Soul-Sides.com

RANDOM PILE: RICK HOLMES + ROY AYERS

O-Dub — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:54:34 +0000

Rick Holmes: Remember to Remember + The Unknowledgeable One
From 12″ (Gold Mink, 1981)

Picked this up at Record Jungle the other week: a really strange 12″ produced by Roy Ayers, featuring L.A. radio DJ Rick Holmes. Some of you might already be familiar with Holmes since his voice graces the Cannonball Adderley Love, Sex, and the Zodiac album but I didn’t realize he went onto record something with Ayers, a decade later.

Musically, this is vintage post-disco Ayers; very groovy and soulful. Holmes though… He’s ok in small nuggets, like on that Love, Sex and the Zodiac album but for a nearly 10 minute song? It’s a bit much to take even if I do like what Holmes is trying to do on “Remember to Remember” especially with his roll-call of great artists and historical figures.

SUMMER SONGS 2013: CHOIMATIC

O-Dub — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:33:27 +0000

(Editor’s note: It’s time to bring back the Summer Songs after two seasons off. Our first guest is Moe Choi aka DJ Choimatic. I’ve known Moe for years, back when he was a big presence in the NY hip-hop club scene but in more recent years, Moe has branched out into everything from swanked-out weddings to Fashion Week runway shows to, you know, DJing parities on the roof of The Met. He’s got Billy Danze’s number on speed dial and the inside lane on YSL couture; that’s how he rolls. For his summer song post, Moe takes it back to ’90 and the era of the Wu-Tang Super Models. –O.W.)

George Michael: Freedom 90
From Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (Columbia/Epic, 1990)

I lived with cousins for a summer when I was a kid. I credit a lot of my musical taste and knowledge to my cousin Eugene, who is 4 years older then me. He was up on The Smiths, Prince, Lightning Seeds, New Order, George Michael etc. and as a kid, I gravitated to his tastes on some “cooler, older lord” tip and that included “Freedom 90.”

I watched this video over and over as a kid especially since it set off my Linda Evangelista obsession. This was the era of the super models clique…Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford, aka the “we don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day” crew. To have all these breezys at the top of their game, in the same video, was some next level ish: they were the Wu-Tang Clan of the Model Game (with Linda as GZA. To this day, she is still my favorite model). I discovered “sexy” in music for the first time through “Freedom 90.” Fast forward to 2013, it still holds the weight. It’s aged magnificently.

It’s also my all-time favorite flip of “Funky Drummer” (sorry hip-hop purists).¹ Sonically, the way the piano glides atop the drum loop is some amazing shit.

Also, as a working DJ, this is one of those cuts that I can play at almost any gig. It’s safe enough to run at a corporate function and sexy enough for a fashion event. You can easily drop this in a club setting or a secret, after-hours loft party. The build-up and chorus is epic to run as the last song at a wedding yet it’s not overplayed like Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” Black people, white people, Asian people, straights, gays, bisexuals, asexuals…everyone seems to melt when I throw this on. The energy, vibe, nostalgia this song invokes is magic. In other words, it’s the perfect summer song.

Big shout to Lauren Stout, Jenny Mac, Ise White, Nuna Kim, Natalie Blacker, Courtney Warco, Madonna, The Statue of Liberty & all the other fly womens in my life. Y’all form my super model clique. [insert jukebox explosion scene here]

P.S. I got 3 of them t-shirts.

Written by Moe Choi

I’m also not mad at “Mantronix’s “Fresh is the Word”.” ↩

GO SEE THIS: 20 FEET FROM STARDOM

O-Dub — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:32:18 +0000

Opens this Friday.

DARONDO: DIDN’T HE TREAT US RIGHT?

O-Dub — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:30:54 +0000

Darondo (né William Pulliam) passed away today at the age of 67. His single, “Didn’t I” remains one of my favorite Bay Area records (and really, just an all-time great slow jam).

I interviewed Darondo back in 2006 for Wax Poetics and they just reprinted the article on their site. Here’s an excerpt:

The name “Darondo” is so unique, it’s hard to forget. But for many years, all people knew of him was only that: a name on a faded label. In his brief recording career, the Bay Area native only released three 7-inch singles, all in the late ’60s and early ’70s. In the music world, only a select circle of sweet-soul aficionados and Bay Area music collectors had any awareness of his existence, though he held his own notoriety in local cable television and, shall we say, “other” pursuits.

The thing about Darondo’s music though—especially the sublime “Didn’t I,” his best-known single—is that once you hear it, you crave more. That curiosity is largely how the Bay Area native has resurfaced after thirty years. Ubiquity recently released Let My People Go—less an anthology and more of a long-delayed debut album that combines his six songs on single plus an additional three songs taken from a previously unreleased reel of recordings from the same era. At last, Darondo is finally emerging out of obscurity, bringing his small but intriguing legacy with him.

