Comments (2)

By Larry, April 1, 2014 10:58 am

Euro P/S for ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’

Listen/Download Equals – Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys

Greetings all

The middle of the week is nigh and I for one feel like I need to be shook/shaken from my quasi-hibernation.

The calendar says that winter is over, but my own two eyes (and the rest of my senses) say “Not so fast, brother.”, so in my cave I remain (for now) with my records.

The record I have selected for your enjoyment this fine day is a long time fave that eluded me for some time.

While the Equals’ ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’ is not a particularly rare or expensive record, neither is it plentiful or obvious.

It’s just that me and this 45 were both out there but kept passing like two ships in the night.

Until last year, that is, when I finally scooped it up.

The Equals are one of my favorite UK bands of the 60s (and early 70s) because they are as hard to nail down (stylistically) as they were groovy.

Formed in the mid 60s by two Jamaican emigres (brothers Lincoln and Derv Gordon), a guitar slinger from Guyana (Mr Eddy Grant) and two Brits(John Hall and Pat Lloyd) on a council estate in London, the Equals – always more successful in the UK and Europe than they were here – were one of the more interesting groups of the era.

While they were ostensibly a ‘rock’ band, they moved freely between rock, soul, psychedelia, R&B, pop and West Indian influences during their (1966-1973) career.

The tune I bring you today hails from the waning days of their chart success, being their last UK Top 10 hit (barely charting at all in the US) in 1970.

‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’ is a hard hitting, funky protest number, touching on race relations and war, both hot-button issues at the time.

Written by Grant and sung in a typically forceful manner by Derv Gordon, ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’ was covered in the US by the group ST-4, and had a second, underground life as a popular tune in US dance clubs during the early days of disco culture.

It is a groover indeed.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

  _________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, February 4, 2014 1:01 pm

Promo badge for Duke Williams and the Extremes

Listen/Download Duke Williams and the Extremes – Chinese Chicken

Greetings all

The tune I bring you today is one of those 45s that – in a manner of speaking – unfolds like the petals of the storied lotus.

I was familiar with Duke Williams and the Extremes’ ‘Chinese Chicken’ as a breakbeat/sample favorite from its inclusion on the ‘Ultimate Breaks and Beats’ series.

When I finally got my hands on the 45, I assumed (remember what Felix Unger said about assuming?) that they were part of the Southern Rock scene, due to their presence on Phil Walden’s Capricorn label, home to the Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, Captain Beyond and others.

It was only when I started digging for information that I discovered that Duke Williams and the Extremes were not Macon, GA homeboys of Gregg and Duane, but rather originated in that funky burgh, Trenton, NJ!

Duke Williams (born Chris Holmes) had been a member of NJ garage faves the Galaxies IV (‘Let Me Hear You Say Yeah’, ‘Don’t Lose Your Mind’) back in the 60s, and had been working in and around Trenton and Philadelphia for years when he put together the Extremes.

The group recorded two albums for Capricorn, ‘A Monkey In a Silk Suit Is Still a Monkey’ (1973) and ‘Fantastic Fedora’ (1974).

‘Chinese Chicken’ appeared on the first LP as well as being issued as a (now sought after) 45.

The Extremes played a funk/rock hybrid, mixing their originals with a fair amount of soul cover material (‘Funky Broadway’, ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now’) with the group being joined in the studio by a who’s who of Philly sessions heads.

‘Chinese Chicken’ opens with a funky guitar before the band (with a wailing organ) drops in. The tune is funky enough, but turns a corner at 1:39 when that drum beat drops.

Do yourself a favor and slap on the headphones for this one and listen to the way that kick drums hits.

Very groovy, indeed.

Though the Extremes didn’t record after 1974, they continued to play into the early 80s, at one time including a young, pre-Bon Jovi Richie Sambora in their ranks.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

  _________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 15, 2013 10:54 am

Titanic

Listen/Download Titanic – Sultana

Greetings all

Welcome once again to the middle of the week.

Today marks the first (though maybe not the last) time you’ll see a record by a Norwegian band featured at Funky16Corners.

I have expressed my admiration for David Mancuso and his legendary loft parties in this space many times before.

