F16C Soul Club Presents: Funky16Corners Live In DC, 9/25/10
Playlist
Average White Band – Pick Up the Pieces (Atlantic)
Lyn Collins – Think (About It) (People)
Mongo Santamaria – Lady Marmalade (Vaya)
Manu Dibango – New Bell (Atlantic)
Isley Brothers – Fight the Power (T-Neck)
Gladys Knight & the Pips – Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin (Soul)
Hoctor – Gold Coast (Hoctor)
Bobby Byrd – I Know You Got Soul (King)
Barrett Strong – Stand Up and Cheer For the Preacher (Epic)
LTD – Every Time I Turn Around (Back In Love Again) ()
Billy Preston – Outta Space (A&M)
Eddie Kendricks – Keep On Truckin’ (Tamla)
O’Jays – I Love Music Pt1 (PI)
Joe Bataan – Latin Strut (Mericana)
Louie Ramirez – Do It Any Way You Wanna (Cotique)
Joe Bataan – Shaft (Fania)
As previously stated, at the time you’re reading this, I will be away on vacation with the wife and the little Corners, releasing this post in a timely fashion from a remote location.
I figured this would be a good time to drop the set I recorded at Marvin on my DC trip back in September.
Marvin is a very cool place, but with a decidedly different vibe than I’m used to, i.e. I can’t rock the house with a stack of vintage funk 45s. This is not to say (as you’ll see above) that funk 45s cannot be rocked, just that the mix has to be peppered with things from a little later on the timeline.
The records are – as always – aimed to please the dancers with a taste of disco blended into the overall flavor.
I actually dig doing this, especially since I get to expand the palette as it were, spinning records that don’t fit inside the context of a vintage funk/soul night.
I’m not making a claim to be breaking any new ground, just mentioning that I dig flexing those muscles a little bit now and then.
It took me a long time to warm up to (read, ‘understand’) disco, and the more I dig into the good stuff, the more I wish I knew, and of course, had more of it on vinyl.
That said, pop this one in, and shake it up a little.
Don’t forget to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday at 9PM at Viva Radio. This week is an hour-long tribute to the late Weldon McDougal III and the Harthon sound or Philadephia soul.
Willie Tee- Gatur Bait (Gatur)
Eula Cooper- Shake Daddy Shake (Atlantic)
The Vibrettes – The Humpty Dump (Lujon)
Soul Tornados- Hot Pants Breakdown (Magic City)
Leon Haywood- Skate Awhile (Fat Fish)
Bobby Williams – Funky SuperFly ( Duplex) Original Pressing
Eddie Jacobs- Pull My Coat (Columbia)
Bernard Drake- The Natural Thing (Louisiane)
Charles Mintz –Give a Man Break (Abbott)
Gloria Walker & The Chevelles – You Hit The Spot (Flaming Arrow)
Danny DeLaney- Stop & Think (Seeda)
Richard Marks – Funky Four Corners (Roulette) French Import
Rocker Roberts – T- Bird Stomp ( Roulette)
Soul Setters – Out O Sight (Onacrest)
Gene Waiters – Shake and Shingaling Pt. 1 (Fairmount)
Justin ‘Rambo’ Salinas
Sunny and the Sunliners-Talk That Trash (Key-Loc)
Rocky Gil and the Bishops- Soul Party (Teardrop)
Sunny and the Sunliners-If I could See You Now (Key-Loc)
The Majestics- I Love Her So Much It Hurts (Linda)
Dimas and The Royal Jesters-So Funny (Clown)
The Royal Jesters- Use Your Head (Jester)
Thee Midnighters – Whittier Blvd. (Whittier)
Sunny and the Sunliners-Somethings Gotta Hold on Me (Teardrop)
The Eptones-A Love That’s Real (Jox)
The Commands-Hey Its Love (Dynamic)
Thee Midnighters- Chicano Power (La Raza)
Sunny and the Sunliners- Saving My Love (Key-Loc)
I have returned from DC laden with vinyl and tired as a mofo.
I’m this close to a full restoration of energy and enthusiasm, but I’m gonna rest a little bit more while you all get down.
Of what do I speak?
Well, I have a very special treat for you all to get your week started.
A little while back my man Tarik Thornton let me know that he was going to be spinning a set in New Orleans at the Ponderosa Stomp pre-party known as the Hip Drop. Naturally I asked him if he’d be recording it, so that I might place it up here on the blog for the delectation of the reader/listener-ship.
Naturally he gave me the okeydoke, in addition to getting Mr. Justin ‘Rambo’ Salinas (of the famed Hot Pants party in Minneapolis) – who was also spinning at the party – to contribute his set as well.
What does this mean to you?
Well, you get to wrap your ears around two superb sets of funk and soul by two of the country’s finest selectors, with Tarik bringing a regionally diverse set of heat, and Justin dropping a very nice set of Chicano soul and funk bouncing from Texas to East LA and back again (that Intruders cover by the Eptones is amazing!).
Very groovy indeed!
And now, a few words from Tarik about the experience.
“Hip Drop is the opening party for the Ponderosa Stomp. This 45 all-nighter hosts 10 DJs from all around the world. This year Justin Salinas along with myself were invited to participate in the festivities. Justin, who is a member of the Hot Pants Crew of Minneapolis, flew into New Orleans with only backpack and a 45 case ready for action. As for myself,a New Orleans native, this was a homecoming of sorts. I haven’t lived in the city for almost 10yrs so this weekend was very welcoming and adownright funky experience. As you can tell from both of our sets the night was hot and heavy as all the invited DJs brought in their best arsenal of 45’s. Throughout the madness of the weekend, I managed to dig up an old Mini Disc player to record both of our sets live! The end result is a something only fit for place called The Funky 16 Corners. Enjoy!”