Read the rest here.

Bonus

I forgot I had these…Justin Torres, who was a huge force behind Darondo’s rediscovery, recorded a few tracks with Darondo live and shared them with me. I shared these, in turn, on the site back in 2006 and I’m bringing ‘em back:

Darondo, recorded live by Justin Torres (2005)
Summertime
What’s Going On/Mercy Mercy Me
Didn’t I

And here’s some clips from Darondo’s old local cable show:

(Title photo by Oliver Wang, 2008)

HOLY GHOST POSTS: FEEL THE ETERNAL RUSH

O-Dub — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:35:46 +0000

Arthur Blessitt/The Eternal Rush: God’s Love
From Soul Session At His Place (Creative Sound, 1969)

So Blessitt is an…interesting guy and this album was recorded during what I can only imagine was a really heady, psychedelic era of Hollywood history when Blessitt used to run a nightclub called The Soul Session.¹ Among the folks who used to come in was a group called The Eternal Rush, whose lead singer Jim McPheeters is who you hear here. Really trippy, groovy stuff here, especially the mix of acoustic and electric piano. The rest of the album is whatever, but this one song is pretty amazing to me.

How could NOT want to go there? ↩

THE FAB FESTIVALS TAKE ON TYRONE

O-Dub — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:32:56 +0000

Los Fabulosos Festivals: Can I Change My Mind?
From 7″ (Onda Nueva, 1970)

I first posted this song over four years ago; it was left off (I think) the Panama 3 comp by Soundway and the compiler, Beto, was kind enough to share a copy of the song with me. Four years later and I couldn’t help but throw down to buy one of the scarce copies to come available (not the least of which, a really clean one).

It’s no surprise that I’m a huge fan of this Tyrone Davis tune so it says a lot that this cover is probably my favorite cover of it. The way it opens is so monster; it floors me every time. Honestly, I’m amazed this wasn’t comped already – it’d definitely have a starring role on any covers mix I might work on in the future (hmmm…say…)

HOLY GHOST POSTS: HENRY JACKSON GIVE THANKS

O-Dub — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:08:52 +0000

The Henry Jackson Company: I’m So Thankful (Extended Intro/Bridge edit)
From S/T (Gospel Truth, 1973)

This Jackson LP has one of easier gospel funk cuts to track down; a slick, Southern soul influenced cooker (this is on Gospel Truth, which means that the rhythm section was likely drawn from Stax/Volt session players). The original LP version does have a little breakbeat to open it plus that groovin’ bridge but in case I ever wanted to DJ out with this, I did a quick/dirty edit to extend the intro break into 8 bars instead of 4 and did the same with the bridge. It doesn’t sound forced (hopefully). I call it…enhanced.

BLOWOUT COMB GIVEAWAY

O-Dub — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 06:55:16 +0000

Just another reminder that I’m getting old but Digable Planets’ sophomore album, Blowout Comb is almost 20 years old (damn!) and just ahead of its anniversary, Light in the Attic has commissioned a full vinyl reissue of the album. Included is a special embossed cover and 18″×24″ fold-out poster plus a liner notes booklet by Larry Mizell Jr. (They have some cool white and lavender special vinyl versions but the white are out and the lavender are for LITA subscribers exclusively).

LITA is generous enough to sponsor a copy of the album for us to giveaway. ~~To enter, send an email to us, subject line “DP me!” and include the answers to these following questions:~~

We’re done with the giveaway, thanks to all who entered!

1. Which of the album’s songs samples this Grant Green tune?

2. What is Butterfly’s new group called?

3. If one time is for your mind and three times is their Brooklyn dimes, what is two times for?

Pleasure…

HOLY GHOST POSTS: CHARLES JOHNSON HITS A HIGH NOTE

O-Dub — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 05:57:17 +0000

Charles Johnson and the Dynamic Gaylarks: God Got His Eyes On You
From 7″ (Richburg, 197?)

The slow build on this is fantastic…I’m not sure if Johnson’s falsetto isn’t just a little pitchy but you can’t ask for a more dramatic crescendo to kicking off the rhythm section to launch into what’s essentially a crossover-style gospel jam. This one’s out of Newark, NJ.¹

By the way, I have an extra, stock copy of this 7″ if anyone’s interested. Drop me an email. ↩

NEW CONTENDER FOR “WORST LP COVER” TITLE?

O-Dub — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 07:38:17 +0000

From Recordpusher.com’s FB page.