In Heavy Rotation: El Gran Fellove – Mango Mangue – Vampi Soul

El Gran indeed!
El Gran indeed!

El Gran Fellove – El Jacarandoso

I’d never heard of Cuban singer El Gran Fellove until I received this collection of his music from Vampi Soul. Most of the tracks on this 21 song retrospective I would classify as mambo, but towards the end as the sounds shift into the 1960s, things get subtly funky as on this track “El Jacarandoso”…Que Sabroso!

Under Review: José James – Black Magic – Brownswood

2nd album from versatile vocalist José James
2nd album from versatile vocalist José James

José James – Code
James – The Greater Good

{Update: José James recently came to LA and performed on Morning Becomes Eclectic at KCRW…You are very welcome}

Just in time for Valentine’s Day we have a new record, all about L.O.V.E., from vocalist José James. I’ve been listening to this new record from James for well over a month now, trying to figure out why I don’t like it as much as the first record. That’s not to say that Black Magic isn’t a very good record, it certainly is. If it wasn’t a good record, I wouldn’t even bother posting about it (cause really at this point in the game, who wants to read about the shit I DON’T want to hear).

As a sophomore release, it is a very solid record and one that by the end of the year might even be in my Top 10. However, James’ debut, The Dreamer, is one of my fave records of this decade, a nothing short of stunning debut for a jazz vocalist. So while it might have been that anything that James released would never surpass that album, what’s been nagging me about this record didn’t seem to be about the usual sophomore jinx.

It also didn’t seem to be about the change of direction on Black Magic. Here James is no longer interested in just showing off his jazz chops and he streches out and into a variety of genres, including multiple tracks produced by Flying Lotus (such as “Code” posted above). Though I prefer James’ jazz work, I don’t begrudge him showing off his versatility, so that wasn’t it either.

The answer finally hit me about 20 minutes into washing dishes earlier today (where I generally reach most of my epiphanies), the issue is the use of repetition, but only in certain ways. When it’s repetition based around a theme, as on “Code” or “Love Conversation” the sun shines through. On other tracks such as “Made For Love” or “Lay You Down” the use of the exact same phrases repeated again and again gives James’ vocals a conventional sound that seemed to escape them with virtually everything else of his I’d heard up to this point.

As with his debut, virtually all of these tracks are ruminations on Love, though here James’ seems focused more on a momentary seduction instead of something more everlasting, which I suppose fits the more “contemporary” sounds of this album and more contemporary attitudes around love. I’m hopeful that soon enough James, with that impossibly smooth baritone, will get back to producing music that is not only timely, but truly timeless. As it stands, Black Magic is a nice portrait of an artist growing into his own as a performer and a solid addition to the musical landscape of 2010.

Dig Deep: Toni Tornado – B.R. 3 – Odeon (1971)

Maybe the funkiest record I own...B.R.3
Maybe the funkiest record I own...B.R.3

Toni Tornado – Me Libertei
Toni Tornado – O Reporte Informou
Toni Tornado – Uma Vida

There are funky records and then there are records that are so funky, “funky” just doesn’t even seem to capture just how incredibly funky the record truly is. Toni Tornado’s B.R.3 is one of those records. A record so insanely funky that I hesitate to even post on it for fear someone will seriously injure themselves listening to these tracks.

I first heard “Me Libertei” from this record as an unlisted track on a myspace page. The DJ who ran the page was being purposely mysterious in not supplying the track info, but being the stubborn kinda fella that I am, I spent the next two or three months trying to figure out what the track was and who performed it. I had a feeling it might be Toni Tornado, just based on my knowledge of Brazilian soul singers. The style of the vocals was a bit too rough to be Tim Maia and too deep to be anyone other than Tornado or maybe Gerson King Combo. Eventually, as is often the case since he has a copy of every record in creation, Matthew Africa was able to identify that it was indeed Toni Tornado and that it came from this record, released originally in 1971.

As far as I know B.R.3 was Tornado’s debut. I believe that prior to this record he had worked primarily as an actor, which I think is probably what he’s more famous for in Brazil. Tornado strikes me as sorta like a Brazilian Joe Tex (though his use of grunts is all JB), a larger than life character who straddles the border between sincerely gritty and slightly campy over the top performance. This record, along with the follow up from 1973 that includes “Podes Crer, Amizade,” are the exemplars by which all Brazilian funk records should be judged. I’d actually stack this record up against most every American funk record (emphasis on record, not 45s) from this period of time… it is seriously just that good.

