soul sides

HOUSEKEEPING + A PODCAST PROPOSAL

2009-11-18T13:23:00.001-08:00

~~First of all~~, thanks to everyone for supporting the site by buying copies of my recent mixes. I have exactly four sets left. If you're interested, email me soon; I don't plan on repressing these unless demand suddenly skyrockets.

(All gone, thanks again!)

For everyone else - I mailed out your CDs today so you should get them before week's end (except for those overseas). Hope you enjoy 'em!

As for the proposal...one of the podcasts I admire is Coverville. I don't always share their taste in music but I like the concept and more importantly, I like that they sometimes build their show around listener requests.

It's almost been a year since my last "request lines" post but that was for a physical post and I want to try putting together a podcast instead, built around 8-10 songs.

So yes, I'm asking for people to throw their ideas in the comments below and I'll try to pluck one out that meets my fancy and spend the next week or so assembling it. Remember, this should be an idea that easily lends itself to a 8-10 song playlist. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to working on this!

7 x 7 + 12

2009-11-15T23:44:00.000-08:00

Johnny Holiday: Nobody Loves Me But My Mama
From 7" (Bold, 196?)

The Combinations: Bump Ball
From 7" (RCA Victor, 196?)

Fruko: Langaruto
From 7" (Fuentes, 197?)

Orquesta Zodiac: Tremendo Problema
From 7" (Costeño, 1972)

Jimmy and Eddie: Stop and Think It Over
From 7" (One Way, 196?)

Mandells: Now I Know
From 7" (Hour Glass, 196?)

Family Affair: I Had a Friend
From 7" (Authentic, 197?)

Bonus: Frankie Nieves: True Love (English + Spanish Version)
From 12" (Disco Int'l, 1979)

A few 7" single songs to share with ya'll...

First up, I've been hunting down a copy of this Johnny Holiday single for years now. It could very well be one of the roughest things I've ever heard - sounds like a funk garage band with a flutist sitting in and Holiday just raging on the mic like he's mad at the world. Holiday has cut other singles, including for Bold, but none of them sound like this; I don't know if the studio was having recording problems that day (the flipside is also a monster but the mix is completely f---ed up, burying his vocals over a crushing, blues-influenced funk number) but whatever happened - god bless. I love grimy cuts like this. Thanks to Records L.A. who sold me their last stock copy.

The Combinations 7" is something I bought on a lark; I was already buying another 45 from the same seller and decided to take a chance on this despite minimal awareness of the group. As I dug deeper, I was surprised to learn that the group originally began as a garage band from Easton PA; mostly white save for a lone Black member. They described their sound as "a blend of white rock under black soul." What's funny is that they somehow managed to record "Bump Ball," a funky R&B boogaloo, in conjunction with the release of Milton-Bradley's Bump Ball. I'm not clear if the 7" I have was the one actually included with the game (as some sites have reported). There was also a Bump Ball album (but it's not clear if the Combinations recorded all the songs on here or just the title track, which was credited to "The Bumpers"). Interesting history but all that aside - I like the track. It, uh, bumps.

Moving into some Latin, this Fruko cut is a 7" only song as far as I know (w/ "Bang Bang" on the flip but not Joe Cuba's well-known boogaloo hit). "Langaruto" shows off the strong piano work of (I think?) Hernán Gutiérrez who really is the secret weapon for all the best Fruko y sus Tesos tracks. This song, in particular, has that massive salsa dura sound that manages to be distinctly Colombian in a way I still haven't been able to put my finger on - it opens like a guajira before switching things up to a quicker son montuno about half a minute in (again, I think. Corrections welcome!). So fierce.

Puerto Rico's Orquesta Zodiac drops the other Latin cut in this set, another strong '70s slice of salsa. I really like the use of organ on here; it's subtle but it adds that spritz of sonic lime to flavor up the rest of the track. I'm also feeling the vocal interplay between the lead and background singers - great call and response.

The Jimmy and Eddie is a strong funky soul cut I nabbed at Big City Records in NYC earlier this year; the mix sounds just a tad off here but in favor of the rhythm section and especially the bassist and drummer. Their team-up really brings this whole tune together - it pushes along nicely and the drums are mic-ed just right to lend that extra oomph.

Give the rhythm section some love on this Mandells' single too. The group perfectly blend some Chicago-style sweet soul vocals with that deep, deep bass, the chicha-chicha of the hi-hat patterns...with a string arrangement to book? Are you kidding me? Best thing - this 7" is usually found for $10 or less - an incredible value given how good the music is.

Last on the 7" tip is one of the straight up strangest 45s I've come across of late. I could have sworn I originally heard this on Matthew Africa's blog but I can't seem to find it there again. Nonetheless, it really pays to listen to this beyond just thinking, "ooooh, nice groove." I mean, it's a great groove - so soulful with what I think of as subtle disco edge. And then the sweet, falsetto vocals drop in and you're thinking, "man, this is so butter." But then you start listening and you realize, "uh, ok, this is not setting things up well, with the singer talking about, 'I had a friend who had everything'" since you always know how those stories end. I won't spoil it for you but just wait until you pass the two minute mark. I feel like there should be a sound effect inserted here, just to hammer the point home. An otherwise beautiful tune.

