody and darkly humorous, seeing as every character in it is a complete and insulting stereotype."

Next to enter the fray is Urban Dictionary:

"An exploitation film or book where white people invade and exploit non-white natives. They may nuke, rape and torture the inhabitants and make them slaves. So the whites can take over the land. Dances With Wolves, Pocahontas, The Last Samurai, Avatar are one of the few examples of Whitesploitation films."

Finally, I found a site called adfreak that calls this Absolute Lemon campaign, Whitesploitation..

I'm not totally satisfied with any of these. I made my first Whitesploitation mixtape back in about 1995. My definition for this imaginary film and soundtrack genre is like a photo negative of Blaxploitation. Over my blog life I have returned to the topic on a fairly regular basis and this is what I've got so far....

Whitesploitation-The Sound In My Head

At one point I imagined an alternate movie universe in the 1970's where white private dicks were the sex machines with all the chicks. Gritty suburban dramas were created with pulsing scores as smooth dressing detectives (with no ties to The Man), played on both sides of the law, without losing their cool. My imaginary trend was called Whitesploitation and the soundtracks I imagined featured the music of Tom Scott, Brian Auger, and the king of the genre, David Axelrod. Alas, this was just a dream, and all I was left with was a mix tape.

There was another record I heard recently that didn't quite fit the whitesploitation formula, but it did remind me of my dream. Funky beats, swirling strings, and charging horns combined with Brazilian flavors (which makes a lot of sense, since the record is Brazilian). Arthur Verocai's self titled 1972 record could have easily been the soundtrack to a hard-boiled detective thriller set on the streets of Sao Paulo.

I don't really know if this record is representative of this artist or this period in Brazil's music history, but it sounds a little different than what I've heard before. It incorporates some early electronic touches (thinking Stereolab/Shuggie Otis) , a smidgen of jazz funk, and what I can only describe as a lo-fi midnight movie sound. Unfortunately for my wallet, I have a feeling that records like this might be the tip of a Brazilian iceberg that is gonna send me to the poor house…happy.

Go Get Arthur Verocai

Musical Frottage:Bjork and Quincy Jones

Who's to say what films and music are the most influential. Folks would like to believe we get todays artistic awesomeness from folks who were influenced by Citizen Kane and Music from The Big Pink and Kraftwerk and Kurosawa, but its very possible that movies like The Adventurers (1970) were planting the seeds that became our future entertainment world. Movies like this, based on popular books (Harold Robbins in this case), with "major stars" (Ernest Borgnine,Charles Aznavour,Olivia de Havilund, Fernando Rey), a top flight producer, Jospeh E. Levine (The Producers,The Graduate, the Lion In winter), and major studio backing (Paramount)put fannies in the seats.

The movie was a popcorn muncher in its day..and it was released worldwide, generating at least 3 soundtrack albums: the original score (Jobim), a British version, and a "music from" version with Quincy Jones' name attached to it as an arranger. I'm betting, though I have no evidence, that there was a campaign to get folks to theaters and until word of mouth got around, regular moviegoers took in this very poorly reviewed film.

Videohound sez:

"Set In South America, it tells the tale of a rich playboy who uses and destroys everyone around him.His vileness results from having seen his mother murdered by bandits..blood,gore,revolutions, and exploitive sex follow..."

Whoa..that doesn't sound so bad..it sounds like the Whitesploitation movie I've always dreamed of making.

Nelle Hooper, who was in on the production of Bjork's first record, might have seen it, but more than likely he picked up the soundtrack cheap and just had to sample those drums from Go Down Dying. In fact, when I heard the soundtrack, I found all kinds of goodies. A great orgasm tune, Coming and Going, and a psyche-funk, blue movie vibe throughout. Polo Pony has appeared on more than one ultra hip 'mood music" comp.

The Ray Brown Orchestra (who knew they'd be so funky) was augmented by Tom Scott, J.J. Johnson, and of course, Q. Forget the film, this non-soundtrack has its fingerprints all over todays jet set. Who knows what you're gonna get when you rub two things together? Bjork's Human Behavior holds at least one answer.

Go get The Adventurers Soundtrack...

Quincy Jones - Go Down Dying

Mr.Whitesploitation-David Axelrod

Nowadays the producer often outshines the stars in pop music. Timbaland, Dre, and Neptunes have become huge because of their ability to create the music that moves the masses. But producers have always been around pushing sonic boundaries.One of my all time favorite knob twiddlers did his best work in the 60's as the house producer for Capitol Records. David Axelrod cut records with Lou Rawls, Cannonball Adderly, and just about anybody who walked through the doors of Capitol in the 60's, including The Electric Prunes. The Prunes had scored a gigantic hit with, "I had too much to dream last night," and then imploded,broke up for the most part, but the name remained, and Capitol wanted to use it to milk as much money as possible, before the name cooled. So, Release of an Oath was a called an Electric Prunes record, but really it was a David Axelrod record. No original Electric Prunes appear on the record, and it is basically your typical quasi-religious, psych, guitar driven, Jewish mystical mantra record, with a beat.In fact Axelrod's Beats have been sampled by producers like Dre, RZA, Shadow, aw hell, everybody samples David Axelrod. But Why?Pristinely recorded fat sounding drums (usually Earl Palmer), screeching guitar (Harold Roberts), and booming bass (Carol Kaye) provided by the LA session elite. It was all about the sound and feel, and David Axelrod sessions have those qualities in spades.
Go Get Release Of An Oath

Go Get Song Of Innocence

Go Get Songs Of Experience

If Barack Is President...

Will the underground film genre I've always dreamt of become a reality? If THE MAN is a black man, can Whitespolitation be far behind. I have posted on this topic before, but it was really only in the abstract. Recent events,though, have inspired, yet another mixtape. A compilation of classic Whitesploitation film music.

1. The Smile - David Axelrod

2.Sneakin In The Back - Tom Scott

3.Lies - Asha Puthli

4.Ballett - Karel Krautgartner

5.Stone Fox Chase - Area Code 615

6.Mucho Chupar - David Axelrod

7.Elegy - Colosseum

8.Algo Mais - Os Mutantes

9.Ince Ince - Selda

10.joy of a toy - The Soft Machine

11.Spoon - Can

12.Memory Band - Rotary Connection

13.Night On Bald Mountain - Bob James

14.Chicano - Dennis Coffey

15.Dr.Jive (Part2) - Flora Purim

16.Mathar - Dave Pike Set

17.Turning Point - Lalo Schifrin

18.Love Love's To Love - Lulu

19.Marai's Wedding - Brian Auger's Oblivion Express

20.Red Clay - Jack Wilkins

21.Sylvia - Arthur Verocai

22.Light My Fire - Julie London

I hope I've presented my case and I can finally fulfill my dream of naming a genre. I'm ready for my peer review..have at me.

Who The F%&#CK Is Jody?

2011-02-09T11:09:00.005-05:00

originally posted on MOG 12.3.2009

I didn't know unitl just recently but, Jody is the man who is sleeping with your wife when you are not home. I guess nowadays it could be a woman sleeping with your wife, or a man sleeping with your partner, or any combination you can think of. In song (and a whole lot more) though, Jody (aka Joe the Grinder) is all about cheating, infidelity, and sex. Some iterations of the Jody story are playful and some (usually the older ones) are x-rated.

Jody and the Blues

Jody Man - Slim Harpo

I always thought the story of Jody was tied to southern soul singers, because I first heard Jody mentioned by Johnnie Taylor, who cut a couple of Jody songs for Stax,right in the middle of the Vietnam War. There were also a few female Jody tunes, including my fave by Jean Knight, as well as a bunch of early 70's Jody tunes (see below) I'd happened over through my crate digging years. I never really linked these together though until, surprisingly, I was thumbing through my Baseball Dictionary (Paul Dickson) and I saw this:
Jody: The name of the man that Negro League players feared was romancing their wives or girlfriends when they were on the road.

Seeing that Jody's history went back further than Vietnam sent me to the internets where there was a wealth of info including a nice musical breakdown on WFMU's Beware the Blog. You'll find more tracks than I have here in the Jody vein and a back story that puts Jody's roots in military and prison culture that evolved after 1939. Jody is a shortening/ bastardization of Joe De Grinder, the 1939 tune recorded (see below) in North Carolina by field operatives from Alan Lomax's stable of folk finders.

Military folks know all about Jody Calls...
The songs get the name jody call or jody (also, jodie) from a recurring character, a civilian named "Jody" whose luxurious lifestyle is contrasted with military deprivations in a number of traditional calls. Jody is the person who stays at home, drives the soldier's car, and gets the soldier's sweetheart while the soldier is in recruit training or in country...Obscene, scatological, and offensively violent jody calls exist; their official use in formal training is now discouraged by the U.S. military, with an emphasis on "clean" versions of traditional jodies. The flexibility of jodies is nearly unlimited, and old jodies have always been retired or rewritten as times and wars change. Jody calls are a subset of work songs, and share in their rhythmic properties. Most jody calls have a call and response structure; one soldier initiates a line, and the remaining soldiers complete it.
(from StateMaster a kind of military wiki)

JODY in The 70's

Standing In For Jody - Johnnie Taylor

Right On Jody - Bobby Patterson

Don't Talk About Jody - Jean Knight

I Ain't Worried About Jody - Geater Davis

Trackin' Down Jody - Darker Shades, LTD

Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Johnnie Taylor

So FMU pegs the origins of Jody to that first Blues tune, but more probably, it is much older, like other legendary characters in the African American Oral tradition, Jody is a close cousin to Stagger Lee, The Signifying Monkey, Toledo Slim, Pisspot Pete, and many others. Characters who delivered parables, boasts, and toasts in language that was designed to be impenetrable to white ears and spoken in something other than white man's English. Because Black folks were highly discouraged from reading, the ability to tell a good story and a facility with the language was paramount. In my mind the tradition is carried on today by the best practitioners of hip hop. Take a listen to Joe De Grinder and GI Joe (scroll down-and beware the language is very salty), and tell me that WW 2 story doesn't have a little hip hop flavor.

Another reason prison and the military are early souces for Jody material is that they were some of the first institutions that were widely integrated, and like just about everything in African American culture(or any immigrant culture, really) the traditions gradually get absorbed into the culture as a whole. The fact that much of this toasting was full of sex and violence made it absolutely ripe for our ouevre here in the USA, as the success of hip hop, gangster flicks, and gun sales attest. It's not just the blues men and the hustlers either,even the now ivory- towered world of jazz has these same "rough" roots. Horace Silver and Quincy Jones, rightfully and righteously, pay tribute to Jody as well .