“Me Libertei” was the track that hooked me and unsuprisingly it’s the best track on the album. A heavy mix of Brazilian funk, so clearly influenced by sounds from the US but sounding completely unique and novel. The way all the elements come together in that first minute before Tornado’s vocals come in, with those monster drums, that high pitched guitar, punchy organ notes, earthquaking bass lines and the layered horns, is one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve ever had, it seems impossible that a song could be this good for the full run of it’s 3 and 1/2 minutes, but it is. Arguably the deepest and funkiest song I’ve ever heard…EVER.

“O Reporte Informou” has almost a proto-rap feeling to it, in the way Tornado just spits out the lyrics at the beginning. It’s almost as if it was ’81 instead of ’71 and Tornado has become a Brazilian Melle Mel. “Uma Vida” has this epic quality at the start before it gets just plain old funky about mid-way in. It’s just sooo so good, it’s silly. Really though, aside from “Me Libertei,” which is a number #1 stunner, I could have chosen any of the other 11 tracks and had just as many superlatives to throw around. There are few records that I’ve heard that can match this one for sheer funkocity. B.R.3 is 32+ minutes of pure Brazilian Soul Power and I am very thankful to be able to bring you a slice.

Cheers,

Michael

Pound For Pound: “Think” vs. “Funky Drummer”

I’ve been thinking alot about samples of late as I prepare a post for KCRW’s Top 5 blog on “Most Iconic Hip-Hop Samples.” If you’re gonna put together a list of important samples, you figure it would have to include at least one track from James Brown. But which one should it be? In my mind there are two JB related tracks that stand above the many songs of his that have been sampled, “The Funky Drummer” and “Think (About It)” from Lyn Collins.

Both of these tracks feature absolutely monster breaks, both have been sampled countless times, but pound for pound which of these two James Brown related cuts is the more iconic, the more important sample in Hip-Hop history?

Just in case you need to be reminded…first up is Lyn Collins “Think.” Such a classic song, from start to finish, but the breaks at 1:22 & 2:15 in the video below make it an all-timer.

Probably THE #1 song people think of when they think of the break from “Think” has to be Rob Base & DJ E.Z.Rock “It Takes Two”

Here is one of my favorite tracks that uses a different break within the same song, Slick Rick’s “I Shouldn’t Have Done It”

On the other hand we have James Brown’s “Funky Drummer,” quite possibly the most sampled song of all-time. So many different samples, from all those grunts from JB, the “1-2-3-4 Get It” call just before the drums hit (at about 5:20 in the vid below), and then there are those drums, courtesy Clyde Stubblefield…

In terms of a song that samples “Funky Drummer,” this one might be the only one to rival “It Takes Two” in universal appeal.

This track, Eric B. & Rakim’s “Lyrics of Fury,” is probably my favorite use of those massively funky drums.

I could go on and on with this for days…question is what do YOU think? Which is the more important and more iconic sample???

In Heavy Rotation: Simone White – Yakiimo – Honest Jon’s

New Music from Simone White
New Music from Simone White

Simone White – Your Stop

Simone White had a minor hit a few years ago with the lovely “Beep Beep Song.” Though she can sometimes sound a bit too much like Chan Marshall (which come to think of it is never really a bad thing since I love Chan Marshall, it’s just an issue of originality I suppose), I’m quite fond of her sound. This record was released a while ago, but I’ve only gotten to hear it in the last month or so. It would have been a near impossible feat to have topped 2007’s I Am The Man, but this record is a solid follow-up, full of many bittersweet and melancholy songs.

Dig Deep: Horace Andy – Exclusively – Solid Groove/Wackie’s (1982)

A Voice Like No Other
A Voice Like No Other

Horace Andy – Musical Episode
Horace Andy – Eating Mess
Horace Andy – Live In The City (aka Spying Glass)

With the release of the first Massive Attack album in 7 years, the unique and sublime vocals of Horace Andy are once again on a lot of our minds. Though there are many other Jamaican vocalists who seem to be more beloved (Gregory Isaacs and Toots Hibbert for example), Andy has been one of the few to remain relevant throughout the changing times, primarily because of his work with Bristol’s Finest (both Massive Attack and Alpha). In listening to Andy’s output over the last 30+ years though, he’s basically been doing the exact same thing he’s always done, sing with great emotion and in a style that is instantly recognizable. It’s also a style that’s damn near impossible to imitate, not just because of his falsetto but because of that warble in his phrasing that sounds like a natural echo effect.

