A Collector’s Dilemma…With Mike Johnson & Friends

Mike Johnson and Friends – Dilemma

I’m about 99% sure that this record, from Mike Johnson and a few of his friends on the seemingly private label “Freedom Light,” came my way via Cool Chris of Groove Merchant. Memory is getting a little fuzzy these days, especially after all of the record therapy I did during the pandemic and the hundreds of records I bought. Part of the dilemma of being a collector is knowing when to stop. I mean, if you’re truly a collector, you never stop, but at some point you have to know when you’ve reached your limit. For me, after rebuilding my collection, my limit is set by the two record shelves that house all of my vinyl. I never want my collection to get bigger than these 24 squares and once they did fill up last year, I went through all of them and decided who was going to stay and who was going to find a new home. While there were a number of records that I knew I no longer needed or wanted, there were almost an equally sizeable stack of records I had bought but not spent much time with and couldn’t remember if there was anything good enough to hold on. Ultimately, I think I only ended up saving maybe 20 records in that stack, but one of those was this one from the aforementioned Mike Johnson.

I buy a lot of records just on potential, sometimes I’ll have the benefit of there being a turntable to preview things, but some times it’s just vibes from the cover or song titles. In many instances that potential doesn’t pan out and those records are easy to let go. But then there are records like this where there’s just enough of a good thing going on that I think, “yes, you can stay a little while longer.” In this particular case, the thing that solved my stay/go dilemma was the lead song “Dilemma,” which I dig on many levels. First there’s its overall sound, which sounds like it was both recorded a couple years before as well as a couple years after the date of release on the jacket of 1973. Its just got this great lo-fi, private press psych feel to it…and to add to it, there’s the message of the song, I mean, just dig these lyrics…

And dig the way Johnson sings the lyrics, with just a shade of 1970s flamboyance that would make you think the band would have had solid stage show, even if they appear to be just a little hometown band from New Hampshire. You never know what you’ll find on a private press record. But every now and again, you find a pure gem, and those are always worth holding on to, as long as you feel they still sparkle…

Dig Deep: Lotus – A Way Of Life – Reynolds Records (1975)

Lotus – Tye
Lotus – Second Impression (Excerpt)
Lotus – Third Impression (Excerpt)

With almost exactly one month before the unveiling of a very special 14th anniversary mix, it’s perhaps the best time to finally post something about this album, one that’s been very close to my turntable since first coming across it at the end of July in 2022.  I’d come up to the Bay Area on a weekend trip with my dog (our first trip together ever), the most time I’d spent there since moving to LA. As is always the case whenever I’m in the Bay Area, part of the trip included a trip to Groove Merchant in Frisco.  This particular time I had brought a couple of rare Sun Ra records on the Saturn label to trade with Cool Chris, without any idea what might be at the store at that moment.  There were some nice things, a few of which will likely find their way here eventually, but Chris mentioned that he did have something special, something he rarely came across.  This album from the band Lotus.

All Chris knew about it was what was evident from the cover, this was an album on the Reynolds Records label,  which had a few records folks such as we are often looking for, from Quinn Harris & Masterminds (or just the Masterminds themselves), and from a pair of Steve’s, Steve Marshall & Steve Parks.  Not one of the players on the record sounded familiar, and none of them seemed to be listed on any other records from the time period, at least none that are listed online.  Bob Okamoto on keys, Charles Peacock on bass & synths, Joel Cohen on guitar and Gregory Taylor on some mighty drums. 

