Happy New Year From Ear Fuzz!

Black On White Affair :Auld Lang Syne
From: Wheedle's Groove: Seattle's Finest in Funk & Soul, 1965-75 [Light in the Attic, 2004]

Is this the greatest new year's song ever?

I reckon it's up there but don't have time to debate the matter, the night is young and there's much drinking to be done.

Have a very happy new year readers, see you on the other side!

Take a Chance on Me

James Chance and the Contortions: Design to Kill and Contort Yourself
From: Buy [ZE, 1979]

Since Christmas is over, I thought I would post these two cuts from James Chance and the Contortions to help you bring in the new year with a funk blast from the past. James Chance and the Contortions first struck an emotional chord with both punks and jazz-heads after its album Buy hit record stores in 1979.

Chance was one of the founding members of the No-Wave movement in NYC, along with cutting-edge artists such as Mars, DNA and Lydia Lunch. You would be close to nailing down the sound of James Chance and the Contortions if you mixed the discordant free-jazz improvisations of Albert Ayler with the stinging guitar tones of Gang of Four and topped that off with a funky ass rhythm section that could hold its own against the Meters or the JB's.

I was first exposed to James Chance's music after reading about the No-Wave scene in The Secret History of Rock. After purchasing Buy at a local record store in Portland, I was hooked after the first listen. The unprecedented mixture of cacophonous horns, punk rock vocals and groove-based rhythms on Buy defies categorization. Designed to Kill opens up the album with an angular sax solo over chicken scratch guitar that interplays with a lunging funky bass rhythm that wouldn't be out of place on the Funk Box. After the first half of the song, Chance assaults the listener with an intense, sneering vocal that recalls the great D. Boon of the Minutemen. The track ends with jagged atonal guitars mixed with Chance's blood curding scream of "You're Designed to Kill". After listening to this tune, your mind will be exhausted from the dizzying array of creative ideas explored within it's two-and-a-half minute length.


Contort Yourself starts off with an upbeat, tight and funky rhythm that has a guitar hook reminiscent of a sped-up "Get on the Good Foot" by the late great James Brown. The eclectic mixture of free-jazz squealing, atonal guitars, primal vocals and and hyper speed basslines creates an absolutely mind-melting experience. Towards the end of the song, Chance screams a series of "Contort Yourself " refrains in a call and response fashion with the band. After he says "Contort yourself five times", he lets loose with one of the most blood curdling screams I've heard since the bone-chilling screams of Hasil Adkins. It might take you a couple listens to get into James Chance and the Contortions, but you won't be able to stop listening to it once your palette acquires the taste. Turn it up loud and shake your ass like your life depended on it.

RIP To One Of The True Greats

James Brown 5/3/33 - 12/25/06

Unfortunately I don't have the time right now to put into words what a great loss the passing of James Brown is. If I could point my finger at five musicians who truly changed the way I (nevermind the world!) listened to and appreciated music then JB would undoubtedly be in that five. In fact, despite his overwhelming influence on my life I've been unable to ever post about him, his catalogue going beyond well known into an accepted part of people's lives.

Hopefully time will permit me to post up a few of my personal favourite Godfather moments over the next few days but for now, in case you haven't seen it, check out Oliver's initial tribute to the man over at Soul Sides which is on point as ever.

As Oliver mentions, it's times like this that you turn to YouTube. If I could pick one clip straight from the heart it would have to be this one. In a mere 30 seconds worth of Brown in his prime you get a sense of the sheer power and magical momentum this man had.

R.I.P. to a true legend.

Merry Xmas From Ear Fuzz!

Soul Saints Orchestra: Santa's Got A Bag Of Soul
Milly & Silly: Getting Down For Xmas
Audio Two: Christmas Rhymin'

I was going to post up a major soul related festive gift of great tunes for you but it appears that Soul Shower has beat me to it. I would highly recommend popping over and checking out his bumper bonanza here.

With this being the case I can only offer you up what we shall call the funkier side of Christmas music - might go down well after a few too many eggnogs, who knows?

Santa's Got Bag Of Soul has to be one of the funkiest Christmas songs ever with the Soul Saints Orchestra wisely using the Christmas theme in the loosest sense to put together a straight fire of a tune.

Getting Down For Xmas is a suitably cheesy Xmas mix of funky wah wah that goes great with the novelty tie/Old Spice gift set you get from a disconnected relative.

When browsing my Xmas rap selections it dawned on me why people tend to use Run DMC's Christmas in Hollis as, to be frank, pretty much all other Xmas hip hop tunes are bonafide terds. Still Audio Two's Christmas Rhymin' ain't too bad, probably due to the wise choice of keeping the Christmas themed music to a minimum.