Exclusively comes from a set of very productive sessions with Bullwackie in the early 1980s. The record Dance Hall Style, which many consider Andy’s best work, also comes from these sessions. Having heard both (reissues in both cases, never seen originals of either), I feel like Exclusively is the better collection. There is some overlap (“Let’s Live In Love,” “Stop the Fuss,” “Lonely Woman,” and “Spying Glass” here called “Live In the City”) between both records, but aside from “Money, Money” the sides are superior on this set, including “Bob Lives On,” the heartfelt tribute to Bob Marley, only recently departed at the time of recording.

“Musical Episode” is one of a couple tracks that really stand out here. I first heard this through a 12″ on Cool Chris’ Dis-joint label in 2003. I still find it hard to believe this was recorded in 1982. The groove at the start is so heavy it sounds like it’s from at least 5 or 6 years earlier. A lot of times with Jamaican tracks, there might be a solid intro but then the rhythm gets conventional real fast. This one stays in the pocket all the way throughout, so very tight. “Eating Mess” is another funky reggae number, with great guitar and organ lines in the right channel. It’s also a spot on examination of the problems with food and water faced within the poorest countries.

“Living In the City” is of course “Spying Glass” which Andy also sang on Massive Attack’s classic Protection LP in the 1990s. Back then I don’t think my ears were prepared for Andy’s style (it really took his rehash of “You Are My Angel” on Mezzanine for my love affair with Andy to begin), but now I appreciate this take on urban isolation and intolerance for the Rasta. I’m thankful to have tracked this one down and more than grateful that we still get to marvel at the unique vocal style of Horace Andy’s through his continued work.

Cheers,

Michael

Breakdown: February 3rd on KCRW

It was especially nice to host this show, partially because I haven’t been on the air for almost a month (and won’t be back on until March), but most importantly to be able to do my part to help raise funds for the station (this Pledge Drive goes on until Feb. 8th, but you can always pledge online here). A healthy part of our budget comes just from listener donations, so I’m hopeful if you do listen to my show or any of the shows at KCRW, you’ll consider becoming a member.

Another reason it was especially nice to do this show is that I was able to pay tribute to one of the greatest records of all time, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, which is celebrating its 45th Anniversary this month. I play it from start to finish (with a little bit of a break on part 4) at the beginning of hour #2. As I mention during the show, hearing “A Love Supreme” at Midnight, virtually every night, growing up in Atlanta on WCLK had an extraordinary influence on me as a DJ and listener. I feel blessed to have grown up at the time I did with the radio I did and know from experience that that landscape has changed, perhaps irrevocably. This is why stations like KCRW are so very important and why your support of them, so they can continue innovative and daring programming, is very essential.

Stiff Little Fingers – Wait And See – Nobody’s Heroes
Jay Reatard – There Is No Sun – Watch Me Fall
Angus & Julia Stone – On The Road – Down The Way
Beach House – Silver Soul – Teen Dream
Clark – Absence – Totem’s Flare

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Charlotte Gainsbourg – La Collectionneuse – IRM
Midlake – The Courage of Others – The Courage of Others
David Bowie – Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola – David Bowie (40th Anniversary Edition)
Bei Bei & Shawn Lee feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow – Willingness – Into the Wind
Alice Coltrane – Blue Nile – P’tah The El Daoud

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Quadron – Jeans – Quadron
Destruments – Gitchyo Self Togetha – Shaped By The Sound
Jay Electronica – Exhibit C – Exihibt C
John Coltrane – Lonnie’s Lament – Crescent

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John Coltrane – A Love Supreme – A Love Supreme

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Massive Attack – Rush Minute – Heligoland
RJD2 feat. Phonte Coleman – The Shining Path – Colossus
Baaba Maal feat. Sabina Sciubba – Internacional – Television
Cumbia Moderna De Soledad – Shacalao – Black Man’s Cry: The Inspiration of Fela Kuti
Skeletons – 50 Degrees – Smile

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Jose James – Black Magic – Black Magic
D.R. Hooker – Forge Your Own Chains – Forge Your Own Chains: Heavy Psychedelic Ballads & Dirges
Spain – Hang Your Head Down Low – I’m Still Free
Goliath – Man’s Temptation – Goliath

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Gil Scott Heron – I’m New Here – I’m New Here
Simone White – Without A Sound – Yakiimo
Family of the Year – Summer Girl – Songbook
Vivian Girls – He’s Gone – Single