– Tarik Thornton
I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back later in the week.
Please allow me to begin by making a simple statement of fact.
I am definitely getting too old for this shit.
Hooboy….
I piled myself and my records into the trusty Funky16Corners-mobile last Saturday morning, and set off (alone) for a whirlwind weekend of DJ-ing and digging in Washington, DC.
That was the easy part.
I had a grip of podcasts to keep me company on the trip and the drive down was uneventful (and quick). I rolled into the city by the early afternoon, meeting up with my buddy DJ Birdman and his lovely family (finally getting to meet Birdman Jr.!), followed by some digging (natch…whatup to Marshall and Mike) and then on to some delicious bar-b-que ribs.
That night Birdman and I did the late shift at Marvin where the crowd was predictably lively (with many predictable and unsuitable requests, but that’s how these things go). I recorded one of my sets (funk and disco), which I’ll be posting here sometime in the next few weeks.
The next morning, following an all too brief bit of sleep, we got up and rolled out to the DC Record Fair, where Birdman (and some other DC heads, whatup Neal and Nightkrawler) were running the show and had to get things set up. The U Street Music Hall was a very nice space, and the Record Fair produced some stellar results which will see the light of day well into the next year (or two) here on the blog.
I spun a set of uptempo Northern Soul at the Fair, which I did not record (left the recorder in the car…), but if you want a taste go back to the Northern set I did at Master Groove earlier this year (Funky16Corners Radio v.82 Groovin’ at the Go Go) which repeats about half of what I played on Sunday and you’ll get the idea. I’ll whip up an all-new Northern mix sometime in the not too distant future.
The folks at the Record Fair were very cool, especially the old school soulie right in front of the DJ booth (perhaps the most luxurious DJ booth I’ve ever been in, I felt spoiled) who requested the Just Brothers ‘Sliced Tomatoes’ about ten seconds after I’d already cued it up (it was kismet I tell you!), and it was very cool to meet up with some old friends and make first-person contact with a couple of interwebs acquaintances.
I have to say that DC is always a chill scene, with cool people and tons of great records to be had. The thought of restricting my digs to the DC area crossed my mind, but then I remembered what a degenerate record collector I am and realized that just wasn’t going to happen.
I rolled out of the Record Fair about an hour after I finished my set with a HUGE stack of vinyl, including more than a few longtime want list items (on 45 and LP). The only bummer being that I don’t have any pics, since I didn’t bring my camera, instead relying on my new phone, which I still haven’t learned to operate properly, rendering the few pictures I took tiny, low-res and unusable.
As is always the case, Igot lost on my way out of DC. It wasn’t too bad, but by the time I hit Baltimore I also hit the wall. My tired old carcass is not used to being treated like it’s 25 again, and I ran out of steam, forcing a pit stop at Starbucks where I loaded up on coffee and food and hit the road once again.
Unfortunately, as easy as my ride down to DC was, my ride home was plagued with difficulty, including an insane traffic jam in northern Maryland (understaffed toll booth related) and then another jam up in NJ which forced me to alter my route and take a time consuming detour.
This all followed by the fact that I had yet another medical procedure scheduled for Tuesday morning, and I’m sitting here at the laptop just about ready to go into hibernation.
I have something cool in the cooker for Monday morning (just waiting for all the pieces to arrive in the in-box) and after that I’m not sure what I’ll do, since I now have so much to choose from (in addition to everything else aging in the oaken barrels in the vinyl cellar).
I figured I’d close out the week with something I’ve wanted to post for a while now. Even though I’d digi-ma-tized it weeks (months?) ago, when I went to post it I discovered that I had neglected to photograph the label, but – as is always the case – when I was pulling records for the DC trip I put aside a number of records similarly afflicted, and I bring it to you now, better late than never.
I first posted something by the Dutch prog band Ekseption way back in 2007 when I included their version of the soul jazz classic ‘This Here’ in Funky16Corners Radio v.32. Some time after that, while engaged in a little e-digging, I discovered a 45 of yet another of their classical pastiches (something they did a lot), this time a version of Manuel de Falla’s ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ from his 1915 ballet ‘El Amor Brujo’.
I posted a couple of other jazz-funk reworkings of classical pieces a while back (with Deodato and Woody Herman covering Strauss and Copland), and while I’m not likely to make it a regular feature here at the Corners, the Ekseption 45 is so groovy I would be remiss were I not to share it with you.
I have to admit that I was not familiar with de Falla’s original piece when I first heard it (check out Artur Rubinstein playing it here, for comparison), but after hearing it in its original setting, it’s safe to say that aside from some heavy drums and organ (and giving it that Euro-swinger je ne sais quois), Ekseption don’t really stray too far from the source.
I don’t think I’d be telling tales out of school were I to suggest that this particular gem might get some of your modder types out onto the floor, with a little bit of that au-go-go flavour.
In other news, don’t forget to tune in Friday night at 9PM for this week’s all-new edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio. I assure you that the collection of funk, soul, jazz and rare groove that awaits you get your weekend off to a groovy start.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back on Monday.