That's all for now folks, have a great Christmas day and see you on the other side..........

50 Million NASCAR fans can't be wrong?!?!?!?!

Your Cheatin' Heart - James Brown
from the album Soul On Top on Verve (1970).

I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
from the album Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music on ABC/Paramount (1962).

Growing up in rural Oklahoma I had a large and unavoidable contact with country & western music in my youth. Large enough that I can say pretty unequivocably that I hate it...but this is not a time (or blog) of hate, but rather of love. Years later, jazz lover that I was (am) I was watching Ken Burns's Jazz documentary when I was surprised by the tale of Charlie Parker listening to country music on the jukebox before gigs. He had a dialogue something like this (paraphrasing):
"Charlie, what are you doing listening to that stuff. The music is terrible," querried Parker's friend whom I cannot place mentally currently.
"Man, forget the music for a second...just listen to those stories," replied Bird.

Parker's view wasn't unique and time has shown the C&W stories of heart-ache and basic forelornness have become fodder for many who've put them in more enjoyable musical settings. First up is the Hardest Working Man In Show Business hearkening back to his early plaintive soul crooning with a rendition of Hank Williams's "Your Cheatin' Heart." This is from Brown's album with drummer Louie Bellson's big band and featuring him stretching out in a lot of different directions from what was typical for him at the time. Bellson's fills stay in the pocket nicely as the Godfather's just destroys an twangy, slow version of this song you've ever heard.

Eight years earlier Ray Charles took advantage of the artistic freedom agreement he wrestled from ABC/Paramount to record an entire album of C&W covers that ranged from honkytonk styles (more Hank Williams) to the "more Western than Country" orchestra style songs like Don Gibson's "I Can't Stop Loving You." This Modern Sounds album is an interesting listen start to finish with small group blues shakers you might associate more with Charles and string laden, choir-backed productions that would seem fitting in the lavish movie musicals of this time period. For me it is a little hit or miss, but it gets a little dusty in the room whenever this track pops up. Ray's voice melts my every stoic resolve and elicits longing by mid-way through the first verse, overly schmaltzy back-up singers be damned.

The more music you are fortunate to hear, the more crap and dregs you hear; but slowly you learn no genre can be dismissed as their is beauty hidden away in some of the strangest and most derided corners. To all the C&W fans out there, I"m slowly learning my lesson. And for others struggling with writing off this entire genre I'll point you to something that my best friend turned me on to long ago.

Knights Of The Blue Communion

Peter Ivers' Band: Cat Scratch Fever and Lord God Love
From: Knights Of The Blue Communion [Epic, 1969]

I've always had a soft spot for artists who refuse to tow the line and play ball. While the various musicians who loudly rebelled against "The Man" are heavily documented I've always been interested in those artists who took a different route.

One such musician was Peter Ivers. By turns a singer, artist and actor, Ivers was signed up by Epic in the late sixties on the crest of the Psych fad. However, rather than deliver what Epic were no doubt hoping would be a funked out, psychedelic pop sound Ivers enlisted Sri Lankan jazz singer Yolande Bavan and mixed sounds as diverse as harmonica and oboe.

The results really shouldn't be fit for human ears but, not only do they work, they work brilliantly, if sporadically.

Cat Scratch Fever manages to combine breaks for days with total insanity. I know that Yolande's vocals are the kind you either love or hate but I personally dig the fluctuations in her voice - her fierce tones riding the compact snares. There's a crispness to the sound of the percussion the group produces that seems to stop the chaos ever getting out of hand. I'll be the first to agree that the song's about 4 minutes too long but, hey, it was the sixties. It's also not often I tell you to check out a harmonica solo either so I'll grab my chance and tell you to - it's quality.

Lord God Love is an off kilter folky funky bizarre gem with an undulating bassline over those crisp drums again and a lounge/off kilter melody that Yolande warbles over to great effect, No idea what it's about but seems to be something about finding God's face which is always a winner.

I can't really mention Ivers without bringing up his Lady In The Radiator song from Eraserhead in passing, pure genius. Sadly Ivers was found murdered in 1983 and the world lost a unique talent that day.

I expect this may leave many regular readers cold but try it for a change (it's free) and you may find your musical horizons broadened a little bit. If not we'll be back with the funk before you know it.......

