Muxtapes: EarFuzz discovers Web 2.0

EarFuzz Junior Side A

EarFuzz Junior Side B

It's like a record stuck on loop but apologies again for the break in posting. I've been on holiday the last week and a bit and actually spent time away from both my music and the computer during this period. After the initial withdrawal symptons it was actually pretty pretty good.

Anyway, I haven't had a chance to trawl through the dusty crates yet but it's always nice to go into the weekend with some music and noticed Oliver talking about this Muxtapes site over at Soul Sides. Funnily enough, I recently put together a mix CD for one of my girlfriend's friends whose only request was that it needed to be the kind of stuff that got played round ours after a night out plus something that would fit with the new and very welcome sunshine hitting British shores. So, job done, and with the CD sitting there it seemed logical to put it up on muxtapes to supply some summer tunes while I sort out more posts.

I've had to split the CD into two tapes to fit on the site which mindblowingly are titled Earfuzz Junior Side A and EarFuzz Junior Side B. There's nothing extravagantly rare or unheard of on there and it was actually quite refreshing to put together something where overwhelmingly common (Bobby Byrd) could sit alongside less well known tunes like Alice Clark. I'll probably put together something more along the lines of Soulsides sneak preview collection in the coming month but sometimes, to paraphrase Liberace, it's nice to return to the classics.

Have a good weekend anyway and I'll be back with the dustier Mp3s next week.

Wonder For The Weekend

Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel
From: Perfect Angel [Epic, 1974]

Syreeta: Spinnin' And Spinnin'
From: Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta [Motown, 1974]

Spinners: We'll Have It Made
From: Essential Collection [Motown, 1971]

G.C. Cameron: If You Don't Love Me
From: Love Songs & Other Tragedies [Motown, 1974]

Yeah, I know, the title, it's bad, sorry. Anyway, forget that and concentrate on the music.

I've wanted to do a post on Stevie Wonder for as long as I've been doing this but the problem is that when you're as well loved as the Wonder there's very little material that hasn't been featured to death already. Therefore I'm going round this problem by focusing on some of the song's he wrote for other artists during his golden seventies period.

I've featured songs by both Minnie and Syreeta in my blogging past (over three years ago? Damn!) and my feelings on both haven't changed. Perfect Angel off the album of the same name is a great example of Stevie forcing Minnie to showcase a different style of vocal gymnastics as the melody switches up and around.

Syreeta was in many ways Wonder's perfect muse, contributing to his song writing as well as seeming to inspire him to pen stunning tracks. Spinnin' And Spinnin' off her second album, Stevie Wonder Presents...... is just an absolutely amazing track in every way - from Syreeta's wonderfully delivered vocal to the hook to the production. If you don't already own her first two albums then can I make it your one essential purchase for the weekend please.

Speaking of Stevie/Syreeta writing together they actually joint penned the massive massive It's A Shame for The Spinners which I won't post up here for you today. However they also penned the far less well known We'll Have It Made which is a lovely little tune in it's own right and worthy of wider appreciation.

Finally to wrap it up, keeping with the Spinners, I give you their lead singer G.C. Cameron's If You Don't Love Me off his widely ignored album Love Songs & Other Tragedies. This song is pure upbeat funky Wonder at his best and Cameron delivers a great vocal to do it justice. Still not widely known, this song really needs to become more of a staple in people's playlists.

Apart from the above I know of Wonder's work with Ramsey Lewis and Smokey though apparently he also delivered some songs for Martha and The Vandellas that I'm yet to track down. Any other recommendations?

Nobody Can Live Forever: The Music Of Tim Maia

Tim Maia: Nobody Can Live Forever and Me Enganei
From: Tim Maia [Philips, 1976]

Following on from J.'s post about mixes that have caught the ear, I've recently been playing DJ Ferrari's America Du Sol mix to death. Available as a free download from his website or from Waxing Deep, this mix has been constantly reminding me that I really, really, need to step up my Latin American music game.

While my collection and knowledge is shamefully small, I can claim to be familiar with the work of Tim Maia whose Nobody Can Live Forever is featured on the mix.

One of those larger than life characters who occasionally bless the music industry with their unique take on the world, Maia's life was one lived to extremes; taking in everything from heavy cocaine and alcohol abuse to a couple of years spent in an extra terrestrial cult. I'm still waiting for a definitive biography to come out and give his story the write up it deserves though I've heard that Waxpoetics may be doing a feature on him soon.

However, the highs and lows of Maia's personal life shouldn't distract the attention away from his impact on Brazilian music and world music in general. Often credited as the man who brought soul music to Brazil, Maia put out a great collection of soul/funk albums in the seventies which covered a wide range of musical tastes and styles, unhelpfully self titling many of them Tim Maia.

My favourite two of Maia's albums are Tim Maia from 1970 and Tim Maia from 1976 though I thought I'd focus on the latter today with it's link to Ferrari's mix.

Nobody Can Live Forever is a tune built round a monster of a bass riff with Maia switching to English to offer up his thoughts on life, religion, and anything else that comes into his head. Ably supported by his band, Maia mixes up the instrumentation just enough to ever stop the groove getting stale - a real headnodder of a tune.