No credits for any of them elsewhere that I could find. It’s as if four total unknowns just went into the studio to record on some fair day in 1975, and then created a low-key masterpiece. And, it is the masterful playing that keeps me coming back, especially on the first side, a 19 minute tour-de-force, broken down into first, second & third impressions (due to my long standing policy of not posting the majority of an album, given that there are only three total tracks, I’ve posted excerpts from that track)…The musicianship on this record is so good that it almost leads me to believe that the names listed are assumed names, and the actual players were bigger names that just wanted to put to wax a session they were proud of, but couldn’t do it on any of the labels they were signed to.  I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to this record at this point, but every time I’m struck by how exceptional the playing is on it.  At times it reminds me a little of Pi-R Square & Lonnie Hewitt’s recordings from the 1970s, or a quick moment will remind me of Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity in the early part of the decade (doesn’t the slow down 4:30 into “Tye“ remind you of “We Live In Brooklyn Baby?”) but there’s also something about the playing that just sounds so unique.

I truly hope one day I discover the enigma that is Lotus, what the story of this recording was, and more about these players, but for now, I’m just thankful for the serendipity of the day that allowed me to come in at the right moment and have the chance to come across this exceptional record…

On Tina Turner, Survival & Not Just Letting It Be…

Tina Turner – Let It Be (Alternative Lyrics)

It’s been some time since Tina Turner passed, a moment that I knew I would have to mark here on Melting Pot, since, as I’ve said, she was one of my mother’s favorite artists.  I mentioned back in 2016 a story I had heard many times:

“She grew up in the same West Tennessee locales as Tina Turner. In fact, for a time, Turner went to my mother’s high school, Carver High in Brownsville. Turner was there for a short time, but once she became a singer, it became a mark of pride for people in Brownsville (Nutbush City Limits, where Turner was born is about 10 minutes from where my mom grew up). I remember her telling me a story of how she and some of her sisters caught a Tina Turner concert in the 1980s and actually got back stage to see her because they all went to Carver.”

So much of Tina’s story has been a part of my story, there is no way I couldn’t mark her passing without some type of note. In her passing, there have been a number of pieces that have contextualized the work & life of Tina Turner, but I think the most powerful thing that I’ve read came from Negarra A. Kudumu, where she said the following, a point that linked up perfectly with a conversation I had recently had noting how Tina, Nina Simone, and others who had suffered personally traumatic experiences, sought refuge outside of the US, in order to perhaps escape the broader traumatic forces at work in this society for Black folk generally, and Black women particularly:

“…undoubtedly, [Tina] was a brilliant musician and performer. Part of her brilliance, though, had everything to do with three important things she did: 1. She defended herself against an abusive partner. 2. She left an abusive partner. 3. She left the USA and settled in Europe where she was better treated and better appreciated.

If there’s anything that Tina’s life has taught us it is to not tolerate abuse and to leave a situation when it is no longer serving you. Too many people think abuse is the standard price to pay for success. Tina showed us, in word and deed, that it’s not.”

I struggle some times with the fact that I’m drawn most to the period of time when things were at their absolute worse for Tina.  I’m not sure I’m equipped enough at the moment to really dive deep into the why of that.  But one of the things that I do find fascinating about this period of time are those moments where Tina was able to have control, write her own lyrics and even get credit for them.  One of the songs I thought about sharing, “Up In Heah,” is one of those moments.  It’s a song that is too slow to be played in most clubs, too fuzzy to be played at funk spots, too funky to be played at rock spots, one of those songs that doesn’t easily find a way to ears.  But it’s a song, that ever since I first found it in Bill Wolfe’s collection of 45s at the old Brookhaven Records in Atlanta, I’ve always enjoyed finding a way to work it into a set (generally, very early in the night).  Or the song I have chosen to highlight here with this post, “Let It Be.”  The Beatles’ music is such that virtually no cover sounds as good as the original, and I don’t claim that isn’t the case here.  But what is striking, in addition to Tina’s pained and soulful performance, is that this is one of the few times I can think of where artists completely changed the Beatles’ original lyrics, found here in an alternative form that seem to be unique to this sole version.  Given that there’s no credit to who changed the lyrics, even though Ike is listed in two different ways on this album, it’s possible that Tina wrote these lyrics. 

When I find myself in times of trouble,
Evil thoughts they come to me,
Taking away my wisdom,
But I let it be.