Bonus cut is the special bilingual disco 12" edit of Frankie Nieves' finest work for Speed, "True Love" (which, as you can figure out in one bar, interpolates "Soulful Strut.") I am super curious to know who ran Disco International; they seemed to specialize in (I'm assuming) unlicensed disco edits of many a great Latin jam, including Al Gonzalez' "El Rumbon" and this one. In the case of "True Love," Disco Int'l took the English A and Spanish B-side of Nieves' Speed 7" (which, by the way, came out 10 years prior) and then edited them together into a single, 6+ minute track (the B-side is a 6+ minute long Spanish-only edit). To be frank(ie), the edit does get a bit repetitive after a while but then again, it is one effective groove (Young Holt Unlimited knew what the f--- they were doing back in the day).

SWEETENING THE POT

2009-11-13T14:48:00.001-08:00

I should have done this to begin with but order the Mr. Lonely + Love Me/Leave Me set (on CD) and I'll add the Aretha Mix for free. Seems the least I can do!

I also totally forgot I had some extra Betty Davis' Is It Love Or Desire? CDs. I'll throw a few in, randomly, to anyone who orders over the next few days.

(Update, 11/14: As of now, we've sold a little more than half of the stock. Less than 20 sets left. Sleep not.)

LOOKING FOR NEW SPOTS IN L.A.

2009-11-12T22:50:00.001-08:00

My nearly two-year old weekly in Echo Park, ¡Boogaloo!, is going from a weekly to a monthly (every Third Thursday) and while part of me is glad to leave the grind of having a weekly party, it would be nice to have one more monthly or at least, a cool spot where I can spin soul sides on an occasional one-off basis.

If any of my L.A. readers have suggestions of where to look, I'm all ears. The last time I put a query like this out, it actually helped net my weekly gig so I'm always appreciative of the reach of my readers!

MATTHEW + MAO

2009-11-12T17:55:00.001-08:00

If you live in NYC, you have no excuse NOT to go to this: Matthew Africa + Chairman Mao

JACKSON 5: UNRELEASED, UNLEASHED

2009-11-12T17:34:00.000-08:00

The Jackson 5: ABC (Alternate Mix)
Buttercup (snippets)
From I Want You Back!: Unreleased Masters (Motown, 2009)

As you can imagine, there's no shortage of plans to plumb the depths of the J5 and MJ catalogs. I mentioned the Stripped Mixes a while back and I just got this new unreleased masters CD in the mail today.

Let me get the negative stuff out of the way first - in a few cases, I think the fact they went unreleased was probably justified insofar as the songs are kind of lackluster ("Love Comes In Different Flavors," I'm looking at you!). However, for a J5/MJ music nerds, there's some really fascinating stuff on here, including a medley that throws together "I Want You Back/ABC/The Love You Save" which is pretty much the hat trick of early J5 hits.

There's also a cool alternate version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" which has some notable changes in the arrangement, especially a whole different passage after the second chorus, but the real stunning contrast is the alternate version of "ABC." The music may sound alike but from the first stanza of verses, you can hear MJ take an entirely different approach to the vocal arrangement and check out the differences after the first chorus with the "la la las."

The other huge song that people have been talking about is "Buttercup," a Stevie Wonder-written/produced song that 1) totally sounds like a Stevie Wonder song (note: this is a great thing) and 2) gives you a window into a compellingly different sound for J5 compared to what Motown typically sent their way. I'd almost say the album is worth it just for "Buttercup" (it's pretty damn good) but thankfully, there's other strong material on here to sweeten the pot (check out "Listen, I'll Tell You How", an early J5 song from 1969).

MIX MIX MIX

2009-11-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

I have three new mixes available.

I didn't mean for them all to get timed this way; I actually had the first two done months ago and was waiting for the "right moment" (translation: waiting to get off my lazy a**) but now with the Aretha mix around, it seemed ridiculous to put it off any longer. The Aretha Mix has its own post so I'm going to devote this one to talking about They Call Me Mr. Lonely and Love Me...or Love Me:

After finishing up Soul Sides Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, I began to think what a Vol. 3 might look like. The first two volumes often aimed for breadth but for a theoretical Vol. 3, I wanted to narrow in a bit and think more about mood and feel rather than style diversity.

As it turns out, Vol. 3 wasn't going to happen officially but that didn't stop me from contemplating a mix along the same veins and that's what lay behind both They Call Me Mr. Lonely and Love Me/Leave Me. Both are devoted (mostly) to heartbreak/slow jams, with Mr. Lonely featuring all male vocalists while Love Me/Leave Me is for all my XX Posse.

Here are the tracklists for both:

KEEP READING...

They Call Me Mr. Lonely
1. Labi Siffre: Saved
2. The Starlights: Going Out of My Head
3. Maurice Davis: Mr. Lonely
4. Frank Turner: All For the Kids (sampler)
5. The Impressions: The Girl I Find
6. Joe Acosta: I Need Her
7. Steve Parks: Still Thinking of You
8. Bits N Pieces: Sparkling In the Sand
9. Los Sunglows: I Want To Make It With You
10. Reuben Bell and the Casanovas: It's Not That Easy
11. Soul Majestics: I Done Told You Baby
12. Johnny and the Expressions: Now That You're Mine
13. Stevie Wonder: Hey Love
14. Mayer Hawthorne: I Wish That It Would Rain
15. Michael Jackson: We've Got a Good Thing
16. Michael Jackson: We're Almost There (DJ Spinna Remix)