Me Enganei operates in that lovely place where disco and funk met and cohabited for a short while. An uplifting melody is combined with vocal harmonies and strings that assist rather than overpower the tune to craft a song that was a perfect fit for my walk from the station this morning as spring sunshine blessed the pavement around me.

Flicking through his albums while preparing this post, I'd forgotten just how much good music this man crafted so be prepared for another ode to Maia sometime soon.......

Well Fertilized Funk: Compost

Compost: Thinkin and Take Off Your Body
From: Take Off Your Body [Columbia, 1971]

Back with the funk in a big way today my friends. We've featured Jack DeJohnette's percussion work in various groups a number of times on EarFuzz previously but today I'm turning the spotlight on to one of his earliest works leading a group with the 1971 album Take Off Your Body by Compost.

Also featuring the talents of Bob Moses and Jack Gregg, the album offers up a wide range of styles from softly softly jazz soul ballads to all balls to the floor manic funk.

Thinkin is undoubtedly the highlight of the record but it's fair to say that it would be the highlight of many records released in that period. An absolutely fantastic example of how to do a great funk tune the DeJohnette penned piece starts off slowly via the bass and builds up to speed in no time. I particularly love the breakdown two minutes in which works brilliantly as the drums come back in over the horn section.

I mentioned balls to the floor manic funk earlier and here it is. Take Off Your Body, written by Bob Moses, is a tune filled with hard as they come double time drumming, horns, congas and multitude of other instruments while the band plead with their muse to undress. It sounds like it could be a mess, hovering on the edge a number of times, but I'm a big fan of tracks with this chaotic energy and think this pulls it off with some to spare.

The record's yet to be reissued and seems to be pretty rare though when it does turn up on ebay it doesn't pick up much of a hefty price (seen it go for $10 more than once). I've yet to get my hands on the only other album Compost put together, Life is Round, any heads up on whether it's worth checking out would be much appreciated.

Get Your Rachmaninoff

Preludium Cis Moll
from the album Variations On Classics on Supraphon Records (1982).
Also appears on the compilation Strange Breaks and Mr. Thing on BBE Records (2008).

All The Things You C# - Charles Mingus
from the live album Mingus At The Bohemia on Debut Records (1955).

After spending 10 years in my youth playing classical piano, you would think I would know more about classical music. However, I spent probably 9.9 of those years thinking I'd rather learn to play jazz piano and Frank Sinatra ditties. More the shame for me I guess, but I will say I what little I know I enjoy. And everything I know is decidedly older than Sergei Rachmaninoff (the latest of anything I ever played was Tchaikovsky). Luckily, many others studied where I never ventured and today here's two "covers" of Rachmaninoff's famous Prelude in C# minor (check out this wikipedia entry with audio of Rachmaninoff being recorded by Thomas Edison).

First up is jazz-funk version of the prelude by Josef Vobruba with his Orchestra. It is possible this is the Prague Dance Orchestra with whom Vobruba is most often associated, but regardless the conductor is leading a big, funky group. The growing lore of Eastern European breaks is has been upheld by this track, which I had only recently discovered and then was delighted to hear in super clean form on Mr. Thing's recent compilation for BBE. The sound is huge and the number of elements and instruments contributing is astonishing to me, or probably to many listeners who do not often venture into orchestra territory. And just listen to whomever is attacking that piano, that is fierce, brother Christian.

One of the reasons I liked the Josef Vobruba version so much is my deep love for Charles Mingus's composition "All The Things You C Sharp," which is a juxtaposition of the jazz standard "All The Things You Are" with Rachmaninoff's prelude. Here the themes mix and match throughout lending an entirely new sound to the converted whole (a blend for the ages). High school performance piano piece du jour "Claire de Lune" even gets a little love on the piano lines occasionally, even if it was not able to make it into Mingus's brilliant title. Recorded live in 1955 (hence the less than stellar audio quality) at the Cafe Bohemia, this version is from early in Mingus's brilliant run as one of the most influential and far reaching jazz composers. He had not yet matched up with drummer Dannie Richmond, and I do miss DR's snappy drumming on this one, but overall the horns perform beautifully and Mingus pushes the players around with big, grounded bass. Pianist Mal Waldron, in his solo before Mingus's amazing bass solo, most clearly states the comparisons of the two composite songs. Deep, enjoyable listening. As a side note, Mingus attempted another "mash-up" on this album playing "Tenderly" against "September In The Rain" for his "Septemberly."

Online And Looking Good: Sweet As Soul Sugar

Jimmy McGriff: Dig On It and The Now Thing
From: Soul Sugar [Capitol, 1971]

Oh, hey, how you doing? Apologies to all of you who have been clicking here to get a music fix and instead been offered lotions for unsightly pimples but, as is the way with all matters electronic, things took a little longer than planned to resolve (there's nothing like trying to fax photocopies of birth certificates to foreign countries to brighten up your office day).

There are actually some pretty epic posts in the works (including a long planned post on golden era UK hip hop for the 3 fans of it) but I've been so tied up getting the site back that they're still unfinished and getting back online today has caught me as much by surprise as anyone.

However, there's no way I could celebrate being back without a tune or two and, as luck would have it, I always keep a couple of albums I'm considering posting about on my (t)rusty Mp3 player. Therefore I'm delighted to offer the music of Jimmy Mcgriff's Soul Sugar for you today.

