El Chicano – Viva Tirado – Viva Tirado
The Bamboos – Up On The Hill – 4
Georgia Anne Muldrow – Doobie Down – Kings Ballad
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Trick Pony – IRM
Skeletons – 50 Degrees – Smile

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Billy Love – Getcho Mind Right – 7”
James Brown – My Brother Pt. 1 – Singles: Volume 7 1970-1972
Victory Travelers – I Know I’ve Been Changed – Good God!: Born Again Funk
3 Titans feat. The Menahan Street Band – The Life of a Scholar – 7”
Broken Bells – The Ghost Inside – Broken Bells

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Dark Night of the Soul – Daddy’s Gone feat. Mark Linkous & Nina Perrson – Dark Night of the Soul
Laura Veirs – I Can See Your Tracks – July Flame
Midlake – The Courage of Others – Courage of Others
T. Zchiew & the Johnny – Let You Life Be Free – Forge Your Own Chains: Heavy Psychedelic Ballads and Dirges 1968-1974
Ivan Lins – Salve, Salve – O Prestigio De Ivan Lins

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Phirpo y Sus Caribes – Comencemos – Black Man’s Cry: The Inspiration of Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti & Africa 70 – Who’re You (original 45 version) – Nigeria Afrobeat Special

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Gorillaz – Rhinestone Eyes – Plastic Beach
Four Tet – Angel Echoes – There Is Love In You
Bonobo – Kong – Black Sands
Toro y Moi – Fax Shadow – Causers of This

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The Bird & The Bee – Heard It On The Radio – Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute To Darryl Hall and John Oates
Hall & Oates – I Can’t Go For That – Private Eyes
Serge Gainsbourg – L’anamour – Jane Birkin Serge Gainsbourg
Pavement – In The Mouth Of A Desert – Quarantine The Past: The Best of Pavement
Quasi – Everything & Nothing At All – American Gong
Bei Bei & Shawn Lee – Bei’s Bossa/Whisky Waltz – Into The Wind

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Golden Triangle – Cinco De Mayo – Double Jointer
King Khan & BBQ Show – Animal Party – Invisible Girl
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Whatever Happened To My Rock and Roll – B.R.M.C.
The New York Dolls – It’s Too Late – Too Much Too Soon

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Johnny Cash – Aloha Oe – American VI: Ain’t No Grave
Jimi Hendrix – Valley of Neptune – Valleys of Neptune
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – I Learned the Hard Way – I Learned the Hard Way
Myron & E with the Soul Investigators – It’s A Shame – 7”
The Lucksmiths – Get-To-Bed Birds – Matinee Grand Prix

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Holly Miranda – Waves – The Magician’s Private Library
Miguel Atwood Ferguson Orchestra – Stakes Is High feat. Posdnuos, Talib Kweli & Bilal – Timeless: Suite For Ma Dukes
Soul Jazz Orchestra – Rejoice Pt. 2 – Rising Sun

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This one has “summer song” written all over it, even though it’s out here in the Spring. The Hawk is basically one dude, Scott Milsom of the UK Funk outfit Big Boss Man. He has very good taste in vocalists with this track featuring Little Hannah Collins who might be familiar to many of you as a frequent collaborator with The Heavy. The song sticks to a real basic formula, retro styled instrumentation and samples, sweet vocals from Collins’ and a little soul clap to boot…how can I resist and I suspect you won’t be able to either.  Needless to say, Little Hannah really needs to quit teasing and put out a full-length record all her own (come to think of it, she was featured on another summer song from the Snugs a little while back too (still available on her myspace)…this girl has summer written all over her).

Since this is literally all they’ve done, I’m posting the video and not the song. It’s on a split 45 available at Record Kicks, but hopefully there will be much more to come in the near future.

