They Don't Make Em Like They Used To

JVC Force: Puppy Love
From Doin' Damage [Landspeed, 1988]

JVC Force: A Musical Sample
From Doin' Damage [Landspeed, 1990]


I can't see hip hop ever leaving my life; it's been such an integral part in my growth and maturation that I can't ever see it becoming irelevant, and I truly hope that when I'm 40 with kids that I'll still be bumping old N.W.A. and ATCQ records. Even as watered down as hip hop has become, I still can't resist a hot beat no matter how weak the lyrics are. Case and point: "Still Tippin'."

Nevertheless, I always hark back to the so called golden era, a time when hip hop was blooming and emcees and djs were more concerned with the music than with bitches and bling. A fine example has to be the JVC Force, which stands for Justified by Virtue of Creativity for All Reasons Concerning Entertainment, consisting of DJ Curt Cazal and emcees AJ Rok aand B-Luv out of Long Island. The group's career was relatively short, spanning only two albums and one underground hit single, but their legacy is still felt today. Their sound reminds me a lot of Ultramagnetic's, but perhaps a little less abrasive and I think these two tracks do a good job in capturing their personality. It's not club music, but there's no doubt that it plays an important role in hip hop's lineage.

The Funky Worm Returns...........

Junie Morrison: Tight Rope and Not As Good As You Should
From: The Westbound Years (Westbound, 1994)

When I posted about the Ohio Players album Ecstasy a while ago I was shamed by cHUCk dA fONk into admitting I knew nothing about the man behind the album hits, a mister Junie Morrison. Some research and lazy crate digging later and it's time to give the man the respect he deserves..........

Often credited as the creative force behind the Ohio Players most successful three albums, Pain, Pleasure and Ecstasy, Junie was responsible for their massive hit Funky Worm, laying down the grandma vocals on the track in his own imitable style. After the success of these three album Junie split from the group to undertake a highly productive but short lived solo career before joining up with the P-Funk crew in 1978 to add his keyboard skills to Clinton's sound for the next ten years. After parting ways with the collective he's continued to lay down the funk as a solo artist, still releasing albums after over thirty years in the game. You can read more about this highly influential artist at his own website.

Anyway, back to the music. The first track, Tight Rope, taken from his first solo joint, 1975's When We Do, is a perfect introduction to Junie's solo sound, a combination of seventies pop and pure funk. A nice tight funky riff keeps things bopping along with a trademark awesome Junie bass line. On top of this is the most gorgeous of choruses which pops up and gets me everytime, one of those classic moments you come across on your musical journeys every once in a while. Junie dealt with the problem of having a lack of a group to back him up by playing pretty much all the instruments himself and he does a sterling job.

The second track, Not As Good As Should, is taken from Junie's first album, also released in 1975, Freeze . This is a more dirty funk effort but just as tuneful with a real Sly & The Family Stone feel to it. Something of note in both this track and Tight Rope is the drumming, I love the kick the beat gets particularly on Not As Good As Should with the stop start drums working beautifully with the keyboards and the shifting bassline.

Both tracks are also available on the linked Westbound compilation which is a lot easier to get your hands on than the original albums which are still awaiting for that all important reissue, hint hint. Great stuff.

More to Come

George Benson: Footin' It
From The Shape of Things to Come (A&M, 1968)

Refused: The Deadly Rhythm (Of the Production Line)
From The Shape Of Punk to Come (Epitaph, 1998)


Naming your album "The Shape of such-and-such to Come" would seem like a pretty pretentious move in my book if it weren't for the unusually high level of quality most of the albums I can think of with that title seem to exhibit. I even like the damn Dilated song "Shape of Things to Come," and that's just about the only song by those guys I'm still feeling these days. Not to say that these albums are all as influential or as ahead of their time as Ornette Coleman's "Shape of Jazz to Come" album, but the artists do seem to be on to something.

A no brainer for this site, George Benson's Shape of Things to Come and especially the leadoff track "Footin' It" has almost undeniable appeal. Music like this makes me want to "barbecue and boogaloo," as Diamond D says. On a side note, I got this record a couple of years ago when Maru and I went to a weird Audiophile stereo spot in SD he put me up on that had a room full of records. I'm trying to remember what he got...