Widely recognised as one of the true peaks of the soul jazz albums of the seventies, this grooves as hard as anything out there. It's like Jimmy sat down and said: "You know what? I have no interest in beating round the bush on this one, it's just got to be funky". Well, maybe not, but you get the idea (give me a break, I'm freestyling this here).

Dig On It encapsulates everything I like about funky organ tracks in it's three minute playing time. Starting with the epitome of a funky riff the track fits straight into the groove with Jimmy's trademark organ sound flitting in and out over the (sadly uncredited) band's rhythms.

The Now Thing features more bass and percussion loveliness from Jimmy's band with a heavier focus on the brass instruments. Jimmy once again displays his love of finding a great groove and exploiting it to the maximum. This is music that can't help but brighten your day.

Oh yeah, shout out to the cover designer for taking on the Ohio Players at their own game with that image as well. "Oh my" doesn't really cover it.

Good to be back, enjoy the music.

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.

Moog Music: Annette Peacock

Annette Peacock: Pony and I'm The One
From: I'm The One [RCA, 1972]

I've never been slow in proclaiming my love of ballsy female singers on this site and today I have another selection for you in the debut solo album of Annette Peacock.

A gifted pianist from an early age, Annette's talent really came to fruition after her husband at the time, Gary Peacock, started touring with Albert Ayler's band in 1964. Over the course of the next few years Annette's songwriting developed as she started messing with the Moog (given to them by Robert Moog himself), releasing albums as part of The Synthesizer Show with Paul Bley.

Having split with Bley, Annette's first solo album combined the experimental improvisation of The Synthesizer Show with a more pop sensibility and the results are truly outstanding. At the time of release Peacock was being lauded as the female Bowie and it's not hard to see why as she combines experimentation with great production and song writing.

If all this sounds a bit out there let me bring you back to earth with the psychedelic funk of Pony. A bass heavy groove rumbles throughout the track as Peacock delivers a sultry vocal over the top. This is less avant garde jazz and more Betty Davis funk which, to my ears, is nothing but a good thing. Storming music.

The title track, I'm The One, is less funky than Pony but manages to successfully combine a beautifully produced torch song and wailing Moog as Annette's husky vocals are interrupted by electronic squawks and vibrations. On a page it sounds like a mess but on a stereo it sounds like great music.

For once I can happily tell you that Annette is still making music and released her latest album in 2006. More power to her.

Ike Turner RIP pt2

Ike Turner
November 5, 1931 - December 12, 2007

Ike & Tina Turner: I Idolize You and It's Gonna Work Out Fine
From: The Sue Records Story [Capitol, 1994]

Ike & Tina Turner: Bold Soul Sister
From: The Hunter [Blue Thumb, 1969]

Following on from yesterday's post, I've pulled out a couple of Ike's earlier recordings on the Sue label including the original I Idolize You which I personally prefer to the later Spector produced version. I also had to put up Bold Soul Sister cos it's just so so damn funky.

Funky16Corners has reupped a couple of his fantastic posts on Ike which I would highly recommend reading, tons of knowledge jewels being dropped.

I always feel a slight moral quandary with these musicians who make fantastic music but appear to have spent much of their private lives being absolute shits. Ike certainly wasn't the first or last of these and I hope you can appreciate the musical gifts he gave to the world.

Ike Turner: RIP

Ike Turner
November 5, 1931 - December 12, 2007

Ike Turner & The King's Of Rhythm: Thinking Black
From: A Black Man's Soul [Pompeii, 1969]

Whatever personal feelings you may have about Ike Turner's private life there's no denying that the man was an extraordinary musical talent who helped sculpt modern music as we know it. I'll try to put up some more rare gems from the troubled man later on but for now here's one of his best known solo tracks.

RIP.

Tripping Through The Life Cycle: The Earth Disciples

The Earth Disciples: Life Cycle and Bitter End Part 1
From: Getaway Train [Solid State, 1969]

So how do you follow up a post like Kevin's Anatomy Of A Sample pt 2? Well, the simple answer is I can't really. So instead I've opted for a change of pace and a journey once more into the raer.......

The Earth Disciples are a group veiled in the mystery of time, allowing their music to speak for them. Which is to say that, despite my best googling efforts, I can find absolutely squat about the band behind this release.
What I can tell you is that the album is one of the rarest records on Solid State but still seems to turn up reasonably often on Ebay. You could describe the music as Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Fusion,Rock-Fusion or a number of other relatively meaningless terms but at the end of the day all that really matters is the music and I love this album to pieces.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I had a momentary face melt the first time I heard Life Cycle. Starting with a funky rock riff the track seems to be settling into a groove before it breaks down into the first of many sublime tempo changes. Building on a piano led theme the band develop the mood with layer upon layer, reverb taking the listener off on a journey before the groove brings them back down to earth. This track is absolutely fantastic by any measure.

Bitter End Pt 1 is a more straightforward jazzy number featuring some nice breakdowns and excellent playing from the band once again.

As I mentioned, despite it's rarity, I've seen this LP pop up a number of times on ebay so if you like what you hear it's worth keeping an eye out for it. I'm off to celebrate my birthday now but should be back next week with some more breakface related gems. Have a good week.