JODY in Jazz

The Jody Grind - Horace Silver

Boogie Joe, The Grinder - Qunicy Jones

So when folks tell you it used to be squeeky clean here in the USA, they are not telling you the truth. When they say hip hop is over the top and is just too violent and vulgar, they are failing to recognize that these elements have always been here..sex,violence,boasting,gun play..these things are just as much a part of the fabric of this nation as apple pie,Chevrolet,and baseball.

JODY (Joe De Grinder) in The African American Oral Tradition

Joe The Grinder and G.I. Joe (A Toast-Spoken Word)

As much as some folks would prefer a cleaner, tidier history for this country, when you dig just slightly below the surface you find some very human, scarred, and dirty stuff. To my mind, that stuff, is what makes this country a great one. It's not the captains of industry who built this country, it's the incredible blend of regular folks, their methods of survival, their cultures, their lives and their blood, mixing together to form something new.

The First Jody On Record

Irwin Lowry-Joe De Grinder

8 Track Mixtape-Dark Valentine: Cheaters

2011-02-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

1. She'll Never Be Your Wife - Irma Thomas
2. You've Been Cheatin' - Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
3. It's A Funky Situation - Ted Taylor
4. No Tell Motel - Don Covay
5. Stealing Love - Eddie Floyd
6. Who's Cheating Who -Little Milton
7. Letter Full Of Tears - Gladys Knight & The Pips
8. Love Is So Good When Your Stealing It - Z.Z. Hill
9. i'll be the other woman - Soul Children
10. To The Other Woman (I'm The Other Woman) - Doris Duke
11. The Dark End Of The Street - James Carr
12. I Was Checkin' Out She Was Checkin' In - Don Covay
13. She Didn't Know (She Kept On Talking)- Sandra Phillips
14. Tell Her It's Over - Millie Jackson
15. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right - Luther Ingram

8 Track Mixtape-Mike Black's Groove and Grease

2011-02-05T18:04:00.001-05:00

1. Same Old Thing-The Olympics

2. Another Dirty Deal - The Incredibles

3.The Man Puts Sugar In My Soul - Mae Young

4.Stay Away From My Johnny -Freda Gray & The Rocketeers

5.The Grown Folks Thing- OC Tolbert

6. It Ain't Easy - Bettye LaVette

7. Don't Throw Your Love In The Garbage Can - Vicki Anderson

8. The Boxer - Carolyn Franklin

9. Champion Of The Arena - Jackie Mittoo

10. Thjnk It Over - Jean Knight

11. That's Understanding - Tami Lynn

12. None But The Righteous - Al Green

13. Sinnerman - The Swan Silvertones

14. Sit Down If You Can - Campbell Bros./Elwood Haygood

15. Red Hot Momma (45)-Funkadelic

16. Vital Juices (45)- Funkadelic

17. Can't Say Nothing - Curtis Mayfield

18. Heaven Right Here On Earth - The Natural Four

19. House Full Of Rooms - LH & The Memphis Sound

20. The Hunter Gets Captured by The Game - The Marvelettes

21. You're All I Need to Make It - Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum, & Durr

22. I'm Gonna Keep On Loving You - Kool Blues

23. Hey Now Baby-Professor Longhair

Women's Work Week - Goldie,Carol, Margo and Ginger

2011-02-03T19:13:00.002-05:00

Goldie & The Gingerbreads
There were a few all female jazz and swing bands during WWII, a few women playing instruments in bands during the rock and roll era, and more than a few female singers, but the first all female band playing their own instruments wasn't signed to a major label until 1963. Polish born, 17-year old, Brooklyn-bred vocalist, Goldie Zelkowitz (fka Genyusha Zelkowitz) worked with a doo wop crew called the Escorts and she recruited drummer Ginger Bianco (fka Panabianco), with the idea to form an all female band. Goldie and the Gingerbreads was the name they came up with when they inked with Decca. By 1964 they added Margo Lewis (organ) and Carol MacDonald (guitar).

The Gingerbread's big break seems to have been a party thrown for Warhol associate Baby Jane Holzer. Mick Jagger and Ahmet Ertegun, were there,too. They were soon signed to Atlantic and off on a tour of Europe where they opened for The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, The Hollies and The Kinks, to name a few. They had one charting tune in England (Can't You Hear My Heartbeat), but could never breakthrough in the US. The lack of success doesn't seem to have been much of a deterrent, because after the disintegration of Goldie & The Gingerbreads, all four women remained in the music business.
Gingerbreads Jukebox

Goldie & The Gingerbreads on British TV(give it about 18 seconds to kick in)

Goldie Becomes Genya Ravan:Ten Wheel Drive
Despite the mostly novelty status of her band, Genya Ravan gained invaluable experience and contacts in the music biz. Her blues belting voice may have been her calling card, but she was interested in controlling her career and her sound. After the Gingerbreads it didn't take long for her to put together (with a host of seasoned New York pros) Ten Wheel Drive. She still didn't have complete artistic control with TWD, but they made 3 LP's together that have become cult faves among the deeper digging classic rock crowd. Horn driven blues/rock, as was the style of the day, but for whatever reason, no hits. To my ears these records could've easily fit into the FM radio of the day, but it was not to be. Genya left the band after 1971 to persue a solo career and to try to get someone to let her make the record she wanted to make.
Ten Wheel Drive - Stay With Me

Ten Wheel Drive - Tightrope

It's a man's world..except for Genya (Ten wheel Drive)

TWD's Greatest Hits

Nude, All-Female Feminist Bands With Silver Body Paint Singing About Football
Around 1973, with Genya Ravan already set to release her second solo record, Carol MacDonald was looking to get the old band back together. She began gigging at Trude Heller's Greenwich Village nightspot with an 8 piece horn driven rock band that would become, Isis. And, oh yeah, all the band members were women, including original Gingerbread drummer Ginger Bianco, as well as, a conga player named Liberty Mata (who I think couldn't use her real name-Laura Nyro-because of contract obligations).
Isis-Do The Football

Isis-April Fool

Isis-Isis (1974)

A Rolling Stone article in 1973 detailed the beginnings of the band (somewhat breathless about the all female band idea), that eventually signed to Buddah and released their self titled debut in 1974. Rolling Stone did not review any of the three Isis records and there was one negative concert review that I saw when they opened for 3 Dog Night or some other 70's stalwart. The sound of the Isis records is similar to Ten Wheel Drive (blues based w/horns), except Isis is a tad funkier and a little more soulful. Lyrically, the Isis records have plenty of overt references to women loving women, which might've been a stretch for audiences outside of Greenwich Village. So despite the major label signing, a less controlled environment, and a string of producers from Shadow Morton (New York Dolls), Allen Toussaint (Labelle,Pointer Sisters), and Len Barry (Philly based Blue eyed soul), Isis didn't breakout.

For my money the first record, even though it's all over the place stylistically is the best, the second having too many Toussaint-isms( Pointer-esque group vocals..and BTW, I Love Allen Toussaint), and the 3rd hinting at disco. The line up added original Gingerbreads organist Margo Lewis for the second album, and went through numerous changes in their 6 year run, becoming a sort of-Jazz Messengers for aspiring female rockers. Again though, like the Ten Wheel Drive sides, Isis never had complete control of their output. Whatever strides the Women's Movement made in the 70's didn't go far enough to change the ways of the music biz.
Isis-Bobbie & Maria

Ain't No Backing Up Now (1975)

Isis-Looking For A Space

Isis - Breaking Through (1977)

What Happened Next?
Goldie/Genya: Still gigging, 6 solo LP's, First woman to produce an all male band (major label)-Dead Boys-Sonic Reducer, Memoir-Lollipop Lounge,Host on Little Stevens Underground Garage.
Carol: Came out when she was with Isis, worked in Women's Music through the 80's, died in 2007.

Margo: founderof Talent Consultants International, an agency whose clients include Bo Diddley, The Village People, and Wilson Pickett.
Ginger:GLBT Historical Society "Women Breaking Barriers" award (2007). Joined Carol for Isis reunion shows in 1997.

Goldie and the Gingerbreads entered into the music biz as a curiosity and could easily have become a footnote to music history. Instead, each in their own way, they made significant contributions to rock and roll culture, breaking a number of barriers and glass ceilings along the way. What they did would make their music a second thought, but the music is just as worthy as the story of their struggles and triumphs in the boys club of the music biz.
Carol Macdonald:I had too many years of being in the closet. I did that with Goldie and the Gingerbreads - it drove me crazy! I hated it! ISIS may have made it if I hadn't come out. Maybe. I don't know that though. The girls that [joined] the band, they were ... gonna get a rep as being gay because of me, and I would tell them that from the beginning - because most of them weren't [gay]."

Women's Work Week-The First Lady of P(re)-Funk: Ruth Copeland

2011-01-28T15:34:00.001-05:00

In 2008 a wide swath (well, 58% of registered voters) of Americans elected Barack Obama president, in a campaign that promised change...A main component of that change was to be health care reform that increased the number of folks with medical insurance and made other consumer-centric changes in the system, which an even larger percentage of Americans said was broken. After being elected, Mr. Obama went right to work on this reform, and despite stiff resistance, got it passed. In 2010, Republicans made huge gains in the Congress, Senate, and Governerships, by essentially running on change, with the symbol of the change being the repeal of the health care reform that had just passed. Are we spinning our wheels here?

You are probably asking what the heck this has to do with British-born, folk-soul-rock-funk, singer/songwriter/producer Ruth Copeland. Probably not much, but I will say, that what passes for change nowadays doesn't seem to compare with the changes that were happening when Ruth first arrived in America around 1967. Additionally, the seismic cultural shifts going on in the US at the time, seem to follow Ruth's career arc rather nicely. Of course, I could be totally wrong, 'cause change is not so easy to come by. At any rate, I'd like to start off with this tune Ruth Copeland wrote (and received production credit for), that was an unused master from the sessions that yielded Parliament's 1970 debut LP, Osmium.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, by dropping this '72 single, so let me rewind a bit. As a fairly huge (emotionally and physically) P-Funk fan, I've always wondered about Ruth Copeland. How did this British woman come to be involved with George Clinton?

How did a band that almost never worked with material that didn't come from within their (ever-growing) inner circle, come to cut tracks with this woman, who, at the time, might have been all of 22 years old. Record labels and questions were pretty much all I had at the start, but in the past few days I've come to find out a lot more. In the final analysis, I've got to say that Ruth was definitely of her time, and maybe a little bit ahead of it (something I've always thought about Mr. George Clinton.) To be doing what she was doing, when she was doing it, puts her right up there with Betty Davis, as a unique voice at the dawn of funk. Whether she was just in the right place at the right time (she was), or whether she had some great in's to the record business (she did), or whether she was just doing what she thought she had to do to make it in a business dominated by men, Ms. Copeland got it done.

