Comments (2)

By Larry, August 18, 2011 1:15 pm

Shades of Joy from the cover of their 1969 album

Listen/Download – Shades of Joy – Flute In a Quarry (45 Edit)

Greetings all.

We’ve all packed away another week on the calendar, and I for one feel that it was well spent.

This has been a fairly (heh…fairly…) busy summer hereabouts, but a lot of the busy has been the good and productive kind, so I can’t really complain.

Since it is the end of the week, I should remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show will be back this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, with the funk, the soul, the jazz and the rare groove for your ears, your head and your heart, and if you can’t be huddled by the wireless set at airtime you can always pull down the ones and zeros of its convenient MP3 form over the weekend.

The tune I bring you today is something a little different with an interesting back story.

I don’t recall where I first heard of the Shades of Joy, but I do recall that it had something to do with Alejandro Jodorowsky’s epic cult film, ‘El Topo’.

While I have never seen ‘El Topo’ in the proper way (i.e. with a box of popcorn and my undivided attention) I did get to watch it play in a loop (and DJ in front of it) during a particularly memorable Asbury Park 45 Sessions.

It’s a crazy flick, and ironically, I did not actually hear any of it that night.

I say ironically since the 45 I bring you today is in fact a sampling (a 45 edit bringing you just under three minutes of a seven minute plus album track*) of that very soundtrack.

The group Shades of Joy was a SanFran Bay Area fixture in the late 60s and early 70s. Their leader, saxophonist Martin Fierro arranged the music that Jodorowsky composed for ‘El Topo’ and the Shades of Joy (augmented by other Bay heads like Frank Morin of the Sir Douglas Quintet** and keyboardist Howard Wales***) played.

The Shades of Joy had recorded a full LP for the Fontana label in 1969 (‘El Topo’ came out in 1970) but it appears that they recorded the soundtrack without their singer Millie Foster.

‘Flute In A Quarry’ is a very cool, somewhat progressive slice of funky, Latin-influenced jazz rock (dig the percussion). Considering the Bay Area roots, the temptation is to make a Santana reference, but the sound here is funkier and jazzier (and less Latin) than Carlos et al. In fact, Fierro’s tenor sax work is very edgy and light years beyond what you might expect from similarly shaped horn bands of the era.

The LP was produced by Jimi Hendrix producer Alan Douglas, and someone going by the name of Doris Dynamite (sounds like an R. Crumb creation).

It’s a cool tune, and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*The full length version from the ‘El Topo’ soundtrack included longer “mellow” sections and an extended guitar solo
**I’ve seen references that indicate that Fierro also played with the SDQ
***Wales was the man behind A.B. Skhyy and the in demand 45 ‘Huxley’s Howl’

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, August 16, 2011 3:09 pm

Ike tries to hitch a ride…

The Family Vibes speeds by trying to act like they didn’t notice…

Listen/Download – Ike Turner Presents the Family Vibes – the Scratch

Greetings all.

Before we get started I’d like to let you all know that if you dig the pop side of the 60s, with the garage, and the psyche, and the sunshine pop and what not you might want to fall by our sister blog, Iron Leg and check out the  Iron Leg Radio Show. It’s currently anchored at the blog (no interwebs radio station, but if someone knows one with an open slot, speak up) and is now up to four episodes.

The shows run around 90 minutes and I do them once a month. The format is very similar to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, but the content is slanted along the pop side of the spectrum.

If that sounds like something you’d dig, pop on over there and pull down the ones and zeros.

So, the middle of the week is here and I figured it was past time to dig into the archives and pluck out a little bit of Ike.

Turner, that is….

Ike has appeared in this space a couple of times over the years, sometimes with the mighty Tina, sometimes without.

A few years I was out a-digging and I happened upon a permutation of the Ike Turner discography that I’d never seen before, aka Ike Turner presents the Family Vibes.

Though there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of info out there on this period, what I have found seems to indicate that the Family Vibes were in fact the Kings of Rhythm (1973 edition) with a new name and a new sound.