Anatomy of a Sample Part 2- Shake Your Rump

Beastie Boys: Shake Your Rump

From: Paul's Boutique [Capitol Records, 1989]

Alphonse Mouzon: Funky Snakefoot

From: Funky Snakefoot [Blue Note, 1974]

Harvey Scales: Dancing Room Only

From: Hotfoot: A Funque Dizco Opera [Casablanca, 1979]

Ronnie Laws: Tell Me Something Good

From: Pressure Sensitive [Blue Note 1975]

Paul Humphrey: Super Mellow

From: The Drum Session [Inner City, 1979]

Alan Moorhouse: Soul Skimmer

From: The Big Beat Vol.2 [KPM, 1970]

Rose Royce: 6 O'Clock DJ, Born to Love You and Yo Yo

From: Car Wash soundtrack [RCA, 1976]

Funky 4+1: That's the Joint

From: That's the Joint- 12 " single [Sugar Hill, 1980]

James Brown featuring Afrika Bambaataa- Unity Part 6

From: Unity-single [Tommy Boy, 1984]

Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy Five- Jazzy Sensation

From: Jazzy Sensation- 12 "single [Tommy Boy, 1981]

The Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder

From: 8th Wonder [Sugar Hill, 1981]

I posted the first installment of the Anatomy of a Sample series in August, so you can read about that here. Today I am exploring the samples that the Dust Brother's used on Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump" from Pauls Boutique. When Paul's Boutique was first released it was slept on by most of the hip-hop heads because it was nothing like Licensed to Ill. The Dust Brothers were true visionaries in the sampling game circa 1989, but they were undoubtedly influenced by the chaotic sample-heavy production of the Bomb Squad on Public Enemy's landmark recording It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. I'm not 100% sure about this, but it's rumored that Paul's Boutique contains more samples than any other hip-hop record in history. "Shake Your Rump" contains thirteen samples alone, so I can only imagine that the entire record is tipping the scales at over one-hundred samples.

The Dust Brothers artfully juxtaposed rare jazz drum breaks with old-school hip-hop and funky soul to craft the sample masterpiece "Shake Your Rump". I will now take you on a journey through the various samples from "Shake Your Rump". Fasten your seatbelts cause it's going to be a bumpy ride!

During the opening seconds of "Shake Your Rump" the listener is assaulted with a spastic drum break taken from the first couple seconds of Alphonse Mouzon's fantastic funk-inflected jazz tune called "Funky Snakefoot". This immediately segues into another drum break taken from the five second mark of Harvey Scales disco classic "Dancing Room Only". However, It seems that they removed the instruments in the foreground and slowed down the beat for the sample. After this, a chicken-scratch guitar taken from the opening seconds of Ronnie Laws cover of" Tell Me Something Good" is sped up to match the upbeat tempo of the track. Then, at about the twenty-six second mark, the conga drum beat from the opening seconds of Paul Humphrey's jazzy "Super Mellow" is used to spice up the track. Next, the first couple seconds of Alan Moorhouse's rippin' drum beat from "Soul Skimmer" is sampled at the 37 second mark of the track. Finally, the Funky 4 Plus 1's "That's the Joint" is sampled at the 39 second point of the track and it segues right into mutated scratching over a deep bassline that is taken from Rose Royce's instrumental track "6 O'Clock DJ".

This goes on for about 15 seconds and then the bassline from the beginning of Rose Royce's funk-tastic "Yo-Yo" slightly slows down the tempo before the "Funky Snakefoot" chicken scratch guitar makes another appearance. Then, the drum breaks from the beginning of the track are reincorporated into the mix and at the 1:33 mark, a vocal sample is taken from the 1:40 mark of James Brown and Afrika Bambaataa' Unity Part 6 (This is the part where Bambaata says "Shake Your Rump-Ah"). Next, at the 2:07 mark the Dust Brothers fuse the opening bars of Rose Royce's "Born to Love You" with background ambience and electronic handclaps taken from the 5:04 point of Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation". After this, a short vocal sample is taken from the 1:53 point of Sugarhill Gang's "8th Wonder" where they proclain "Hoo Hah Got Them All in Check". Finally, the Dust Brothers close out the track deftly by reintroducing Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation" sample and integrating it with the drum beats from Paul Humphrey's "Super Mellow". There are probably a couple samples that I have missed, so let me know if you spot them. This concludes the anatomy of a sample for Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump". I hope you have enjoyed the ride.

A Message From Harlem

The Voices Of East Harlem: Right On Be Free and For What It's Worth
From: Right On Be Free [Elektra, 1970]

'We know who we are and what we are and we're free' is a pretty powerful statement to have on the sleeve notes to your first album and when it comes from a twenty strong ensemble of singers you'd expect and hope that the music offered up an equally powerful righteousness. Luckily The Voices Of East Harlem's debut album from 1970 doesn't disappoint with it's blend of more traditional gospel and damn funky covers of hits of the day.

The gospel group were formed in 1970 and ranged from the prepubescent to the early twenties, offering up a mix of sweet vocals and youthful energy over four extremely solid albums. It must have been somewhat of a head scratcher for producer/manager supremo Jerry Brandt to capture the energy of the group on vinyl but he succeeds on this debut release with great results.