Unfortunately, I do not have what might be the definitive release of Ruth's work with George: 2002's The Complete Invictus Sessions, but judging from the liner notes of various versions of Osmium, other P-Funk history, and the scant amount of info for Ruth on the web, it wouldn't help. The hook in most entries on Ruth Copeland is British roots, her association with George Clinton and Funkadelic, and her relationship with record producer/businessman Jeffrey Bowen. There is an undercurrent of sexism throughout these entries. One liner note (First Thangs/Lee Hildebrand), does not mention Ruth Copeland at all, even though she wrote or co-wrote and produced or coproduced nearly half the tracks Parliament cut for the Invictus label, not to mention that she sang on a couple of tracks.

The 2001 reissue of Osmium (notes by Peter Doggett, explains Ruth's participation as a deal George Clinton did with Jeffery Bowen to give Ruth credits in exchange for his working on George's record. Bowen had been a staff producer at Motown (the notes say he was currently a Motown "staffer") and would eventually become Ruth Copeland's husband and manager. He left Berry Gordy with Holland-Dozier-Holland when they started Invictus two years prior, around 1968/9. I know this is all nit-picking and there probably are a few grains of truth to the idea that Mr. Bowen was trying to help Ruth out (and perhaps something more personal), but the dismissal by Mr. Doggett in the notes leaves a lot to be desired.

Nowhere, do I find an instance of George Clinton ever mentioning Ruth Copeland. Funnily enough, in my two main Ruth Copeland sources (Rolling Stone articles from 1971 and 1976), George Clinton and/or Funkadelic are never mentioned either. That is very strange for '71, since a huge chunk of her backing band were FUNKADELIC. Money issues between George and the youngsters (the guys in Parliament [vocalists] were older than the guys in the band) saw them walk out on him at various times from '70 to '71, for various reasons, including becoming Ruth's touring band. Do the 30,000 word liner notes in the 2 disc Funkadelic Singles collection by Rob Bowman mention this...nope.

The additional Parliament songs Ruth Copeland was involved in 70-72.
Breakdown

Oh Lord Why Lord/Prayer

The Silent Boatman

So was Osmium the record George wanted to make? Or was Funkadelic (the Westbound debut), his vision? Judging from what came later..these were both transitional debut records with Osmium the more experimental (and a little disjointed) of the two. One thing is for sure, George Clinton and his band were no longer a slick dressing soul group patterned after the Temptations, but a pscyhedelicized, highly volitile, funk/rock band. After a decade of kicking around the fringes of the music biz and tasting a little success, George Clinton, his band, and their split personalities, finally had their first long players. George Clinton was right around 30 years old.

Ruth Copeland's first LP, Self Portrait, arrived in shops just a few weeks after Osmium. Ruth was about 20 years old. Her path to debut vinyl was a little more straight forward, but convoluted nonetheless. Pieced together from the Rolling Stone articles, it looks a little like this:

She was born in Consett, England (a country town near Newcastle) sometime around 1950 to lower middle class parents.
When she was 16, she was an art student, who broke off her schooling to move to London following the sudden death of her mother.
She gigged in London with a band called Ed & The Intruders (zero info found on them), her sister moved to Detroit (don't know why), she was "discovered" by Allen Klein (Beatles,Stones),and she received contract offers with Apple and Invictus Records. She chose Invictus, perhaps because her sister was where the label was based, and was signed by Jeffrey Bowen in 1968.
She arrived in Detroit when she was 18, dated, became pregnant, and wed (apparently in 1970) an unnamed Detroit Lion. It is interesting to note that on her first album there's a song , "No Commitment" about the a relationship that ended after the birth of a child. It is unclear whether she had an abortion, or not. There's also a tune called, "To William In The Night." A look at the 1968 Detroit Lions Roster shows 3 Williams (QB Bill Munson, Tackle Bill Cotrell, and RB Billy Tripplett), but no further info is available...including when she might have gotten a divorce. Many articles and bios, say that she came to Invictus after her marriage to Jeffrey Bowen, but that is not the case. She couldn't have married him until 70/71 (at least according to things she said in interviews).
She was originally slated to be the leader of a female singing group, New Play, who made 1 single that was never released. Instead, she worked with George Clinton on her debut. LP.

Self Portrait (the cover is a self portrait..I wonder where that idea came from?) is, like Osmium, all over the stylistic map, mixing baroque folk confessions, Motown pop,opera covers, and harder blues rock. To be honest, it ain't perfect. Her voice, when not in rock mode, is an acquired taste. The lyrics are a little forced, too.

For historical purposes mostly (especially the Eddie Hazel solo on the album closing opera tune) Self Portrait..

From a Ruth perspective, she she got to make the record she wanted to make as a 20 year old music biz neophyte. From a Funkadelic perspective, this was more of a session gig. Bernie Worrell, Tawl Ross, Billy Nelson,Tiki Fulwood, and Eddie Hazel, were playing on many Invictus sessions, as Holland -Dozier-Holland were trying to create an assembly line set up similar to what was going on at Motown. For George, who was figuring his way through the system, it was an opportunity. My opinion is that George, Ruth, and the band were all bristling at the control of the old school studio system, but there were other factors at work, including the fact that Jeffrey Bowen was falling for Ruth, becoming deeply involved with her career as her manager, mentor, and within a year, her husband.
No Commitment

Music Box

Reviews for Ruth's record were not spectacular (nor for Osmium) and sales weren't particularly brisk either. George Clinton was also forced to stop using the name Parliament (no one seems to have a definitive answer why), Funkadelics were defecting left and right, and general craziness reigned in Detroit. Despite all this the wheels of the record biz continued to turn. At some point in '71 Ruth Copeland was asked to join the Sly Stone tour as an opening act for the Family Stone and Rare Earth. Funkadelic was backing her on the tour and helping her make her second album. According to Ruth, she was eventually kicked off the tour because of Sly's jealousy, and the fact that Funkadelic were blowing the doors off as an opener. That did not stop Sly from inviting her out to LA to live with him after the tour though..to help her with her career. So, theoretically, during 71 -72, she married Jeffrey Bowen, went on tour with Sly, made a second album, left Bowen and Invictus (with a 3 year, you-can-make-no-recordings clause in her contract), and ultimately moved in with Sly Stone for a year.

I Am What I Am is far superior to her debut, much more focused on the rock funk sound and less loose lyrically. It also sounded like a band album, as opposed to session cats backing a studio singer, which makes sense, since she was hanging with the Funkadelic guys for almost a year.

I Am What I Am...

Most nights on tour, Ruth wore a variation of the Native American themed outfit she had on for the cover of her second album, and in the '71 Rolling Stone interview she talks about getting tired of her image, getting tired of the opening slot, and says nothing about her band (Dammit, no one ever thinks of my needs). A big chunk of the piece talks about her perfect belly button and, "how a lot of her acceptance doubtless came from her singular beauty, but now she has to transcend it, and somehow find an approach which will put her music across." Oy vey, thanks Rolling Stone (Timothy Ferris).

Suburban Family Lament

Play With Fire

The Medal

I Am What I Am wasn't released until '72, but it seems like Ruth had left Detroit for good well before that, and was allegedly living with Sly Stone. The difference between her first records is stark: moving away from the direct confessional toward anti-war messages and social commentary. Over the top, sure,but manna for P-Funk fans and a good recap of attitudes at the end of the 60's, and the coming malaise of the 70's.

Ruth's malaise was also a product of her Invictus contract that prevented her from recording until '75 and perhaps her relationship with Sly Stone, "So I came out to the West Coast and what it was was that he wanted me," said Ruth in a '76 interview that just happened to coincide with the release of her comeback record, Take Me To Baltimore. She goes on to say, "and I fell in love with him." They did some tracks together (they remain unreleased), but he didn't let her perform. Ruth cites Sly's "insecurity, that's probably the only reason anybody wouldn't want their partner to fulfill themselves. I just knew it was wrong, and that's when I started to grow away from him." Evidently the reason why Sly's Fresh took so long to come out had a little to do with Ruth Copeland . Ruth headed East to New York (and by her admission rock bottom), where she was coaxed back to perform in 1974, at a radio station gig in Baltimore, by Badfinger member Peter Ham, she and him having been voted favorite male and female vocalists by a radio station there. She also mentions in the article that she was just about to audition for the role of Janis Joplin in fictional version of the rock icon's life called, Pearl. I'm pretty sure that movie was never made.
Cliches

Heaven

So with things looking up, she met Daryl Hall, who helped her get a deal with RCA and wrote and sang the single, "Heaven" with her. The album as a whole has none of the rough edges of the Invictus material, reflecting the light funk (with a few guitar flourishes), smooth R&B, and disco that was considered radio worthy in 1976. There's an outside producer (Ralph Moss), many strings, and a general reserve over these proceedings. It isn't a bad record, but it makes you appreciate the abandon of the Invictus sides.

Take Me to Baltimore...

A lot of folks got a chance to see Ruth perform around this time, and the one's I've heard from still remember the shows as some of the best they've ever seen. According to the '76 article she was starting a production company and swearing to "never let herself be dragged around by a man again." Sadly though, after the tour that came with Baltimore, there is absolutely nothing out there about Ruth Copeland. There aren't too many folks who did as much as she did in those 10 years (and for 2 or 3 of them she was just chilling)..quite a run for a young lass from Consett.

On the tune, "Some Hearts Need To Sing The Blues," the out chorus repeats, "I lived my life...for me," and that sums it up pretty well, that and this quote from the '76 interview: "I used to think that you had to fuck somebody to get ahead. I was programmed that way... I used to say, Ah, yes touch my breasts, but not anymore." Say what you will about that, but Ruth's songs and attitude clearly bring into focus the changes that happened between the 60's and 70's. It wasn't an easy road to travel for women back then and it's still no picnic today. Change doesn't come so easy.

Women's Work Week:Another Prodigy From Gary, Indiana-Kellee Patterson

2011-01-24T20:04:00.000-05:00

Right around the time Michael Jackson and his brothers were tearing up talent shows in Gary, Indiana, there was a teenage woman named Pat Patterson who was providing stiff competition to the soon-to-be famous siblings. Pat parlayed her talent show experience into a brief pageant career that saw her become Miss Gary, and then, in 1971, the first black Miss Indiana.

The Jacksons, went on to their well documented career, but Pat's story is pretty interesting,too. Upon returning to Gary after Miss America she secured a job as a host on a Chicago public affairs program (Harambee- all pull together in Swahili) and continued her singing career. She also contemplated an acting career, turned down an offer to record for Motown, traded pat for Kellee, and moved to California.

When she was in LA (I surmise) she met the man who would be a big part of her career for the next 10 years, keys player and record exec, Gene Russell. Russell, founder of the seminal afro-centric urban jazz label, Black Jazz, would have a hand in each of Kellee Patterson's 4 albums, as a player or producer. He would also marry the former Miss America contestant.