Mancuso was one of the pioneering, early-70s DJs who helped to give birth to that decade’s dance culture while keeping one of the most open minds around.

Mancuso had amazing taste, and the ability to take a room and build a mood on the dance floor, taking the crowd from laid back, to ecstasy and back again over the course of an evening.

Though many of the records on his playlists were what we would consider to be conventional soul and funk, Mancuso was well known for mixing in a wide variety of rock, ethnic music and other unusual sounds fit the mood he was trying to create.

It certainly helped if the record had plenty of drums, and Titanic’s ‘Sultana’ has that in surplus.

Released in 1971 (and again in 1974 on a Memory Lane pressing) ‘Sultana’ (the name apparently a sly tip of the hat to Carlos and his band) got no play (outside of the clubs) here in the US but was a Top 5 hit in the UK.

‘Sultana’ is built on drums and percussion as well as a pulsing bass line and a wordless chant by the band. They are soon joined by wah wah guitar and Hammond organ, and continue the basic riff for nearly two minutes before breaking out briefly and thengoing right back to the drums.

It’s not at all hard to imagine Mancuso mixing this record into a set with the bass bins maxed out, the crowd sucked in by the infectious beat.

This is what ‘disco’ was, before it turned into disco (if you see what I’m saying).

The groovy thing is (or one of them anyway) is that ‘Sultana’ is something of a glitch in the Titanic discography. The band was together from 1969 to 1979, and from what I’ve been able to hear, their stock in trade was much more in a hard rock/prog direction.

That said, unlike so many anomalous, ‘breakbeat’-only rock records, ‘Sultana’ is a genuinely cool, funky, danceable record all the way through.

So thanks, Norway!

Dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (2)

By Larry, September 29, 2013 1:50 pm

Kin Vassy (top) and at left with the First Edition

John Randolph Marr

Listen/Download Kin Vassy – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Listen/Download The First Edition – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham (Live)

Listen/Download John Randolph Marr – Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Greetings all

I have something very special for you today.

A short time ago I met up with someone on Facebook with whom I had a mutual friend.

While perusing his timeline I saw that he had posted a video by the First Edition doing a song I’d never heard before called ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’.

If the name of that group is vaguely familiar, it was the spawning ground of none other than Kenny Rogers, and a band that had a couple of major hits, including their 1968 cover of Mickey Newbury’s ‘I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)’, which is featured prominently in ‘The Big Lebowski’.

Anyway…I gave the aforementioned video a spin and was blown away.

First off, while I own (and dig) a couple of First Edition singles, I had never heard them do anything like ‘Hello LA…’, and the live performance – from their early 70s TV variety show (included below) – is absolutely smoking.

The real revelation was the lead singer of the song, a cat named Kin Vassy.

Vassy (Kin was a truncated version of his middle name, Kindred) was the singer/guitarist with the First Edition, replacing Mike Settle in 1969.

He had been a member of the 60s folk group the Back Porch Majority, and had recorded a couple of solo singles before hooking up (and apparently during his tenure) with the First Edition.

One of these is today’s selection, ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’.

When I started digging around I was surprised that I hadn’t encountered the song before.

Co-written by Mac Davis and Delaney Bramlett, it was recorded by a wide variety of artists, including Blue Cheer, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band,  Juicy Lucy, and even Nancy Sinatra (you can seek out many of these on YouTube).

The popularity of the song doesn’t surprise me, since it has the kind of funky framework that works well at just about any speed, as well as a fantastic lyric about a cat that bags his home turf and goes on the road to seek success as a songwriter.

Though Mac Davis did record it. I haven’t been able to nail down who did the original version, since most of the ones I’ve found seem to pop up around the same time.

One other excellent version of the song (also included here) was recorded in 1969 by John Randolph Marr. It is in fact his version that was recently comped by Light In the Attic on their excellent ‘Country Funk’ collection, which brings me to the point I’ve been wanting to make.

There was something in the air (and the recording studios) of the South in the mid-to-late 60s and onward wherein (mostly) white musicians with a taste for gospel, R&B, soul and funk began to stir up a (if you’ll forgive the term) gumbo of those sounds with country, swamp pop and rock.