Nate Turner & the Mirettes – Sweet Soul Sister
Quincy Jones – Main Squeeze
Quincy Jones – Up Against The Wall

I first tracked down this soundtrack after hearing a mix from DJ Riddm in the Bay Area where he was matching up classic ‘True School’ tracks with their original breaks. It didn’t take long at all to find it, which was a surprise to me, especially after I heard the whole soundtrack. Maybe it’s the fact that Sidney Poitier is the star, but for whatever reason, I’ve never seen this soundtrack go for more than $10 (except at Groove Merchant where Cool Chris clearly knows it’s worth), I’ve bought maybe 4 or 5 copies of it, mostly from Amoeba and it’s rarely over $4 or $5. There shouldn’t be all that many copies of the record around, since it contains no hits and the movie wasn’t exactly blockbuster material, but for whatever reason it seems a lot of people sleep on this record.

However, the Lost Man soundtrack is possibly the funkiest thing that Quincy Jones ever worked on. Virtually every song is a winner, a rare feat for a soundtrack. The material has a really distinctive tone to it, for lack of better words, it feels kind of hollow, not quite sparse, maybe a bit serious, particularly on the instrumentals. Even the use of kid’s voices in the opening theme seem ominous, but not in the spooky The Omen kind of way, just ominous, like these kids are not to be fucked with. Some of that distinctive tone drives the vocal track I’ve posted here “Sweet Soul Sister,” which remains one of my favorite tracks to start DJ-ing with. Such a massively heavy slow burner, so very very deep, with great vocal work from Nate Turner & the Mirettes. The record would be worth tracking down for this and “Try, Try, Try” alone, but then there are 4 instrumentals also on the record that make it a necessary addition to any funky library.

The best of the instrumentals is “The Main Squeeze,” a focused and tight horn driven bit of funky. On the other end of the spectrum “Up Against The Wall” is all over the place, like 5 songs for the price of one. It does feature one of my favorite openings to a song EVER, 30+ seconds of pure deep funk heaven, before shifting into a real slow almost Axelrodian theme for the middle part then to some afro-latinesque percussion before closing out with some themes from the other top instrumentals “Slum Creeper,” “The Main Title” and “Main Squeeze.” All together, it’s a serious aural workout.

If you happen upon this one in the Soundtrack section of your favorite record store, don’t let Sidney and the price fool you, it’s a stone cold gem of a record.

Cheers,

Michael

Rotary Connection – Life Could – Aladdin
Bei Bei & Shawn Lee – Hot Thursday – Into The Wind
Dungen – Mina Damer Och Fassaner – 4
Leigh Stephens – Another Dose of Life – Red Weather
Heliocentrics – Sirius B – Out There

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Jose James – Black Magic – Black Magic
Toro y Moi – Blessa – Causers of This
Massive Attack – Atlas Air – Heligoland
Film Studio Orchestra – One Silver Dollar – Inglorious Basterds Soundtrack
Broken Bells – Mongrel Heart – Broken Bells

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Georgia Anne Muldrow – King’s Ballad – King’s Ballad
Michael Jackson – Call On Me – Love Songs
Soul Jazz Orchestra – Serenity – Rising Sun

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Elder Beck – Rock and Roll Sermon – Fire In My Bones: Raw, Rare + Otherworldly African American Gospel
The MC5 – Baby Won’t Ya – High Time
Golden Triangle – Eyes To See – Double Jointer
Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM – IRM

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3 Titans featuring the Menahan Street Band – College – 7”
Jean Carn – Was That All It Was – Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire Soundtrack
The Bamboos – The Ghost – 4
Myron & E + The Soul Investigators – It’s A Shame – 7”
The Hawk feat. Little Hannah Collins – Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover – 7”

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She & Him – Thieves – Volume 2
World Atlas – All In Her Mind – World Atlas
Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister – If You’re Feeling Sinister
Ryan Bingham – The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart Soundtrack
John Fahey – Requiem for John Hurt – Requia

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Simone White – Victoria Anne – Yakiimo
Midlake – Bring Down – Courage of Others
Shadrack Chameleon – Don’t Let it Get You Down – Forge Your Own Chains
Talk Talk – Rune II – Laughing Stock (Un Prophete Soundtrack)

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Johnny Hartman – When Your Lover Has Gone – Songs From The Heart (Inspired by A Single Man)
Laura Veirs – When You Give Your Heart – July Flame
Gil Scott Heron – I’m New Here – I’m New Here
Toni Tornado – Nao Lhe Quero Mais – BR3