Here's how Black Jazz describes itself:

Black Jazz Records was introduced to the public in the early 70’s by internationally renowned jazz pianist Gene Russell. Mr. Russell recognized the need for a jazz music record label which would produce and distribute quality recordings targeted toward the growing market of African centric awareness.

In it's heyday, Black Jazz Records represented a new and fresh alternative to traditional jazz, embodying the spirit of the black/urban awakening of the civil rights period. During it's six year existence, the record label made a major impact on the jazz world, both domestically and in foreign territories.

The Black Jazz roster consisted of ten superior instrumentalists and vocalists that included:

Gene Russell - Piano
Rudolph Johnson - Saxophone
Calvin Keys - Guitar
Walter Bishop, Jr. - Piano
Chester Thompson - Organ
Henry Franklin - Bass
Doug Carn - Piano, Organ, Keyboards
Jean Carn - Vocalist
Kellee Paterson - Vocalist
The Awakening - Instrumental Group

Kellee was a long way from Gary on quite a different path than the Jacksons. Perhaps the least out-there record in the Black jazz catalog, Kellee's Maiden Voyage (1973) is still a pretty cool jazz vocal record, including the first time I've heard words to the Herbie Hancock penned title cut.

Kellee's Maiden Voyage...

Black Jazz closed shop in 1976, so Gene Russell inked a deal for Kellee with Shadybrook. A peek at the Shadybrook-subsidiary of GRT (an early proponent of cassettes)- catalog shows the beginnings of the disco outfreakage. Kellee's 1976 offering (Kellee) was definitely leaning that way, but still retains some of the jazz feel of the first record. That jazz/groove sound is probably what drew beat diggers to this record in the 90's, as Kellee's version (one of a bunch of covers on the LP) of Barry White's I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby began to be compiled extensively. It's kind of cool to hear Kelle's high pitches interpreting the baritone of the Big Man. Another highlight, is the vocal version of Grover Washington's Mister Magic.

Kellee..

1977 saw Kellee fresh faced on the album cover, but with a leaner funk sound and grittier vocals on tracks like Moving In The Right Direction and If It Don't Fit Don't Force it (not a George Clinton cover). There's a bit of disco and pop too, but the jazz is pretty much gone.

Be Happy...

Two years later, still on Shadybrook, but looking very sophisticated, Kellee released All The Things You Are..a full blown disco record with some ballads thrown in. She would not make another record and as far as I can tell, her movie career didn't pan out either. I dunno how her relationship with Gene was going, but he passed away in 1981 at the age of 49 (Kellee was 32 then).
Let Go,Let Go

Kellee's Last Stand...

Besides losing a spouse and mentor at an early age, the Kellee story has always seemed a little sad to me. Beyond the personal loss, her career follows a path that a lot of music did in the 70's. You can almost see the promise of the time (the community oriented Black Jazz) being consumed by the ever present need to make bucks, stay current, and be a part of the music industry. Was it Kellee that got Gene Russell thinking Berry Gordy/Diana Ross dreams? Or did they both just see the writing on the wall?

Streams of Booze:The Bottle Let Me Down

2011-01-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

Get Drunk - Drag The River
Rye Whiskey - Blue Mountain
Women Without Whiskey - Drive-By Truckers
Drinking Jim Crow - Guided By Voices
Alcohol - Robert Jay
Gettin' Drunk - Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Let Me Go Home, Whiskey - Amos Milburn
Quiet Whiskey - Wynonie Harris
Whiskey Trail - Los Lobos
If The River Was Whiskey - Rising Sons
Alcoholic - Fishbone
2 Sisters Drunk On Each Other - Califone
The Happy End (The Drunk Room) - Mercury Rev
Too Drunk To Dream - Magnetic Fields
My Old Drunk Friend - Freakwater
Whiskey Head Woman - Jo Ann Kelly
Meanwhile at the Bar A Drunkard Muses - Arab Strap
Alcohol - The Kinks
Wine - James Luther Dickinson
Whiskey In The Jar - Thin Lizzy
Whiskey Woman - Flammin' Groovies
Whiskey and Women - Black Ace
The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter - Laura Cantrell
Liquor, Beer, and Wine - Rev. Horton Heat
The Bottle Let Me Down - Merle Haggard
Sunrise - Mark Lanegan

FF Rewind:Darrow Fletcher-Northern Soul King

2011-01-21T06:28:00.002-05:00

FF=Funky Friday (Originally Posted 10.9.2009)

The other day we had a discussion about the demise of the album format, as folks turn more often these days to individual tracks, the playlist, and the shuffle, as their preferred mode of listening. It all seems so new, but really it's the album that's the (relatively) new concept. Up until the technology allowed for the album in the 50's, music was sold, as is rapidly re-becoming the fashion, 1 tune at a time (plus a bonus B-side) on 78's, then 45's,then the dreaded cassingle, and finally (as single song selling was going out of fashion in favor of the gigantic record company piggy bank of digital discs) as the CD single.

Of course, nowadays single songs rule and albums are rapidly becoming an esoteric pursuit for music afficianados only. The album, perfected in the 70's as a transmission of an artists current output, is being ripped apart for playlists and scrutinized for tracks that aren't "worth it." I don't fall on either side and I hope the album stays, but I will never underestimate the power of a single, especially when it arrives on a 45.

Soul (and then funk) man Darrow Fletcher came up in the time when albums were not the typical mode for soul music. Sure there were LP's in '66, but the concept of the soul LP was still just a gleam in the eye of folks like Isaac Hayes and Marvin Gaye. In fact, though he cut close to 20 singles in an active career that spanned 9 labels and 13 years, Darrow Fletcher never made an album. I don't know the why's and wherefore's of all that, but I do know it makes his records a little more rare and a lot more enticing to crate diggers, especially those of the Northern Soul variety, to whom Darrow is a legend.

That's Darrow singing at 2006's Cleethorpe's Weekender, where organizers spared no expense to track down the long retired Fletcher, whose rare 45's have fueled dancers for years. The Northern folks have basically rescued his oeuvre which consists of Motwn-esque kid soul (his first records came out when he was 14) to a more mature funk sound that came in with his 70's records.
First up, 'cause it's Funky Friday, is 1970's Now Is The Time For Love, a percussion,flute, and wah wah thing that was released on the tiny Genna label.

Now Is The Time For LoveDon't mind that 45 surface noise..

Funk was not all Mr. Fletcher did as evidenced by this other A+B from 1970, cut for the larger (but often very soulful UNI label)
When Love Calls-A/Changing by The Minute-B

Next up are the tunes that tend to tickle the fancy of Northern Soul folk..singles Darrow cut in '66 for the Groovy label when he was barely a teen..His debut and his 3rd record.
The Pain Gets A Little Deeper

Gotta Draw The Line

Finally,' cause of the day, I'll give you a taste of his late work with a 1978 single he cut for Atco/Atlantic..The voice was still there, and the groove is no slouch, but funk was on it's downhill slope by then. So, after years of scuffling around in the minors, Darrow got called up to the majors for one more shot. Evidently (and it's amazing considering who got to make albums by '78) the suits didn't have an album in the marketing plans for Mr. Fletcher either, but with the scant info available on him, I can't really say why he never cut an LP or why he dropped out of the biz. Many thanks to the soul collective across the pond for bringing him back and teaching me yet another thing I didn't know. The education continues...
Improve-1978

I'll submit that Darrow Fletcher is at least one reason why the album isn't the be all and end all of music delivery. It's kind of fitting (though somewhat annoying) that there isn't a Darrow Fletcher album or, at the very least ,a compilation of his work out there for folks to dig. Of course, some would prefer the 45's, and for now that's all we've got.

Jazz At The Cross(over)roads:Joe Farrell

2011-01-20T16:57:00.001-05:00

This one goes out to the Record Feind

Blame it on The Beatles, blame it on the elevation of jazz to college musiccurricula, or blame it on free jazz (with the civil rights battle resulting in law, the search for freedom moved inward), but no matter how you look at it, jazz went through some changes around 1965. Some called it a death (not for the first time or the last), but the facts were, that musicians had to make choices.

One could go the academic route, the hardcore free jazz route, the fusion/electric route, or the soul jazz route (or maybe a combination of all four). Cities that had strong jazz scenes started to see them die out, music funding began dropping out of school budgets, and a decline in the overall commercial and cultural footprint of jazz began to shrink. Of course though, folks did not stop playing jazz.

Saxman Joe Farrell moved to New York in '59 and played with Maynard Ferguson, Slide Hampton, Thad Jones, Elvin Jones and Charles Mingus, earning a good rep as a versatile reed man. During the 60's he played in both jazz and rock sessions, a few produced by Creed Taylor, for whom Joe recorded his first date as a leader, Follow Your Heart (1970).

Early on CTI (the label Creed Taylor started in 1967) records were on the cutting edge of post hard bop. Not free jazz, but not compromising at all. They sold decently too, featuring top players like Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, and Elvin Jones. By the time Farrell cut his debut (he was also playing in Return to Forever at the time), elements of funk,fusion, and rock (commercial forces that Creed Taylor could not let pass) were gradually becoming the sound of choice for jazz musicians (interested in cutting records).

Straight Jazz" aficionados and critics might've bristled at the electric guitars and pianos, but these records were putting food on the table and leaving behind a legacy that wouldn't really be recognized until the hip hop era, as progressive samplers found funky beats galore on these records. Joe Farrell had the chops to play anything and this is where he was at in the 70's.

Moon Germs (1972)

Bass - Stanley Clarke
Drums - Jack DeJohnette
Piano - Herbie Hancock
Soprano Saxophone, Flute - Joe Farrell

Inoculate for Moon Germs here...

There's a bit of a glitch on Time's Lie..sorry

Sage Francis sampling the cut Moon Germs

Upon This Rock (1974)

Bass - Herb Bushler
Drums - Jim Madison
Guitar - Joe Beck
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano], Flute - Joe Farrell

Where many DJ's have gone before...

Black Sheep Sampling the cut Upon this Rock

Getting Well With Chocolate Genius

2011-01-19T12:03:00.001-05:00

This one needs a little backstory...I started music blogging at the website MOG.com a little over four years ago. It was my first experience with any kind of on line community and the connections (internet and live) that got made in the beta times of the site were very tight. After being on the site for a year we lost one of our most respected bloggers to a sudden illness. His name was Crash Pryor and he should be checked. I never thought the bonds I formed on the site would effect me so much, but it was very difficult to post for awhile. Chocolate Genius was the record that finally got me to move on.
The album is now out of print (81.25 for a new copy on Amazon, but $2 bucks for used-are CD's that collectible?), but it is most definitely worth your time.

From 2007..