Though I think even the staunchest mathematician would have a hell of a time drawing, a line between ‘New Breed Pts 1&2’ and today’s selection (I think Archimedes locates the intersection of the two somewhere within the area of Ike), the song in question is without a doubt funky.

If you were a student of the funk and gave ‘The Scratch’ even a single listen, I think you’d probably be able to place it within a year or two of the correct spot on the timeline. It has within it the sound of an era where rock bands were getting funky, and funk bands were getting rock-y and the lines were getting blurred (not just by the drugs).

Even the cover art and its airbrushed pseudo-Keep On Truckin-isms are practically waving a calendar in your face.

I’m not sure why Ike was trying to rebrand the Kings (there were at least two albums under this name) though trying to glom onto the rep of another famous, funky family (the Stones of SanFran) doesn’t seem out of the question. That and Family Vibes sounds a lot more 1970s-ish with the Kings of Rhythm sounding like a bunch of cheap tuxedos on a cruise ship.

This was released around the time Ike and Tina were hitting the charts with ‘Nutbush City Limits’ and probably still squeezing a little juice out of their huge 1971 hit ‘Proud Mary’ so I can understand why UA would invest a couple of albums worth of time and money in the group (that and it was the early 70s when most record companies were releasing veritable mountains of product in a coke addled haze).

That said, ‘The Scratch’ derives its funk from a loose, wobble-legged guitar line and nice fat bass line plodding along underneath as well as some nice, era-specific synth action.

It is all very redolent of bell-bottoms, cheap wine and sounds like something that might come wafting out of the window of a customized van, rocking behind a convenience store on a Saturday night.

I hope you dig it and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, August 14, 2011 1:21 pm

Norman T Washington (and his bow tie)

Listen/Download – Norman T Washington – Jumping Jack Flash

Greetings all.

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to a new week.

Summer (at least as bracketed by the 4th of July and Labor Day) is on the wane with but a precious few weeks left before the tourists pack their bags and the kiddies head back to school.

It is however, still quite warm and vacation-y, so how about some cool sounds for your head?

I figured I’d get the week started with something exceptionally cool.

Many years ago, while in search of something by the mighty Mohawks*, I grabbed a Euro comp of Pama label stuff and stumbled upon a cut by a certain Norman T Washington.

The song in question was a cover of Robert Parker’s ‘Tip Toe’ and via the label association and a perceived accent, my assumption was that I was hearing a West Indian gent working the soul side of the street.

Though the passing years haven’t turned up a whole lot of information on Mr Washington, what I have found indicates that he recorded both soul and reggae in the late 60s and early 70s almost exclusively for Jamaican or Jamaican-associated labels like Gas, Punch and Pama.

Then, earlier this year his name popped up again on a friend’s sale list, this time on another Pama 45 performing a cover of the Rolling Stones ‘Jumping Jack Flash’. As soon as I heard the sound clip I knew I had to have it.

Washington’s take on the Stones classic (released in 1969) is a very groovy affair, with a soulful horns and organ.

The coolest part however is Washington’s vocal, which has a certain continental flair. His performance tends to remove a lot of the menace of the original, replacing it with just the tiniest bit of funk.

I’ve played this one out a few times this year, and it never fails to garner a positive response from the Mod types in the crowd (as well as pretty much everyone else).

If anyone out there has some more solid info on Mr. Washington, please share it in the comments.

I hope you dig it (I know I do) and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

*Speaking of the Mohawks, the flip ‘Spinning’ is a cool, semi-rocksteady groove with organ that sounds like it was contributed by none other than Mr. Hawkshaw himself.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 11, 2011 11:48 am

Billy Larkin (right) and the Delegates

Listen/Download – Billy Larkin and the Delegates – Agent Double O Soul

Greetings all.

The end of another long, hot, summer week is finally upon us and I have to say that despite all the sweating and sweltering, this has been a most excellent season.

There have been many prime DJ opportunities – which is especially groovy since I dig nothing more than tossing a few sets worth of 45s into the record box(es) and heading out to spin them for the peeps – a few extraordinarily lucky vinyl acquisitions, as well as a grip of the usual family-type summer hijinks.