The most well-known and successful proponents of this sound were guys like Tony Joe White and Joe South, but you can also include folks like Bobbie Gentry and Davis in the mix as well.

While there’s a temptation to affix the term ‘blue eyed soul’ to some of these sounds, I think what we’re dealing with is something else entirely.

There were plenty of white soul singers working during this time period, including guys like Wayne Cochran and Roy Head, but they were by and large working solely in black styles.

The country funkers (for lack of a better term) were coming into their sound by creating an organic mixture of white and black styles, in the end creating something less than a movement but still a recognizable sound.

Little of the music made by these artists is out and out funk, but it is undeniably funky.

Kin Vassy’s studio version of ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’ works a mid-tempo funky beat, adding in twangy lead guitar (dobro, too) and Vassy’s hard-edged, soulful vocals. Hearing Vassy sing, with the First Edition and solo was something of a revelation. He was a mighty singer, and in an age where every leather-lunged, longhaired shouter was trying to approximate Wilson Pickett (who would have done a spectacular version of this song), Vassy was able to soar as well as work the quiet passages.

The First Edition manages (surprisingly enough) to toughen the song up even more. Vassy is wailing and drummer Mickey Jones dials up the funk a bit.

I decided to include John Randolph Marr’s take on the song for contrast. Though he takes things a slightly slower pace, the drums and bass are killing it, and Marr had cool, whiskey-tinged voice (I hear a bit of David Clayton Thomas in there). The rest of the album – co-produced by Harry Nilsson under the aegis of his Nilsson House Productions – is an odd mix of country soul and chamber pop.

Interestingly enough, after the dissolution of the First Edition, Kin Vassy spent a short time recording and touring with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. He’s featured on the ‘Overnight Sensation’ LP.

He went on to work as a session singer/musician, eventually settling in Nashville and having some success as a performer and songwriter.

Sadly, Kin Vassy succumbed to cancer in 1994 at the age of 50.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, September 13, 2012 11:47 am

Grootna, juxtaposed with the jacket of their sole LP

Listen/Download Grootna – I’m Funky

Greetings all

The end of the week is upon us, and so I thought I would whip something a little different on you all.

But first a message from our sponsor….that being a reminder that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the interwebs this Friday evening at 9PM on Viva Radio. As always, we endeavor to bring you the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all from vinyl. If you cannot join me at the time of broadcast, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in the iTunes store, or fall by this very blog to grab an MP3.

That said, it was a while back, whilst out a-digging, that I happened upon a 45 by a group that while jammed securely in my consciousness since childhood, I had never heard before.

That band, Grootna was familiar to me via their many appearances on psychedelic-era San Francisco concert posters, so much so that (thanks to the hypnotic power of one particular poster) it is almost impossible for me to think of their name without also appending that of another down-bill band – Stoneground – to it.

The 45 I found – ‘Full Time Woman’ – was the very first actual Grootna record I had ever seen in person, and while interesting, is not in any way Funky16Corners material.

That said, all roads lead to Rome (or at least to funk).

While I was a-Google-ating in search of Grootna info, I happened upon a Harmless collection entitled ‘Kaleidoscopic Funk’, in which the compilers brought together a wide range of funky rock, trippy funk and all points in between by artists like Sly and the Family Stone, Rotary Connection, Ruth Copeland, Larry Williams and Johnny Guitar Watson, and – as it turns out – Grootna.

I had never heard the song ‘I’m Funky’, so I Youtubed it, dug it a lot, and set out in search of my own copy.

As it turns out, the album on which the song appeared (self-titled, natch) which was produced by none other than Marty Balin (of the Jefferson Airplane/Starship/Roachclip) is fairly hard to come by and expensive, so I dug a little but more and found a vinyl copy of the song in a much more economical package.

This is the part of the post where we take a little detour and extoll the virtues of ‘loss leader” records.

Though I figure a lot of you are too young to remember, back in the olden days, when I was a kid, you would often open up a major label album and the inner sleeve would contain an ad (or two) for what were known as “loss leaders” i.e. cheap compilations intended to draw the consumer in to the deep recesses of a label’s catalog. They would do this by including a couple of familiar tracks by the bigger names on the roster, maybe an interesting rarity or two, and then a huge heap of stuff by new artists, back-benchers and old timers hanging on for dear life.