Love Me, Love Me, Love Me or Leave Me, Leave Me, Leave Me
1. Asha Puthli: Let Me In Your Life
2. Laura Nyro feat. Labelle: The Bells
3. Gloria Scott: Love Me, Love Me, Love Me or Leave Me, Leave Me, Leave Me
4. Lorez Alexandria: I'm Wishin'
5. Jennifer Lara: Our Love
6. Aretha Franklin: One Step Ahead
7. Dee Dee Warwick: It's Not Fair
8. Quinn Harris feat. Lady Bianca: Stop Telling Me Lies
9. Dusty Springfield: Piece of My Heart
10. The Soul Children: The Sweeter He Is
11. Ciel Miner: Stardust (sampler)
12. Nick and Valerie: I'll Find You
13. Sharon Forrester: Don't Let Me Be Lonely
14. Candi Staton: You Don't Love Me
15. Lezli Valentine: I Found Love On a 2-Way Street
16. Honey and the Bees: You Better Go Now
17. Lynn Williams: Don't Be Surprised
18. Lorraine Ellison: Stay With Me
19. The Emotions: As Long As I've Got You

Here are the annotated playlists (i.e. descriptions of each song) for the two mixes. There's three ways to listen to all this:

1) Podcast/free DL

Love Me/Leave Me will appear as a Daptone's podcast later this month and Mr. Lonely is slated to appear as a podcast on the Galactic Fractures site.

DJ Phatrick plans to make the Aretha mix available for a download soon as well.

Cost: Free

2) Digital album

Available through The Corner Store.
Cost: $8.99 per album. (Aretha mix not available as digital album.)

These will be individually tracked and of higher quality (the podcasts are one long, 128 bit track).

Downloadable artwork here.

3) Compact disc

Mr. Lonely + Love Me are being sold as a pair. Each album is in a slimline case with original artwork. I made 50, individually numbered sets. (I'm unlikely to do a second run on these unless

The Aretha Mix is available for free as an "add-on". I may eventually sell them separately but currently, priority goes to people ordering the Lonely/Love pair.

Cost: Mr. Lonely/Love Me pair = $25
Aretha Mix = free (add-on only)

Shipping (US): free
Shipping (Overseas): $5 flat.

To order: Email me at soulsides AT gmail.com and please include your mailing address and preferred paypal email account.

FALL CLEANING

2009-11-08T11:26:00.001-08:00

Ten Wheel Drive with Genya Raven: How Long Before I'm Gone
Stay With Me
From Brief Replies (Polydor, 1970)

The Highlighters: You're Time Is Gonna Come
From 7" (Chess, 1970)

I save a slew of songs with the intention of "eventually posting them up" and what inevitably happens is that they just end up "hanging around" and go nowhere fast. Right now, I have at least 1.5 years worth of stuff and decided to get off the proverbial pot by finally posting some up.

The Ten Wheel Drive's "How Long" came to my attention after hearing this Black Moon cut (arguably the last good one they ever put out), "Way of the Walk." This combines at least two pet loves: 1) funky rock bands fronted by 2) female singers (in this case, Genya Raven who has a huge voice - very post-Joplin. I don't think her version of Lorraine Ellison's "Stay With Me blows the OG out of the water but it was an interesting take.

Th Highlighters were an Indiana group probably best known for their uber-rare "Funky 16 Corners" funk 45. "You're Time Is Gonna Come" (not to be confused with the Led Zep song of similar title) is a taste of the group's penchant for crafting a great little, doo-wop influenced power ballad that showcases lead singer James Bell's pipes. I also really dig the organ here - unexpected but quite welcome.

Jan Jankeje: Elsa Marie
From Sokol (Jazzpoint, 1974)

Preston Love: Kool Ade
From Omaha BBQ (Also on LP) (Kent, 1969)

Roger Saunders: Darkness
From The Roger Saunders Rush Album (Warner Bros, 1972)

I previously posted (anonymously) another song from Jan Jankeje's funky fusion LP, Sokol back in the "Breaks and Basslines" post. I'm not remotely as big on fusion stuff as I was about 10 years back but I still have a soft spot for this album by the Slovakian Jankeje which is one solid footing in funk-influenced rhythms but also healthy touches of avant garde jazz as this composition, in particular, seems to capture. File under "I can't believe I never posted this": Preston Love's Omaha BBQ was one of the earliest funky blues albums I ever became acquainted with and I still find it to be one of the most consistent efforts in the genre. "Kool Ade" especially is killer - as gritty a groove you can imagine. The drummer gets some special attention here on the two bridges where band members rap with each other over a chattering like series of breaks and fills.

Speaking of breaks, you'd be hard pressed to find too many songs with a better 8 bar opening break than this. The actual song itself is a decent, mid-tempo country-rock ballad which isn't quite what you'd expect with an intro like that but it's definitely a step up from "Put Your Hand in the Hand."

Prisoners of Watts (POW): Language of Funk
From 12" (No Busters Allowed, 1990)

Da Lench Mob: Ain't Got No Class (T-Bone Remix)
Ain't Got No Class (Beatnuts Remix)
From 12" (Street Knowledge, 1992)

King Tee: The Great (Distorted Alcoholism Mix)
From 12" ("Bust Dat Ass") (Capitol, 1992)

I picked up this 12" by L.A.'s P.O.W. (Prisoners of Watts) on a whim and while it's not exactly the unsung NWA or anything, I do digthe early '90s L.A. hip-hop production steez on here. Bonus points for having Battle Cat (back when he was mostly known as a DJ) on the cut.