Among the blogging-type things was the recording and mixdown of a couple of radio shows, including this week’s Funky16Corners Radio Show which will be hitting the airwaves of the interwebs this (and every) Friday evening at 9PM on Viva Radio. This week’s show is packed with snappy new arrivals, some tasty New Orleans funk and lots of groovy Northern and othern soul. If you can’t tune in at airtime you can always come by the blog over the weekend to pick the show up in MP3 form.

One of the highlights of the last week was the arrival of an unexpected package in the post.

I went out to empty the mailbox, and I found a 45 mailer (not surprising). What was unusual was how heavy the box was.
I didn’t recall ordering any lead ingots, so I took the box inside and opened it carefully.

What I found was a surprise package from my old buddy Haim (as serious a record head as there is) filled with a nice, fat stack of jazz and soul jazz jukebox EPs.

He just “thought I’d like them”.

How about that?

I’ve known Haim for a long time and when he was resident in this part of the country we went out digging together quite a few times and he was unfailingly generous in word and deed, not to mention the fact that his wealth of musical knowledge (a big factor in the formation of my tastes at the time) made him an ideal digging partner.

It’s always cool to hit the crates with someone who has a complementary digging skill set. You know stuff they don’t and vice versa, and at the end of the day you’re very likely to come away with a grip of solid stuff that you mightn’t have discovered on your own.

That said, we are now on opposite sides of the continent and our communication is largely restricted to the on-line and postal varieties, the latter bringing this week’s bounty.

Though I have yet to reach the bottom of the stack, one of the gems I have managed to digimatize is today’s selection, a cover of Edwin Starr’s ‘Agent Double-O Soul’ by Billy Larkin and the Delegates.

Mr. Larkin and his compadres have appeared in a number of Funky16Corners Radio mixes but I was shocked to discover that in the many years this enterprise has been extant they have never had a post of their own.

I have been remiss…

In order to remedy this a-blog-mination, I bring you today’s very tasty selection.

The PNW-based Larkin and the Delegates recorded a bunch of albums for Aura/World Pacific in the 60s in the standard Hammond combo mode, laying down a couple of certified classics (like ‘Pigmy Pts 1&2’) in the process.

‘Agent Double-O Soul’ was recorded many times, vocally and instrumentally, but I never heard Larkin’s version before this week, andI’d have to say that it is definitely among the best.

I don’t normally do this, but I will begin by suggesting that you give this track a listen on headphones with a good bass response or a loud sound system, because you will not get the full effect of the track if you don’t.

Like Toussaint McCall’s tour de force ‘Shimmy’, Billy Larkin’s ‘Agent Double-O Soul’ is a fantastic example of a Hammond-master hard at work with the bass pedals of his instrument.

Here you get the classic organ trio (Hammond, guitar and drums) at work, with Larkin’s feet playing a walking (no pun intended) bass figure on the pedals of the organ.

If you’re not familiar with the set-up I’m describing, set to Googling and check it out, on account of when it’s done right it’s truly a thing to behold.

I remember reading an interview with Jimmy Smith maybe 25 years ago where the master stated that if you weren’t playing the top and the bottom of the organ, you weren’t really playing it at all, and Billy Larkin could play it.

This version of ‘Agent Double-O Soul’ is a prime slice of mod, dancefloor soul jazz, due in large part to that throbbing bass, and the snare drum/handclaps (I think it’s a combo of the two) on the beat.

It swings like sixty.

I for one cannot wait for the opportunity to give this a spin on a nice, loud sound system.

Until then, crank up the volume on your home system, grab yourself a cold drink  and cut yourself a slice of rug.

See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 9, 2011 4:39 pm

Eddie Jefferson

Listen/Download – Eddie Jefferson – Freedom Jazz Dance

Listen/Download – Eddie Jefferson – Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin

Greetings all.

I hope that all is well.

The mighty originator of vocalese, Mr. Eddie Jefferson has been covered in this space a couple of times before.

Though his career dips way back into the 40s, Jefferson recorded steadily through the 60s and 70s, until his murder in front of the storied Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit in 1979.