The hope was, that you would get this home (they were often very inexpensive considering that they were two or three album sets) dig something unfamiliar and then rush out and buy something by one or more of the artists at full price.

While I don’t recall actually buying any of these comps back in the day, I have spent the last 20 years picking them up wherever I see them because in addition to all of the crud, they often contain hidden gems.

‘The Music People’ is one such collection, which – as it turns out – also contains the song I bring you today, ‘I’m Funky’.

A fantastic example of stoned out, tie-dyed, hippie funk, ‘I’m Funky’ is especially groovy, with the flanged guitar, piano, drums and (slightly fuzzed out) bass and a fine vocal by Anna Rizzo.

Grootna released their sole album in 1971 and broke up a year later.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

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 19, 2012 7:59 pm

Funky16Corners Rewind: Ape Hangers

Curly Moore & The Kool Ones – Funky Yeah (House of the Fox)
AB Skhyy – Camel Back (MGM)
Bill Sha Rae – Let’s Do It Again (Triple B)
Funkadelic – Super Stupid (Westbound)
Dramatics – Get Up and Get Down (Volt)
Sod – Too Loose To Get Tight Pt 1 (Decca)
Buena Vistas – Kick Back (Marquee)
Johnny Griffiths – Do It (Triple B)
War – Me and Baby Brothers (UA)
ST-4 – Funky (Scepter)
Marvin Holmes & the Uptights – Ride Your Mule (Revue)
Rex Garvin & the Mighty Cravers – Raw Funky (Tower)
Marva Whitney – Things Got To Get Better (King)
Cymande – Fug (Janus)
Donald Austin – Crazy Legs (Eastbound)
Woody Guenther & Cheaters – Bang Dangin’ Time (Shout)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Rewind: Ape Hangers – 68MB Mixed Mp3/256K

Greetings all.

Welcome to another week here at Funky16Corners.

This week we’re going to try something a little different.

The fam and I will be vacating (to a degree), something that we haven’t had the time, will, or ability to do in nearly a year.

I was wondering what I should do to fill the time (and space) in which I would otherwise be actively bloggifying, and it occurred to me that I’d had a suitable idea simmering on the back burner for some time.

As you already know, the Funky16Corners Archives are packed to the rafters with mixes (around 150, maybe more).

You might also be aware – mainly because I’ve said it here before – that I created these mixes as much for my own ears as for those of the readership. As a result, some of these have entered a significant rotation on the old iPod, and can often be heard spilling from the windows of the Funky16Corners-mobile as I roll through the highways and byways of central New Jersey.

That said, I thought (with a touch of ego, natch) that some of these deserved a second airing, so that those that missed them the first time out (or folks that don’t have the time to download and plow through that many mixes) might have a chance to dig (them).

I’ll be posting three different selections – personal favorites all – over the course of the week, one funk, one disco and one Northern Soul.

The first of these, which you see before you, is a selection of heavier stuff that I put together for my friends at Soul:Good over in Russia back in 2009.

‘Ape Hangers’ (Google it) may be new to most of you, since I discovered that I never got around to including it in the Guest Mix Archive.

It’s 49 minutes of heavy funk and funk rock that packs enough heat to get you out of your seat.

I hope you all dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with some soul.

Keep the faith

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

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, June 14, 2012 11:50 am

Lonnie Mack

Listen/Download Lonnie Mack – Too Much Trouble

Greetings all.

The end of another week is here, and so is your weekly helping of soulful goodness in the form of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. We take to the airwaves of the interwebs this – and every – Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you can’t be there at the time of broadcast you can always fall by the blog and grab the show (or any of the previous 100 episodes) in MP3 form.

Also, make sure you fall by on Monday when the 2012 Funky16Corners Pledge Drive/Allnighter hits. You’ll get eight new, excellent mixes from some of the finest selectors I know. You won’t want to miss it.

The tune I bring you today is something cool from the rock side of the tracks.

I don’t doubt that many among you are aware of the work of Mr Lonnie Mack, but I don’t think you imagined him doing something quite this funky.