Booker T & the MGs – Plum Nellie (Stax)
Mark 3 Trio – Mr O (Downhill)
Louis Chachere – Shout Down (Central)
Robert Graham Organ Trio – Co Petiete (Amark)
Mohawks – Baby Hold On Pt2 (Cotillion)
Dave Lewis – Mmm Mmm Mmm (Panorama)
Soul Finders – Dead End Street (Camden)
Mad Hatters – Soul Sister (20th Cent)
Spencer Davis Group – Trampoline (Fontana)
Warm Excursion – Hang Up Pt2 (Pzazz)
Dave Baby Cortez – Hurricane (Clock)
Clarence Nelson – Good Times (MGM)
Freddie Scott & the Seven Steps – It’s Not Unusual (Marlin)
Gene Ludwig – Mr Fink Pt1 (La Vere)
Odell Brown – Sign of the Ram (Cadet)
Roger Coulam – Time Is Tight (Contour)
Toussaint McCall – Mary (Dore)
Rhoda Scott Trio – Watermelon Man (Tru Sound)
Hollis Floyd – Black Poncho Is Coming (Silloh)
This is being prepared in advance of my excursion to Washington, so any reporting on that trip will have to wait until later in the week.
Hopefully it was a gas and I found lots of groovy records.
That said, it’s been a while since the last organ mix (a live mix, back in January), and I can’t go very long without a Hammond infusion, so I figured it was time.
This mix is all over the map, with some hard driving R&B, soul, funk and even a little bit of soul jazz, but since we’re talking about the universe of the Hammond organ, that’s kind of how these things swing.
A couple of these tracks have seen the light of day here on Funky16Corners individually (none recently), but since two slices of bacon is always better than one, and organ records are the soulful and delicious equivalent of bacon in the musical food pyramid, it couldn’t possibly hurt to hear them again.
Anyhoo… this week might be a little light, since I’m one hundred and eleventy seven percent that I will be returning from DC exhausted, and then I have a little surgical type thingy on Tuesday which is sure to knock me on my ass for a few days, but it’s one of those ‘gotta do it when you gotta do it’ deals, so there.
I hope you dig the mix, and I’m sure I’ll make it back onto the scene by the end of the week (if not sooner).
I have so much stuff to do this weekend that I was going to forgo the regularly scheduled Friday post, but thought it might be a good idea to touch base with you all about the goings on here in Funky16Cornersville that I changed my mind.
First and foremost, I’ll be traveling down to Washington, DC this weekend with my records for a couple of DJ-type extravaganzas.
Saturday night I’ll be sharing the decks with my man DJ Birdman at Marvin (2007 14th Street, NW), and while we’re likely to get started on the mellower side of things, you know that as soon as the little hand starts pointing up the place will be banging, so if you dig delicious food, Belgian beer and the best in funk, soul and disco, you should fall by and join us.
The following day I’ll be doing a set at the DC Record Fair, and naturally also buying some records. I expect I’ll be running into all manner of interwebs friends, so stop by and say hi if you’re there.
Of course if you’re about on Friday night, say around 9PM you should head over to Viva internet radio for the Funky16Corners Radio Show for an hour of the best funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from original vinyl sources. The show will be then be archived (as an MP3) for download.
The track I bring you today is one of the truly great things that Jimmy Smith recorded during the 60s (maybe his best).
‘The Cat’ is a stunner, and that my friends is all I going to (or have time to) say this fine day (aside from the following bit of hyperbole…or is it???). It smokes from start to finish and is the bad-assiest of all the bad-ass, bad-assery ever committed via the intercession of Mr. Hammond’s mighty electric organ-o-phone.
Dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday with a whole new mix of Hammond organ goodness.
F16C Soul Club Presents – Funky16Corners Live at Master Groove 9/19/10
Playlist
Coasters – Soul Pad (Date) * JBs – Gimme Some More (People) * Nina Simone – Save Me (RCA) * Magictones – Good Old Music (Westbound) * Gate Wesley & Band with Billy LaMont – Do the Thing (Atlantic) * King Curtis – Memphis Soul Stew (Atco) * Lyn Collins – Give It Up or Turnit a Loose (People) * Popcorn Wylie – Funky Rubber Band (Soul) * Impressions – Mighty Mighty Spade & Whitey (Curtom) * Reggie Milner – Soul Machine (Volt) * The Touch – Pick & Shovel (LeCasver) * Bobo Mr Soul – H.L.I.C. (Ovide) * Ace Cannon – Drunk (Hi) * Blue Notes – Hot Thrills & Cold Chills (UNI) * Eddie Bo – Hook & Sling Pt 1 (Scram) * Linda Lyndell – What a Man (Volt) * Creative Funk – Funk Power (Creative Funk) * Royalettes – River of Tears (Roulette) * Bobby Freeman – Do You Wanna Dance 1970 (Double Shot) * Mickey and the Soul Generation – Football (Maxwell) * Pat Rhoden – Boogie On Reggae Woman (Horse) *
The middle of the week, and I’m up to my ass in hungry alligators, with the real world crap and preparing for my excursion to our nation’s capitol, during which I will address congress on my solutions to all the big problems currently driving us crazy (or at least those members of congress willing to come down to Marvin on Saturday night, or the DC Record Fair on Sunday and extract said solutions from within the grooves of various funk, soul and disco records).
Since I am so occupied, I figured I’d whip out my massive custodian’s key ring and open up the Funky16Corners Soul Club so that you might check out my set from this past Sunday night at Master Groove.