It's funny, I was thinking about this post, and just this morning my wife- the ultimate random listener, because she lets me load her ipod- came to me and said, "You know, music can be very therapeutic, I haven't been listening on the way to work lately, but that Marvin Gaye song (Pride and Joy) really got me back on track."
Lately folks have been turning to MOG for solace through song. Hitting an emotional rough patch and sharing it on line is a brave thing to do, and supplying musical pick-me-ups in posts and mix tapes is a huge part of MOG. I've lost track of the numbers of incoming and outgoing packages that I've been involved in. For a music junkie there is nothing quite so cool as getting mixes in the mail, so thanks for that MOG.

I could have used MOG in 1998, because I was musically self-medicating for depression at the time. Now, I can see how folks in a bad way would be drawn to upbeat, uplifting tunes, but when I'm low I sometimes look for somebody in the same situation. Chocolate Genius-Black Music was the soundtrack to my sorrow back then, and after listening back this week, the album remains a personal, moving, and detailed look at a man on the edge.

Half A Man

When I first received the record as a promo, I was intrigued by a couple of things. For starters, the cover and CD art (though once you hear the music they make perfect sense), don't give away what's inside. After seeing them, I wanted to know more, so I checked out the booklet. Further interest ensued when I saw that the musicians on the record included, Chris Wood and John Medeski (from my favorite law firm name sounding jazz,funk,jam band, Medeski,Martin, and Wood), as well as, Tom Waits collaborator Marc Ribot. So basically, we had the cream of downtown New York working with the songs of this cat, Marc Anthony Thompson. The biggest mystery was: Who is Marc Anthony Thompson? And why are all these cool cats playing with him. Turns out he's a singer- songwriter from NYC who had 2 prior records out under his real name on major labels.

Why had I never heard them? Because Mr.Thompson is an excellent songwriter who can be pinned down to no one style and he's black. Did major labels know what to do with his music in 1984 or 1989…No they did not. His first two records we're diverse, conceptual projects that we're definitely not R&B, and so he was dropped. His return to shelves 10 years later was my introduction, and I was blown away.

Safe and Sound

Since 1998 he's released 2 more Chocolate Genius records and worked extensively in theatre and film music. I saw him play in NYC with Stephin Merritt and Ben Folds in a songwriters series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and he is a fixture in and around town. He is the type of guy who is a songwriter's songwriter, really respected by his peers and fans.

The Black Music album is a song cycle about the life of a directionless, depressed, cynical and probably alcoholic guy. Around 1998 that is just about the state I was in, and the words and sounds capture the feelings so well, so perfectly, that I could relate immediately. The music has the rumbling, clanging, atmospheric quality that Tom Waits records have, the vox is bruised, throat unclear, sounding like a man with a hangover. The next song, My Mom, is the one that made this album an all time fave for me. It talks about a son returning to his childhood home, after 5 years, checking in with his gruff father, and spending time with his mother, who has Alzheimer's.

My Mom

It's been 5 years and some change
And this world is getting so strange
But this house, it smells just the same
And my mom, my sweet mom..
She don't remember my name

Being the oft -moving son of a prodigal son and having a grandmother who was afflicted with the mind erasing disease, I am totally amazed by how Marc Anthony Thompson drilled down into the feelings created by the prodigals return. This song would have been enough to seal the critical deal for me on this record, and though no song hits me quite the way Mom does, the takes he has on the themes he covers ring true throughout. Whether he's talking about beating yourself up about a failed relationship(Half A Man) being separated from your child by a break up(Safe and Sound), or alcoholism (Hangover Five), nails are being hit on the head, light bulbs are popping on, and tears are rolling. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it also can bring light, and this record has always done that for me.

Go get Black Music

Memphis: Center Of The American Pop Universe?

2011-01-16T22:16:00.003-05:00

Memphis, Tennessee is the first big town you reach as you travel up the Mississippi River. A crossroads between city and country, as well as north and south, it may be overshadowed by state mate Nashville, as a music center, but a closer look reveals Memphis as the town where the American pop music stew first came to a boil. (I disqualify New Orleans, because it's gumbo belongs to something larger than the US melting pot.).

I submit these four Memphis stories from my MOG archive for your consideration:

Making Things (O.V.) Wright -The Other Side Of Memphis Soul

O.V. Wright - 10/9/39 - 11/16/80

"Soul is church. Just changing 'Jesus' to 'baby'. That's all it is."-O.V. Wright

The Stax/Motown dichotomy is just too delicious for music historians to leave alone. Motown, the northern label, a black owned business creating major pop hits whose success was rivaled only by The Beatles vs. the white owned, but highly integrated, southern label, Stax, whose artists introduced a gritty soul sound to the masses.

The influence and importance of these two great outfits plus their back stories have recently been subject to (relatively) massive coverage. I'm not complaining about this in any way, except for the fact that Motown and Stax are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what soul has to offer. I guess I could complain about the constant flogging of Stax and Motown by their corporate owner, Universal, and how it skews the attention away from deserving soul artists from all over the country, especially singers from the south, which Stax represents only by location, and not necessarily in style. The history of soul music in America can not be shoehorned into Motown/Stax, hell the history of soul music in Memphis,Tenessee isn't even covered by Motown/Stax. Fact is, Stax was just one of a number of labels documenting the Memphis Soul scene, that are deserving of attention. I'm not looking askance at Carla and Rufus Thomas or Otis Redding or Johhny Taylor or Sam & Dave, I just want to shine a light on O.V. Wright, whose output for labels like Goldwax, Backbeat and Hi, is material of the highest order.

But let me get to some music. If you'd like a complete breakdown of O.V Wright's career,please check this excellent piece by Ray Ellis. I cribbed most of the facts I relate from there, so all credit to Ray. There's also more music to hear there so don't hesitate to hit that post

1971's Nickel and A Nail was recorded in Memphis for the Backbeat label (the label was based in Texas and had a national distribution deal with ABC records-later bought by MCA) and produced by Willie Mitchell (Al Green, Otis Clay,Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles).

Jumping back a few years to '65, O.V. had been singing in a gospel outfit (with soul great James Carr) called the Harmony Echoes, who were rehearsed by musician, song writer Roosevelt Jamison. Jamison wrote a tune called, That's How Strong My Love Is and tried to sell it to Stax (no deal at the time) and then made a demo of it with O.V. Wright which he played for Goldwax Records owner Quinton Claunch, who signed both O.V. and James Carr.

That's How Strong My Love Is ended up as a b-side that DJ's liked better than the A, so it became a regional hit for O.V., that was quickly covered by Otis Redding..effectively stalling OV's first single (Stax deal with Atlantic records pretty much insured that Otis' version would receive national promotion and airplay that Goldwax couldn't dream of.)

After about 5 singles for Goldwax, O.V. began a long association with Willie Mitchell and the Backbeat label. In '73 this partnership (w/The Memphis Horns and Hi rhythm Section) yielded the Memphis Unlimited LP and the tune, I'd Rather Be (Blind,Cripple, and Crazy).

Except for gospel singles cut near the time of his death in 1980, OV would work exclusively with Willie Mitchell for the rest of his career. Completely ignoring the disco outfreakage of the mid to late 70's OV continued to record deep southern soul records until he passed away (drugs and booze were major factors) at age 41.

The box set pictured below contains 5 early to mid 70's O.V. Wright LP's plus some of the early Goldwax singles and now's as good a time as any to catch up with one of the greatest soul singers of all time by seeking it out. Drop the needle or hit play anywhere in Overton Vertis Wright's career, though, and you'll have made the right call. This is the real deal.

"When you gave O.V. Wright a song, the song belonged to him. Nobody would do it that way again. In fact, I think O.V. Wright was the greatest blues artist I've ever produced."-Willie Mitchell

Go get it: Part 1 Part 2

James Luther Dickinson

Besides having a son named Cody (there's also a son of Jim named Luther-they are in the North Mississippi All Stars), besides producing Big Star and Mudhoney, besides playing piano on The Stones Wild Horses , Aretha's Spirit in the Dark, The Flamin' Groovies Teen Age Head, and Dylan's Time Out Of Mind, and besides embodying the musical stew that is Memphis, Tennessee, James Luther "Jim' Dickinson found time to make a few records of his own, including his 1972 LP debut, Dixie Fried.
Dixie Fried

Wine

He would go on making music until his death in 2009, including solo records, his work with Mudboy and The Neutrons, and several compilations of Memphis music showcasing new acts and historically important folks like Furry Lewis.

Being further up the Mississippi, Memphis was a intersection for country,jazz,blues, rhythm, and rock. Jim Dickinson distilled all that joy and history into the records he made as a performer,sideman, and producer. Look around for his story..it's what American pop music, at it's best, is all about.

Nick Tosches on Dixie Fried- "a dark, gale-force reworking of old Southern music, a baptism of loud and dangerous rhythms, that stands as one of the great testaments not only of rock 'n' roll but also of its ancient and unfathomable roots."

Go get deep fried..

When Detroit Met Memphis...The Beginning of the End?

Conventional critical wisdom (along with a little marketing and major label influence) would have you believe that the output of Stax studios in Memphis took a downward slide with the convergence of three factors.

The death of Otis Redding
The end of the Stax association with Atlantic Records
The end of Jim Stewart (founder- w/Estelle Axton) running the company

Whatever the reason (and there is validity in the 3 reasons), things began to change at Stax with the arrival of Al Bell to run the business in '69. Al Bell had (Motown)dreams of world domination and he felt he needed to look outside the insular group (although he knew they were talented) that had fueled the studio's rise.
One of the folks Bell turned to was producer Don Davis; a cat who had deep roots in Detroit. Davis was assigned to produce new Stax signee Johnnie Taylor. Their relationship lasted about 10 years, culminating with "Disco Lady" in '77.

Johnnie Taylor arrived at Stax in '67 like so many Southern Soul belters..fresh from the Gospel circuit and lead duties with the Highway QC's. His first record was strictly Stax, cut with the MG's, and very much in the southern soul/blues mode. It was one of the last records Stax released with Atlantic, before the big changes began.

The long and short of it, is that Atlantic Records had made an incredibly one sided deal with Stax, where they retained all the rights to Stax records that were released on Atlantic. So in '68 Stax, now released from Atlantic, found themselves in the position of having to start over. Stax owned nothing, no Otis Redding, no Sam & Dave, no Carla Thomas, no Green Onions. Founder Jim Stewart didn't think he was up for rebuilding so he called in Al Bell.

Al Bell liked the family atmosphere at Stax but he needed to make a lot of records and make 'em quick (like Motown). He had to create an "instant catalogue," to replace the chestnuts Stax no longer owned. He brought in Don Davis to help make all these new records.

Johnnie Taylor got busy, cranking out one of the first hits for the "new"Stax- Who's Making Love, a record that sounded a little more Detroit than Memphis. Taylor never abonded the Blues though, cutting records in "southern" and "northern" styles throughtout his tenure at Stax..earning the title of "philosopher of soul."

