Let The Soul Shine Through: Brighter Side Of Darkness

Brighter Side Of Darkness: Just A Little Bit and Something To Remember You By
From: Love Jones [20th Century, 1973]

More of the rare today with seventies Chicago soul group the brilliantly named Brighter Side Of Darkness. Most famous for their interestingly titled and extremely successful Love Jones single, the band did release a longplayer to go with it which actually exceeds the quality of their biggest hit.

Similar to both the Jackson Five and, my own special favourites, the Five Stairsteps, BSOD brought together a number of talented young musicians with an even younger lead vocalist. However, while the band did embrace the funk, their sound is on more of a mellow tone than the above with a mixture of ballads and grown man soul delivered by Lovelites producers Clarence Johnson and Johnny Cameron.

It feels wrong to not feature the title track in this post but, seriously, you can pick this up from approximately 1 trillion seventies soul compilations so instead I'll keep the focus on the lesser known and, in my opinion, superior album cuts that the band produced.

Just A Little Bit is lush seventies dramatic soul at it's best; strings swirling over the beat as horns break in and out of the track. So well executed is this song that it was only on listening to the instrumental version on side two that I noticed how much oomph the track has. It has it in spades. On a side note, I can't emphasise enough how much I love these soul tracks that plead and beg the song's muse to reconsider their options in love. I've amassed a fair few over the years but any new suggestions are always eagerly accepted.

Something To Remember You By is a lovely track that skips along with an uplifting percussion driven arrangement. Featuring the vocal talents of twelve year old Darryl Lamont the track also possesses one of those gorgeous sweeping male harmony style leads into the main chorus. Beautiful.

Unravelled Soul - Bare Threads

Bare Threads: Killer Track
[Unsigned, 2008]

Alongside plumbing the crate depths it's always a pleasure to feature music from up and coming artists on the Fuzz and it brings me special pleasure today due to the fact that I actually know the band.

Bare Threads are a group from Bristol who are currently rising up at a stupendous pace, having laid down their first songs in the studio mere weeks ago. However, you'd be hard pressed to spot the wetness behind their ears from the tracks that they have delivered from these sessions. Two of the group are certified crate diggers and the love of good music through the years shines through with a sound that draws from the past and the present. The band are coming to the scene at just the right time as well with the likes of Nicole Willis et all currently breaking through.

Killer Track does exactly what it says on the tin as the band showcase their mixture of funk, soul and rock plus their ability to spot a good tune. Starting with the lightest of jazzy riffs vocalist Jo sets up the tune by laying down her intentions before the heavier percussion and bass line kick in. One of those tunes that I like more and more each time I play it, I'm seriously expecting big things from this band over the next twelve months as they keep up Bristol's superb musical heritage.

You can hear a couple more of the group's tunes on their Myspace page which are well worth checking out and the band are beginning to get radio play as well. If you're one of the UK visitors to this site and are resident down south then I'd also recommend checking out their debut gig at Gimme Shelter in Bristol this Friday.

Take A Musical Trip Down US 69

US 69: Yesterday's Folks and Miss Goodbody
From: Yesterday's Folks [Buddha, 1969]

How you doing? Hope you all had a good new year and are now back in the swing of 2008. Apologies for not posting for a while, I've been mentally preparing a few wider in scope posting themes but these are sadly all still buried inside my private mind garden, hopefully to be excavated when my brain kicks into gear.

Instead today I come to you with an album that once again defies easy categorisation. The front cover of US 69's Yesterday's Folks suggests a journey into epic guitar solos of a progressive nature, but, while the album is far from mainstream, this couldn't be further from the truth my friends.

A group comprising of American and Mexican musicians, US 69 absorbed the changing face of the music scene around them to produce a real slept on gem of an album, covering rock, funk, and psych.

Yesterday's Folks is the only track that ever appears to have been comped and it's an absolutely fantastic tune. Kicking off with a funky bass riff the track offers up a great blend of bluesy rock with great percussion work, horns, and even a few breaks for an added bonus.

Miss Goodbody offers more percussion heavy funky rock and as an added bonus for the completists out there, was also sampled by Shadow on Red Bus.

The album has now been reissued on vinyl and I can happily recommend it as one that doesn't disappoint from beginning to end - a real slept on beauty. All this and not one pun on 69ing either.....


On a side note, it's a new year and one of my resolutions (probably the only one I've got a chance of keeping) is to expand and improve this website. Therefore, if you've a keen eye for design I'd certainly be interested in talking to you about potential rejigging of the site to make it a more beautiful thing to look at (difficult, I know) and, yes, money can be involved. We're also always on the lookout for new writers (sadly no money involved here) as well so holler if you think either of these are up your street.

Happy New Year, Nyabinghi

Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus: Int'l Year of the Child, Sip Your Cup, Jah Jah Power Shall Endure

From: Rally Round [1991, Shanachie]

I was going to post this before the holidays, but listening now, it's not a bad way to start off the new year. The reggae/dub exploration continues: this time we veer slightly from the well-traveled road of One-Drop to Nyabinghi.

I picked this record up knowing absolutely nothing about Ras Michael; by the end of Side 2 I was a fan and off researching more about his history and the Nyabinghi music with which he appears be associated.

...Since the passing of Count Ossie, the influential master drummer whose troupe of musicians, drummers and dancers brought the living tradition of African music to generations of musicians and ordinary Jamaicans, Ras Michael has been the most important artist injecting roots traditions into popular music. By using both elemental voice-and-drum chants as well as innovative combinations electronic instruments, horns and drums, Ras Michael stands alone in reggae as a respected master of reggae rhythms... Randall Grass, 'Rally Round' liner notes

I'm in no way an expert on rhythms, but I am familiar enough to sense how the feel of the 3 songs posted here differ from other reggae I've soaked in. The prominent hand percussion in these songs creates a continuous, almost circular groove that seems to roll more than the popular accented 3rd beat bounce. The vocals differ a bit as well; leaning more towards orthodox Rasta praise chants rather than more secular pop lyrics. I find the overall sound quite uplifting.

Hope you enjoy.

Happy 2008; good health and music to all.