DJ Bluewater has things back up and running at Fat Buddha (formerly Forbidden City, same place, same great food, but now with a swanky DJ booth for the likes of me to spin the records) with the mighty M-Fasis at his side and a stellar line up of guest selectors and their 45s every Sunday night (212 Ave A NYC). You should fall by some time, grab a pork bun, dumpling or other delicious morsel and fill your ears up with the good stuff.
This set includes some old faves, a grip of newer stuff that will soon be appearing in this space with the trenchant analysis you’ve come to know and love, and a couple of things from deep in the crates.
There are a couple of inelegant segues, but that’s the way it happens when your DJ is checking his phone when he ought to be hovering over the mixer. As always we present these unvarnished turntable exercises in the form a single MP3, without the zip file that accompanies the regular Funky16Corners mixes.
I hope you dig it, and hopefully I’ll be back on Friday with a little something to hold you for the weekend.
Listen/Download – Masqueraders – I Don’t Want Nobody To Lead Me On
Listen/Download – Masqueraders – Love Peace and Understanding
Greetings all.
This is going to be a very busy week, with the real world moves mixed in with DJ gigs on Sunday in NYC (past) and next Sat and Sun in DC.
However, your intrepid blogger will not be stayed from the swift completion of his appointed rounds,
The two tunes I bring you today are by one of the more interesting soul groups that I’ve come across.
I first came to the Masqueraders in a rather roundabout way, after discovering that one of my favorite tunes on the Dynamics ‘First Landing’ album was in fact a cover of a Masqueraders tune.
This sent me a-Googling, and I discovered that the Masqueraders were the very definition of a journeyman soul group, having recorded for a wide variety of labels (under a few names) between the late 50s and the mid-70s, never having made a significant impact despite some very high quality records.
Finding out about the group via the Dynamics connection, I set out in search of their 45s, keeping their name filed in the back of my mind.
The basic framework of their story follows them from Texas, to Detroit, and then on to Memphis where they recorded a big chunk of their best stuff alongside the legendary Chips Moman and Tommy Cogbill (for a detailed look at their history check out these articles at The B-Side, Solid Hit Soul and SoulExpress).
Both of today’s tunes were recorded during their late-60s Memphis period, and were both written by the group.
‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Lead Me On’ (from 1967) was the Masqueraders tune I heard performed by the Dynamics. The tune was also covered by Rosey Grier (who also recorded for AGP) and a group called the Gentlemen Four. It’s a great piece of rough harmony soul, with some great guitar work. The Masqueraders’ version is (at least to my ears) far superior to the Dynamics (excellent) cover (I haven’t heard the other two versions).
1969’s ‘Love Peace and Understanding’ is a fantastic, upbeat number with era-specific lyrics that reinforces the group’s songwriting cred. Like ‘I’Don’t Want Nobody…’ it sounds like a rougher, groovier take on the Detroit group sound of the time, like a funkier, more aggressive Four Tops.
The Masqueraders hit the R&B charts a few times in the 60s, and again with a later version of the group in the 80s.
I hope you dig the tunes and I’ll be back on Wednesday.
Don’t forget, I’ll be heading down to Washington, DC for a weekend of fun. Saturday evening 9/25 I will be spinning at Marvin with my man DJ Birdman, bringing the finest in funk, soul and disco to perk up your ears and move your feet. The following day I will be spinning a set at the DC Record Fair. Fall by and say howdy if you’re in the area.
The end of the week is here, and I am happy to say that the Funky16Corners obit page is closed (for now).
Losing both Diamond Joe and King Coleman in the same week was a colossal drag, so I figured I close things out with something a little, how do they say, bad-ass.
But first, some news.
Should you be in New York City this Sunday evening and have developed a taste for the funk 45s, might I suggest you fall by Fat Buddha (formerly known as Forbidden City) 212 Ave A as I and my records will be making our return to Master Groove alongside residents DJ Bluewater and M-Fasis. I’ll be spending the next few days rifling through my crates to select only the finest funk that can be delivered via seven-inch platter, and I hope you can make it out to hear some of them, and perhaps, should the spirit take you, get off your ass and shake a tailfeather.
In even more exciting news, my records and I will be piling into the Funky16Corners-mobile and heading down to Washington, DC for a weekend of fun. Saturday evening 9/25 I will be spinning at Marvin with my man DJ Birdman, bringing the finest in funk, soul and disco to perk up your ears and move your feet. The following day I will be spinning a set at the DC Record Fair, as well as spending money on records (who among you didn’t see that coming?), after which I will be dragging my exhausted ass back to New Jersey.
You should also be hip (if you aren’t already) to the Funky16Corners Radio Show which drops every Friday night at 9PM on Viva internet radio, and is then archived for download (as an MP3) at this very blog the following day. I have lots of groovy stuff in store, so you should be real nice and feed your iPod something healthy.
As I said a few graphs ago, I was in the mood for some funky bad-assery, so I dipped into the crates and whipped out a little number by Mr. Andre Williams.
I won’t go too deep into his history, which is long and convoluted, aside from letting you know that Mr. Williams, working in Detroit and Chicago had a hand in creating many, many great records during his day, including writing or co-writing tunes like ‘Shake a Tail Feather’ and ‘Twine Time’, and burning up the studios with his own brand of groove grease with tunes like ‘Bacon Fat’, ‘Jail Bait’, ‘Loose Juice’, ‘Rib Tips’ etc, and working behind the scenes on records like ‘Uhuru (African Twist)’ by Jomo and ‘Pig Snoots’ by the Natural Bridge Bunch. During the 50s and 6os he recorded for labels like Fortune, Avin, Sport, Ric-Tic, Checker, Chess Wingate and many more.