Take a Bus or a Truck

Tremile & The Jamals: I Dunno, Push Ya Push Dey, Cab Driver
From: NOW [Camille Records, 1974]

Winter is starting to creep in so it seemed a prime time for a little calypso sunshine to keep the cold at bay. There isn't much info out there about Tremile & The Jamals except for what's on the album art: a sweet group photo, and, this writeup (excerpt) from the back:

"Tremile & The Jamals have been around since the early 50's * all members hailing from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands * and have been playing to full house wherever they perform. Their last performance in New York was over the July 4th weekend when the performed at Club Monterey in the Bronx and Manhattan Center in New York for the Annual Independence Day Jump Up, this is where I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing fifteen young and talented men display their artistic knowledge to yet, another standing room only audience." - Kenty Lyttle, WFUV-FM

The back cover goes on to tell us that "Tremile" is actually James Jerrard who doubles both as band leader and bass player. He must run a tight ship because these 15 people sound like one unified rhythm machine. And, for flair, the band has two great vocalists whom each get two tracks to shine: George Knight and Lord Hykie. Knight's voice/songs are less calypso and more similar to early 70's funk contemporaries (like 'Dance to the Music' era Sly). Hykie, featured in 'Cab Driver' is more traditional.

If you like these tracks, you'll most likely dig the whole album; solid through and through.

Still Waiting for Infinity (This is an Artest)

93 Til Infinity (LP Version) - Souls of Mischief
from 12" on Jive (1993).

Wheelz Fall Off (06 Til) - Kidz In The Hall
from 12" on Rawkus (2006).

Heather - Billy Cobham
from the album Crosswinds on Atlantic (1973).

I was fortunate enough to have an out-of-town friend stay with us last week for a couple of days while around for work. Prior to heading out for an early morning racquetball match (sports of the 00s, for real) I put the new Kidz In The Hall (not to be confused with these guys) record on and it got props right away. My man said, "What's this? It's good and almost familiar." Of course the reason it is almost familiar is that the beat is lifted from Souls of Mischief's Golden Age I hip hop classic "93 Til Infinity."

People differ wildly in their response to re-used beats in this manner. Some up jump the boogie with backpacks in a twist and cry foul and (worse) unoriginality. Others lay back in the cut and wave away the situation with a simple, "If its good, who cares?" Personally, I'm somewhere in the middle...I didn't enjoy Puffy ripping off the Hot Sex beat for that Mary J. Blige track a few years ago (or most of Puffy's other hits from the 80s-sounds-so-crazy beat thefts) and I'm pretty much turning away from the Kidz in favor of the Souls immediately too.

Of course, both songs lift the horn work (Brecker Brothers and Garrett Brown) from drummer/composer/arranger Billy Cobham's "Heather." Heather is a really mellow outing from the often bombastic Cobham, but A-Plus flipped these ethereal samples beautifully for "93 Til Infinity." It is certainly up to every artist and listener how they feel about beat jacking (or humble homage) and it is a topic that has been widely discussed and certainly should continue to be. The Souls shouldn't be too offended though because the B-side to "93" is "Disshowedo" which contains a sample of "Fakin' The Funk" by Main Source, which was only a year old at the time.

Bonus sports trivia plus rant: wanna-be hip hop mogul and NBA baller Ron Artest has at various times mentioned the reason he wears number 93 for the Sacramento Kings is in honor of the Souls song. While Artest's album continues to wildly undersell Kevin Federline's, he continues to be cautiously praised for his basketball skill with the reservation that he is a loose cannon that can possibly sink an entire season. My rant is that while his defense is great and his overall play solid, Artest is one of the worst (meaning least productive) ball hogs in crunch time in the league currently?

Drumming Up a Sandstorm

Mahmoud Fadl: Jibal al Nuba and Al Adil Welzein
From: The Drummers of the Nile Go South [Pirahna 2001]

DJ /rupture: Jibal al Nuba / Gemini Dub
From: Minesweeper Suite [Tigerbeat6 2002]

Although it shouldn't come as a surprise, I'm always amazed at how much outstanding music exists under the gargantuan umbrella of the "world" category, still waiting to be discovered by the Western masses. I've found that out of the many flavors I've had the pleasure of sampling, whether it's African juju or Spanish flamenco, what really gets my heart racing is some percussion-heavy Middle Eastern folk music.

Mahmoud Fadl originally started out as limbo dancer for Nubian and Arabic weddings before rising to prominence as a master percussionist in the Nile Valley region of Africa. Following his tenure in various orchestras in Cairo and Assuan, Fadl relocated to Berlin and began recording a series of albums for Pirahna Records. He continues to work with Drummers of the Nile and his tribal-house DJ/drummer collaborative United Nubians, and in recent years has played with The Klezmatics and gypsy saxophonist Ferus Mustafov.