Like most of his soul jazz contemporaries, Jefferson liked to stay ahead of the game, and continued to create new ‘vocalese’, much of it related to current material, like his remake of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Chameleon’ and the two tunes I bring you today.

Jefferson recorded the Eddie Harris composition ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ twice in the 70s, both times for the Muse label.

The later version appeared in this space a while back and can still be heard as part of Funky16Corners Radio v.65.

I discovered the take I bring you today whilst out a-digging a few months back. I’m always game for some Eddie Jefferson I haven’t heard, and when I happened upon his 1974 album ‘Things Are Getting Better’, and noticed that it included several interesting covers (and cost less than a fiver) it went right onto the keeper pile and I took it home.

When it finally arrived on my turntable I was very pleasantly surprised to hear a different take on ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ – less frantic and dare I say more funky – than the one previously featured, as well as a very groovy reworking of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin’, with new lyrics namechecking the greats of midcentury jazz.

The feel of the album is a little looser and fusion-y than his other efforts of the period, and listening to some of the cuts several times I find it shocking that it does not seem to have been sampled by anyone.

Jefferson was always a swinging cat, and ‘Things Are Getting Better’, which also includes a very dark and sinister take on ‘Bitches Brew’ is at least in my opinion, the finest thing he recorded in the 70s.

If you get a chance, pick up one of the reissues of his earlier work (or even better, look for some of it on OG vinyl in the field). I think you’ll dig it.

I hope you dig these sounds, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 7, 2011 2:34 pm

Miss Etta James

Listen/Download – Etta James – Something’s Got a Hold On Me

Greetings all.

If you were hanging about on the interwebs this past Thursday, you might have stumbled upon the news (thankfully untrue) that the mighty Etta James had shaken off this mortal coil and was now singing with the choir invisible.

Some jackass, somewhere (not sure who) posted a fake story indicating that Miss Etta had died and the rumor spread like wildfire with any number of my Facebook friends (a list that includes a wide variety of record fiends, DJs etc) posting tributes.

It struck me as odd that I couldn’t find any corroboration for the story anywhere on the web (the one link that kept being posted on Facebook turned out to be a hoax).

While it is true that James has been seriously ill for some time, she is in fact still with us.

This unfortunate glitch is an object lesson in both the speed (and often inaccuracy) of the internet, and why folks ought to double check their sources before posting stuff like this.

If there was a positive by-product at all, it was that I was reminded that I hadn’t posted anything Miss James in a long time, so here you go.

This amazing 45 that came into the world the same year I did (that being 1962).

I’ve often packed ‘Something’s Got a Hold On Me’ in my DJ box but have seldom actually spun it, due in large part (in only part) to its extended intro. It’s a brilliant record, but unless you plan on starting a set with it, not ideal to DJ with.

That said, once Miss Etta gets the preaching out of the way, the tune rolls out of the amen corner like a semi-sanctified juggernaut.

‘Something’s Got a Hold On Me’ is as gospel-feeling as upbeat soul 45s get. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that it was modeled on a specific gospel tune (as several soul songs are).

Dig it, keep Miss Etta in your thoughts and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, August 4, 2011 2:02 pm

Listen/Download – Willis Wooten – Your Love Is Indescribably Delicious

Greetings all.

The end of the week is finally here and so is a little bit of that fabled light at the end of the tunnel.

I feel like I’ve been running a marathon this past month (I’d get tired driving one…) and the time for a little rest and relaxation is at hand, or at least a return to normalcy.

I should remind you that this Friday night sees the return of the Funky16Corners Radio Show to the airwaves, at 9PM on Viva Radio. This week’s show is (thanks to the insane schedule of the last few weeks) an encore performance of a show from last year, so if you didn’t hit it the first time around, dig it, and if you did, check it out again.

No matter how long I dig, or how late I keep my ears open for business, there is always something new and amazing waiting out there for me.

Earlier this year, during the Funky16Corners Pledge Drive, my man Vincent the Soul Chef contributed a mix which introduced me to today’s selection, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Willis Wooten is one of those cats who’s name I knew but who’s music managed to elude me for quite some time.