The tune I bring you today (from 1968) is a tale of a very heavy cat named ‘Cadillac Jack’ which is sung (narrated?) by Andre who gambles, fights and (of course) drives a big white Caddy, until he meets his end at the barrel of a gun, eventually trading his own Caddy for the long, black one from the funeral home.
As Mr Williams says, ‘He sure was a mack!’.
So was Andre, and despite hitting some very hard times a while back, he made a comeback and is still performing.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back on Monday.
Listen/Download – Ray Barretto – A Deeper Shade of Soul
Greetings all.
I hope everything’s groovy at your specific GPS location, and anywhere else you choose to roam.
Summer is winding down, slowly, and while the weather is still warm (some might say hot) the days of summery freedom are also coming to an end, with the wife and kids headed back to school, and the rhythm of life changing once again.
To present a brief ‘state of the Corners’ address, things are mainly cool hereabouts. The Funky16Corners Radio Show has developed into something more satisfying (at least for me, hopefully for you all too) over the summer, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.
The DJing opportunities around here have, for a variety of reasons (some that I am not privy to), all but vanished, but I will be heading down to DC again toward the end of September to spin with my man DJ Birdman (more details to follow soon), so hopefully I’ll be able to touch base with some of the Capitol City heads who have always been so cool.
Other than that, things should continue on a steady course, with new mixes (regular old Funky16Corners and Soul Club) coming, as well as a steady stream of funk, soul, jazz and rare groove to soothe your troubled mind (and mine too, if I’m lucky).
The tune I bring you today is something I came to in a roundabout way.
The first time I had any inkling of Ray Barretto’s ‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ was back in 1989, when I heard it sampled by the Dutch group Urban Dance Squad in their song of the same name. Of course even though I knew it was probably a sample, I had no idea who it was, and pretty much left it at that.
Flash forward a few years and my buddy Haim lends me the CD reissue of Barretto’s 1968 ‘Acid’ album, and I’m listening to it (wishing I had an OG) and all of a sudden ‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ comes pouring into my ears and I’m all WTF?!? and the lightbulb goes on over my head, and then (of course) blows up.
Now these many years later, and I’m all hip to Ray Barretto and all of that good mid-to-late 60s Latin soul and funk, and while I had a couple of his 45s and LPs, an OG of ‘Acid’ (possibly THE essential Latin soul LP) had still eluded me.
Well, another one of those Asbury Lanes garage sales rolled around, and it was a particularly rewarding one, and I’ve just about run my way through all my ready cash, and then some dude I’ve never seen before sets up a table full of LPs, and before I know it me and about a half dozen other heads are pulling all kinds of OG Latin LPs out of his crates. As I mentioned, I was just about tapped out, and when I discovered that these LPs (while affordable) were not cheap I had to put back a couple of very nice things, including an OG Lat-Teens LP, but I walked away with a nice, clean copy of ‘Acid’.
While I still dig the Urban Dance Squad tune (it has a kind of stoney groove that I like) there’s just no comparison with Barretto’s original.
‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ is an absolutely perfect slice of soulful boogaloo, with prominent piano, percussion (natch…) and a horn chart that digs into ‘Knock On Wood’ for inspiration. The arrangements were handled by none other than Harvey Averne, so you know it’s good.
‘Acid’ was Barretto’s first LP for Fania, following his earlier chart success (on labels like Tico and UA) with tunes like 1963’s ‘El Watusi’.
If you haven’t heard ‘Acid’ (which also includes ‘Soul Drummers’, ‘Mercy Mercy Baby’, and ‘Teacher of Love’ among others) you should grab yourself a reissue (or an OG if you can find it) since it’s a great album from start to finish.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back in the middle of the week.
Greetings all, and welcome to the 2010 Funky16Corners Pledge Drive, beer blast and chili cook-off (well…just the first one, really, but I wouldn’t mind some cold beer and hot chili alongside the funk and soul 45s).
This is the fifth year I’ve come to you with my hand outstretched, asking that those of you that are so inclined, and of course can afford to, donate some small sum to contribute to the upkeep of the Funky16Corners empire (as it is).
To go into the WABAC machine for a moment, this all started four years ago, when Funky16Corners was the only blog I did, and was operated at very little cost, employing the same cheapo file storage and bandwidth that I used for the Funky16Corners web zine.
Then, out of the blue the good people at BoingBoing, a VERY heavily traveled site, linked to one of my posts, and in a single day Funky16Corners got enough traffic to erase a months worth of bandwidth, just about shutting things down.
It was at that point that I checked in with some of my more, how do they say ‘web savvy’ friends, who informed me that I should probably take the opportunity to move the whole shebang to a paid server space where storage and bandwidth spikes would not present such an issue.
So, I signed up and moved on to bigger and better things.
As a result, I started the yearly Pledge Drive in an attempt to offset the cost of the server.
In the years that followed, the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast (and the ensuing archive, the most heavily attended section of the site) got started, the blog moved from Blogger to WordPress, and then this year, following some menacing behavior by the otherwise wonderful folks at the free WordPress service, I crated up the whole mess and made the move to run the WordPress software (a related but separate entity from the blog host) our of my own server space. While doing that, I redesigned the blog, opened the Guest Mix Archive and watched my stats drop and subsequently rebound as the rest of the world adjusted their links accordingly. Of course, the fact that I only just discovered that I neglected to set up the post archives properly, means that they’ve been offline from when the blog moved in January until yesterday. That didn’t help.