Mack is know to most for his 1963 hits ‘Memphis’ which managed to make it into the Top 5 on the R&B and Pop charts and ‘Wham’ (which grazed the Pop Top 20).

He recorded a wide variety of blues and R&B-based covers and originals (influencing countless young guitarists), recording for Fraternity from 1963 to 1967.

Mack was also an excellent soulful vocalist, as seen in tracks like ‘Where There’s a Will There’s a Way’ and ‘Why’.

His career slowed somewhat after his early hits and he spent a lot of the 60s as a session guitarist, working on session for King/Federal artists like Freddy King and James Brown and singers like Joe Simon.

When Mack signed with Elektra records in 1968 he had been largely absent from the charts for a few years. He recorded three albums for the label over the next few years, and Elektra also reissued his early Fraternity hits on the ‘For Collectors Only’ comp.

The track I bring you today, the funky ‘Too Much Trouble’ appeared on his 1969 Elektra debut ‘Glad I’m In the Band’.

‘Too Much Trouble’ is one of those late-60s tracks that seems to have emerged from the same musical swamp as efforts by cats like Joe South and Tony Joe White, musicians who wove together elements of rock, soul, country and blues into something new and groovy.

Mack’s vocals are a little rougher/wilder than his early sides, but his guitar wails and the backing band (organ, bass and drums) are spot on.

The track was co-written by Mack’s bass player Tim Drummond, who had played in James Brown’s band.

If you can find the album grab it as is features an excellent cover of Ted Taylor’s ‘Stay Away From My Baby’ and remakes of Mack’s own ‘Why’ and a new version of ‘Memphis’.

Interestingly, during his time at Elektra, mack continued to work as a session player, playing guitar and bass on the Doors ‘Morrison Hotel’ LP (he is rumored to have played lead guitar on ‘Roadhouse Blues’) and producing Dorothy Combs Morrison’s sides for the label.

Mack spent most of the 70s recording in a country style, moving back to blues and R&B by the 80s.

He’s still playing today.

I hope you dig the tune, and that you’ll join me on Monday for the 2012 Allnighter.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

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, February 7, 2012 4:18 pm

The Evergreen Blues

Listen/Download -Evergreen Blues – Bring It On Back

Greetings all.

The tune I bring you today is a little something from my ongoing horn rock obsession, crossed with the sounds of East LA.

I picked up the Evergreen Blues album while I was out digging, knowing nothing of their music, but sure (thanks to various and sundry context clues) that they were of a 1960s vintage.

When I got the record home and gave it a listen I was surprised to hear a lot of soul where I was expecting something a little psyche and decided that I ought to see what I could discover.

As it turns out, the Evergreen Blues got their start in East LA as the Two Thirds Majority, changing their name to the Evergreen Blues around the time they signed their first major label record contract (with Mercury) in 1967.

They recorded their first album that year, which included the original version of song that would become much better known in a recording by the Grass Roots, ‘Midnight Confession’.

That song was written by Lou T Josie, who would contribute a few songs to their second album (recorded for ABC) , including today’s selection ‘Bring It On Back’ (not the same song that was recorded by Dyke and the Blazers).

The Evergreen Blues sound, led by vocalist Manny Esparza, was organ and horn driven soul/rock. Unlike a lot of their contemporaries, the horn section wasn’t employed as a jazz proxy, but rather in the classic Stax/Volt style.

The Evergreen Blues were a great example of the kind of fusions going on in East LA where Chicano musicians were mixing R&B and rock in lots of interesting ways.

Following their second album, Evergreen Blues changed their name to Elijah and recorded two albums (at least one with the help of Al Kooper) during the early 70s.

I hope you dig the tune, 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 (4)

By Larry, October 18, 2011 12:22 pm

Hi Rhythm

Listen/Download -Hi Rhythm – Black Rock

Greetings all.

How’s things?

Hereabout, things is groovy, aside from the fact that I am in dire need of heading out into the wild and getting my dig on. You can prowl around on Ebay all day long and no matter how many cool things you see, there’s no substitute for real world, dusty fingers digging

Unfortunately, the last couple of record shows that rolled through the area coincided with family responsibilities and the actual ‘digging’ spots within reach aren’t always worth hitting up, so I pretty much have to bide my time and be happy with the gigantic, heaving pile of vinyl I already have.