Right On Be Free, the title track, is a great upbeat combination of gospel vocals and funky percussion, kicking off the album with aplomb as the band get able support from a cracking backing band including Ralph McDonald's congas and Richard Tee's keyboards.

The real highlight of the album for me though is one of the funkiest covers of For What It's Worth that you'll ever hear. The band ably transform the mellow atmosphere of Buffalo Springfield's original into a bass heavy monster with rattling percussion and a great group workout vocal from the singers themselves.

Happily for once the album has been reissued so you can pick up a far cleaner copy than my scratchy original, plus you get bonus tracks. Anyway, enough from me, enjoy the weekend.

Kutiman - He'll Try Anything Once

And Out - Kutiman


No Groove Where I Come From - Kutiman f/ Elran Dekel

both from the Kutiman's self-titled debut album on Melting Pot Music (2007).

Music Is Ruling My Life (DJ Day Remix) - Kutiman

from the 12" on Melting Pot Music (2007).

Working a website like Ear Fuzz has many blessings, and the most tangible if not necessarily the best is all the kind folks at record labels who are willing to feed the compulsion hunger to hear new music by sharing their releases. I hate to say it, but sometimes I can get complacent about how great a system this is when I have gone through a stack (both real and virtual) of tunes that didn't do much for me. However, my thin veneer of jaded music commentator quickly fell away when the lovely folks of Melting Pot Music sent me their latest CD, the self-titled album by Israeli musician Kutiman (ne Ophir Kutiel).

Melting Pot has been putting outstanding music into beathead's waiting hands since 2002; all of it with an over-riding sense of funkiness. The label's artists are a world wide diaspora (New Zealand, Israel, Germany, USA, etc) and come in with excellent hard funk (Lefties Soul Connection), instrumental hip hop (A-Ko), and even an classic sing/rap Mos Def sound-a-like (note: a good thing) (Miles Bonny). Kutiman actually brings a large number of styles to the table in his album. A mix of electronic production and Kutiman's own multi-instrumental skills, "And Out" captures the old mid-70s jazz-funk sound very well layering noodley organ riffs and synthesizer scales over punchy, cymbal-laden drum fills. This is probably my favorite track on the album.

"No Groove Where I Come From" is leans more to the funky soul side with a minute long instrumental lead in that gets kind of spacey before vocalist Elran Dekel and various horns start their interplay. Great flute and drums throughout. Finally, to make up for our 2 week absence, I've added a third track today which is the great DJ Day's (another MPM artist) remix of "Music Is Ruling My Life," which can be found on the single release. Day keeps many of the elements of Kutiman's original intact, including the ridiculously bouncy+slinky bassline. This remix in particular has been constant aural companion lately to keep me warm as the weather sours. Lots of good stuff from a young artist and an exciting young label.

Friday Fuzz 45s

The Mighty Dogcatchers: It's Gonna Be A Mess Pt 1
From: Florida Funk [Now Again, 2007]

The Shades Of Black: Mystery Of Black Pt 1
From: Quantic Presents: The World's Rarest Funk 45s [Jazzman, 2006]

Carlos Garnett: Mystery Of Ages
From: Cosmos Nucleus [Muse, 1976]

Eddie Henderson: The Kumquat Kids
From: Sunburst [Blue Note, 1975]

Jerome Prister: Say You'll Be
From: Say You'll Be 12" [Tuff City,1989]

Back again today with a selection of music that's perfect for taking you into the weekend. There is no grand overarching theme to the music that I give you today beyond

a) They're all tracks I find put me in a Friday mood
b) They're songs that I've been meaning to post up for an age and a half but have always fallen through the cracks.

So, enough of the blah blah blah - on to the music.

I first heard The Mighty Dogcatchers' It's Gonna Be A Mess Pt 1 on the excellent Florida Funk collection that came out early this year - my joy was increased when I discovered it had been reissued on 45 and I've been playing it out ever since. Starting with a break the track introduces a truly evil bassline, horns and organ to create a rolling groove that just won't stop.

Mystery Of Black Part 1 by The Shades Of Black is another awesome funk 45 now reissued. Starting with a catchy percussion line what really catches the ear is the instrumental break in place of a chorus - an unexpectedly lush breakdown which works brilliantly.

I've been meaning to write up something about Carlos Garnett for quite some time now and sadly still haven't got round to it. So while I pull my finger out here is his absolutely sublime Mystery Of The Ages from his 1976 LP Cosmos Nucleus. A masterful combination of fearsome vocals and soaring horns make this a standout track for the Soul Jazz genre in my ears.

Eddie Henderson's The Kumquat Kids off his Sunburst album has a bassline that will make all headhunter fans eagerly clicking repeat as he offers up an electronic groove complete with futuristic swooshes which blends with a jazz funk percussion and horn section to great effect.

I first got introduced to Jerome Prister's Say You'll Be by Fuzz contributor Mawhie and was sold as soon as the main beat kicked in and I furiously hunted down the album that Jerome belatedly released a while after this song's success. In true digging fashion the album turned out to be shit but it still doesn't detract from Jerome's achievements on this single -absolutely awesome - why can't more late eighties soul be like this?