His career spanned into the late 90's, as he returned to soulful Blues for the Malaco label, cuting records almost until his death in 2000. A versatile singer who had hits with gospel ,soul,blues and disco records, he is indicitive of the talent Stax had after the famous and PBS - approved Stax of the late 60's was long gone.

Don't let the marketers fool ya..there was more than enough great stuff going on at Stax post- Atlantic and a lot of it comes from Johnnie Taylor..it's nice that the new Concord/Universal deal is slowly bringing this stuff to light, because it is indeed worthy.

To show how Stax was gradually beginning to include the Detroit sound, check out Johnnie's '69 cover of George Clinton's Detroit recorded-I Wanna Testify, which was The Parliaments first big hit '68, prior to the earthly arrival of the mothership.
Johnnie Taylor-Testify (I Wanna)

The Parliaments-I Wanna Testify

Booker T & the MG's:More Than Just Green Onions
In the mid to late 70's, in it's pop hey day, disco, ran roughshod over R&B and Funk, basically shuffling both genres out of the pop culture mix. Disco was cheap to make, a producers medium, and it was popular. Quickly gone were all the fussy artists and their expensive bands..the biz had found the solution.
Some folks didn't go for it though..the anti-disco backlash quickly drove the genre back to the underground..where it flourished. One holdover from the disco era was the primacy of the DJ..as record promoter, remixer, and tastemaker. As club music splintered off into many combinations throughout the 80's the DJ's remained.

One section of the DJ world played "classics"..not necessarily disco, but whatever the DJ thought would move the crowd. For the most part they didn't do beat matching or long transitions between songs or very much mixing at all. It was all about the songs, the whole songs.There was no rush, folks had come to dance, and they were ready to go til sun came up. These Loft parties had a real communal feel..no velvet ropes..everyone was welcome.

One of the tunes that made the cut in the Loft scene in New York was from the last Booker T & The MG's record, Melting Pot. A long percussion filled track, Melting Pot was a far cry from Green Onions and the short instrumentals of the MG's early Stax years. This track has jazz,funk, and tribal elements that would become the building blocks of various versions of house music that would emerge as the 80's melted into the 90's. That DJ's singled it out is also a testament to their open minds and the "all about the music" spirit that drove post-disco clubland. The 80's were real progressive in that regard, breaking down boundaries, as the music business kept throwing them up.

The whole Melting Pot album is worth your time, but the title cut, very futuristic for 1970, may be the most influential in the MG's impressive catalog.
Booker T & The MG's-Melting Pot

Memphis Funk Stew...

My little Memphis excursion here is really just the tip of the iceberg...I didn't even mention Otis Redding, Sun Records, B.B. King, or Al Green, so you know the river runs deep through the Bluff City.

Stu Gardner- The Final Dig?

2011-01-09T11:31:00.003-05:00

original version 1.5.2009, remix version 5.27.2010

About 2 Years ago I made a post about a cat that I was having trouble finding info on. Despite still being alive, having recorded for Stax and Motown, and having worked extensively with Bill Cosby, the information available on Stu Gardner was limited to just a few hits on the net that provided limited and very specific data. I pulled together what I found into the best timeline I could get for Stu.

Most excellently, my little aggregation project kicked up enough dust to get a response from "Stu's people" (which was cool) and more importantly bloggers, who helped dig out a lot more music and data on Stu.

The post is a fave of mine because it led me to 3 albums and a single that barely make a blip on the internet, but are incredibly solid soul and funk records. So what follows is the original post with additional tunes and info. I hope you dig or re-dig Stu.
Stu Gardner-Drive Me (1966-A&M 827)

One of the ways I try to keep track of all the music I listen to, is to keep a file of songs that make an impression on me. When I get a CD's worth, I burn it and listen to the songs some more. In working through the last few volumes of The Complete Motown Singles, one artist kept grabbing me:Stu Gardner.

Stu recorded for Hugh Masekela's Chisa label, which had a deal for distribution with Motown from '69 to '71. During that period Stu made 5 songs. I had never heard any of them prior to the boxes, and they are all good. They don't sound anything like the Motown of the period, 'cause these are real Soul records, with more than a touch of funk. Not only is the sound pure Soul, but Stu can really sing. I'm talking Joe Tex,Otis Redding type singing. I had to see what was up with Stu, so I started digging. Although there weren't a lot of initial sources, Stu's story runs long and deep.

(The 1966 Drive Me single is something I didn't have the first time I posted about Stu. Spanish Northern Soul collector, Danny (aka Soul Rocket) hooked me up)

Looking for an overview I headed to All Music Guide, and there was nothing. The great notes in the Motown boxes started to point me in the right direction, mentioning his early band, the Stu Gardner Trio and an appearance as a soul singer in John Boorman's 1967 film, Point Blank. (All Music Guide recently added an entry for Stu, coincidence? More on that later)

On a google search I pulled up a Wolfgang's vault page with an old Filmore West Poster, showing "the Trio" opening on a few Blues gigs in '67..Stu's in the middle, down below John Lee Hooker.

The song in the video appears on the movie soundtrack, but I haven't been able to dig that up, or any other recordings of the Stu Gardner Trio. Stu's Trio was also busy as an opener for Masekela at LA's Whisky A Go-Go and this led to the release of Stu's debut, To Soul with Love. Did I mention that Stu also played keyboards..

(4 brothers hooked this one up after the original post)

Released in '67 on Revue Records (A Division of Uni)To Soul With Love is pretty much as rare as an unindicted Illinois Governor. Chased after by Northern Soul folks and Deep Soul collectors, it was difficult to come up with a picture of the cover, let alone tunes. Many thanks to the splendid In Dangerous Rhythm blog for posting tunes from this record. A real revelation to me. Hugh Masekela produced To Soul With Love, backed by the Crusaders.
I'll Always Love You

Soul Wrecker

Never Gonna Hurt Again

To Soul with Love didn't sell well, evidently it received very little promotion, because UNI was only interested in Hugh Masekela and The Crusaders, so Stewart Levine (Hugh's partner) and the Chisa label looked for a new home at Motown. Motown was looking for new labels and looking to expand to LA, so it was a perfect fit. Over the next 2 and half years Chisa put out some great records for Motown, but none of them were hits, including Stu's records.
(You'll find these tunes on volumes 9+10 of the Complete Motown Singles)
Home On The Range

It's A Family Thang

Mend This Generation

Expressin' My Love

I Don't Dream No More

Sidetrack 1
There is no doubt that Bill Cosby would've seen Stu Gardner around LA in this period (68-71). Bill was signed to UNI records for one and releasing his own music records along with his ultra popular comedy stylings. Here's Bill's 1969 single Hikky Burr pt.1..cut as Bill Cosby with the Bunions Bradford Band. It was a theme to a short lived sit com. As you can see on the label it was made with Quincy Jones and featured the LA session elite (Carol Kaye, Earl Palmer,etc.).
Bill Cosby- Hicky Burr-Pt.1

Many thanks to the Fu Fu Stew Blog for Hikky Burr and tons of excellent funky 45 mixes.

I think that UNI thought Bill's effort here was a little strange, but that's where Bill's head was at, and for his next record, Badfoot Brown and the Bunions Bradford Funeral & Marching Band, he continued in the abstract direction. We get back to our story here, because Stu Gardner, as Stoobie, produced and played on this record and the next Bunions record. Both of which are incredibly rare slabs of jazz funk, mainly written by Cosby. This one was reissued by Dusty Groove in 2008:

The first Badfoot Brown record features the tune Martin's Funeral, a fifteen minute instrumental. The liner notes contain Cosby's essay talking about his feelings surrounding the funeral of Martin Luther King, jr. and are worth the admission price of the CD..If you are pressed for time check out the edited version here..

Martins Funeral (edit)

Sidetrack 2
It's cool to see how deep A Tribe Called Quest digs in the crates. Here's their flip of Martin's Funeral..
A Tribe Called Quest-We Can Get Down

If you have the time, I'd recommend listening to the whole track,too. It is pretty damn cool, even without the back story.
Martin's Funeral (full 15 minute + version)

Stu Sings For Badfoot Brown

As popular as Mr. Cosby was, I guess the folks at UNI were a bit put off by a 2 song instrumental LP, so Badfoot and The Bunions Bradford Funeral & Marching band were dropped. Withough missing a beat, Sussex Records picked up the next installment. Stu Gardner stepped up to the mike this time, on the "hit" single, Mouth of The Fish..only 4+ minutes..Radio ready, I'm not sure, but a Rare Funk gem nonetheless.

Mouth of the Fish

My trail goes cold on Stu after the second BBBBMFB record until 1974, when Stu shows up with an album for the financially teetering Stax empire. Volt 9503, Stu Gardner and The Sanctified Sounds, has less info on it than just about any of the records here and I can't find a pic of the cover, but there is this bumpin' little number (Devil In A Man), that shows up on a Stax comp or 2 (not on the 10 CD box set from the era though..shame on them).
(This is one of the records I got from the original post..thanks to Lafayette at Four Brothers Weekly. The record has been reissued by P-Vine in Japan. It's also got Stu on the board at All Music Guide, where it is called a solid if unspectacular effort by a journeyman artist..I respectfully disagree).
Devil In A Man

Sister Matilda

Funky Neighborhood

After my original post, I also discovered another item that Stu was involved in for Stax. In the comments of the original Stu post, Phil/DJ Inna Soul from across the pond in the UK dug out a session where Stu played keys and got some songwriting credits. Jazz drummer Chico Hamilton's 1973 The Master LP also has some other backing musicians you might recognize as the core of Little Feat.

Bass - Kenny Gradney
Congas - Sam Clayton , Simon Nava
Drums - Chico Hamilton
Engineer - Larry Hirsch
Guitar - Paul Barrere
Guitar [Slide] - Lowell George
Organ - Stu Gardner
Piano - Bill Payne

Lowell George had a few choice comments about the gig..
"It was very fast. It was all recorded in three days and they were all jams. We got payed less for that work than any other. I mean Stax Records is notorious for not paying, and they didn't. Then they resold the product to an advertising agency and they made a Porsche commercial out of it. And nobody got a penny for it. We even wrote the tunes and nobody got any publishing money. What a disaster." (Lowell in Oz)

I don't know if it's a he-said she said thing about who got paid, but Stax was in pretty rough shape around that time. Definitely a record of interest...
Fancy

Feels Good

Stu

Why is Stu Smiling? The 70's were pretty good to him, I'd say. He went on to do a lot of LA session work, reunited with Cosby for an '83 album from the stage film, Himself, was the Music Director for The Cosby Show (Huxtable version), composed the themes for A Different World, Living Single, and Little Bill, and started the band NGFOOT (Nine Guys from out of town), who have released albums (in a jazz vein) as recently as 2006. He is also a music educator and runs a foundation that offers scholarships to inner city youth.