I have quite a lot of Virtue 45s in my Philly crates, but the one I bring you today was not one of them, and when I heard the song ‘Your Love is Indescribably Delicious’ for the first time in Vincent’s mix, my mind was good and truly blown.

I dig funky music (you already knew that, right?) but every once in a great while a funk 45 rolls along that absolutely swings in that get your ass up out of your seat and move it kinda way, and ‘Your Love Is Indescribably Delicious’ carries that vibe like a spike driver with a sledge hammer.

The phrase ‘hard-hitting’ doesn’t really do a record like this justice, since it’s not about power as much as it is about swagger, and swing, and feeling and that certain soulful je ne sais quoi that makes you want to leap onto the dance floor for the Soul Train Line of the mind.

The drums do indeed attack solidly, but check out that rhythm guitar and the vocals (I’ll go ahead and assume that it’s Mr. Wooten) and the horns with that little touch of Memphis and resist the temptation to rise up and, how do they say, boogie.

I have not been able to track down any information on Willis Wooten himself, though the info on the label indicated that many of the usual Philadelphia suspects were involved including Ronnie Baker (who wrote the song), Norman Harris and Johnny Stiles.

It is without question an ass-kicker of the first order, and just the thing to get a hot summer weekend underway.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, August 2, 2011 11:33 am

Richard Berry

Listen/Download – Richard Berry and the Pharaohs – Have Love Will Travel

Greetings all.

I hope all is well in your little corner of the interwebs, as well as whatever connection any of us has to the “real” (less so every day) world.

As referenced in Monday’s post, this has been an exceptionally busy couple of weeks for yours truly as well as a fantastic example the old saw about how life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

The Funky16Corners fam had quite a bit of planning (and travel) already penciled in on the calendar, and then a death in the family ended up sending us a few hundred miles in the opposite direction.

Fortunately the week ended on a big up note, with the Funky16Corners Mobile Sound System rolling into Philly to provide the musical entertainment for a wedding party.

I’ve spun many a night, but never before in celebration of someone’s nuptials, and it was a stone gas.

This probably has to do with the fact that the loving couple put together quite a wingding. In addition to requesting a soundtrack of the finest in funk and soul (me again) with a concentration of the sounds of the Big Easy (you know how I roll), the people were very cool (there were even a couple of Funky16Corners fans in the crowd) and the food was spectacular.

It’s always nice to be a part of a happy occasion (usually as a partygoer) but spinning records (there were more than a few people who were stunned to see vinyl being used) and seeing folks get down to stuff like Roger and the Gypsies and Professor Longhair was – in the words of my old man – “something else”.

If anyone else out there decides to get hitched and wants to hear music like that, you know where to find me.

That said, I pulled out a grip of “love” related 45s on Saturday night (on account of what else are you celebrating at a wedding??) but didn’t get around to spinning today’s selection, which is more a reflection of the fact that I went in loaded for bear than anything to do with the quality of the music in the grooves, which is – as usual – quite high.

However, it would have been groovy for two reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I use a spin on the title for the motto on the back of my DJ business cards (as seen directly below this sentence).

You see, if you haven’t heard the OG version of Richard Berry’s ‘Have Love Will Travel’ (which is something that can also be said about his original ‘Louie Louie’, featured here a few years back) you have almost certainly heard the song covered by folks like the might PNW garage gods the Sonics, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Black Keys, Thee Headcoatees, and Central Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen.

Released in 1960 (the title is a tip of the hat to Richard Boone’s TV cowboy Paladin aka ‘Have Gun Will Travel’), and like ‘Louie Louie’ doomed to see success only in the hands of others (though in this case not much more) the original ‘Have Love Will Travel’ is a tightly swinging bit of West Coast R&B by Berry and his Pharaohs.

Opening with the “bow bow bow bow” of the bass singer and pushed along by a hard-hitting snare drum and piano, ‘Have Love…’ sees (hears?) Berry’s stellar lead sailing on top of the tight harmonies of the Pharaohs. Once heard – or danced to – it is immediately obvious why this record became an anthem of sorts.