Less obscure (but still staying in the Southland), we have two mixes from Da Lench Mob's "Ain't Got No Class" 12". Again, I don't really ride that hard for the song itself (there are better Lench Mob cuts out there) but I do like the contrast in production style you can here between the Beatnuts and ~~T-Ray~~. Especially because T-Ray was doing stuff for Cypress Hill and his style and Muggs' seemed so compatible, I always associate it with a Left Coast thing even though neither Muggs nor T-Ray were originally from California. T-Bone's remix (which I, embarrassingly, confused for a T-Ray remix for, uh, years now) is some classic West Coast, post-Sir Jinx/Muggs ruggedness while
The Beatnuts mix is classically 'Nuts with the filtered bassline and use of horns.

One more from the West (actually, now that I think about it, these three songs were probably from a long-forgotten "early 90s West Coast hip-hop post") - a remix of King Tee's "The Great" found on the "Bust Dat Ass" 12". King Tee = unsung and then some. I always like going back and listening again to his catalog (especially anything connected to The Triflin' Album - such a good voice and such a damn shame his Aftermath album never got official release.

Los Pakines: Hojas Verdes
Oh! Cherie
From S/T (Sono Radio, 197?)

I don't know much about Peruvian chicha but this fusion of Colombian cumbia with American surf rock makes for style that's hard to forget once you hear it. I got turned onto this Los Pakines album when I was looking for stuff by Los Diablos Rojo, another group in a similar vein. The Pakines, in particular, seemed to love that reverb and just drench every song on this album with it. "Hojas Verdes" is a slinky cumbia piece with some funk undertones while "Oh! Cherie" sounds like a cover of a '60s tune I should recognize (but don't).

EDAN: HE'S BACK

2009-11-08T08:48:00.001-08:00

Edan: Echo Party (snippet)
From Echo Party (Five Day Weekend, 2009)

Answering the question of "what's Edan been up to?" my favorite rapper/producer/DJ/collector from Boston whose name is an anagram of "Dane". No, seriously, Edan is awesome and on this new 30 minute mix, he really outdoes himself in assembling a creatively executed, sonically compelling mega-mix that's in the best traditions of cut n' paste mixes of the past (Steinski, holler) but with Edan's particular taste in echo boxes, fuzzed out effects, psych-meets-old school aesthetics and all else that make Echo Party as ambitious (and enjoyable) a project that I've ever heard from him.

Stonesthrow still has LP copies available for pre-order, sold-out of their CDs but the album doesn't actually officially drop for another week or so.

GREATEST THING. EVER.

2009-11-07T19:16:00.001-08:00

I heart Sesame Street. See more flavor here.

YOU GOT QUESTIONS?

2009-11-03T15:45:00.001-08:00

Vicki Anderson: Answer to Mother Popcorn
From 7" (King, 1969). Also on Mother Popcorn

Bobo Mr. Soul: Answer to the Want Ads
From 7" (Ovide, 1971)

Joyce Jones: Help Me Make Up My Mind
From 7" (ATCO, 1969). Also on What It Is!.

Jeanne and the Darlings: Soul Girl
From 7" (Stax, 1968). Also on The Complete Stax/Volt Vol. 2.

By sheer coincidence, besides that Willie West 7", I also picked up two different "answer" singles at Records L.A. last week. As the name suggests, they are meant to follow-up on other (almost always, far more famous) songs and in that sense, they're both covers AND originals. In the case of the Vicki Anderson (I've had a crappy VG- copy for years and finally decided to upgrade), "Answer to Mother Popcorn," she's hollering back at James Brown and his big hit, "Mother Popcorn" (Brown got a lot of mileage out of the "Popcorn" dance in his music of that era), flipping Brown's leering gaze into a funky feminist anthem.

With Bobo Mr. Soul...I initially thought this was Willie Bobo under a different name but nope, that'd be Beau Williams from Houston. Here, he's answering (appropriately enough) Honey Cone's big hit "Want Ads," though unlike the relatively fresh track Vicki was grooving on, Williams tends to stay fairly close to the original arrangement.

Lastly, there's no "answer" in the title but clearly, Joyce Jones is talking back to Tyrone Davis' great "Can I Change My Mind?" I really love the musical flip here - it's reminiscent of Davis' OG but changes things up enough to put a different spin on it and make this all its own. Same goes for Jeanne and the Darlings' slept-on answer song to Sam and Dave's classic "Soul Man" - they built their arrangement off some "Soul Man" riffs but don't follow it so closely to be identical.

TULLIO DE PISCOPO: BRUTTO BATTERIA

2009-11-02T18:30:00.001-08:00

Tullio de Piscopo: Medium Rock
Dodiciottavi
From Suonando La Batteria Moderna (Vedette, 1974)

I've said this before but I'm not the most ardent collector of drum breaks since, if you're not producing, it's hard to get all that excited over a one-bar break no matter how dope it sounds once you put it through an SP or MPC. Despite that qualifier, I'm still a sucker for a good beat though and that probably explains why I spent somewhere in the ballpark of 10 or so years trying to track down an "affordable" (and I use the term loosely) copy of this Tullio De Piscopo album after first hearing Egon play it at some long-forgotten party in the Bay Area from the early '00s.