Part of that pile is the 45 I bring you today.

The way things work on the old Funky16Corners blog is that I tend to digimatize vinyl as it comes in, and if it’s something I plan on blogging, I photograph the label, tag the MP3 and stockpile it.

Many (most) of those tracks end up here on the front page in individual posts, while some end up in mixes.

However, if the gods of wax are smiling on me, I usually end up outpacing the outflux and end up with a good-sized pool from which to select what you end up seeing here.

However, as that process unfurls, I sometimes end up with things that have either been put on the back burner (for a variety of reasons, including need for further research or proximity to something similar that just got posted), or, in the case of today’s selection, plain old forgotten.

Because of that, I try to go back through the lists of things waiting to be blogged and try to move some unjustly bypassed tracks to the front of the line, harkening back to my days in the grocery profession, rotating stock for freshness.

The tune I bring you today is one of those ‘haven’t heard it but know it’s good’ deals which I picked up almost three years ago mainly on the strength of the group name and other important info on the label.

Back in the day, when I picked up my first Willie Mitchell album, the thing that hit me first was the prevalence of the surname Hodges in the credits.

This had everything to do with the fact that Mitchell’s back up band was composed in large part of a set of brothers bearing that name, Charles, Leroy and Teenie (Mabon) Hodges (organ, bass and guitar), who along with Howard Grimes (drums) and Archie Turner (keyboards) laid down that other wonderful Memphis sound.

They not only backed up Willie Mitchell, but did the same, extremely well, for pretty much everyone else who recorded for the Hi label, including (and most importantly) Al Green.

It was Mabon Hodges (composer of this very track) who co-wrote some of Green’s best songs, including ‘Love and Happiness’ and ‘Take Me To the River’.

The strange thing (for me anyway) is that for as long as the Hi Rhythm section (billed here as Hi Rhythm) was playing for so many other folks, they didn’t get the chance to step out on their own until 1975 with the release of their album ‘On the Loose’.

The single from that album, and today’s selection was the very groovy ‘Black Rock’.

While the title sounds like a giveaway, the rock side of things doesn’t come in too heavy, and when it does it’s still pretty swampy.

The overall vibe of ‘Black Rock’ is funky and it’s very interesting how a band with such a ‘trademark’ sound manages to escape that sound here.

Things chug along, with solid guitar from Mabon, group vocals and a cool, understated horn section. There’s even a crazy sound effect (heavily treated guitar?) that sounds like someone scratching vinyl!

I’m still on the lookout for a copy of the album, since the one I found a while back was crazy warped in the chip-and-dip style.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you 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 (6)

By Larry, September 27, 2011 10:10 am

The Originator: Babatunde Olatunji

Carlos Santana, wailing at Woodstock

Candido Camero on the congas…

Listen/Download – Michael Olatunji – Gin-Go-Lo-Ba

Listen/Download – Santana – Jin-Go-Lo-Bah (Jingo)

Listen/Download – Candido – Jingo

Greetings all.

I have something very special indeed for your ears this fine day.

Early last year I ran a series of posts under the ‘Disco/Not Disco’ banner celebrating the sounds played by pioneering DJ David Mancuso at his legendary Loft parties in NYC in the early 70s.

Mancuso had become something of an idol/guiding force for me, in so far as I have tried to emulate his DJing ethos as it were during my own sets.

He was a trailblazing record wrangler because he always kept one specific thing in mind, that being the dance and played anything that kept things moving. His Loft sets were filled with unusual sounds, including in his sets music from the worlds of rock, soul, funk, world music and anywhere else he could find the groove.

The Loft predated and strongly influenced the ‘disco’ scene and Mancuso’s eclecticism was carried out into the clubs by the other DJs that attended and had their minds blown at his parties.

One of the records that was a cornerstone of his sets, and has on its own a very interesting history, was a cut by the name of ‘Gin-Go-Lo-Ba’ by Michael ‘Babatunde’ Olatunji.

Olatunji was a Nigerian drummer and educator who emigrated to the United States as a student to attend Morehouse College.