Check out any of Stu's stuff..you don't have to look to hard to find the joy that comes from a life of making music. If anyone can contribute any other info on Stu, I'd be glad to see/hear it. Thanks to all the blogs and the Motown boxes, for the info. It's been fun boogeying with Stu.
Stu at CD Baby
Volt Records Discography
Revue Records Discography

Additional Note:In the post I posited that Stu might be the only artist who recorded for Stax and Motown, but since then I found another (and she's good,too):Mabel John

Update-Light: On The South Side-A Slice Of Chicago Blues Club History

2011-01-04T09:14:00.001-05:00

Originally posted at MOG 11.23.09
Update-Two things happened that usually don't. 1)I was right. 2)I read through the Grammy nominees. In the review below I pleaded for the packaging Grammy for this set and my prayers were answered. Good Luck Numero and congrats on your first nomination. Hmm, I thought I didn't care about the Grammys anymore.

Hardcore blues fans might bristle at some of the tracks (available only on a 2 LP set) that accompany the 128 page, 12" x 12" book that is the centerpiece of the Numero Group's latest, Grammy-worthy, act of music archiving, Light: On The South Side. Those folks would be missing the point. These funky Blues records by local Chicago artists are not Chess Records or Alligator Records, nor are they the prototype for the next British invasion. What they are is a document (called Pepper's Jukebox) that pulls together the music "grown" African-American men and women were listening and dancing to in the south side blues clubs of mid-to-late 70's Chicago.
The Same One-Little Mack Simmons

These clubs, like Pepper's Hideout, The Patio Lounge, The Checkerboard Lounge and Perv's House, were the last strongholds of the south side's club scene. These were the live music venues that, through the electric urban blues, birthed the sound that defined the post-Beatles Rock era. The late '70s, though, were not kind to these clubs, as a combination of urban decay, north side blues clubs, the decline of music in schools, disco, and funk ate away at the customer and performer base. As these clubs faded away they featured music that would become known as "down home" blues. Labels like Malaco would take these veteran artists and their soulful, funky sound and continue to sell it to African-Americans in the South and Northern enclaves like Chicago almost completely under the radar of the burgeoning worldwide (and mostly white) blues market.

Women's Lib - Lucille Spann

Abramson, a white man, snapped these photos from 1975-77. In ultra-segregated Chicago, this was fairly unusual, but his desire to document the people of the night was met with almost universal acceptance by the patrons and employees of spots he haunted on a regular basis. After a while -- because he was using these photos to further his photography career -- he stopped going. He didn't want to cheapen the genuine feeling he got from the people. In the notes he says, "Armed with my camera, I was open. I was there to take pictures, but the experience itself turned out to be more exhilarating than any image."
Detroit Junior-Young Blood

The black and white photos, some filling the LP sized pages of Light: On The South Side, reminded Abramson of work he'd seen by Parisian night photographer Brassai, full of shadow and mystery. Their depictions of real folks reminded me of the recent show I saw of Robert Frank's work in the '50s from his book, The Americans, or the late '70s/early '80s photography of Jamel Shabazz in his book, A Time Before Crack. Abramson was into the blues like Jamel Shabazz was into hip hop, and Frank had more than a few photos of jukeboxes, but all 3 found the heart of their culture in the faces of the audience. In Abramson's case, the photos illuminate that culture without ever showing a performer.

                    Bowlegged Woman,Knock Kneed Man-Bobby Rush


                   This Is My Prayer-Lady Margo

As Nick Hornby says (yeah, Numero doesn't play around, they got Mr. Hornby to write an essay about this release), "This is a special book, about one tiny corner of the world over a handful of evenings a long time ago; but that tiny corner of the world has, for decades now, meant a great deal to an awful lot of people scattered all over the world." So take it from Mr. Hornby, Numero 33 is a must have. Light:On The South Side is much more than a book of photos or a reissue CD.

In their short history of around 50 releases, Numero has set a very high standard and displayed an artistic flair that is pretty much unmatched in the record releasing world. I thought Number 26, Local Customs: Downriver Revival, could not be topped, and I said, "The music and images contained on these discs are more than worthy, but between the lines and frames lie deeper truths about the deterioration of the middle class, the African-American experience, and the tenuous state of the American dream. What was so strong, now seems so fragile. It's not too often a reissue package can bring you there."
Well, they did it again.

Bonus Beats and Pix

Brassai in 20's Paris

Robert Frank in 50's America

Jamel Shabazz in early 80's New York

Michael L. Abramson from the end of a Blues era, Light:On The South Side

I Learned My Lesson-Willie Davis

Rewind Selector: 20 Earworms From The Last Decade

2010-12-29T02:31:00.003-05:00

I don't do a traditional year end top 10 or 20 anymore. I just don't gather round the internet water cooler every Tuesday chatting up new releases like I used to, so I don't think my list for 2010 would mean a whole lot. That is not to say that I don't listen to new music, I just don't do it with the kind of urgency I used to. It is also not to say that I don't look for new (or,especially, new to me) sounds.
(OK,OK here's my 2010 Top 10, and yes, some of these are reissues and yes, some may have been released in '09)

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
Syl Johnson-The Complete Mythology
Various Artists- Next Stop...Soweto
Mulatu Astatke- Mochilla Presents Timeless
Various- Black Man's Cry:The Inspiration Of Fela Kuti
T.P. Orchestre Poly Rhythmo- Echos Hypnotique
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings- I Learned The Hard Way
Kings Go Forth- The Outsiders Are Back
Lee Fields & The Expressions- My World
Staff Benda Bilili- Tres Tres Fort

In the last ten years I've probably listened to more new and new-to-me music than any ten year period of my 30+ years of music junkiehood. I also listen differently than I used to. Because of the staggering volume of music that is available, I'm just not able to spend as much time with a new record as I used to, because there is so much at my fingertips. I still buy albums, but they just aren't the same to me..not because they are any better or worse than they used to be, but because after I spin an LP once, that's usually it. I may playlist a few songs or include a track on a mix tape or two, but rarely do I return to an entire album. I'm more likely to give certain playlists or mix CD multiple spins, than I am to listen to an album repeatedly (as was my MO in previous years).

So, what I have here are songs that really grabbed me over the last ten years. These are tunes that caused me to back off the internet fueled music gorging I've been doing and hit the rewind button...again and again. Some are relatively new, some are ancient. I'm not saying these are the best songs I heard in the last ten years, but, at least for me, these tunes rose above digital din and reminded me why I keep looking for new records.

You can skip around the tracks in this divshare list (you can also hear them in order) or check out the mix at 8tracks (below). If the track has a link, that means I wrote about it on MOG and you can click through to those words if you like.

     1.Inell Young- What Do You See In Her
            Rumored to be a kiss off tune aimed at Eddie Bo, who produced 4 of the 6 sides she waxed A cool slice of NOLA Soul.
     2. On Verra Ça - Orchestra Baobob
            Everybody told me Pirates Choice was the Baobob record to get, but this track from their American debut, Specialist in All Styles, was the keeper for me.
     3. I Got Loaded - Lil Bob & The Lollipops
   I came to this NOLA classic very late via the Los Lobos version. Soundmen may wince when they hear the squeaky hi hat, but that's just one of the many endearing things about his tune..another being that I've got my 9 year old singing it.
      4. Gary Song -Alice Smith
I worked as a distributor for this record in 2006. After listening to it once (like I do), I passed it on to my wife. She flipped a gasket over Ms. Smith and reintroduced it to me. Alice can sing, whisper, and belt, often in the same tune and with great authority. Her only album to date, For Lovers, Dreamers, and Me, got caught up in music biz hell and Alice has not gotten the recognition she deserves. A singing specialist in all styles.
       5. Hey Ya!- Outkast (Andre 3000)
   Nope, I wasn't immune to the charms of this tune. It kept me from driving off the road on the long trip I used to make from Albany to Brooklyn and back, which I did every couple of weeks for a year or so back in the middle of the decade.
       6.God Is A Good God-Campbell Bros. W/Katie Jackson
                Burning pedal steel track with booming vocals from the essential Sacred Steel-Live! album on Arhoolie. Religious and Rocking, but this ain't Stryper.
        7. Come Down Now- Passing Strange (Broadway Cast)
               I finally got around to liking Stew in 2008. He and his writing partner, Heidi Rodewald had been making music as The Negro Problem for over 10 years, but it was this musical (their first) that opened the door to their music for me. What took me so long? My old boss had been telling me to go there for years and he wasn't lying. Stew and Heidi, in whatever guise their music appears, are always a revelation.
        8. Awufuni Ukulandela Na?- Izintombi Zasi Manje Manje
   The whole compilation that this tune appears on, Next Stop...Soweto, is choice South African pop, but the sheer joy of this track (not to mention the guitar and drums), easily crack through the language barrier. The first time I heard this tune I hit rewind at least 10 times.
        9. Raw Spitt- Raw Spitt (Charlie Whitehead)
   The compilation, Songs To Sing-The Charlie Whitehead Anthology, houses the output of a journeyman soul singer who worked with legendary, iconclast producer/artist Swamp Dogg (Jerry Williams). Their 1970 album was billed simply as Raw Spitt..need I Say more?
   10. Shake Daddy Shake - Eula Cooper
Don't know if this got so popular that Northern Soul DJ's leave it alone, but this Georgia based Soul singer cut a heap of sharp tracks for the Note and Tragar labels. Easy to find nowadays thanks to the Numero group's Eccentric Soul series.
        11.If You Believe Your God Is Dead, Try Mine- The Swan Silvertones
                 Now, I love Gospel Quartet music from it's heydey in the 50's and before, but this 1969 cut from the long running Silvertones is more Godfather of Soul, than God the Father, if you know what I'm sayin'..
        12. Long Time - The Roots
   I also missed the boat on The Roots until I came across this track from their 2006 Game Theory LP. When I started music blogging in 2006, it was one of the first songs I wrote about (badly,too). Black Thought's first verse was staggering to me. I'm sure fans of the band were not surprised and going back through their stuff, I can see why.
       13. Kokoriko-T.P. Orchestre Poly Rhythmo
   The incredible Soundway label introduced me to Benin's T.P. Orchestre Poly Rhythmo back in 2005. The band has released over 50 albums in their home country and the comp, Kings Of Benin Urban Groove 1972-1980, distills it all down to an almost perfect 13 song primer of their intricate,layered,pan-continental Funk.
   14. Roll Call - Oliver Morgan
                 A New Orleans party on wax, with an excellent back story to boot. Check the link.
       15. Rudi- Butch Cassidy Sound System
                 Here's one my six year old (at the time) son and I could agree on. A mix of live instruments, cut and paste tech, and loads of reggae vibes.
       16. Another New Day-Jazzanova
A post-2K record, but with a drum and conga break that reminded me of James Brown and Dennis Coffey. I couldn't get enough of this tune.
17. Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu- Alhaji K. Frimpong
                  A 1976 cut from Ghana's highlife master finally reached me in 2006. I've subsequently searched out everything I could find on Mr. Frimpong, but I never found anything quite this good. The slippery organ is one key, but the 2+ minute intro is what keeps me coming back to this one.
        18. This Broken Heart - The Sonics
                  As far as I know the Funkadelic version of this tune from, Cosmic Slop, is the only commercially released cover song P-Funk ever waxed. A sweet late period doo wop cut from the Chess Rhythm and Roll box set.
        19. I Can Feel the Ice Melting- The Parliaments
Although it isn't the most danceable cut in the P-Funk canon, it was the first cut my wife and I danced to at our wedding, which was almost 10 years ago. When we first met, I was obsessing over this tune and I brought my wife along for the ride.
   20. How Long Do I Have To Wait For You?- Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
                  After a few years of raw funk from Sharon and the boys, in 2005 they released a record that showcased a more soulful sound...and the rest is neo-retro-soul history. It's funny that I discovered the Inell Young cut (track 1) around the same time..I find the sound and vibe of the tunes eerily similar.