The "Tullio LP" (he has many but everyone knows which one you mean) just looks like it's bad ass - the cover art could just be a red herring but the album delivers on the promise for the most part. It's not pure funk drummage the whole way through - this is an instructional album after all so there's a variety of styles, especially two samba cuts and a host of other Latin-flavored rhythms alongside "Medium Rock" (boring name, ridiculous cut), and "Rocking Special" (the other funky cut), plus "Drum Fantasy" which doesn't sound so much instructional as it does inspirational.

Piscopo, who seems to have been a major Italian drummer in the '70s and '80s, includes notations for his tracks though I don't know how actually useful they would be to a beginning drummer. I mean, I have a basic knowledge on how to read music but I don't know if I could easily figure out how to replicate "Dodiciottavi" based on what they have there. However, the album (a gatefold) also comes with a cool history of jazz drumming, tracing it back to NOLA (and then offering the same lesson in Italian).

As for "Medium Rock," the one thing that keeps nagging me is...is there a second musician playing the tambourine and cow bell? Because unless Tulluio has a third arm, I just can't figure out how they make those elements work in the song (though, there's the more obvious explanation: over-dubbing). But good gawd, talk about a drum solo to end all others - this is three-plus minutes of pure percussive fire that's about as good as anything else I can put it up against (including strong competition from library or dance LPs). "Guns Blazing" indeed.

I included "Dodiciottavi" just to demonstrate some of the range of Piscopo's stylings; it wasn't all funky-funk stuff. I happen to like the rhythms he's putting together here, especially his use of what sounds like a timpani(?).

WILLIE WEST: FAIRCHILDREN

2009-11-02T14:24:00.001-08:00

Willie West: Fairchild (2nd version)
From What It Is! (Rhino, 2006)

Willie West: Fairchild (promo version)
I Sleep With the Blues
From 7" single (Josie, 1970)

I first became familiar with "Fairchild" off the What It Is! box-set that I helped work on; I had never heard it before but within the first bar or two, the influence of NOLA's Allen Toussaint was obvious. Strip singer West off of here and this could have been a Lee Dorsey track or something Cyril Neville put out (and indeed, it seems likely some of the Meters played on here). The version of "Fairchild" on here is pretty stripped down - a sparse bass and drum combo and not much else besides West's vocals.

I came upon a 7" promo version of the song at the brand spankin' new Records L.A. store in West Adams and in listening to it, I realize there were subtle differences (or perhaps not so subtle) between it and the version that was on What It Is!. Clearly, the two were done from two different mixes since the promo version has horns that don't exist on the other version at all, plus more prominent guitars. I did some research and I'm hardly the first to have noticed this difference. Others seem to prefer the 2nd version better but personally, I like the density of the promo version given the added elements. True, it does mask more of West's vocals as a result but I didn't have a real issue with that. I've included both for you to compare and contrast. (You can really hear the difference on the post-chorus bridge, w/ and w/o horns).

I also don't want people to, uh, sleep on the B-side, "I Sleep With the Blues" which I thought was an interesting slow jam that's even more sparse but mesmerizing for all its minimalism. You keep expecting some snares to fall in, but really, all there is are those kicks.

THIS WEEK'S HEAVY ROTATION

2009-10-30T21:35:00.001-07:00

Bitty McLean: Walk Away From Love
From On Bond Street (Peckings, 2005)

Montclairs: Hey You!
From 7" single (Arch, 1969)

Captain Planet: Fumando
From Speakin Nuyorican EP (Bastard Jazz, 2009)

Big Boi w/ Gucci Mane: Shine Blockas
From Sir Lucious Leftfoot: Son of Chico Dusty (Def Jam, forthcoming 2009/2010)

Jay Electronica: Exhibit C (radio rip)
From untitled(?) (Decon, forthcoming ?)

Lupe Fiasco: Fire
From Lasers (Atlantic, forthcoming 2009)

Clipse feat. Pharrell, Cam'ron: Popular Demand (Popeye's)
From Till the Casket Driops (Re-Up, forthcoming 2009)

I have a playlist I keep on my iPhone of all the songs that are at the top of my listening priorities but most of the time, I'll add just one or two songs to that list every week or two (if I'm lucky). In the last two weeks though, it's been like a deluge with quite a few things rolling through, including a few tracks that qualify as "today's best things ever" which mostly means I put them on single-song-repeat and just gorge on them.

Top of that list is Bitty McLean's cover of The Choice Four's "Walk Away From Love," a song most connected to David Ruffin's mid-70s recording of it. Let's first acknowledge that composer Charles Kipps penned an absolute gem here; it is such an incredibly well-written song about a someone who realizes that his relationship is fated to fail so he decides to "walk away from love/before love can break my heart." But here's what McLean does; first, he sets his song over the riddim from Alton Ellis' "Get Ready (Rocksteady)" (which is one of my favorite songs out of JA so this already looking good). Now...McLean sounds like he's 16 (he was really in his early 30s) with a very youthful tenor but Kipps' words to the work to make McLean sound more worldly and this all comes together at the chorus where McLean hits that falsetto during "breaks my heart..." Listen to the song and try NOT to sing along (even if you cause small animals sonic pain when hitting that top note) when he does this. It is magcial to me - despite being a song about heartbreak, when he gets there, I feel positively euphoric. Best thing ever. (By the way, the entire On Bond Street album is basically McLean singing over old rocksteady riddims).