"Jibal al Nuba" and "Al Adil Welzein" are both taken from Fadl's heavily-sampled The Drummers of the Nile Go South, a record filled with little firestorms of percussion interludes, hypnotic Arabic chants, and some of the most intricate polyrhythms I've ever heard. "Jibal al Nuba" features a playful vocal melody atop a head-nodding rhythm, supplemented by loose hand claps from the singers. "Al Adil Welzein" is a traditional wedding song sung to the groom as he enters the bride's home; it combines call-and-response vocalizations and an infectious stuttering rhythm.

DJ /rupture utilized "Jibal al Nuba" for a brilliant mashup to open his jaw-dropping Minesweeper Suite a few years ago, layering it into J Boogie's "Gemini Dub." The rich, colorful chords of the latter complement the voices beautifully, and show how universally versatile Fadl's interpretations of traditional Middle Eastern rhythms can be.

Awakening The Funk

The Pharaohs: Freedom Road and Tracks Of My Tears
From: Awakening [Atlantic, 1971]

Forgive the brevity of the post today but I'm suffering from a post birthday hangover and sleep deprivation which has heightened my sensitivity to the point where the mere tapping of the keyboard is like goblins whacking the most sensitive areas of my cell depleted brain.

However, taking time out from my studious work I thought I'd offer up some great funk from late sixties/early seventies Chicago group The Pharaohs.

A reasonably successful group in their own right, the band paved the way for may of the so called "world music" bands that followed, offering up a mixture of African influenced jazz and funk. However, shortly after the release of their album, Awakening, members of the band were drawn into to work on a new project for a group called Earth, Wind & Fire and that was that for The Pharaohs. You can read more about them on the ever great Ubiquity Records page to mark the reissue of the album here.

Freedom Road is just a great great track, full of high energy and deep bass. As mentioned above the band were at the forefront of popularising the world music style and this track's combination of drumming, horn section and singing create a dance floor banger designed to be played at high volume.

When I first heard The Pharaohs' version of Tracks Of My Tears I was admittedly gutted that the brilliantly tense opening didn't lead on to all out madness, instead settling for a more chilled out approach. However, on further listening the cover version's charms have revealed themselves to me, particularly the repeated horn blasts at the end of the track. The original is one of my favourite songs off all time so credit to the band for pulling off a very decent cover indeed.

Permanently Stuck In Your Head

Who Feelin' It (Mista Sinista Full Remix) - Tom Tom Club
from 12" on Tip Top Records (2000).

Trick Me (TM Juke Remix) - Kelis
from Rebtuz #3 EP white label (2004).

You know those songs that get stuck in your head. If you hear them once you're brain-singing them all day. Of course the champion of all such songs is of course "Lovefool" by The Cardigans, but sadly some of these endlessly repeated songs are terrible and drive you bananas. Up today are two of the most enjoyable songs lock into my brain everytime I hear them.

First up is the Mista Sinista remix of Tom Tom Club's DJ culture shout-out track "Who Feelin' It." The cutesy, high-pitched female vocals over bouncy beats is ideal for super brain stickiness and pops up again on the Kelis song "Trick Me." The original version produced by the Neptunes is hot but getting Tru Thought's production wizard TM Juke's beats under the vocal is even better.

Enjoy these...again and again and again and again and again and again...

Ch-Ch-Chains (And Black Exhaust)

Blackrock: Yeah Yeah
Sir Stanley I Believe I Found Myself
From: Chains & Black Exhaust

I'm always more than delighted to receive suggestions for posts and artists from you, the Fuzz readership. Following on from my Purple Image post a number of people supplied me with names of artists that i may want to check out. Josh Musick went one better though, supplying me with a copy of a truly blazing compilation: Chains & Black Exhaust (and it's not even my birthday till next week).

A highly limited release in 2002, the tracks were compiled by Dante Carfagna, the truly awesome DJ and writer for Wax Poetics. The compilation includes stellar tracks by artists such as Black Merda and Hot Chocolate (no, not the Errol Brown group, the other ones) as well as a number of bands I've never even heard whispers about.

To be honest I really could post up every single song from this collection, it really is that good, but in time honored Ear Fuzz tradition I've had to limit it to two.

Blackrock couldn’t be more appropriately named if they tried, offering a heavier, dirtier update of the organ and bass led funk rock reminiscent of Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm. Yeah Yeah features guitar licks for days as the lead player wails for all he's worth over the rolling piano melody.

I Believe I Found Myself is all out insanity on wax with the royal Sir Stanley belting out his vocals with unrestrained passion, his voice cracking with the strain from the first notes as the band absolutely rip it up. I am in awe of the way the track brings in the guitar solo after the chorus – absolute killer.

If you ever get a chance to get your hands on this collection do not even stop to think about it, buy it and treasure it for ever.