When prejudiced people finally agree,
Open their eyes and they will see,
There’s gotta be an answer,
If they’ll let it be.

Let it be,
Let it be,
Let it be,
There will be an answer,
If they’ll let it be.

When things are dark and its hard to see,
Trouble seems to want to follow me,
But I remember my words of wisdom,
Let it be.

Although its hard, there’s still a chance,
A chance that they all will see,
That we could live together,
If they’ll let it be.

Let it be,
Let it be,
Let it be,
Lord Let it be,
There will be an answer,
If we’ll let it be.

They say to learn to love is to understand,
I’m givin’ my all, I’m doin’ what I can,
Using my thoughts of wisdom,
Let it be.

And if I find it hard, I’ll kneel and pray,
Hoping things will change some day,
Use our minds of wisdom,
To let it be.

Let it be,
Let it be,
Let it be,
Lord let it be,
There will be an answer,
If we’ll let it be.

Say it again,
Let it be,
Let it be,
Lord, Lord Let it be,
Use our minds of wisdom,
Let it be…

These lyrics change the tenor of the song dramatically, even if they don’t always make logical sense. From a “this too shall pass” mediation, this song becomes more of a call to not just accept things as they are, but to use the words of wisdom you have learned to effect change. Ultimately, it’s the feeling that counts, and how these words, with Tina’s performance, transform the song.  As far as Beatles covers go, it’s got a unique sound, and given what else the group was recording around this time, it makes you wonder what else Tina might have been able to showcase if she’d been in a different situation and in a situation where all her talents could truly shine.  We’ll never know that of course…By the time she had found her freedom, the landscape of music had changed, but I do find it fascinating to listen to songs like this and dream a little about what psychedelic soul nuggets Tina Turner might have been able to conjure up if given true freedom in the late 1960s & early 1970s. All told, I am thankful for all of the music she created and the extraordinary example she set through living her life…And now, Rest In Peace Queen, never to be forgotten.

Clearly…I Needed A Vacation From My Mind

Jeanette Baker – Vacation From My Mind

Welp folks…clearly 2023 didn’t start out the way I thought it was going to. I was hoping this would be my snapback year, after the previous pandemic pauses to life, and it may still be that, but the last 3+ months have definitely put me through the ringer. As always, the blog and sharing music isn’t far from my mind, but teaching is my full-time job, and it is a proper full-time job that takes up most of my time. My mind only has so much bandwith and when you have waves of familial emergencies, multiple heartbreaks (that recall Greek tragedy, for real) and all the healing that all of that entails, there’s just only so much that one can do. This track from Jeanette Baker has come to mind multiple times as everything has been going on in this particular moment. Seemed a fitting way to try to force myself to get back into the swing of sharing new music, which I hope to get back to on a weekly basis, while the posts of the past wait for me to finish up classes in a couple weeks and get into the first Summer in years where I’m not teaching and will actually be able to relax my mind so I can get back to doing what I really love doing…Writing and sharing music here on Melting Pot. Keep the faith, y’all…Onwards & Upwards.

Melting Pot Radio Hour: Top Digs Of 2022

{Updated 6-5-23} Welp, for those of you who loved the super duper late addition of last year’s “Top Digs,” you should love this even more delayed version for 2022’s new old vinyl that came my way! What can I say folks, it’s been a whole year, it’s barely June! But we keep on keepin’ on, and big things are brewing once again for Melting Pot in the near future. So, without any further delay, here’s a collection of some of the best wax I picked up last year…Enjoy!