The Montclairs song has also been in heavy rotation; it's a monster Northern Soul classic from the late '60s that's the best thing in this vein I've heard since first discovering Bobby Reed's "The Time Is Right For Love". I previously wrote about the Montclairs last summer but while the sweet soul on Dreaming Out of Season is lovely, "Hey You!" is on some whole other level. This has everything - great vocal performances, an irresistible uptempo track, and a general joyfulness that rings true with every snappy backbeat. Best thing ever.

Captain Planet's "Fumando" was, once upon a time, a track called "Boogaloo" which was (and still is) a favorite play-out track (and, as it were, appeared in an episode of Entourage). "Fumando" subtly upgrades the original "Boogaloo" track with some added melodic touches but at its core, it's still the same, bangin' track of guitars, horns, flutes, claps and that crisp breakbeat he's got popping off in the back. DJs - get familiar with this.

Ok, rap haters, feel free to leave now; the last four songs are all from upcoming hip-hop projects.

"Shine Blockas" comes from the long awaited Big Boi solo album that was first announced in 2007 but probably won't drop until late this year if not early 2010. Hua was the first to put me up on this, first by sending this to me on some, "this is pretty good." Then he followed up the next day with a succession of IMs: "I can't stop listening to this" and "have you listened to it yet?" and "Dude, what's your f---ng problem, this is fire, get with it already!" (ok, I'm making up the last one but I would have deserved it).

I don't know what it is but Southern flows over soul loops is a good combination - see here and here if you don't hear what I'm saying. This time around, it's not Willie Hutch (though that would have been a safe bet) but Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes with "I Miss You" (last heard(?) on Jay-Z's "This Can't Be Life" (ah, back when him and Beanie weren't beefing). I'm not clear on who produced this (google, you failed me!) but kudos on a nice flip of the Melvin that doesn't fuss around with it too much except for the drum programming. I can see why Hua put this on repeat - between the ultra-smoothness of the track and Big Boi's hopscotch flow this has "instant classic" slathered all over it. (I'm still forming an opinion of Mane's verse but I was impatient to hear Boi back so I guess that's not a ringing endorsement).

For Part 2 of "Southern dudes rapping over soul tracks," please to see NOLA's Jay Electronica (he of the "terrible name yet intriguing artist" sabor) rapping over a Just Blaze track that is just...uh, blaze. I've been wondering what the hell the Megatron Don's been up to and clearly, it's figuring out how to make a smooth ass Billy Stewart track sound like the world's end.

And here's the thing: that beat is like the least great thing about this song, which is to say, Blaze's track is aces but holy sh--, I had no idea Jay Electronica could bring it like this. Even though this is a radio rip, with drops making it hard to listen through, by the time the song hits the last verse, I can see why Tony Touch rewound it to play back again. I can't even transcribe it but *whew* cotdamn.

(By the way, this song encouraged me to go back and listen again to some of Jay E's other works, including Nas' "Queens Get the Money." I originally thought it was a track that screamed for a drum track but I now recognize the simple brilliance of keeping this to just the piano. Hypnotic power. This user-created video understands this by extending that piano passage into a long instrumental before Nasir comes in on it.

Lupe isn't Southern and Jimi Hendrix isn't soul but whatever - "Fire" is a great pairing between the Chicago rapper and a Jimi classic that burns baby burns here. I'll be amazed if they manage to actually clear this sample for use (see what happened to Fat Joe's "Hey Joe") but I hope they do. This sh-- is a Leatherface mallet to the head; feeling the distorted mic approach Lupe takes here. Seriously, between this and the last two songs, 4th Q 2009 sounds a lot like 2006 (and I mean that in the best way possible).

...and just to complete that cipher, we have a new track from the Clipse and Neptunes, with Cam'ron cameoing. Straight up - this isn't incredible or anything, just merely good but I'm willing to settle for that given how some of the Clipse's other recent material was jaw-droppingly weak plus the Neptunes and Cam have stayed MIA for a minute. Cam's turn here isn't much to write home about (surprisingly) but the one shining spot is that beat. "Sparkling" comes to mind even though it also sounds like something the Neptunes might have hooked up years ago. Good enough is good enough.

(Oh, by the way, I have three CDs - two soul mixes, one Aretha special - all about to come up for the offering. It's been a long time but I hope I've made up for the hiatus).

RECORD IMAGES

2009-10-27T15:41:00.001-07:00

Oh heck, since I'm already on this roll, here's a few more for you.

SPEAKING OF LOOKING AT LISTENING...

2009-10-27T15:33:00.001-07:00

The Boat That Rocked (UK) aka Pirate Radio (US) comes out in the States in a few weeks and while I can't say the overall movie quite worked, it has 1) a killer soundtrack (natch) and 2) some great, quick scenes of people listening to the radio in all the idealized, romantic ways you can imagine.

I couldn't help but love those bits:

The irony is that this wasn't how I grew up with radio. My folks got me a small portable in the mid-1980s but it was largely a personal device; I don't really recall when me and my friends who gather around it and listen to anything. So while I love what these scenes represent, it's not like they tap into some part of my childhood that I actually experienced. More like an "imagined nostalgia" (which is probably a redundant term).

ME AND ELI LAKE: HEADS, BLOGGIN'

2009-10-27T07:49:00.001-07:00

Eli Lake, a frequent contributor to bloggingheads.tv, had me on to talk about hip-hop, record collecting in a digital age and other topics I enjoy blathering on about.