He eventually moved to New York City to attend NYU where he put together his own percussion group and drew the attention of two especially influential figures, the mighty John Coltrane and record impresario John Hammond.

Olatunji recorded the LP ‘Drums of Passion’ in 1960, which included the track ‘Gin-Go-Lo-Bah’*, as well as the less influential (but also important) ‘Akiwawa’.

I first heard of Olatunji back in 1990 when I read Mickey Hart’s remarkable book ‘Drumming at the Edge of Magic: A Journey into the Spirit of Percussion’** which led me to Olatunji’s 1988 recording ‘Drums of Passion: The Invocation’. It was many years later when I first read about David Mancuso that I made the Loft connection.

Mancuso would make the Olatunji version of the song a cornerstone of his Loft sets for obvious reasons. It has a driving rhythmic force and the accompanying chanting that would no doubt grab and shake any mass of dancers, and would also mix well with any number of more ‘conventional’ dance records.

It was at the end of the 1960s that Carlos Santana and his band would adapt and record the tune under the title ‘Jingo’ (which is the version that most people have heard). I’m including that version (the 45 edit at least) here for reference, and because it kicks all kinds of ass. Interestingly, the Santana 45 uses an approximation of the Olatunji title, though the album (and subsequent 45 releases) truncates it to ‘Jingo’. It’s amazing to listen to how a pack of electrified (in all senses), racially integrated hippies get deep inside the rhythm and blow it up.

A full decade after the Santana recording, the song would be resurrected yet again by another fixture of Mancuso’s Loft sets, Cuban conguero Candido (born Candido Camero), also under the title ‘Jingo’.

Candido’s version of the song takes the African percussion and chant of the original and recasts it inside an electric/disco setting and despite the fact that the edges may have been smoothed a little, the cut loses none of its propulsive power. Even after almost two decades, the song was still dance floor gold.

The mix here is the 45 edit, which clocks in at only 3:17. I wish I had a copy of the 12”, which goes for almost six more minutes.

‘Jingo’ was later redone for the dancefloors yet again in 1987 by Jellybean.

Babatunde Olatunji passed away in 2003 after a lifetime of teaching, social activism, and above all, drumming.

I hope you dig the tune (and maybe dance a little) , and the drums and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

*Oddly, the catalog number of the Olatunji 45 suggests that it was released sometime in 1967, long after the LP released but before the Santana cover

** If you have any interest at all in the power of drums and rhythm and the way they can propel human consciousness through the dance ritual I recommend Hart’s book highly.

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, September 18, 2011 1:56 pm

.

Sweetwater

Listen/Download – Sweetwater – Compared to What

Greetings all.

The new week is here, and so am I (for what it’s worth).

There quite a chill in the air, and taking the little Corners out to the bus is getting to be a brisk undertaking.

I need to adjust my brain so that I begin to appreciate the onset of fall, which is a season that I usually dig quite a bit, but I’m having an especially hard time letting go of summer this year.

Not sure why that is, but as is often the case, if I feed my ears enough groovy music, all paths will be clearer, roads smoothed, thoughts more productive and positive.

That said I had a great time this past Saturday DJ-ing at the JT Foundation for Autism Awareness 5K Run in Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ.

This was by far the earliest (first record went under the needle at 7:30am) and chilliest (temps hovering in the mid-50s) DJ gig I’ve ever done, but the high spirits of all the people gathered to raise money and awareness of autism more than made up for the hour.

There were lots of familiar faces from the local autism community, and the setting (right by the water) couldn’t have been nicer.

I even got the now familiar “You actually spin vinyl?” comments which seem to pop up every single time I DJ outside of a club setting. It’s a little strange to hear, but it is a bracing reminder of how deep and insular the world of record collecting is. Each time this happens, without fail, there’s a brief moment of “Who’s crazy? Me or them?” followed immediately by the realization that it is  – without question –  me.

The whole Funky16Corners fam was there as yours truly dropped a wide variety of funk, soul and disco classics for about three hours.

Yours truly (not all sixteen corners visible) selecting something cool.

The crowd as seen from my perch in the band shell.

Cueing up a little Stevie Wonder to take the chill out of the air.

So, let’s get the week started with what Slim Gaillard would refer to as a very mellow groove.