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The Gospel Storytellers – Peter & John – Good God!: Born Again Funk
Segun Bucknor – Adebo – Black Man’s Cry: the Influence & Inspiration of Fela Kuti
Gang Starr – Who’s Gonna Take The Weight – Full Clip
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – A Night In Tunisia – A Night At Birdland

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Georgia Anne Muldrow – King’s Ballad

To be perfectly honest, I still don’t know exactly what to think about Georgia Anne Muldrow. She’s definitely respected by her peers, including Erykah Badu and Mos Def. She’s got a great voice, eccentric personality, seriously funky sensibilities. But over the course of her several records, there seem to be too many hit and miss moments for an artist of this caliber. Not too much of a good thing, just too much, too many songs, too many ideas, just too too much! Maybe it’s just me, but I want her artistry focused, not so all over the place all the time. This is however the nature of genius (which Muldrow might be, let’s see in another 10 years…), a focused Muldrow wouldn’t be the same artist, she’d be conventional and not nearly as interesting. So,I’ll just have to get over it, because as long as she is producing songs like this tribute to Michael Jackson, she remains one of the most talented and enigmatic performers in modern music today.

Elder Beck – Rock And Roll Sermon
Rev. Roger L. Worthy & Sister Bonnie Woodstock – Get Back Satan
Lula Collins – Help Me

{Update: For O-Dub’s take on this comp. and Numero’s Born Again Funk collection check on both Soul-Sides.com and NPR}

By divine intervention I received this collection of gospel music in the mail back in January, but I’ve only now really listened to the whole thing. At 3 CDs, each with over 25 tracks and clocking in at over 4 total hours of listening time, there is a lot of music to digest in this set. Personally, I think this music might have been better served as 3 separate volumes released over a certain period of time, instead of a single set. I can understand why they might have wanted to release all of these at the same time, but it is a truly overwhelming collection.

As overwhelming as it is in terms of volume, it’s twice as overwhelming in terms of quality. Virtually every major tradition in 20th century African-American spiritual music is evident here and there are many many glorious tracks on this compilation. To my ears, the best songs tend to be from the 1950s and early 1960s, generally in an early rock’n’roll vein or based off more of an electric blues tradition. Perhaps the single most noteworthy song on here was recorded in 1956 by Elder Beck and is simply and very accurately titled “Rock And Roll Sermon.” Believe me when I say, this “Rock And Roll Sermon” is so unbelievable it just has to be heard. As compiler Mike McGonigal implies in the notes, you really have to wonder if everyone involved, from Elder Beck to the musicians to the congregation, realized that they were rocking as hard as any of those “damned” Rock’n’rollers ever had.

In fact, the group, especially the guitarist, rocks so hard that you could be excused for believing that the music was later edited in just to throw things completely over-the-top. If rock bands used samplers the way Hip-Hop musicians do, they would have a field day with this song and all of its great lines on the evils of Rock’n’Roll. My favorite exchange happens towards the end when Elder Beck begins channeling Bill Haley only to flip the script in an unexpected (though given the theme of the song, perhaps expected) way.

Rock’n’Roll all night long, Rock…
One O’clock Rock, Two o’ clock Rock,
Three O’ clock Rock, Four o’ clock Rock,
Five o’ clock Roll,
Roll into the patrol wagon, Roll in before the judge,
Rollin’ out the courthouse, Rollin’ into the penintentrary,
Rollin’ into the electric chair, Rollin’ out to the undertaker.
(Screams) Ahhh! Rock’n’roll!

As I said, it’s so unbelievable, it just has to be heard. Another standout is “Get Back Satan” from the Rev. Roger L. Worthy & his sister Bonnie Woodstock. This song was recorded in 1965, but it sounds as if it comes from a much earlier period of time with Worthy & Woodstock singing in unison accompanied by an electric guitar with an eerie amount of reverb. It’s exactly the kind of song I fully expect Holly Golightly, in her latest incarnation along with the Brokeoffs, to be covering in the near future.