Melting Pot Radio Hour #21: Top Digs Of 2022

Playlist:
{opening theme} Booker T & The Mgs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

Jeannette Baker – Vacation From My Mind – 7” (Astro-Nett)
The Pastor Brothers – Don’t Leave Me Baby – 7” (Avco)
Cortex – La Rue – Troupeau Bleu (Disques Esperance)
Galt McDermott – Golden Apples Pt. 2 – The Nucleus (Kilmarnock)
Nonato e Seu Conjunto – Fitipaldiando – S/T (SOM)
Bobby Walker – I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You – This Is Walker Country (ARS)
Thomas Brown Mardi Gras – Afro-Latin Percussion: Clinician Series (Golden Crest)
The Returners – It Seems That Way – 12” (Ebonite)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

Steve Davis – Poor Child Of The Street – Music (RCA)
Breakout – On The Other Side Of The Rainbow – Na Drugim Brzegu Teczy(On The Other Side Of The Rainbow) (Pronit)
El Gusano – Work Your Hand To The Bone – Fantasia Del Barrio (Heavy Light)
Pugh – Love, Love, Love – Ja, Da, A, Da! (Vault)
Jed Gould – LACA Perv – La Sound Track ’76 (K West)
Ana Mazzotti – Eu Sou Mais Eu – S/T (GTA)
Valli Scavelli – Floating – Floating (Lambda)
Ian Carr – Summer Rain – Belladonna (Vertigo)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

Kathy McCord – Velvet Smile – S/T (CTI)
Mike Johnson & Friends – Dilemma – Velvet Prince (Freedom Light)
Luellen Reese – Silvery Waterfall – S/T (Musician’s Co-Op International)
Red Hook – Snow – S/T (Blue Lion)
Johnny Bello’s Strawberry Cliffs Of Monica – Black Oil – 7” (Sand)
Jazz Baroque Quintet – Princess Mary Elliot – S/T (Telemusic)
Ernest Jones & the Gospel Stars – Death Is Following You – 7” (API Gospel)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

{closing theme} Lotus – Tye – Lotus (Reynolds)

Best Of 2022: Top 5 45s

{Update – 4-21-23} Y’all…it’s been an extra long minute since these were promised, for the second year in a row! But the wait will soon be over and I’ll have them all up very very very soon! 100% promise this time!

Best of 2022: Top 5 LPs

{Update – 4-21-23} Y’all…it’s been an extra long minute since these were promised, for the second year in a row! But the wait will soon be over and I’ll have them all up very very very soon! 1000% promise this time!

Best of 2022: Favorite Artwork From The Past Year’s “Digs”

Was doing my best to start 2023 on the “good foot,” as it were, but got stuck in the proverbial mire and that delayed what I’d wanted to get started on the 3rd…But, even if things don’t work out the way you think they should, what’s most important is that they work out. And so, to begin this week’s “Best Of” posts, here’s some of the best, weirdest, wildest, and most gorgeous artwork that was featured on records that I picked up, in stores and online, in the past year.

Dig Deep: Kathy McCord – S/T – CTI (1970)

Kathy McCord – Rainbow Ride
Kathy McCord – Take Away This Pain
Kathy McCord – Candle Waxing
Kathy McCord – Velvet Smile

2022 has been a bit of wild ride, certainly haven’t posted here as much as I would have wanted, but I am a sucker for tradition, and one of the remaining traditions we have here at Melting Pot is to post up the last record I added to my collection for the year.  As has often been the case, my last trip to a record store this year was to Burbank’s Atomic. In past years, I’d dig through the whole of the store and spend hours looking through all of the bins for something I’ve never heard.  But that was not the mood I was in to close out 2022.  A lot of this year has been about going for things that I really want.  As a consequence of that, while I’ve had years where I bought more total records, I’m fairly confident that I’ve never spent as much on records as I have this year.  2023 is gonna be about being considerably more frugal, but to close out this year, I had my mind solely focused on the legendary wall at Atomic and perusing the rarest of rares up there.

I’d been in Atomic two weeks before, but without my phone, and so I didn’t get info on a few wall records that I’d never seen before.  Two weeks later, of course, those records I was eyeing were all gone, along with 30-40% of the other records that were there.  But, as this post attests, clearly there were some things up there that I was able to bring home, including the very first record on CTI, the debut & sole album of Kathy McCord.