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The Bamboos – Keep Me In Mind – 4
Little Chris – I Thank You Lord – Good God: Born Again Funk
Caribou – Odessa – Single
Soul Jazz Orchestra – Manaya – Rising Sun

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In Heavy Rotation: V/A – Forge Your Own Chains – Now-Again

Seriously deep collection from Now-Again
Seriously deep collection from Now-Again

Sensational Saints – How Great Thou Art

This comp. has been out for a good 3 months, but I’ve only recently gotten a copy of it. It’s pretty much a no-brainer that anything with the subtitle “Heavy Psychedelic Ballads and Dirges” would be on my playlist, but this is a really good compilation of band’s that probably never sold 1,000 copies of their material before. But they each have that certain sound that ears attuned to Hip-Hop aesthetics just love. Here the Sensationsal Saints do their own righteous thing over a beat that is essentially a version of “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

Added bonus on the comp, the notes are super deep, with background on each of the artists, an account of how the comp. came to be, (basically J-rocc buzzing through a D.R. Hooker record Egon was playing at work, focusing on the title track and saying “That’s the loop right there”) and an interesting take from DJ Shadow on the use of horns in psych music being as annoying to psych purists as fuzzy guitars in funk are to funk purists…I guess that explains why I’m not a purist.

Breakdown: The Melting Pot Radio Hour: Episode 3

wedding

This week’s Melting Pot Radio Hour was pushed back because of the start of the school year at CSU-Long Beach, and getting into new work routines. Additionally, KCRW is having it’s winter subscription drive, and since I was at the studio helping out with some behind the scenes work, I was able to record the breaks so this almost sounds professional (though I’ll keep the econo tag since it’s all mixed together from home and not a proper studio).

This week’s show focuses on some tracks from what I call the “Wedding Tapes.” As I explain in the show, back in 2004 I sold almost all of my collection, about 2,000 records to help fund our wedding. In those pre-Serato days I luckily had the foresight to record much of the better tracks onto about 40 minidiscs, thus…the Wedding Tapes. A couple of things are pretty rare, most of it is just really solid music, today mostly focusing on Breakbeat heavy tracks. Enjoy the show and please please please send me some feedback via michael[at]meltingpotblog.com or on the comments page here.

Melting Pot Radio Hour: Econo Edition #3 Set 1
Melting Pot Radio Hour: Econo Edition #3 Set 2
Melting Pot Radio Hour: Econo Edition #3 Set 3

Playlist:

Gene Harris – Listen Here – Gene Harris Of The Three Sounds [Blue Note]

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Andrew White – Who Got The Fonk? – Fonk Update [Andrew’s Music]
The 9th Creation – Bubblegum – Falling In Love [Rite Track/Pye]
Junior Mance – Thank you (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – With A Lotta Help From My Friends [Atlantic]
Tim Maia – Voce Fingu – Tim Maia (1970) [Polydor]
Joe Farrell – Upon This Rock – Upon This Rock [CTI]

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Niagara – Sangandongo part 2 – Niagara [United Artists]
Leonard Rosenham – March of the Apes – Original Soundtrack: Beneath The Planet of the Apes [20th Century Fox]
Kain – The Blue Guerilla – The Blue Guerilla [Juggernaut]
Little Richard – The Rill Thing – The Rill Thing [Reprise]

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Freddi/Henchi & the Soulsetters – Funky To The Bone – Dance [Record Company]
The Chubukos – House of Rising Funk – 7” [Mainstream]
Port Authority – Port Authority Bus Blues – The Port Authority [US Navy]
Rusty Bryant – The Fireeater – The Fireeater [Prestige]

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John Klemmer – Free Soul – Blowin’ Gold [Cadet Concept]

Dig Deep: The MC5 – Back In The USA – Atlantic (1970)

mc5cover

The MC5 – Looking At You
The MC5 – Teenage Lust
The MC5 – Let Me Try

In my book you’d be hard pressed to find a better year than 1970 in American Rock’n’Roll. That year saw a lot of mighty fine releases, including Loaded, the final Velvet Underground record and Lick My Decals Off, from Captain Beefheart, but in my mind three stand out, particularly for their influence on hard rockin’ music in the ensuing decades. I’ve already covered one of the records in this trinity, the Flamin’ Groovies’ Flamingo, the other is from the Stooges, Funhouse, and then this one rounds out the set, Back In the U.S.A. by the Motor City Five.