It was already a killer, but like ‘Louie Louie’ it was ripe for seismic reinterpretations by disaffected, snotty, testosterone fueled headbangers, fired up enough to convince their audience that the title was not in fact an idle threat.

The record is sought after by both the Mod and Northern Soul crowd because it kicks all kinds of ass while retaining a stylish, dare I say soulful veneer lost in most of the later interpretations.

Not too long ago I got into a small interwebs shouting match with some thickheaded garage purist who insisted that in the case of ‘Louie Louie’ Richard Berry had been consistently outdone by most of his coverers. This goon had the poor taste to try to serve me a dish of cold “Paul Revere and the Raiders did the best version”, which I promptly sent back to the kitchen with a note that said something to the effect of “pull your head out of your ass”.

I am of the opinion that if you have any taste at all for black music, once you’ve heard Richard Berry’s originals there’s really no going back.

Those that know me (or have happened upon my other blog Iron Leg) know that I have a definite taste for (and strong roots in) garage rock (the fuzzy 60s kind) but I’m smart enough to know the real thing when it falls into my ears, and Richard Berry and the Pharaohs were/are that real thing. All following versions are reinterpretations on a theme, and that theme has strong, deep roots in R&B that are not coming out no matter how hard some pageboyed, Beatle-booted stooge yanks on them.

If today’s story had a moral, it has something to do with knowing the value of those roots and paying respect to the people that cultivated them in the first place.

So there.

Bow bow bow bow, bow bow bow, bow bow bow….

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, July 31, 2011 10:56 am

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes

Listen/Download – Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes – Don’t Leave Me This Way (Extended Mix)

Greetings all.

This is going to be a very short entry, due to the fact that I have less than no time this week (this is being written/prepared several days in advance).

Thanks to a combination of planned (my folks 50th wedding anniversary and some DJ work) and unplanned (the whole family had to travel at the last minute to attend a funeral) I am operating at a serious time deficit.

I didn’t want to leave the blog hanging with the lights on and the door open, so I thought I’d put something interesting up that didn’t require a whole lot of explanation.

One of my cooler recent finds was a two record set released by Philadelphia International in 1977 as (I think) a promotional set for radio and club DJs. It features long mixes of some of the better known PI hits, but was especially interesting to me due to the inclusion of an especially long mix (unavailable elsewhere) of one of my personal favorites, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’.

There are no specific credits on the album as to who did the remixing, but my assumption is that it was probably someone from the axis of Gamble/Huff, Ronnie Baker and Norman Harris, all of whom were involved in the production and arrangement of the original appearance of the song on the group’s 1975 ‘Wake Up Everybody’ LP. If anyone knows different, please let me know in the comments.

That said, it’s about five minutes more of the good stuff than you get on the album track, which in the case of this mightiest of Philly dance floor anthems is most excellent.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, July 27, 2011 11:33 am

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners – Set 1 – Botanica 7/18/11

You can hear these mixes over at the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

Funky16Corners – Botanica 7/18 – Set 1

Earl King – Come On Pt1 (Imperial)

Johnny Otis Show – Country Girl (Kent)

Frank Frost – My Back Scratcher (Jewel)

Timmy Thomas – Have Some Boogaloo (Goldwax)

Betty Harris – Ride Your Pony (Sansu)

Oscar Toney Jr – Ain’t That True Love (Bell)

Human Beinz – Nobody But me (Capitol)

Buddy McKnight – Every Time Pt2 (Renfro)

Eddie Bo – Skate It Out (Seven B)

Howard Tate – Stop (Verve)

Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1 (Cadet)

______________________________________________________________________________

Listen/Download – DJ Hambone – Set 2 – Botanica 7/18/11

You can hear these mixes over at the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

DJ Hambone – Botanica 7/18 – Set 2

The Interpretations – Trippin’ – Jubilee

Duralcha – Ghet-o-funk – Microtronics Records

The Soul Lovers – Gonna Have Fun Tonight – Pacemaker

Big Al & The Star Treks – Funky Funk – Double M

Big Jay Bush – Funky Horns – Vangee

Kim Melvin – Doin’ The Popcorn – Hi Records

Frank Williams Rocketeers ft. Little Beaver – Good Thing Pt. 1 – Lloyd Records

The Czars – Get Down Pt. 1 – Key-Loc

Flip Flop Stevens & his Psychedelic Soul Orchestra – Live Your Own Life – Dynamite