Mixed Up Funk For The Chosen Few

The Chosen Few: Candy, I'm So Doggone Mixed Up and Funky Buttercup
From: The Chosen Few in Miami [Trojan, 1976]

With the fallout from the move still happening and most of my music collection still packed up in boxes I've spent the last couple of weeks revisiting music I'd prepared for posting but for some reason or other never actually got round to featuring.

One album that for the life of me I can't figure out why I didn't feature before is The Chosen Few In Miami. A curious mix of funk and reggae, the 1976 album flits between offering some beat heavy funk and some incredibly cheesy soul reggae. How much influence Chosen Few had on this mix and how much was handpicked by producer King Sporty is anyone's guess but the group are backed by a hungry sounding KC & The Sunshine Band to great effect.

Despite what must have seemed like a dream combination on paper, with The Chosen Few doing well in Jamaica and KC & The Sunshine Ban coming hot off their early releases, the album absolutely flopped on release; no doubt partly due to mismarketing of the group as a novelty rather than focusing on the true fire tracks I have for you today.

For reasons of taste I'm skirting over the soul cover output today and focusing on the beat heavy tracks cos I know you want the breaks and here they are. Candy, I'm So Doggone Mixed Up commences with a great drum intro before settling into a lovely mixture of horn heavy production and sweet falsetto vocals from the Chosen Few. It's a great track anyway you label it.
Funky Buttercup does exactly what it says on the tin with a groove that more than tips it's hat to Byrd and Brown and some quality vocals again from the group as they focus your attention to the dancefloor. Enjoy.

Even More Nicole Willis - New and Old

OK. Evidently by "tomorrow" I meant "96 hours later," but I wanted to let B's nice Redbone post have some time and I just got this up slower than I anticipated.

As I mentioned in the last Nicole Willis post there is a remix album of Willis's Keep Reachin' Up album with the Soul Investigators coming out soon. I am afraid I don't know if this Natural Self remix of "Feeling Free" is going to make that album, but I really dig it. Actually I've been digging Natural Self's production without reservation for some time now, and he certainly deserves a post of his own soon. Self's remix is in the same vein as the Mr. Scruff Remix from last post: dancefloor oriented with some great added elements (more elegant bassline madness) and keeping the basic outline and vocals.

Feeling Free (Natural Self Remix) - Nicole Willis and The Soul Investigators
from the 12" on Above The Clouds Records (2006)


Promise - The Repercussions
from the 12" on Mo' Wax (1992).

Like a lot of (obsessive) folks the greatness of Keep Reachin' Up has had me Still Diggin' Down into bins looking for other Nicole Willis output. She's had a remarkably long career delivering her soulful vocals in various settings for over two decades now. One part of her history that I've really developed an affinity for is her early to mid-90s work with the NYC-based, soul & hip hop group Repercussions. Up today is their track "Promise" which would sit lovely next to the Natural Self remix if there were club nights that played stuff like this any more. It has to be mentioned that this is the first ever release on the ultra-important Mo' Wax label also, so it is kind of neat (and nerdy) for the completists alone. Lots more information at her website.

Redbone - Potlatch

Judgement Day and Chant : 13th Hour
From Potlatch [Epic, 1970]

With six releases on a major and some moderately successful singles, I was surprised I had never heard of Redbone, especially since they have the added distinction of being one of the few commercially successful all Native American rock/pop groups in... well... history. Described as a blend of cajun funk and Latin soul, I was curious to hear how Redbone's Native American heritage manifested in the music. Turns out, it all comes together quite nicely.

Potlatch is Redbone's second album. It is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of down & dirty funk rock, some midtempo ballads (with lyrics of a specifically Indian perspective), and a touch of experimentation with traditional Native American music. The song-writing and musicianship is very strong throughout. Brothers Lolly [guitar, vox] and Pat [bass, vox] Vegas, and, guitarist Tony Bellamy were veterans of L.A.'s Sunset Strip, having played there professionally throughout the 60's. And, to further add to the "why haven't I heard of these guys?" feeling, they were accomplished session musicians having supported the likes of: Elvis Presley, Sonny & Cher, Dobie Gray, Odetta, John Lee Hooker, Everly Brothers, and more.

The most informative links I could find are here and here.

I had a hard time picking selections from this one; it's a solid record. Hope you enjoy.

Nicole Willis Remixed - Tempting Fate Soon at a store near you

NOTE: We're experimenting today with streaming mp3 instead of the usual downloads at the reasonable request of the good folks at Above The Clouds Records. Please let me know how this goes.

If This Ain't Love (Mr. Scruff Remix) - Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators


If This Ain't Love (Elizabeth Shepherd Trio Mix) - Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators


Following the astounding and thorough success of Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigator's brilliant Keep Reachin' Up, Above The Clouds Records is releasing a remix compilation of that album. ATC handles the UK distribution for the NW & TSI, so one can hope that their US label, Light In The Attic, will also be putting this out. However, currently their website appears to have no info on this.