After all that wildness on their debut live record, you might have expected “USA” to sound closer in spirit to the Stooges “Funhouse,” but with direction from first time producer John Landau, the band crafted something that must have been unexpected to many of their fans. A stripped down, lean sound that was real focused and a stark contrast to the washes of feedback and careless playing on Kick Out The Jams. However, of their three records, this one seems to capture all the myriad, seemingly contradictory, aspects of the band most fully, their love of 50s rock’n’roll and rhythm & blues (“Tutti Frutti,” and the title cut), radical politics (“American Ruse” and “The Human Being Lawnmower”), and good old-fashioned (well I guess not that old fashioned at the time) youthful hedonism (“Tonight,” and “Shakin’ Street”).

The Motor City 5
The Motor City 5

I think the first time I heard this record it was difficult for me to enjoy it, since “Kick Out The Jams” was my introduction and “High Times” was the second thing I heard. This record barely seemed like the same band. But over the years this one is the record that has my favorite MC5 tracks, especially “Looking At You,” which is my “Teenage Kicks,” just a perfect rock’n’roll song that I could listen to on repeat for a year and never grow tired. For the life of me though, I can’t explain why Wayne Kramer’s solos continually grab me. If I think about them they seem pretty simplistic, the first one just goes up and down the fretboard, no big whup, on the second one he basically just plays the same two notes for 15 seconds then some trilling and we’re back to feedback sustains, but how everything comes together within the context of that rhythm, Tyner’s vocals and that feedback on the sustains just drives me wild every single time. If we ever have kids, this will likely be the first song that they learn to sing (okay…maybe the second one after this).

“Teenage Lust” and “Let Me Try” follow each other on the album and present interesting counter-points. “Teenage Lust” is the quintessential sex-obsessed and sex-starved teenage anthem, where our hero only finds “release” once he starts to “shake my ass and sing in a rock’n’roll band.” Coming directly after all of that, it’s possible to take “Let Me Try” as insincere. It almost sounds like the subject of “Teenage Head” running game on some groupies, but (particularly spurred by my wife who absolutely adores “Let Me Try”), I refuse to be cynical about the sentiment and see it as one of the sweetest and most heartfelt rock songs of any time.

In recent years there have been a couple of reissues to include alternate takes from these sessions, including a superior version of “Shakin’ Street.” I’m hopeful that this record will one day get the kind of lavish boxed set that the Stooges’ Funhouse received in 2000. It certainly deserves it.

Cheers,

Michael

Added bonus, here are the boys “performing” “American Ruse” on the Lively Spot, which I believe was a Detroit area show. I just can’t imagine a similar song being played on a similar show in our contemporary cultural landscape, which probably speaks to how relevant “American Ruse” is after 40 years…

What Does It All Mean?: Jeff Buckley – “Lover You Should’ve Come Over”

jeff-buckley2

Driving home from work today, for whatever reason, this song from Jeff Buckley came to mind and I started thinking about it. Though it’s fairly clear what the subject of the song is, a man reflecting on a love he wishes he hadn’t lost, there have always been a couple of unanswered questions for me in regards to its lyrics.

For instance, is the funeral that he can see outside the window, does he know this person? Does the funeral spark the memory of the lover? Or, in a turn that would make the song extraordinarily tragic, is the funeral for his lover?

I’ve always wondered if that opening line relates to the title. I’ve often wondered if this “lover” is not just away from him and possibly with someone else, but is in fact dead and gone, never to return. I often interpret the “It’s Not Too Late” line as not being about the possibility that they can rekindle the love they once shared, but instead relating more to what the singer should have said when their love wanted to see them. I wonder if because their lover didn’t come over that night something terrible happened to them.

If that’s the case the series of lines where he sings “It’s Never Over,” (including maybe Buckley’s best lyric, that gorgeous line, “she is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever”) isn’t about a man trying to win back a former love, it’s more about someone who cannot forget the person they love, their love is never over, it is eternal. But since this lover will never return, the singer can only mourn and thirst for their love and dream about everything they would give up to have this person living again.

My body turns and yearns for a sleep that won’t ever come,
It’s never over, a kingdom for a kiss upon the shoulder,
It’s never over, all my riches for her smile when I step so soft against her,
It’s never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter,
It’s never over, she is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever

I’m sure having lost Jeff Buckley at such a young age clouds the way I hear this song. I can still remember the night I heard he had died, having to literally take a seat in the office at WRAS, sitting there thinking about how incredible, playful, and full of life he had been during a performance at our station a year or two before. Though Buckley had better vocal performances (“Hallelujah,” where he holds that note near the end for what seems like forever and a day still being one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard) and wrote better love songs (“Last Goodbye” and “Everybody Here Wants You” for example) “Lover” remains my favorite, perhaps because I can’t reconcile whether or not the subject of the song has a chance to reunite with his lover or if she’s really gone from him forever.