For those of you into Gospel Funk, there are plenty of choices here too. Lula Collins’ “Help Me” from 1973, is a track that could have just as easily ended up on obscure Tennesee funk comp. by itself. Aside from some relatively minimal religious references, it is easy to take this song on very secular terms. That’s a more difficult task with a song like “Telephone In My Bosom,” from the Amazing Farmer Singers of Chicago. While the sound has a bit of Sly & Funkadelic, the lyrics keep you focused on the sacred, which is, after all, the true point of this music. You can appreciate it simply on its sonic merits, because it’s very funky, it rocks, it swings, is deeply soulful or just has a certain sound. But it’s very important to understand the context this music was recorded and to remember that even at its most rockin’ it remains sacred music.

It’s the sacred character I’d argue that sets many of these performances above the standard fare produced in similar times. There’s a feeling in these performances that is shared in other sacred musics, but not as readily found in more secular, popular sounds (except not surprisingly when artists come from the Church, i.e. Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Donny Hathaway, etc, etc, etc.). However you want to appreciate this music, what’s most important is that you DO experience it. Regardless of your own religious belief or feeling, this music is deserving of your attention and your ears will be richly rewarded once you delve into this fine set.

Top 10 Desert Island Discs

Pretty much since I started doing these webcasts of the Melting Pot Radio Hour I’d thought about doing a show like this, a show focused on the records that I can’t live without. When you’ve listened to thousands of records, from all over the world and different time periods, choosing the most essential music you’ve ever heard is a really difficult task. A lot of it, I’ve found, is very much related to where you are at a moment, in addition to how the music has affected you throughout your life. So, what I have for you here are my top 10 Desert Island discs, along with a couple honorable mentions. I hope you enjoy the show and I would love to hear your own Top 10 records that you can’t live without here in the comments section or over e-mail.

Melting Pot Radio Hour: Econo Edition #5: Honorable Mentions
Melting Pot Radio Hour: Econo Edition #5: Desert Island Discs 10 – 6
Melting Pot Radio Hour: Econo Edition #5: Desert Island Discs 5 – 1

Michael Barnes’ Desert Island Discs:

Book: The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats

Luxury item: King Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Honorable Mentions:
The Monkees – Headquarters – Colgems (1967)
A Tribe Called Quest – People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm – Jive (1990)
Curtis Mayfield – Curtis – Curtom (1970)
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground – MGM (1969)
Nick Drake – Bryter Layter – Island (1969)
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme – Impulse! (1965)

Top 10 Desert Island Discs:
10. Gal Costa – Gal Costa (Não Identificado) – Phillips (1969)
9. The Minutemen – Double Nickels on the Dime – SST (1984)
8. Michael Jackson – Off The Wall – Epic (1979)
7. Sly & the Family Stone – Stand! – Epic (1969)
6. Booker Little – Out Front – Candid (1961)
5. Irma Thomas – Down At Muscle Shoals – Chess/Charly (1988)
4. Charles Mingus – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus – Impulse! (1963)
3. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland – Reprise (1968)
2. Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden – EMI (1988)
1. Johnny Hartman – Songs From The Heart – Bethlehem (1955)

Dig Gayle's White Shoes...

Smith – I Just Wanna Make Love To You
Smith – Let’s Get Together
Smith – Tell Him No

Since last week I finally brought out my Soundtrack in Search of a Quentin Tarantino Film mix, I thought this was a fitting post for this week’s Dig Deep. I first heard Smith through Tarantino’s excellent soundtrack to Death Proof, which included their lone hit, “Baby It’s You.” One night at La Cita I was playing that song and Soul Marcosa remarked how I should check for the record since it actually had a couple of really good songs. Within a week I found this copy at Amoeba for $2 or $3.

There are several things to really like about this group. They have a sound that’s a little rougher than the usual bubblegum fare of the late 60s. It’s not quite soul, not quite rock, not quite a lot of things, but it has a really great sound on the best tracks.  Predictably, my favorite aspect of the group is the sound of the drums from Robert Evans, he keeps it very minimal, but very very tight.  The other thing to really like about Smith was lead singer Gayle McCormick.

In fact, if there is a place this group went wrong it was in thinking that anyone other than Gayle should have been singing their vocals.    McCormick reminds me very much of Lydia Pense of Cold Blood, both petite blonde girls with big time vocals, probably often compared to Janis Joplin, even though they don’t sound remotely like her.  The best tracks on this record, including the hit and similar tracks like “Tell Him No” and “Let’s Get Together,” are the ones where she sings solo. Elsewhere the male vocalists can’t hold a candle to her and the energy suffers for it. It’s in those moments that the absence of original material really hurt this group. But when Gayle is singing lead and the band is cooking, you can forgive the lack of originality.