While I am as hungry for Nicole Willis (and of course the amazing Soul Investigators) material as any of their adoring fans, the task of remixing such really superb and well loved tracks will mean a great deal of scrutiny. Of course the remix album is completely unlikely to match the original for cohesion and wall to wall brilliance, but the Mr. Scruff version really gets things started in the right way. A dancefloor version to be sure with big mixable intro and outro for whatever DJs might still be out there. While the Mr. Scruff version pumps up the boogie, jazz combo Elizabeth Shepherd Trio takes her remix into firmly dancey jazz track with great piano vamping.

Both the Scruff and E.Shepherd versions appear on a single drop by Above The Clouds on September 24th, and the full remix album to be released sometime in October. Hopefully the super-excellent Natural Self remix of "Feelin' Free" will also make that album (I haven't seen a track-listing for that yet). More Nicole Willis tomorrow including that Natural Self track.

Making It Sweet: Coke Escovedo

Coke Escovedo: Easy Come, Easy Go and Make It Sweet
From: Coke [Mercury, 1975]

Don't you love it when a song randomly comes on to your Mp3 player/stereo and it syncs perfectly with your mood and situation? I had one of those pleasant moments yesterday when the constant British rain was interrupted by some absolutely glorious sunshine. As the first rays hit my brow Coke Escovedo's Easy Come, Easy Go started piping into my ears and everything felt right for a blissful few minutes.

Needless to say the sun didn't last long but it was a necessary reminder that I've never featured the group in all my years of blogging. Some background info: Coke Escovedo was a percussionist who honed his act first in Santana and then on Azteca's first two albums in the early seventies before enjoying some moderate solo sucess, particularly with the breakbeat classic I Wouldn't Change a Thing. Thanks god for the hour of sunshine as the blend of styles Coke and band display on his self titled debut is more than worthy of a post offering up a lip smacking mix of latin funk and soul.

The afore mentioned track, Easy Come, Easy Go, is a great piece of stop/start funk with a post Loading Zone Linda Tillery delivering a vocal performance that absolutely rips it up. Thumbs up for the bongo breakdown as well.

Make It Sweet is, as the title suggests, a sweeter effort. Starting with a whooping audience the track slowly picks up speed as Linda's vocals are joined by some smooth playing and percussion, crafting a track perfect for a dancefloor get down.

Sunny Tracks For A Rainy Day: Orlando Julius

Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces: Ise Owo and Bojoubari
From: Super Afro Soul [Phonogram Nigeria, 1966]

Hooray for global warming! It's mid July and I'm still eagerly awaiting the beginning of British summertime. Never one to let 60 days of constant rain affect me, I've been breaking up the periods of self harm and Joy Division with some desperate attempts at creating my own sonic sunshine with the UV rays of the marvellous Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces.

A massive star in his native Nigeria, Orlando's 1966 LP, Super Afro Soul, is widely regarded these days as a benchmark album in the development of world funk (DustyGroove, in classically understated fashion, describes it as being an "inspiration to some of James Brown's funkier work of the late 60s!") despite never originally being released outside his homeland.

A mixture of African rhythms, fierce horns and straight soul have helped seal the reputation of this album over the last couple of years and worth revisiting.

Ise Owa is a great great track, with a cheeky horn riff that streams through the darkest clouds and a percussion section not dissimilar to the JB band.

Bojubari kicks off with a cracking drum break before settling into a slower groove which has a more distinctly African feel than Isw Owa but is still pure funk.

So, the soundtrack is in place, now, pretty please, bring on the sunshine........

On a side note, I'm aware that we haven't been fulfilling our side of the bargain regarding updating the site recently so I'll try and pop by again tomorrow with possibly my favourite slept on rap album of all time.

Different Strokes For Funky Folks

Don Covay: Why Did You Put Your Shoes Under My Bed and Standing In The Grits Line
From: Different Strokes For Different Folks [Janus, 1970]

An undeniable fact of digging is that, through the process of collecting old records, most diggers develop special affections for a few seemingly random performers. Normally this isn't just down to the music itself (though it obviously plays a large part) but also down to factors such as "discovering" an artist for yourself and a feeling that you need to champion their forgotten contributions to the art.

One such artist for me is Don Covay who, while widely respected and acknowledged within the industry, I still treasure like a rare gem. The track which did it for me personally was when I first heard Covay's What's In The Headlines which I featured back on Evigan Funk around two a half years ago. I also gave a summary bio of the man's life then and, since I'm a far lazier poster these days, you can check the archive for that.

All this is a roundabout way of me returning to the album What's In The Headlines is taken from, Covay's 1970 release, Different Strokes for Different Folks. Contrary to what Headlines may have suggested, the album finds Covay in furiously upbeat mood, bringing a mixture of R&B and funk to an impressively solid collection of songs.

Why Did You Put Your Shoes Under My Bed is a blistering funky number full of high octane playing and anguished raw vocals from Covay. The sparse use of horns adds extra punch when it does come in and the play between Covay's main vocals and backing track all add to the pulsating rhythm.

Standing In The Grits Line is more laidback but no less funky featuring an irresistibly catchy guitar and horn riff from the Jefferson Lemon Blues Band that Covay exploits to it's fullest.

Unfortunately the album is still out of print (maybe there's some debating going on about whether to keep Covay's original, "unique" front cover - I mean, it hardly screams funky delights does it?) but you can actually compose your own complete version from the bonus tracks on the reissues of Funky Yo Yo and Super Dude. So there you go.