As is the case with that Flow record that I posted about a couple years ago, these earliest records on CTI sound NOTHING like the Jazz fusion sounds the label became known for throughout the 1970s. They all have a bit of mystery about them because they so rarely turn up in the wild, and when they do, even seasoned record nerds don’t recognize them. McCord is hyped as a “new contemporary folk artist,” on the cover, but “folk” is not how I would describe the best songs on this album. There’s a bit of country twangy, some soulful horns, snappy drums, psychedelic guitar licks, and the extraordinary instrument that is McCord’s voice bringing it all together. The comparison isn’t entirely apt (except perhaps on “Candle Waxing” which features the flute of CTI stalwart Hubert Laws), but there are times where this album reminds me of Linda Perhacs’ Parallelograms, another album from the same period that people by and large really couldn’t fully get with, but has found a following here in the 21st century. That album is sometimes described as “psychedelic folk,” and I suppose that could be apt for this album to, but it also feels a bit limiting when listening to these songs…There’s more I want to say about this record, but it’s still super new to my ears and it’s NYE, so right now I’m gonna get some grub, and get cozy, and give this one many spins into the night…

Moods In Free Time Vol. 34: Joy II

Now, you may not believe this dear reader, especially if you’ve been hanging around this spot for a while, but this time around, the fact that it took damn near two months to post this final Moods In Free Time on Artform Radio & WorldwideFM doesn’t deal with any personal PTSD or issues with depression. In fact, I’d actually hoped that I’d have some really good news to share, about where I’d be either taking the show to next or where I’d be back on the radio. But, that good news has yet to materialize, and with 2022 almost over (as well as the Fall semester at CSULB) it felt like the time was right to finally say goodbye to this particular chapter of my DJ life.

Back in October, we all said goodbye to our weekly/monthly excursions as part of the Artform Radio/WorldwideFM family. The end was a bit sudden, and certainly not at all what any of us would have wanted, but as I was thinking about the final show, I didn’t want to dwell on any negative or sad emotions. Instead, I decided to take it back to the beginning, and return to the mood of our very first show, Joy, and play tunes that had sparked joy in my life recently and for many many years. Given that I had never played the song that inspired the name of the show, it felt like the right time to finally play Booker Little’s “Moods In Free Time,” to start the show, but from there most of the tunes (shared in one single set) are things that are fairly recent to my collection, but have given me immense joy to add to it and to listen to since they found a home in my home.

It’s also given me immense joy to be a part of Artform Radio and WorldwideFM for the close to two years that I was. Having the opportunity to do a show like this has been a joy and a privilege, something entirely different than what I’ve done throughout my long career in radio. As I implied at the start of this post, this “last” show is not truly an end. Moods In Free Time will carry on in some form or fashion, even if it’s just here on Melting Pot. But, in addition to the past two months, I’m gonna take a good amount of time before the show returns, but I promise, return it shall, and at some point in 2023. Until then, enjoy these sounds and all the rest in our 34 shows for Artform Radio & WorldwideFM. May they fill you with as much joy as they filled me in bringing them to you…Peace & Bright Moments to you all.

Moods In Free Time – Vol. 34: Joy II

Playlist – Moods In Free Time 034: Joy II
{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

Booker Little – Moods In Free Time – Out Front (Candid)
Denny Zeitlin – The Wizard – The Name Of This Terrain (Now-Again)
Harvey Mandel – The Snake – Cristo Redentor (Phillips)
Bobby Walker – Can’t Stop Lovin’ You – This Is Walker Country (STS)
Cortex – Troupeau Bleu – Troupeau Bleu (Disques Esperance)
Lotus – Lotus: 1st-3rd Impressions – A Way Of Life (Reynolds)
Rome Sithammarat – Sao New Look – Pai Ban Khun Ar (Double Rabbits)
David Astri – Safe and Sound – Do It Right (Award)
Googoosh – Talagh – Googosh (Finders Keepers)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

{closing theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It! (Columbia)