The Soul Machine – Twitchie Feet – Pzazz

The Meters – Ease Back -Josie

Lee Dorsey – Tears Tears and More Tears – Polydor

Gary Griffin & The Top Notes – Bootleg – HMF Records

______________________________________________________________________________

Listen/Download -M-Fasis – Set 1 – Botanica 7/18/11

You can hear these mixes over at the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

M-Fasis – Botanica 7/18 – Set

the wash – brenda & the tabulations – dionn

2. give me you – lee dorsey – fury

3. jungle beat – sir victor uwaifo – phillips

4. take your love (and shove it) – kane’s cousins – shove love

5. humpin’ – the bar kays – volt

6. s’cuse uz y’all – brenda & the tabulations – top and bottom

7. the stretch – detroit sex machines – soul track

8. it’s amazing – johnny taylor – stax

9. knocking ’round the zoo – james taylor – euphoria

10. hard life – motherlode – buddah

11. summertime – billy stewart – chess

12. utica club natural beer drinking song – national carbonation band – rca

______________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all.

This post is the tiniest bit rushed, since some unexpected and unpleasant news rendered an already jam-packed week even more jam-packier.

What you have here is evidence of a hot night at Botanica which was also (sadly) the last Spindletop.

A few weeks back the mighty Perry Lane said that he’d be bringing things to a close, and honored me by asking if I’d man the decks on the final night.

Though I was bummed – Spindletop has been my favorite place to spin this year – I agreed to helm things for the night and kept things sharp by enlisting the help of my buddies M-Fasis and Joe Cristando (aka DJ Hambone).

We had a hell of a time getting the somewhat beleaguered equipment to behave itself (the battered mixer was especially problematic) and then when we finally did, the digital recorder started to misbehave. As a result there are segments of the night that either went unrecorded, or were – thanks to technical difficulties – unacceptable for presentation herein.

I’ve decided to post one set each by the DJs and I think you’ll be satisfied with the results.

I brought a mix of soul that included a tip of the hat (via Howard Tate) to the recently departed Jerry Ragovoy.

DJ Hambone brought a grip of serious  heat including a bunch of stuff I’d never heard before, and M-Fasis dropped yet another incredibly diverse set, packed (as always) with surprises.

That said, I hope you dig it all, and I’ll be back next week.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, July 24, 2011 1:20 pm

London Fog(g) and the Continentals

Listen/Download – London Fogg – Easy Mover

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had themselves a groovy weekend and haven’t succumbed to the ungodly heat and humidity.

I thought we had it bad here in Jersey, but it seems our friends in the Midwest are sizzling, so as your physician I recommend that you stay in the air conditioning, pour yourself something cold and restrict yourself to the heat generated by high quality soul and funk in your headphones.

With that in mind, I bring you something cool.

A little while back I indulged my organ 45 jones by finally picking up a copy of London Fogg’s ‘Trippin’ 45. As solid a Hammond junkie as exists, I’d certainly known of the record for years, but had neither scored a copy in the field, nor found one elsewhere at a reasonable price. This time out it appeared on a friend’s set sale list, so I grabbed it.

When it fell through the mail slot I gave ‘Trippin’ a spin, and was happy to see that it was a funky and organ-tastic as I recalled.

Then – as is my wont – I flipped it over and gave the flip a spin, assuming (via the title ‘Easy Mover’) that what I was going to get was a mellow(er) instrumental.

When the needle hit the wax and the grooves started to give up their bounty I was both surprise and pleased to hear not an instrumental but a slow, funky female vocal feature. It was so surprising in fact that I set upon the interwebs to seek out information on the band.

As it turns out, this particular 45 was issued twice, first on the Dayton, Ohio (the band’s hometown) Gold Stars label, and then picked up for national distribution on Imperial. The assemblage –as listed on the label of the first pressing – was London Fog (one “G”, the band) and the Continentals (the singers).