I'm guessing that when this Refused song comes up on people's podcasts, they're either going to be like "Hell Yeah!" or "What the Hell?" Definitely not the style of things we usually post, but a fantastic piece of music all the same. The Refused broke up right around the time this record was released, but I'm almost hard put to imagine where they would have gone from here anyway. "Deadly Rhythm" exhibits perfectly what I like so much about this album. Jazz breaks interspersed with hardcore fury. The playing is tight, the lyrics are dogmatic and angry, and the polyrhythms are unlike anything I've heard in punk music before. Listen to the very end of the song, where they shift the quintessential blues riff across the beat for a much straighter, plodding feel. Like most people who own this record, I wish there were more music like this out there.

One more quick thought: I was just looking over this post and was thinking it's kind of odd that each record I posted with the "shape" title came out within the last two years of its decade. Kind of a pedestrian observation, but still.

A Glitch in the System

Aphex Twin: Flim
From Come to Daddy [Sire, 1997]

Back in undergrad I took this film class and for one of the assignments this kid made a short animated film that featured "Flim." When I first heard it I thought it was amazing and immediately downloaded it when I got home, but after many years and a retired computer the track was lost and I could never for the life of me remember the title. I eventually stumbled across it on some random blog a few months ago and couldn't be happier to be reunited with this superb track (one of the many reasons why mp3 blogs are tight).

I'm not a huge Aphex Twin fan, but the mind behind what's regarded as one of the most accomplished electronic artists is Richard D. James. His range of work is vast, experimenting with techno, ambient, glitch, and electronica and mashing them all together in this homemade stew he calls home. I've taken a listen to some of his other work, but none of it quite attracted me as much as "Flim" which I think is wonderfully mysterious and explosively rich. I've been known to play this track on repeat for extended periods of time, but I don't expect everyone to develop the same type of infatuation as myself.

Start the Week Off Proper

Ghostface: Mighty Healthy (Music Video)
From Supreme Clientele [Sony, 2000]

Ghostface has got to be one of my favorite rappers, and "Mighty Healthy" is one of the tracks I keep coming back to. The nasty Melvin Bliss break and classic grimey RZA loop is just asking to get worked by the versatile lyricist. The video is nothing spectacular; merely typical rap video shenanigans mixed in with a little comic book lore. But again, this shit is fire so hopefully it'll help you forget that it's only Monday.

Have a nice week.

For Doz That Slept........

Black Sheep: City Lights and Lets Get Cozy
From: Non Fiction (Polygram, 1994)

I said it before and I'll say it again, Black Sheep's debut album A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing is one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time. I love everything about it from the production of Mr Lawnge to the lyrical play Dres brings to the mic.

So, like many others, I couldn't wait for their follow up to hit the shelves. However, after three long years of waiting I, like many others, was heavily disappointed with the result. Gone were the native tongue jazzy beats and also gone was a lot of the playfully carefree aspect of the lyrics.

The album was listened to a few times and then filed away on a shelf to gather dust in true fickle fan style. Most listeners did the same as Black Sheep, never the most popular of the Native Tongue crew, found their album slept on in a year where there was an abundance of good hip hop to listen to. In fact, so ignored was Non-Fiction, many rap fans seem to believe that the duo only ever produced one album.

However, with Dres's cameo on last year's Handsome Boy Modeling School and the imminent release of a third Black Sheep album (take your time guys, only been waiting 11 years) reminding me of their talents I unearthed Non-Fiction and gave it another listen and, you know what, It's not a bad album at all.

Yes the beats have lost much of their Prince Paul flavor and the album is certainly a lot darker in its outlook and feel but, now removed from the initial shock of the change in style, it holds up pretty well as a brave attempt at the difficult second album. Lawnge's production is still essentially jazz tinged with some sublime touches and the social commentary that popped up occasionally on their debut on tracks like Black With N.V. now takes centre stage with the Sheep tackling a wider range of issues.

City Lights is a perfect demonstration of how the group had developed since their debut. As on AWISC Lawnge lays the beat with a falling bass but, unlike their debut, he's not afraid to play around with the formula, mixing up the basslines and introducing unexpected breakdowns and off key chords, creating a rawer, harder sound. The "brother from another mother" Lawnge gets half the mic time on this track and demonstrates how far his abilities have developed since the first album. Still, Dres easily outshines him when it's his turn, his customary tight flow proving that he really doesn't get the props he deserves for his lyrical prowess. This man can spit hard.