As in previous Pledge Drives, I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. This year’s shindig evolved out of a recent change, in the blog, and the real world as well.
The last year has seen two important acquisitions in the Funky16Corners equipment arsenal. First and foremost, last Christmas my wife got me a portable digital recorder. Second – thanks to an unexpected windfall from a rare trip to the slot machines – I finally picked up a second turntable and a mixer, completing my home DJ set-up.
What this new equipment allowed me to do was (among other things) to record, and present to you, ‘live’ DJ mixes. The first of these appeared at Funky16Corners via sets recorded live at Master Groove in New York City. Later on, after the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcast Lab was up and running, I started to record mixes from my own turntables.
It was after I posted one of these, with the caveat that mixes recorded live would not have accompanying zip files of individually recorded tracks (for obvious, labor intensive reasons), that a reader (thanks Michael!) suggested that these mixes have their own section of the blog, and their own numbering sequence.
I had been thinking of something similar, and decided to take this idea a step further.
Though I have done a fair number of guest mixes for other blogs/sites, I have never (aside from a collaboration with my man DJ Prestige) ever hosted guest mixes by other DJs here at Funky16Corners.
Taking a page from the ‘two birds with one stone’ book, I decided that this year’s Pledge Drive would be a great time for the opening of what I’m calling the Funky16Corners Soul Club.
The Soul Club will be a repository for live mixes (whether recorded in the club, or on the decks at home), both by yours truly, and by DJs whoes work and sensibility I respect.
The Funky16Corners Soul Club will be opening with a virtual ‘Allnighter’, that being a collection of eight separate mixes (two by me to open and close the festivities, six by others). Once you pull down the ones and zeros you’ll be able to simulate, in the home setting, free of sweat (other people’s anyway), spilled beer (same there) and the like, a full evening (and then some) of high quality, professionally mixed funk and soul music.
When I decided to put this together, I put out some feelers to some of my favorite DJs, including the core of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions Crew, Brian Poust aka Agent45, and DJ Tarik Thornton and asked them to contribute mixes for the grand opening of Soul Club.
If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you’ve definitely heard about DJs Prestige, Prime Mundo, Bluewater and M-Fasis. I’ve been spinning with the Asbury Park 45 sessions crew for almost three years now, and during that time have developed a huge amount of respect for my fellow resident selectors.
Though I’ve DJ’d with a lot of people, my time with the AP45 crew has been a serious learning experience. These DJs have not only skills, and deep crates, but above all it’s their extraordinary taste that makes them great. I’ve written about it in this space before, but I have to reiterate how often an AP45 Sessions turns into a learning experience with one (or often more) DJ running up to the decks to see what another selector is spinning. There are many hot 45s in my DJ box that can be traced directly back to the AP45 Sessions, whether from one of the residents, or from one of the many distinguished guests that have graced us with their presence over the years.
DJ Prime Mundo may very well have the deepest crates of any working chef (including well known digger Julia Child). He applies the same levels of care and imagination to his DJ sets as he does to his food. Prime Mundo is – like every DJ represented here – a tireless digger with exceptional taste.
DJ Bluewater, in addition to being a longtime resident selector on the AP45 crew is the founder of Master Groove in NYC and a well regarded drum’n’bass DJ. He is a self described ‘funk 45 nerd’ and a connoisseur of heavy, heavy breakbeats.
M-Fasis, DJ and producer is the master of digging up and uncovering the heaviest records you’ve never heard of (or never expected). A resident at both the Asbury Park 45 Sessions and Master Groove, he also makes beats and produces.
Brian Poust, aka Agent45 is, in addition to running the most excellent Georgia Soul web site and blog, is one of the most respected soul DJs working today. Based out of Georgia, but traveling far and wide to spin funk, soul and gospel, Brian always brings the heat.
DJ Tarik Thornton is a native of New Orleans who has DJ’d (in clubs and on the radio) all over the country. He has a generosity of spirit, and like all the other DJs here, excellent taste in music. He started in college radio at WTUL in New Orleans, before relocating to New York City, and eventually Milwaukee, WI where he met up and started working with the crew at Burn Hearts. He has since spun with DJ Finewine (WFMU), Justin Salinas and the Hot Pants crew as well as the Hipshaker DJs in Minneapolis.
I don’t expect many of you to listen to these mixes end to end (though considering the amount of heat therein, you could do much worse with the next seven plus hours of your life) but the interwebs and MP3s being what they are, you can pull them down, file them however you like and soak up the good stuff at your leisure.
Once again, if you dig what I do here at Funky16Corners (and over at Iron Leg as well), and the current economy hasn’t left you destitute, please take the time to click on the Paypal link and toss a couple of shekels into the hat to help keep things going. It would be greatly appreciated, and since I’m going to keep working on this blog as long as time (and money) allow, it’ll keep the long list (close to 100) of mixes up and growing.
Over the last ten years, with the web zine, the blogs and getting to spin records in a variety of settings, the whole Funky16Corners ‘thing’ has become a big part of my life. The reason for this (aside from obvious matters of time spent) has a lot to do with the interaction these efforts bring me with many cool people, including the collectors and DJs, but also with the folks who just plain love the music and take the time to come out to the gigs or stop by the blog to add to the conversation, or just to say ‘Hi!’.