Dig Deep…For Matthew Africa: Hunt’s Determination Band – Get Your Act Together! – Earwax (1978)

Hunt’s Determination Band – No. 1 Lady
Hunt’s Determination Band – Get Your Act Together
Hunt’s Determination Band – Thinking Of You

Today would have been Matthew Africa’s 51st Birthday and every year around this time we pay tribute to Matthew, a singular influence on my musical sensibilities, here on Melting Pot. This one is one of the handful of albums that I own that originally came from Matthew’s collection, but it first got put on my radar after MKA shared “No. 1 Lady” on his own blog back in 2009.

There’s not really a lot of information I’ve got on Hunt’s Determination Band. I know they hailed from Detroit and released two records in quick succession in ’77 & ’78, both of which feature “No. 1 Lady,” but in very different versions. Having heard them both, I feel like this one is the superior of the two, mostly because of the addition of clavinet and also because of what I call the “No. 1” breakdown that just hits better in this version.

When I heard it back then (and every time I hear it now) I loved absolutely everything about the song, and when he posted it I noted that I was going to play it in LA to bring “a little Africa to the people,” to which Matthew responded how he wished he could bring it live and direct. My gigs became few and far between in the immediately ensuing years, and I don’t think Matthew ever came down to DJ before his passing. Reading those messages between us, ten years after his passing was quite a trip.

But what really tripped me out, going back to his original post (which I am so very thankful is still available on the internets) was that it came exactly one day before I launched my own website! I wasn’t able to get every album of Matthew’s that I wanted when his collection was sold off, but the few records I did get I cherish, and listening to this one (as well as the additional tunes I’ve put up from this album) reminds me that the next time I get to play some funk for the people, I’ll definitely have to play this one…for MKA, always. Peace be with you brother…

Moods In Free Time Vol. 33: Raucous

I’d been thinking about doing a show just filled with rock breaks for some time, as I do love them so (as I mentioned in the prior post), but the mood took a bit of time to sort out. Originally I was going to use “Bombastic,” but when I actually sat down and looked at the definition, I realized just how swayed I had been by Shaggy’s iconic song. While it seemed like it would have been perfect for a show featuring brash, loud songs, the actual definition is “high sounding, but with little meaning…inflated,” and that was quite the opposite of how I felt about these songs. So the search was on for another mood that would fit this collection of heavy tunes. Fate smiled on me when I finally made my way to “Raucous,” which I often pronounce as “Rock-Cuss,” (or in those moments where my Southern drawl makes an appearance, “Rawk-usss”) and thus all was again right in the world and this show was born. There are many Rock breaks, from every sub-genre of Rock’n’Roll, but I feel like these are some of the hardest and heaviest, and that’s why they made it into the show. Hope y’all dig.

Moods In Free Time: 033 – Raucous

Playlist – Moods In Free Time 033: Raucous
{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

Black Sabbath – Behind The Wall Of Sleep – Black Sabbath (WB)
Power Of Zeus – Sorcerer Of Isis – The Gospel According To Zeus (Rare Earth)
Hush – Grand Prix – Rough, Tough & Ready (Wizard)
Jeffrey Simmons – Naked Angels Theme – Naked Angels: Original Soundtrack (Straight)
Edge – Lady Of Darkness – Edge (Nose)
Marc Hamilton – C’Est Que Tout Va Bien – Marc Hamilton (Trans-Canada)
Mount Rushmore – Toe Jam – ’69 (Dot)
~~~~ Break ~~~~

Mountain – Long Red – Mountain Live (Windfall)
Python Lee Jackson – In A Broken Dream – 7” (Eurogram)
Edip Akbayram – Daglar Dagladi Beni – Edip Abayram (Sayan)
Hard Stuff – No Witch At All – Bulletproof (Purple)
Fancy – Wild Thing – Wild Thing (Big Tree)

~~~~ Break ~~~~

{Closing theme) Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It! (Columbia)