Lets Get Cozy is the track closest to the style of AWISC. Utilizing another Slick Rick sample from La Di Da Di and sultry jazz sounds of Les McCann's Roberta this is a sequel to the first album's La Manage in all but name. Dres once again lays on his smoothest chat up lines, so thick with sleaze you can't help but admire the man's style. Lawnge also gets a say, getting to mouth off on his favorite subject, his own highly rated sexual skills. Sure it's childish but when it's this much fun is that necessarily a bad thing?

While not an all time classic this underrated album is well due a reappraisal so go dust off your copy now....

You can read an illuminating interview with Dres about his time in the game and the new album 8WM here.

Just a Lidell bit

Jamie Lidell: When I Come Back Around
From Multiply (Warp, 2005)

Jamie Lidell's new album has been getting favorable reviews across the board, so I won't waste any more time giving it its due props. "When I Come Back Around" finds Lidell crooning over a snappy programmed beat punctuated by short bass licks and horn stabs. Remarkably, this song manages to sound completely organic although each part remains identifiably synthetic. Proof that "laptop funk" is not an oxymoron.

The Shape of Jazz to Come

Ornette Coleman: Lonely Woman and Peace
From The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic, 1959)

Long before I gave two farts about beats, breaks, or who sampled what, this record rocked my 13 year old world. I played drums in our jr. high school jazz band (because that was the way you got to play the school's Gretsch drum set) and most of the time the teacher made us play wack Abersol music and listen to other stuff destined to rock multi-purpose room recitals for years to come. But that summer I got to study with Tootie Heath (by the way, Heath Brothers got more heat than just "Smilin Billy Suite," see future post) who put me up on this record and pretty much opened me up to what "real" jazz could be.

Though Coleman is pretty much widely regarded as an innovator today, people used to front on him pretty hard in his day, and to some extent they still do. The guy was one of the first dudes defining free jazz (a term which I believe he coined with the album of the same name) and yeah, a lot of inferior musicians get over these days by calling their work avant garde or free, but at least in today's light Coleman's music is clearly not making any excuses.

Blah blah, I don't really have a strong enough knowledge base in jazz to write about it well, but the fact is this music is haunting. Play it at the right time and you'll see what I mean.

Galt MacDermot

Galt MacDermot: Coffee Cold
From Shapes of Rhythm [Kilmarnock, 196?]

Galt MacDermot: Space
From Woman is Sweeter [Kilmarnock, 1969]

Like legend David Axelrod, Galt MacDermot is considered one of the greatest music composers of the century. Born in Montreal, MacDermot was originally a pianist, but later began composing music for films and broadway plays, Hair and Two Gentleman of Verona probably being his most well-known works. Employing a unique blend of jazz, rock, funk, folk, and classical styles MacDermot's music managed to appeal to a variety of ears, and is largely what makes his music still relevant today as hip hop listeners and producers especially have found lasting appeal in MacDermot's music. I've selected two tracks from two albums he cut in the late 60's, both of which have been sampled prominently. "Coffee Cold" was actually recorded in '66, which is strange since it predates the rhythmic changes of James Brown's Cold Sweat yet still brings the funk in an eerily foreshadowing fashion, albeit in a much cleaner and controlled way. Prince Paul and Automator looped this to death on the first Handsom Boy LP, but what a sweet loop it is with the always exceptional Bernard Purdie on drums.

Woman is Sweeter was a soundrack to Martine Barrat's film, this time with jazz vet Idris Muhammad on drums. It's a little dirtier and rawer than Shapes of Rhythm while still maintaining his signature rhythms. It's pretty obvious, but "Space" was sampled for Busta Rhymes' breakout hit "Woo-Ha." Both albums are highly recommended, but those looking for more should check out his work for Cotton Comes to Harlem and The Nucleus, as well as a couple of nice compilations, one on Stones Throw and the other on MacDermot's Kilmarnock label I believe.

Hip Hop History in 2 Minutes

Quasimoto: Rappcats Music Video
From The Further Adventures of Lord Quas [Stones Throw, 2005]

Well not exactly, but Quas comes about as close as anybody could in the span of 120 seconds. The more I've let the new album marinate, the more I dig it. A lot of people hate on his voice, but I think it's the perfect manifestation of Madlib's most sucessfull alter ego.

The video for "Rappcats" is nothing more than a montage of some of hip hop's most influential and underappreciated. Watch it-it's good for you.