I’ve made many new friends, been turned on to lots of new music and most importantly found a productive outlet for my passion.
So, dig in, enjoy the music (click on the pledge links) and I’ll see you all next week.
As promised I have returned with the second hour of the show I put together for the Delirious Sunrise program.
Once again, it is firmly packed with heavy, yet oddly laid back sounds, including a large number of personal favorites.
It’s the end of the week, and I’m just about exhausted (mentally and physically) so I can’t recall – even after a couple of surveys – what in this mix has or has not appeared in this space already (a lot of it clearly has).
That said, I hope you dig it (and that you pulled down the ones and zeros for the first half as well, if you haven’t, make sure you, on account of it’s very groovy, very moody and the perfect complement to the second half, which is this…).
In other – mercifully brief – news, the long planned renovation of the Funky16Corners Record Vault is about to commence, including installation (fina-f*cking-ly) of a home DJ set up. I mentioned last week that I came home from vacation with some ill gotten gains, squeezed out of the slot machines in Connecticut, which I promptly rolled over and invested in a second turntable and a mixer. As soon as I get a bunch of stuff boxed up, hundreds of LPs off of the floor and into a wall unit of some kind (I hope I don’t have to go back to Ikea), and build a surface on which to set up the equipment (as well as some speakers) you can expect a new era of live mixes here, and I can spend some time working on my (admittedly rudimentary) turntable skills.
I will also be returning to Master Groove @ Forbidden City (Ave A between 13th and 14th in NYC) on Wednesday April 21st for some more of the good stuff spread over the turntables at the speed of 45 revolutions per minute. If you are in the area and are so inclined, pencil the date in your planner and fall by. It’d be great to see you, and since things are getting warmer every day it might make for a nice night in the city.
So, until I return on Monday with some funk, have yourself a great weekend and dig the sounds.
Funky16Corners Radio v.83 – Really Together!
Recorded live at Master Groove @ Forbidden City 3/10/10
Playlist
Perry & the Harmonics – Do the Monkey With James (Mercury)
Emperors – My Baby Likes To Boogaloo (Mala)
Scatman Crothers – Golly Zonk! (It’s Scat Man) (HBR)
Dave Davani Four – The Jupe (Capitol)
Jimmy Hannah and the Dynamics – Leaving Here (Seafair/Bolo)
Rodge Martin – Lovin’ Machine (Bragg)
Bobby Parker – Watch Your Step (V-Tone)
Dave Baby Cortez – Getting’ To the Point (Chess)
Benny Spellman – Fortune Teller (Minit)
Derek Martin – Daddy Rollin’ Stone (Cracker Jack)
Chuck Edwards – Downtown Soulville (Punch)
Soul Clan – Soul Meeting (Atlantic)
Freddy Scott & Orchestra – Pow City (Marlin)
Sugar Pie DeSanto – Go Go Power (Checker)
Billy Vera & Judy Clay – Really Together (Atlantic)
Lewis Clark – Dog (Ain’t a Man’s Best Friend) (Brent)
Oliver Morgan – La La Man (Seven B)
Roy Lee Johnson – Boogaloo #3 (Josie)
Dottie Cambridge – He’s About a Mover (MGM)
Gentleman June Gardner – It’s Gonna Rain (Emarcy)
Benny Spellman – I Feel Good (Atlantic)
Brother Jack McDuff – Too Many Fish In the Sea (Prestige)
Shirley Ellis – The Nitty Gritty (Congress)
Ray Charles – Sticks and Stones (ABC)
Bobby Freeman – C’Mon and Swim Pt1 (Autumn)
As promised I have returned to you with last Wednesday’s set from Master Groove @ Forbidden City. Things just keep getting better there, with the nicer weather bringing in bigger crowds, and the quality of the records played remaining consistently high.
I know I’ve said this before, but allow me to restate the obvious once again. Much like the Asbury Park 45 Sessions (from which many of the Master Groove DJs come), Master Groove is really the place to be if you want to hear all manner of fine, funky and soulful music selected and mixed by people who really know what they’re doing. The really groovy thing is, none of the DJs, either the ‘house’ selectors DJ Bluewater and M-Fasis, or the rotating cast of guest spinners, are working the exact same kind of sounds. The records themselves are different, and the sensibilities applied to their presentation are unique, and all worth hearing. Unlike a night dedicated purely to funk 45s, or Northern soul, or any other specific genre, each of the Master Groove DJs brings an interesting spin (pun intended) on the music.
I find the night especially rewarding because my host, DJ Bluewater, has been very cool about encouraging me to change things up, thus the diversity of the mixes/sets I’ve done there.
This time out I had my mind set on either downtempo or Mod soul, and went with the latter (which turned out to be cool since on the same day I drove up to Forbidden City I got an invite to work on a long-form set for a radio show, in which the planned downtempo mix will expand to twice its original size, details to follow).
Now, my definition of ‘Mod soul’ is loosely based in a formula mixing hard dancefloor soul, soul jazz (especially Hammond grooves) and a touch of proto-soul/R&B. The end result should be (and was) danceable, tuneful and above all groovy. While I’m sure there’s a Mod or two out there that might take issue with my selections, it is (as always) impossible to please everyone.