So there they are, in all their highly subjective, thoroughly un-scientific, glory. After almost 10 years of digital gluttony, I'm still not sold on the way I listen to music these days, but I sure as hell don't like music any less.

Baaad Jazz 2-Rufus Harley

2010-12-23T16:12:00.002-05:00

Originally posted on MOG 4.26.2007
I know a guy who plays bagpipes in one of those bagpipe clubs that is always appearing at funerals and parades and such. I thought I'd impress him by dropping Rufus Harley's name and mentioning that he was one of the few jazz bagpipe cats out there. My guy said, yeah, he knew about Rufus, but wasn't that impressed with his piping.No music conversion points for me, boo hoo, but then I said (begin embellishment here),"oh yeah, well you've probably only heard the records he made in the 60's for Joel Dorn at Atlantic (Reissued in their complete form-Courage:The Atlantic Recordings by Rhino Handmade). Have you heard his later self-released stuff." My piper said, "no." Aha vindication! So folks, this is the good Rufus, from '72's Re Creation of the Gods. Never (for me) have drums, b-3, and bagpipes come together like this, and lord knows, this is plenty. Jazz dancers resurrected Malika (track 7) in the late 80's and I've been grooving ever since.

Since, I made this post I found out two things. The first is that Rufus Harley passed away in 2006 (Times Obit) and the second is that Re Creation of the Gods has been reissued. RIP, Mr. Harley.

Rufus Harley-Re Creation Of the Gods (Complete LP)

Tracks from Courage
Feelin' Good

Scotch & Soul

A Discog and a nice essay about Rufus at Hip Wax

Baaad Jazz 1-Funk Inc

2010-12-20T19:00:00.002-05:00

originally posted 3.30.07
Don't get me wrong I've got a good share of "real jazz" records in my collection. Blue Note, Impulse,Prestige, Verve, and Bluebird are all amongst my favorite labels of all time. For many those labels produced the records that are the standards by which jazz is judged. Buyers and critics alike (not everyone)pretty much dismiss records that came out after 1965. I know what I like in classic jazz, but I find a hard time reviewing it because I feel unqualified. I just don't know enough about music theory to comment. As jazz has continued to grow and folks have continued to push the boundaries, it has for the most part left me in the dust. I can catch glimpses of brilliance, but most of todays Jazz soars over my head.
Songs From Funk Inc (1971)

After cutting edge jazz pushed beyond mass appeal in the 60's, and rock took over the world, musicians pretty much had to try to fit in or find new lines of work. Local jazz scenes that once thrived (Newark,Detroit,Indianapolis) were on the way out. Some players made moves to rock (Miles,McLaughlin)and ended up crossing over pretty well, over time gaining a little respect from the critics. Other players went more into a soul/blues/funk bag and were generaly reviled by the jazz press.
Tunes from Chicken Lickin' (1972)

The soul jazz crowd may have been the precursor of today's mostly treacley smooth jazz, but when these guys were laying it down in the 70's it was not smooth, and as hip-hop heads and jam band aficionados have noted, there was a lot of sweat soaked, fun-filled, musically challenging, and downright funky music being created in what must have seemed like the death throes of Jazz at the time.

Tunes From Hangin Out (1973)

Funk Inc.
Congas -Cecil Hunt
Drums - Jimmy Munford
Guitar - Steve Weakley
Organ - Bobby Watley
Saxophone [Tenor] - Eugene Barr

One group that exemplified that era for me is Funk Inc. Working with Organ,tenor,guitar,drums, and congas (killer congas I might add) in Blues based textures on 4 records from 71 to 74, Funk Inc. first fell into my lap during the acid jazz days of the 90's. There are a few very mellow, very 70's; vocal cuts, but the rest of these first 4 LP's are raw,dirty Jazz Funk, with strong blues guitar, swinging B-3, and banging funky drums.

If you are into Medeski,Martin, and Wood, you should check 'em out. If you are into hip hop, the drums from,"Kool Is Back" have been sampled into countless rap tracks from folks like DJ Shadow, Geto Boys,and Jeru tha Damaja. So despite their humble beginnings in Indianapolis,IN. Funk Inc. are still influencing and inspiring folks today.You won't find a whole lot about Funk Inc. in any jazz tomes and I didn't see anything on wikipedia either, but folks who study grooves know they are not to be missed.

Tunes From Superfunk (1973)

12.20.10 notes- Since I made this post both All Music Guide and wikipedia (copied from All Music Guide) have entries for Funk Inc. I've also discovered there was a pretty sizable jazz scene in Indianapolis, but more on that later. Funk Inc. recorded one other LP in the 70's:Priced to Sell, that isn't quite up to the standards of the initial 4 records and a comeback record in 1995 brought on by their support from the (also reviled...but to me crucial) Acid Jazz community. They are still gigging in one form or another.

Unintended Benfits Of The War On Terror

2010-12-17T16:17:00.001-05:00

originally posted 3.21.2008
While the "coalition" has been scouring the world looking for evil doers, a few things have been missed..Osama and Weapons Of Mass Destruction being the first that come to mind. What is little known, though, is that during the war, while turning every stone for terrorists, some incredible Funk has been found, in places you might not expect.I'm not a general so I won't speculate on how the War on Terror is going, but in the Search for Funk, coalition forces most definitely have earned this..Mission Accomplished.
Israel-The Apples

Freak Afrique

Ze Ra'ayon Tov

Attention!

Howlin' with Fred

France/Vietnam-Onra

Poland-Polish Funk Vol. 1-3

Coda-Czerwone Gitary

How Can I Stand It-Kombi

Księżniczka - Andrzej Zaucha

Strit-Poznanska Orkiestra Pritv

Battle of the (Japanese Funk) Bands

2010-12-16T17:11:00.003-05:00

original Osaka Monaurail post 2.14.2008
After the FIFA World Cup ended this summer, I put together a battle of funk and groove bands that replicated the South African tournament. I "replayed" all the matches and came up with quite a different result. One of the surprises of my Funk and Groove World Cup was Japan, who advanced to the Quarterfinals. A big part of Japan's deep run in the tournament were it's two main raw funk exports...Osaka Monaurail and Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro. Take a look at the 2010 Funk and Groove World Cup final 16 bracket.

I first wrote about Osaka Monaurail for a Funky Friday post back in 2008 after I finally heard about their collab (15 months after its release) with James Brown alum, Marva Whitney.
New, New Superheavy Sushi Funk
I know a phone call that made somebody's day...This was the call when Marva Whitney's (that's the Marva Whitney that sang with the James Brown review) manager called the manager of the Osaka Monaurail (Japan's primo JB-esque funk kings, named after a late period JB's album), and said,"Yes,Ms.Whitney would be glad to cut a record with you."
If you are the top funk band in Japan, and have pretty much styled your sound on the James Brown big-funk-band model, you would be ecstatic to back one of The Man's best singers. The fact that the vocals are really the only thing missing from your complete mastery of the JB sound, does not escape you, and so,problem solved, you go out and cut the best post-James Brown, James Brown record by a country mile.
Marva Whitney w/Osaka Monaurail

This is good old funk here folks, with strong female vox, and a tight-as-a-drum band, that knows where The One is, and takes solos the way Fred and Maceo used to do. Like the myriad of soul artists "coming back" with new records Marva Whitney proves age ain't nuthin' but a number, and, in fact, the added maturity adds even more grit to a voice that was already down and dirty. I think it was an article in Wax Poetics where I found out about the Osaka Monaurail, and I have to admit, I was mighty skeptical. Truth is though, these cats can lay it down. If you enjoyed the funky soul that Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse have made with The Dap Kings, then this record should be right up your alley. Please have a funky friday.

back to 2010..
So coming into the tournament this fall, I knew Japan had at least one strong entrant, in the form of the Monaurail, but without repeating myself, how would Japan compete in their group with Holland, Denmark, and Cameroon. A little research delivered, Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro. The MMK drop some fine instrumental funk, but the Osaka boys come with longevity (and vocals), having been working on their JB-styled grooves since back in 1992, releasing upwards of 7 albums worth of material, since the 2000 debut, What It Is , What It Was. Still though, the MMK spreads it's wings a lot further and faster than the Monaurail, covering grooves in quite a different bag from the Godfather. And yet, the Osaka Monaurail does the JB thing so well (with and without vocals), you can see why they wear the crown. But let's let the music decide this matter..
Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro- S/T (2009)

The MMK have a second LP, that goes by the name of, Uhuru Peak. Check out an interview talking about the new record at Jelly Jazz and see the vid for the lead track (Aint Got Nobody) I'm Just A Ramblin' Man right here:

For their part Osaka Monaurail have been very busy with European tours (they just released a Live in Spain record) and putting out a steady stream of releases since their debut. All of these, excluding the Marva Whitney record , have gotten very little coverage here in the US, although Dusty Groove tries to keep their records in stock (at $30 bucks a pop, this can be a pretty expensive crate dig).

Here's a snippet of what you might've seen if you caught their 2010 Euro tour:
Osaka Monaurail-Live

Osaka Monaurail - Just Being Free (2001)

Osaka Monaurail -Tighten Up (2006)-stretching a bit from the JB mold on a mostly instrumental soul covers record.

Osaka Monaurail-Quicksand (2006)

This is just a small sampling of the Monaurail's funk oeuvre, but I am going to let the challengers have the last live word. I'll leave the judging up to you. Wagering is not necessary, because funk is its own reward.
Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro-Live