LOOKING AT LISTENING

2009-10-23T10:53:00.001-07:00

I'm always wary of giving in too much to the forces of nostalgia. There's a dangerous comfort in thinking on or fantasizing about the past; it's all too easy to filter out all the negative history and just focus on what you idealize from it. But it's impossible for me not to look through this new set of Magnum photos dedicated to records and record shops and not be pulled in by the romance of it all.

Mostly, I like looking at people listening; there's something so intimate about it even at mass events like a concert. That's one of the beautiful things about music - it's always simultaneously public and private and some of these images, of people standing by or dancing to a record player capture that duality.

And hey, just because we're in a digital age doesn't mean listening stops.

DISCO BOOGIE

2009-10-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

Pazazz: So Hard To Find
From 7" reissue (Soulplex, 2009)

Twilight: You're In Love
From Pains of Love (Ross, 1986)

The folks at Soulflex in Germany were kind enough to hep me to this new reissue they put out of a killer Florida disco single by Pazazz called "So Hard To Find" (an apt name considering how insanely obscure it is). This is the kind of disco I never tire of: a simple but infectious groove, upbeat vocals and a general air of happiness that's like a mood-enhancing substance minus the substance. I'm sure those who hate disco would hold this up as everything wrong with the genre - its repetitiveness for example - but they're missing how amazingly awesome a song like this feels on a dancefloor where you want that repetition to keep that feel good vibe going as long as possible. The single also includes a remix by Samurai 7 though personally, I prefer the OG.

As for Twilight, this Vallejo-recorded LP was pushed on me by the Groove Merchant's Cool Chris and while I'm nowhere near someone who knows much about boogie or even bore the genre any mind until very recently, I was glad Chris encouraged me to open my ears enough to enjoy this. I'll be honest - I'm bewildered by how boogie (funk/R&B records from the early through mid '80s) have staged such an intriguing comeback as the latest style hipsters have glommed to. That's not a diss (well, not exactly) since I believe that people who like boogie actually really do like it. It's just that this used to be the kind of syrupy, fonky tunes that hip-hop heads would clown as they were getting their fingers dusty but this is all the rage with some of the elders from that crowd. Go figure.

But yeah...Twilight...of all the songs on the album, "You're In Love" grabbed my attention the most, probably because I love that little squeegee synth that runs throughout (plus that intro bassline is pretty slick).

WILD YOUNG RETRO FOREGINERS (WYRF!)

2009-10-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Noisettes: Never Forget You
From Wild Young Hearts (2009)

Cookin' On 3 Burners: This Girl
Dog Wash
Cars (snippet)
From Soul Messin' (Freestyle, 2009)

It's funny but I started prepping for this post a couple of days before I read Jody Rosen's "DORF" theory of NPR's Black music content (DORF = dead, old, retro or foreign) and I'm just slightly more self-conscious at the fact that I've actively put the "R" in DORF and here I am again, focusing on the R.

And you know what? So be it; this is how I roll. There's plenty of other people focusing on YACL (young, alive, contemporary, local), can I live, dorfin' it out (or, in this case, RFin' it?)

The Noisettes are foreign (UK) but neither old nor dead. They're not necessarily even that retro overall. Of course, on "Never Forget You," it's unavoidable that lead singer Shingai Shoniwa would be compared to Amy Winehouse; they have similar voices and the vibe on "Never Forget You" is clearly slathered in the same kind of '60s, girl group flavor that some of Winehouse's songs are known for. That said, I'd say this is as good as anything I've heard Winehouse (or really, anyone's) put out and it's not a pure Brill Building retread, especially with the power rock elements that enter in on the chorus.

And yeah, that hook? Where they go, "my sweet joy/always remember me"? w/ the back-up singers? Pure Ronnettes, pure butter. Love that. Really like the lyrics too - it's both rebellious and sentimental, dipped in bittersweet sprinkles. (Thanks to DJ Phatrick who put me up on the song and its video).

Cookin' on 3 Burners have been around for a few years but I've been slow in familiarizing myself with the Australian soul scene but there's clearly a burgeoning scene there too with groups like CO3B and the Bamboos in the mix. "This Girl" is another great, catchy ballad, featuring the singing talents of TKTKT, and flows with the kind of vibe that reminds me of the best of Nicole Willis or Sharon Jones. Too bad I didn't hear this earlier in the spring; it easily would have made my list of summer '09 jams but better late than never. ("This Girl" is also CO3B's latest 7" for you vinyl dudes).

"This Girl" got me interested in the group but I was happy with how it introduced me to the rest of their repertoire. "Dog Wash," in particular is on some vintage Meters' tip - that slow groovin' second line funk built on whinnying organ stabs and vamps, some smoky rhythm guitar and snappy drums. However, the song that really made me smile was an unexpected cover of Gary Numan's "Cars"...one of the more defining pop songs of the early 1980s New Wave that I think deserves to be covered more. Listening to CO3B's version makes me wonder if they were at all influenced by the noted steel drum version by the Katzenjammers. "Cars" is also available as on 12".

SPIRIT HOUSE MOVERS: NATURAL SOUL

2009-10-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

The Spirit House Movers: Beautiful Black Women
From Black & Beautiful, Soul & Madness (forthcoming on Sonboy, 1968/2009)

Sonboy Recordings resurrects this 1968 recording out of New Jersey featuring a young LeRoi Jones (now better known as poet Amiri Baraka) during the heart of the Black Power Movement. At some point in my life (early 1990s, when I was at Berkeley), something like this probably would have blown me away but at this point, having listened up on my Last Poets and Watts Prophets, it's hard to say if this is on the same level. It does have more of a DIY vibe to it, partially because it sounds like it was recorded in someone's house (which it was) and the musical fidelity is less than what you'd ideally want.