Listen Without Prejudice: Funky Snakefoot

Alphonse Mouzon: The Beggar and Tara Tara
From: Funky Snakefoot [Blue Note, 1974]

Ah, Jazz Funk Fusion eh? There are few terms that have people running for the hills quicker than this incredibly vague category. Forever synonymous with cheesy sax solos, tepid tunes and self indulgence this is an area of music that's easy to balk at and, you know what? There's a lot of music out there to justify their panic.

However, when you're open to something new to prick up your ears, and aren't afraid of the consequences, then you're also open to hearing lazily labelled music like the Alphonse Mouzon album I offer up today to carry you into the weekend.

Mouzon is rightly lauded for his drumming and has played with waaaaaaaaaay too many of the biggest names in music to list here. His status as one of the greats is set in stone and he still plays today along with running a successful record label.
Despite all this I rarely hear reference to his Funky Snakefoot album and it may be because it's a bit of an odd gem. Forgoing the rawness of the playing he would display with The Eleventh House Mouzon instead delivers an album heavy on groove and electronic basslines which comes off less like Funk Jazz Fusion and more like Stevie Wonder around his Hotter Than July period.

The Beggar is a lethal variant on the electric funk tip. With a bassline worthy of old school Detroit techno and key chords from a Chicago house record this is a broody little number indeed. Not funk but pre-disco it seems nestled comfortably in it's own criteria. The breakdown three minutes in sends my speakers into some sort of orgasmic meltdown as well.

Tara Tara is more of a throwaway track but does feature great staccato drums over a busy piano melody which could have been taken straight off a golden age Wonder record.

Jazz Funk/Disco Funk/Electro Funk/Funk Fusion - Personally I'll leave the labels to the record sellers and concentrate on enjoying good music no matter what the genre or current fads.

RIP Richard "Kush" Griffith

Richard "Kush" Griffith 1948-2007

It's my sad duty today to put forward another Obituary post about the passing of a great - Richard "Kush" Griffith. Readers may recall that Kush was featured on the site in March 2003 detailing the work he was still involved in. You can read a touching tribute to the man in this denver post article.

Collaborator and friend of Kush, cHUCK dA fONk, has put together a list below of some of Kush's finest moments and I can't think of a better way to celebrate the man's life:


This man was all Leo heart, good friend, and great musician and big presence. R.I.P. Richard Kush Griffith

Here are some songs and videos from his work over the years ...

Short list of work:

George Clinton, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson Five, the Commodores, Parliament Funkadelic and Bootsy's Rubber Band, Buddy Miles.

++++++

James Brown

James Brown .. Probably my favorite ... Kush gets a rollicking solo on "Ain't It Funky Now" and gets called out, but Kush said his favorite James Brown track that he played on ever was "Say It Loud" and you most certainly hear his trumpet featured on this track, so we'll go with this one

James Brown - Say It Loud

++++++

Parliament

Kush's favorite track from Parliament was "I'm a Fish and Your Water Sign" - he's responsible for the introspective little horn arrangements and lines in this Junie Morrison penned tune.

Parliament - I'm a Fish and You're a Water Sign

++++++

More P-Funk era ... He was also the bandleader for the Brides of Funkenstein (the P-Funk girl group), of course a prominent member of Bootsy's Rubber Band, check out his mugg on the back of the Bootzilla LP. So here are a few from his participation in the P-Funk era produced Horny Horns ...

Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns - A Blow for Me and a Toot for You

My favorite track from that LP, but this was actually Kush's favorite from the "Blow for me" LP ...

Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns - When in Doubt Vamp

++++++

Kush's 2006 album, Kush and His Blues Meet Funk Mediocre

With Denver's Neal Landauer (of Uncut Musical Products / fONKSQUISh mOb)

Kush - Up there and Out there

Kush - Let's Don't Talk About It

++++++

Finally, if anyone has the Buddy Miles Atlantic Album, "Sneak Attack" ... which Kush arranged, or Kush's work as the leader of "Bottom & Co." - those are two efforts missing from collection.

Props to Monty coming trhough with a track from the above album - check it out in the comments section......Junior

Thanks for the memories Kush .. here are some videos too.

fONk

++++

Videos

Kush with Marvin Gaye - leading the horn section with a cowboy hat and a purple shirt, and buttons on the hat

Kush in glasses, with trumpet - with James Brown - Mother Popcorn

Kush with Bootsy's Rubber Band -(wait for the horn solos starting about 3 mins - Kush is the large guy)

Kush Solo with Bootsy from 90's (about 4:00 minutes in)

The Evil that Lurks Within

JD & The Evil's Dynamite Band: Everglades, Part 1 and Flames of Darkness
From: Explodes Across the Nation [Soul Fire, 2001]

Few pleasures in life are as rewarding as discovering a great label and slowly exploring its catalogue, finding that every release under its imprint is worth owning. Such has been my experience with the now-defunct Soul Fire label, whose torch was passed in 2004 to Leon Michels (of blogger faves El Michels Affair) and his Truth and Soul organization. One of the gems he took under his wing was a bizarre little record from an outfit calling themselves JD & The Evil's Dynamite Band. Like most of the label's output, <