Dramatically Hot Pants

The Dramatics: Hot Pants in the Summertime and In The Rain
From: Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get (Volt, 1971)

The excellent though too brief BBC series Soul Deep finally got round to covering record label Stax's output the other week and it reminded me of one of their stars of that era, The Dramatics. Although successful at the time with a couple of massive hits they're one of those groups that most people these days could at best name two songs by.

Destined to follow a rocky path through the world of music, the bands name was often as relevant to their tempestuous relationship as the music they produced. Having started off as the rather snappily titled Dynamics in the early sixties the band struggled to find any kind of success with their sound and traipsed along for a couple of years barely making an impact on the general public. However, in 1971, one name change and personnel reshuffle later, the band went to the studio to record their classic album Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get and all that changed.

Containing a number of hits, including the absolutely massive title track itself and the sampled to death Get Up Get Down, the album cemented the Dramatics sound and set them up for a career which has taken them through disco and even a guest spot on Snoop's classic Doggy Style. The continuous reshuffles and personal beefs permitting, the band continues till this day. You can read more info on the group here.

Hot Pants In The Summertime off their debut album is a great example of the Dramatics sound, a combination of a great groove, stunning production and brilliantly melodramatic vocal performances. Starting with the lightest of funk guitars the track is like bottled sunshine. Deceptively funky throughout with a slow headnodding groove the track takes flight as William "Wee Gee" Howard slowly increases the power of his vocals. It's the little touches that grab me on this, the horn, the strings and the truly brilliant use of the flute that sneaks in during the chorus. I love the fact that the lyrics of the song are trite to the point of irrelevance and yet it matters not a jot when they're sung with such passion.

I couldn't post about this album with out putting up In The Rain, if you've never heard this before then boy are you in for a treat. If you are familiar with it then it's just the perfect excuse to revisit one of the true heartwrenching songs of soul music. If, perish the thought, you ever need a song to cuddle up in a darkened room with to feel sorry for yourself to then look no further my friends. Drawing the listener in with crackling thunder, this is the antithesis to Hot Pants summertime bliss. Check out the delay on the strings on the intro and you know you're in for something special. This time Wee Gee holds the dynamics in check to deliver a sweet soul vocal. Once again, listen out for the subtle levels of the production on the strings and bass and remind yourself that this track was recorded over 30 years ago.

Hungarian Treats

Zalatnay Sarolta: Hadd Mondjam El and Ne Hidd El
From Hadd Monjam El [Pepita, 1973]

Finally got a copy of this record after seeing it on a number of wall of fames and hearing tales of it being heavily regarded as a beathead's dream. The cover alone is certainly enough to create intrigue as many diggers tend to be drawn to records fronting attractive vixens, but it's definitely more than a wall piece; the music inside is lovely Hungarian rock with a funky twist, and strong female vocals to boot.

This record was actually one of Soul-Sides' first features back in June 2003, Oliver highlighting the strong drum breaks that were laced throughout. But that was back when mp3 blogs were just a dream, and a reader could only imagine what the writer was talking about, especially when it comes to rare titles like this one. So I present two killer tracks from this LP, both coincidentally featuring prominent drum breaks. The title track is rhythmically more furious, while the latter has more of a dusty fingers type vibe to it. I think the instrumentation is pretty strong throughout, and while some could find displeasure in Sarolta's singing, I tend to be drawn towards female vocals. And even though I can't understand a word she's saying, I think it only adds to the intrigue.

Diplo

Diplo: Solid Steel Excerpt 1 and Solid Steel Excerpt 2
From Solid Steel July 19, 2004

After hearing Diplo and Tripledouble's AEIOU Two mix over a year ago it wasn't surprising to see Diplo become 2004's posterchild for hip hop and dj music. He is what RJD2 was a few years ago, with constant comparisons to the almighty DJ Shadow, but unlike many Shadow wanabees, Diplo brought a distinctive southern sound, paying homage to dirty south, crunk, and miami bass. In my opinion, his debut Florida on Big Dada was one of the best releases of last year.