These groups came together during high school in Dayton (unusual in that they were a racially integrated band), and recorded their single in 1969.

The Continentals were Quinn Moorman, Bozie Black, Loretta Reid (lead vocal on ‘Easy Mover’) and John Mortimer. The London Fog were Gary Kaiser (organ), Bud Kraft and Ed Toll (gtr), Vince DiSalvo (dr), Dan Connaughton (bass), Tony Giambrone and Gary Moon (tenor sax), Robert Pennington (trombone) and Mike Riley (alto sax).

‘Easy Mover’ was a regional hit, supposedly selling quite briskly. The song was actually written by Brenda Lee Jones, “Jean” of “Dean and Jean” who recorded a number of 45s from the late 50s through the mid-60s.

I hope you dig the tune and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, July 21, 2011 7:58 am

Idris lays into the traps…

Listen/Download – Idris Muhammad – Express Yourself

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end of the interwebs.

This being a truncated week – having allowed for a little marination with the Jerry Ragovoy tribute – I figured I’d close out the week with something funky.

First, it behooves me to step to the side and remind you all that Friday night at 9PM is Funky16Corners Radio Show time on Viva Radio, wherein I fall by with my big box of records and some words and fill the airwaves with soulful goodness. All of the shows are then MP3-ified and posted in the F16C Radio Show archive at the blog (here, in fact) where you can pull down the ones and zeros at your leisure.

I should also mention that this past Monday’s festivities at Botanica, wherein yours truly, joined by M-Fasis and DJ Hambone laid down several hours of tasty funk and soul to a very groovy crowd. Hopefully I can get some of the recorded sets posted in the next few weeks.  Thanks also to Dan behind the bar for the ginger beer.

That said, I came upon today’s selection fairly recently.

I’ll go ahead and assume that most of you have at least a passing acquaintance with the name Idris Muhammad.

What I’ll also say is, that I don’t think many folks know that Mr. Muhammad was born with the much less exotic name of Leo Morris, and was a New Orleans homeboy of folks like the mighty Neville Brothers. Morris/Muhammad came from a family of drummers, and as a teenager played alongside Art Neville’s Hawketts, Joe Jones and Fats Domino among others.

He relocated to New York in the early 60s and established himself as a jazz drummer, joining the band of Lou Donaldson, and spending the second half of the 60s and the early 70s recording soul jazz behind leaders like Donaldson, Grant Green, Leon Spencer and Lonnie Smith. Like guitarist Melvin Sparks (who plays on today’s selection) Muhammad seemed to specialize in backing organ sessions.

Now, when I got this 45, I blanked on the fact that the flip side was a cover of James Brown’s ‘Super Bad’, which was a very nice surprise indeed and it kicks, and I’ll make sure to whip it on you sometime soon.

That said, the tune I’m posting today is Muhammad’s cover of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band’s ‘Express Yourself’.

After I digimatize this particular 45 and transferred the files to the old iPod, I gave both sides repeated listens, focusing (natch) on Muhammad’s drums, which snap like a mofo, but what really grabbed me, and it ought to grab you too, is the fact that his playing on ‘Express Yourself’ positively screeeeeaaammmms NEW ORLEANS!

Yesiree Bob, unfold your ears and take a listen to the drums breakdown around the one minute and thirty nine second mark and the funk gets all loose and second line-y. Get your head inside of those drums and tell me if you don’t hear a little bit of James Black, an almost exact contemporary of Muhammad’s who also came up out of New Orleans to make his mark as a jazz drummer (but is best known for the funk).

Muhammad lays down about 20 seconds of absolute magic, dancing back and forth between his kick drum and his snare in a laid back tidal wave of syncopation that is utterly mind blowing.

While I was writing this I just keep running the marker back and playing the breakdown in a loop and it just got deeper every time.

I should also note that the band is very groovy, with some nice electric piano action from Harold Mabern.

It is a tasty number indeed, and ought to hold you fine people over the weekend until I return on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.