For instance, “I Just Wanna Make Love To You” is almost a carbon copy of the version that Muddy Waters put down for his Electric Mud record, but it sounds just a little bit better with Gayle on vocals and the separated sound (fuzzy guitar on left channel, drums and organ on the right) beneath her from the group. It’s in tracks like that (and on “Let’s Get Together,” their almost unrecognizable version of the Youngbloods “Get Together”) that showed that Smith held a lot of promise, they just never seemed to be able to fully realize it. Their second record Minus-Plus doesn’t show much progression (at least to my ears) and eventually McCormick realized she was the best thing in the group and set out on her own, though with mixed results. But in 1969, Smith had a dynamite single and a really solid sound, this record is a testament to what could have been.

Cheers,

Michael

…and just because it’s such a fabulous song, here’s video of the group playing “Baby It’s You.” What is notable about this performance, in addition to that crazy Sheena warrior princess headband, is that Gayle is clearly singing for real, but the band is not playing for real, which means it’s a backing track and there’s an instrumental version of the song and, likely, the whole record. The mind boggles at how many instrumental versions there are in record label vaults from this period of time…

Golden Triangle Will Rock You

Golden Triangle – Neon Noose

Out of Brooklyn, NY comes one of the records I am most excited to play when I return to KCRW, courtesy of Golden Triangle. I’m not sure how they manage to sound crisp and clean (especially with the vocal harmonies) and all garagey and gritty (especially in the guitars) at the same time, but I ‘effen love it and soon you will too.

The Avant-Funk of Albery Ayler

Albert Ayler – New Generation
Albert Ayler – Sun Watcher
Albert Ayler – Free At Last

In a career that is filled with challenging, searing, provoking work, this album, released in 1968, was probably the most radical and avant-garde thing that saxophonist Albert Ayler ever produced. When it was released, it seems a lot of his core fans felt he was “selling out” by employing R&B and Funk rhythms. Much like Miles Davis’ On The Corner, another record that faced the same accusations, this couldn’t be farther from what the music actually represents. The songs on New Grass were an attempt at a real fusion of styles and while that may have been to court new audiences, this fusion was entirely on the artist’s terms. I’m not sure why anyone would have thought this music would be “sell-out” music. Yes, it has a funky rhythm, there are some soulful back-up singers, but listeners still have to contend with the otherworldly saxophone of Ayler.

“New Generation” is a perfect example, the beat is seriously driving, with Bernard Purdie doing his usually solid thang on the skins, the theme of the song is certainly very peace, love and hippie-fied, but still that saxophone cuts through and (especially towards the end) goes places few other jazz players could and definitely where no soul or funk horn player would consider going. This is especially the case with the best song on the album, the instrumental “Sun Watcher” which begins as if it might be a “standard” Ayler spiritual before shifting into a madly funky beat with Ayler’s soulful then completely out-there workout on the sax riding on top. “Free At Last” shows Albert’s socially conscious side along with his best vocal performance on the album, while other tracks such as “New Ghosts” reinterpret Ayler’s prior work into this new “dimension” of sound.

But I’ve always felt like what this album represented wasn’t some true change of direction. Instead, what Ayler does on New Grass is meld the multiple worlds his music always existed within, Jazz, Gospel, Marching Bands, Rhythm & Blues, Soul, all together into a single soulful mix. In comparison with his prior work it was an abrupt change of pace, but “sell-out” it never could have been. This sound would never have been commercially viable, probably for the best, because it’s too sincerely conceived (particularly in the “Message From Albert” where Ayler implores us to “Praise to the Lord, Repent! Pray again and Repent!”) and it’s too unconventionally conventional in comparison to his prior work. Those reasons however are exactly why it remains one of my favorite records from Ayler.

Incidentally, if you haven’t seen it, I really highly recommend the documentary My Name Is Albert Ayler which sheds significant light on Ayler’s life and its connection to his music.

Cheers,

Michael