Jeff Buckley – “Love, You Should’ve Come Over” from Grace (1994)

Looking out the door I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water
Maybe I’m too young to keep good love from going wrong
But tonight you’re on my mind so, you never know

Broken down and hungry for your love but no way to feed it
Where are you tonight, child you know how much I need it
Too young to hold on and too old and to just break free and run

Sometimes a man gets carried away
He feels like he should be having his fun
Much too blind to see the damage he’s done
Sometimes a man must awake to find that really he has no one

So I’ll wait for you and I’ll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return
Oh will I ever learn
Oh lover, you should’ve come over
‘Cause it’s not too late

Lonely is the room, the bed is made, the open window lets the rain in
But, burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him

My body turns and yearns for a sleep that won’t ever come
It’s never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon the shoulder
It’s never over, all my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her
It’s never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
It’s never over, she is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever

But maybe I’m just too young
To keep good love from going wrong
Oh (5X) lover, you should’ve come over

Yes, I’ve been too young to hold on
I’m much too old to break free and run
Too deaf dumb and blind to see the damage I’ve done
Sweet lover you should’ve come over
Oh, but I’ll wait for you

Lover (8x) you should’ve come over,
Cause it’s not too late.

Dig Deep: Sugar Billy – Super Duper Love – Fast Track (1975)

Super Duper Funk thanks to Groove Merchant
Super Duper Funk thanks to Groove Merchant

Sugar Billy – Super Duper Love
Sugar Billy – Too Much Too Soon
Sugar Billy – Love Bug

The weekly love fest for San Francisco’s Groove Merchant continues here with this rare gem picked up there during a birthday induced shopping trip last year. To my knowledge (which is admittedly very limited) this is the only full-length record from “Sugar” Billy Garner (sometimes spelled Gardner). He did release a couple of exceptional 45s, “I Got Some” and one of my all-time favorite dance floor burners “Brand New Girl.” It’s rare for me to buy records post-1973, but when I was browsing the aisles, I couldn’t help but take note of this record. The salacious cover art alone should make this one a keeper, but one listen to virtually any of these tracks would easily convince even the most jaded funky ears that this one is a sure ’nuff stone cold keeper.

Full Gatefold of this Super Duper record
Full Gatefold of this Super Duper record

“Super Duper Love” enjoyed a bit of a revival thanks to Joss Stone’s cover (this excellent post on Funky 16 Corners discusses this song and the politics of soul covers). I prefer this full version to the 45 one, but regardless, I’d have to rank this near the top of my favorite mid-tempo funky songs, so infectious in its good spirit, in addition to that rock solid rhythm, you just can’t help but smile while you’re listening to it.

“Too Much Too Soon” is one of the most unique funk songs I’ve ever heard. Garner’s vocals are split between channels, but it’s like there are two different versions of the same song playing at the same time, with different lyrics, occasionally a call from one side that receives a response from the other side, it’s bizarre and totally brilliant. Plus the song is a total mack of a track. You might think with the title it’s a cautionary tale, like the Special’s “Too Much Too Young,” but Billy wants you to “give it up,” and “get yours” only he wants to make sure you “give it up slow and make ‘em beg for more.” The whole track is filled with nothing but gems of lines, exactly what you’d expect from a dude who looks like this.

Sugar Billy Big Pimpin'
Sugar Billy Big Pimpin'

For the third track, I could have chosen upbeat groovers like “Sugar Pie,” “Keep Movin’ On” or the closer “Believe In Me” (incidentally, what happens to Garner mid way through “Believe In Me”? For a couple minutes he’s just singing “naw, naw, naw” like he’s in the middle of some very sloppy dining or perhaps sex, either way, shit is a little freaky), but instead I wanted to bring you “Love Bug,” a super sweet slower tempo soul number, with an extra sweet spoken passage in the middle where Sugar Billy warns you about the perils of falling in love. Hopefully someday soon I’ll be able to bring you more from Sugar Billy, provided I do track down his other 45s. I have a suspicion that if that does happen, you’ll have a certain record store in the Lower Haight to thank for it.

Cheers,

Michael