That said, I was really drawn to the first song on this album, "Beautiful Black Women," because it finds Jones/Baraka reciting his ode to Black women over their interpolation of "Ooh Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. If you're going to score the Revolution, I'm not mad at some Motown classics providing the inspiration.

Y TUS COVERS TAMBIEN

2009-10-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

Hnos. Carrion: Rosa Mi Rosita
Toño Quirazco: Aprieta Arriba
Hielo Ardiente: Mambo La Merced

(Editor's Note: Sonido Franko of Super Sonido blesses us with another guest post, this time tapping into my favorite genre: covers! --O.W.)

RECORD-RACKS.COM: OPEN FOR BUSINESS

2009-10-20T22:16:00.001-07:00

Our longtime contributor Eric Luecking did Soul Sides a blessing by helping handle a lot of new release reviews and contests but he's ready to set up shop with his own blog: Record-Racks.com. He'll still be tackling a diverse selection of soul, rock, jazz and other goodies.

Check out my man throwin' down, show him some love and be sure to add him to your blogroll!

TOO TIGHT

2009-10-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Po-Boy-Citos: Brand New Dance
From 7" single (Superultramega, 2009)

Orchestra Harlow: Horsin' Up
From Presenta A Ismael Miranda (Fania, 1968)

Mophono: TIghten Up Remix
From 7" (CB, 2007)

One of my favorite new singles to spin out has been the appropriately named "Brand New Dance" by New Orleans' Po-Boy-Citos. I wrote about the group a year ago and they've been steadily building their name and catalog and this new 7" is a real gem (hint: they need to make it easier to buy other than their show!)

"Brand New Dance" combines two big hits from the South - mostly obviously "Tighten Up by Texas' Archie Bell and then they slide in a little "Check Your Bucket" for the hometown NOLA hero, Eddie Bo (there's also a touch of Wardell Quezergue/Jean Knight with that intro which sounds adapted from "Mr. Big Stuff"). The mash-up is a fun slice of instrumental soul that has yet to fail me in the club. (The B-side, "Trinidad" is a slick, funky guajira for the Latin heads).(The group also has their first CD avail, while this new single will likely end up on their next album.

"Brand New Dance" instantly reminded me of Orchestra Harlow's "Horsin' Up," recorded during Harlow's reluctant boogaloo days. I also posted this up around a year ago but no one seemed to have a reaction to it but I'm still feeling how it throws together Cliff Nobles' "Horse" and "Tighten Up" for a classically '60s meeting of two big, complementary hits.

Both songs just remind us how insanely massive "Tighten Up" was in its moments. Easily one of the most covered songs of its kind and one where it's hard to find a bad cover. In fact, I'd challenge anyone to send in a bad cover of this song, just to see if it actually exists. Just as some bonus flavor, I included Mophone's remix of "Tighten Up" (I previously put up the B-side of this single) which manages to both slim the song down to its most vital components, especially the drums, and then juice 'em up heavy. Rat-a-tat-tat.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT VOICE?

2009-10-19T14:55:00.001-07:00

Some of you may have caught me blathering on NPR's Talk of the Nation today, talking about NPR's 50 Great Voices campaign. For those not familiar, starting in January, NPR is going to profile, week to week, "great voices" from around the world and that list will be determined by them on the basis of 1) listener nominations and 2) a panel of folks who, to put this diplomatically, are being convened to offer an "alternative" set of opinions to balance out L.C.D. populism.

I'm honored to be on that panel but it's been challenging since, when I think of "great voices," the names that immediately pop to mind are hardly that left-of-field. I mean, I named my daughter after Ella so you know she'd be on my list, as would Aretha, Al, Otis, et. al.

However, the point of this project isn't to affirm what we already know and more importantly, it is not "50 great-est voices," merely 50 great ones. Despite appearances of canon-making/validating, that's really not the point (even though I know most people will assume it is). Part of that has meant really trying to get away from obvious choices and in this case, "obvious" means, for the most part, American or British artists.

For example, Elis Regina keeps coming up in conversations I've had with friends and colleagues and I know there's a lot of sentiment running in her favor on the submissions' site too (her Brazilian contemporary Caetano Veloso is also under consideration).

Personally, I put Fela Kuti on my list; I think his is such a distinctive, rumbling voice with seemingly no bottom - the perfect kind of voice to go with the deep, hypnotic swirls of his music. Another one of my recommendations is Alton Ellis - one of the greatest vocalists to come out of Jamaica whose blend of soul phrasings with his patois pretty much defined the sound of rocksteady and proto-reggae in my opinion.

My most left-field choice is actually American: Chuck D. I could be wrong but I'm willing to wager he's the most sampled rapper-by-other-rappers and it's obvious why: I dare anyone to find a more powerful, commanding, authoritative and memorable baritone than his in hip-hop. Besides, I'd love to see NPR include a rapper in their final 50 as a way to tweak all these annoying anti-rap crusaders who pollute the site with their small-mindedness.

So far, I've sent in 6 and am mulling over 4 more. Under consideration:
Googoosh
Kongar-Al Ondar
Freddie Mercury
Donny Hathaway

If you have other suggestions, especially for non-US/UK artists, drop your nom to NPR's website and feel free to advocate in my comments too.