Things get off to a rousing start with one of my all-time favorite 45s, ‘Do the Monkey With James’ by Perry & the Harmonics. I remember the day I found this 45s. I had never heard of the band, but with a title like that, how could I pass it by? Good thing I let it play too, because on another day, when I was less patient, I may very well have put the 45 back in the box after hearing a slow intro like that. Just wait until that organ kicks in. KABLAMMM!!
Most soul collectors will point you in the direction of Don Gardner’s unfuckwithable OG version of ‘My Baby Likes to Boogaloo’, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the garagey edge to the Emperors cover version. They take some of the slam out of Gardner’s version and replace it with an echoey sort of menace. Very cool.
I’ve written about Scatman Crothers’ ‘Golly Zonk! (It’s Scat Man)’ before, but I must reiterate that this is becoming one of my favorite 45s. Dave Davani’s ‘The Jupe’ is a stylish, swinging slice of UK Hammond. Nuff said.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Pacific Northwest sound. The R&B was always sharp and the rock always had a soulful edge. Jimmy Hannah and the Dynamics were an integrated combo who were one of the stars of the PNW scene. Give their version of Eddie Holland’s ‘Leaving Here’ a couple of listens. As it stands right now (and I can’t promise this won’t change), it’s my favorite version of that particular song. Rodge Martin only recorded a few 45s in his lifetime, but ‘Lovin’ Machine’, which I first heard as an 80s cover (Secret Service) of a 60s cover (Easybeats) is one of the hottest soul 45s you’ll ever come across. Look for the film of him performing this tune live on a Nashville TV show in 1966. Powerful stuff. Bobby Parker’s rave up ‘Watch Your Step’ is, in addition to being an ass kicker of a record, also provided the blueprint for a number of other records by lesser known artists like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
Tighten your belt, because once you hear Dave Baby Cortez’ heavy ‘Gettin’ To the Point’ your trousers may actually get blown off.
Speaking of powerful, influential records, Benny Spellman’s ‘Fortune Teller’ was covered many, many times, but I always find myself returning to the original for that Allen Toussaint piano and that rich, New Orleans feel.
The appeal of Derek Martin’s ‘Daddy Rollin’ Stone’ can be boiled down to two short words: bad ass.
You already know I’m a huge fan of Chuck Edwards, and his ‘Downtown Soulville’ is one of the truly great soul 45s. It should tell you something that no less a light than the mighty Mr. Finewine made it his signature record. The Soul Clan – Don Covay, Solomon Burke, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex and Ben E King – fulfilled every ounce of their collective promise in the top side of their only 45, ‘Soul Meeting’. One can only imagine what might have been had they sustained that level for an entire album… Freddy Scott – along with various and sundry combinations of musicians – waxed some of the heaviest soul and funk 45s to come out of Florida in the 60s. ‘Pow City’ lives up to its title in a big way. Sugar Pie DeSanto’s ‘Go Go Power’ is a stone killer, and a 45 that eluded me for a long time. Imagine my delight when I found it a few years back. It ought to have been a big hit.
Though ‘Really Together’is credited to both Billy Vera and Judy Clay, as far as I can tell Clay does not appear on the song. Relegated to the b-side of one of their 45s, ‘Really Together’ – barely two minutes long – is a real eye opener. One of those ‘where has this record been all of my life’ records.
I’ve never been able to find out anything about Lewis Clark, but ‘Dog (Ain’t a Man’s Best Friend)’ is a real floor filler. Oliver Morgan was one of the great New Orleans soul singers of the 60s. ‘La La Man’ written and arranged by the mighty Eddie Bo, was an answer record of sorts, to Morgan’s 1963 single ‘Who Shot the La La’ (also written by Bo), and features a killer vocal by Morgan, and some hot, HOT snare drum.
Atlanta’s own Roy Lee Johnson, previously of Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, recorded ‘Boogaloo #3’ in 1966. The record has an amazing swing to it, with the guitar line and the saxophone accents. I love it!
Rumor is that ‘Dottie Cambridge’, with her driving cover of the Sir Douglas Quintet’s ‘She’s (He’s) About a Mover’ was none other that Dorothy Moore who later hit the charts with ‘Misty Blue’.
Believe it or not, Gentleman June Gardner’s New Orleans classic ‘It’s Gonna Rain’ is a cover of a Sonny and Cher B-side. Believe it further or not, the Sonny and Cher original (with vocals) is a soul-garage killer. Check it out sometime.
We return to the sound of Mr Benny Spellman with yet another soul classic that I first heard second-hand (via the Artwoods cover), ‘I Feel Good’. If you can find yourself a copy of this 45, flip it over for ‘The Word Game’, which recycles the instrumental track from composer Allen Toussaint’s earlier band the Stokes’ ‘Young Man Old Man’. Brother Jack McDuff’s cover of the Marvelettes ‘Too Many Fish In the Sea’ is a Hammond classic.
Though I’ve always been partial to Gladys Knight and the Pips’ funked up cover of the tune, there’s no denying the power of Shirley Ellis’ classic original version of ‘The Nitty Gritty’.
I’d like to say that the first time I heard Titus Turner’s ‘Sticks and Stones’ it was coming out of Ray Charles’ mouth, but it was another one of those cover-of-a-cover things (Secret Service covering the Zombies). Nobody did it better than Brother Ray.
This set closes out with an old favorite, co-written and produced by Sly Stone, that being Bobby Freeman’s ‘C’mon and Swim’, a heavy, serious soul party record that was actually a sizeable hit in 1964.
So, I hope you dig the set, and I’ll be back later in the week with something cool.
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