Having said that, I'm off to Davis, CA for the weekend to DJ my friend's annual Cinco De June party, so I'm leaving you with a couple snippets of a mix Diplo did for Solid Steel back on July 19, 2004. What's cool about this is it seems to almost play out like a dedication to Shadow as he remixes many of his tracks using southern flare as well as showcasing a lot of his own music. The track selection is top notch, and like other mixes of his there are many blood shitting moments, like Roy Ayers into Terror Squad blended with Shadow's "Six Days" and then into "Hardcore Instrumental Hip Hop," or the even more surprising Weezer blended with Youngbloodz, Lil' Flip, and Radiohead. Truly imaginitive work and worth the search on your favorite mp3 client.

Pugh Tuning

Pugh Rogefeldt: Love, Love, Love and Signe
From: Ja Da A Da (Metronome, 1969)

Ok, ok, the front cover of this album may not suggest a world of funk riffs and headblowing drums lays in wait but you'll just have to trust me on this one because this is some stellar stuff. Still don't trust me? Well, check out the first few bars of Love, Love, Love and let your jaw drop as you realize that DJ Shadow lifted the intro in it's entirety for Mutual Slump.

Now we've settled that, let me fill you in a little more on the life of Pugh. Born in 1947, Pugh dabbled with the blues before sending his first testpress off to record companies in 1968. Unfortunately for Pugh, by the time his talent was recognized by the executives he had started his compulsory military service. However, luckily for us, that didn't stop plucky Pugh, he quickly went AWOL from the Army and got back in the studio to record the debut album that would be known as Ja Da A Da. While unknown to many English speakers, this album was a huge hit in Pugh's native Sweden and laid the basis for a career which still continues till this day. You can read a fuller biography here.

So, back to Love, Love, Love and that jawdropping opening. From the very off the track is driven by the intense drumming of Jan Karlsson. The thumping drums and crashing symbols draw the listener in before the track settles down to a slightly less frantic but no less funky pace. What really draws me into this track is the layers, with the relentless drumming and funk riff offset by the vocals of Pugh who sings this track like Sweden's answer to the Os Mutantes. As the layers overlap they create a psychedelic wall of sound that's hard to resist. Once again, a track that deserves to be considered in it's own right outside merely being a loopdigger's record.

Signe takes a different approach to the world of psychedelia, more sedately funky than Love Love Love. Starting with ominous strings it seems clear to me that Pugh had definitely been checking Love's classic Forever Changes album went he went into the studio to record this. He keeps the vocals light and sweet over the acoustic guitars before, half way through, the track dissolves into ghostly vocals and strumming. However, this is just the precursor for the track to finally kick in as a rolling bass and hard drums carry the track home in pure Swedish psychedelic funk style.

There, that'll teach you to judge a book by it's cover won't it.

Summa, Summa, Summatime

Walter Bishop Jr.: Summertime
From Keeper of My Soul [Black Jazz, 1973]

The Free Design: Summertime
From Heaven/Earth [Project 3, 1969]

Ahhhh yes. Finally feeling like summer here in the Bay Area, and for those that aren't familiar with the extremely sporadic weather of the Bay, my only choice is to enjoy it while it lasts.

For me weather can really dictate the music I'm in the mood for, and I assume that's the same for a lot of people. For me, summer weather calls for great bouncy and airy tunes, and while early dancehall or some jazzy hip hop always seems to do the trick, today I'm going to throw out a couple covers of "Summertime" from two different ends of the spectrum. First we have a rendition by Walter Bishop Jr. who was a jazz pianist/keyboardist and son of swing drummer Walter Bishop Sr. "Summertime" was featured on his second of two albums for soul jazz imprint Black Jazz records, but unlike many of their releases which are hit or miss, Keeper of My Soul is a fairly consistent and funky record. His version of "Summertime" is uncharacteristically slow and chunky, which is probably the main reason why I'm drawn to it so much.

On the other hadn we have the Free Design which was sort of like a flower power rock band of the 60's and 70's, releasing a number of albums on the Project 3 label. Despite their radio friendly pop melodies and strong arrangements, none of their albums reached commercial success despite comparisons to the Beach Boys. Nevertheless, many people are seeking out their records and appreciating what was largely unappreciated in their heyday. Many form a love/hate relationship with this group, myself falling closer to the loev side simply because I find their music refreshingly fun, light, and at times funky. Here, their cover of "Summertime" does a nice job of encapsulating their sound, giving the track a nice airy tone and displaying a blissful use of jazz and funk influences. While I must admit that some of their music can come off cheesy, it's moments like these that I find the Free Design totally worthwhile.