If you have in fact heard of Sweetwater, it might very well be as one of the little known artists to have graced the stage at Woodstock.

They released a couple of albums for Reprise in the late 60s and early 70s before their lead singer Nancy Nevins was badly injured in a car accident and forced out of the lineup.

I’m tempted to describe Sweetwater as an archetypal hippy band, but the reality was that in everything except the broadest sense the only thing most of the bands of the era had in common (aside from an interesting fashion sense) was their diversity in all things.

Sweetwater was integrated, both racially and musically, with a sound that exemplified the melting pot aesthetic, a little rock, a little soul, some baroque touches all served up with a garnish of freak scene freedom.

Naturally, across the musical spectrum, this tie-dyed bouillabaisse wasn’t always entirely successful or coherent, but that is almost always the case when a lot of free thinkers decide to get loose, and thankfully when their fusions were successful, they were often exceptional.

Gene McDaniel’s epic testament ‘Compared to What’ is one of those soul jazz evergreens (like Cannonball Adderley’s ‘Sack’O’Woe’) that managed to expand beyond its original bailiwick into the world of rock.

Sweetwater manage to keep the built-in groove of the song, but ease off the gas a little, creating a very groovy, somewhat restrained, yet still soulful feel. The basic groove is constructed with bass, drums and electric piano, with the flute and cello (yes, cello) weaving in and out of things tastefully.

This is also one of those records where I’m shocked no one has chopped or looped either the bass or flute lines, both ripe for the audio harvest.

I hope you dig it.

Make sure you stop over at Iron Leg and pull down the ones and zeros on the fifth episode of the Iron Leg Radio Show.

See you 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 (1)

By Larry, September 11, 2011 10:46 am

Listen/Download – Natural Gas – Live and Learn

Listen/Download – Natural Gas – Rameses 1

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had themselves a groovy weekend and took the time to check out the Wardell Quezergue-related sounds. I also hope you took the time to paddle out into the wilds of the intertubes in search of a little more of his story (and history). He was an important figure in the sound of New Orleans and deserves to be remembered (and the music he made, heard).

So, now that the new week is here, how about some of the funky, jazzy horn rock sound??

I picked up the sole LP by the Canadian band Natural Gas a few years back when it popped up on a sale list with an intriguing description (probably something along the lines of ‘funky horn rock’) and an equally intriguing price tag. I’d never heard of the band, but all signs pointed to “BUY”, so I did, and when it came through the mail slot onto the turntable I knew that I’d done a groovy thing.

Natural Gas (could they have selected a more un-Google-icious name?) hailed – as mentioned – from north of the border and put out their only album in 1970 on the Firebird label.

Though I can’t tell you much about the band itself (one of their tracks, a cover of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ already appeared here in F16C Radio v.74 ‘Day Tripping’), it has roots (via singer George Olliver) in the prime of Canadian 60s rock, first with the Rogues, and then in the much more successful soul-rock outfit Mandala.

Olliver left Mandala in 1969 to for Natural Gas.

If I were to describe the Natural Gas sound, I’d say a slightly more progressive take on the horn-rock vibe of the time (led of course by Blood Sweat and Tears, which was helmed by David Clayton Thomas who for a brief time had been in the Rogues with Olliver).

That the sound was verily omnipresent for a few years should be evident to anyone with a passing acquaintance with the era, with bands that were first and foremost a horn driven thang, with the BS&Ts, Chicagos, as well many soulful or jazz-inspired rock bands of the day (like Melting Pot) packing a horn section.

There is of course the question of fusion, but it’s probably more accurate (at least as I see it) to assign pre-existing jazzers attempting (with varying degrees of success) to rockify their sound with that term, where most of what I’m talking about could loosely be called jazz rock.

Much of what fell under the jazz rock sound is in retrospect often guilty of musical overreaching, with musicians who’s hearts might have been in the right place but who’s chops and or ears were not up to the task, making for cluttered, sometime clumsy attempts at jazz which were simultaneously overcooked versions of rock.

Naturally, it was the late 60s and early 70s and hordes of drugged out kids with their feet in the mud couldn’t have cared less as long as they could keep grooving, and now, forty years on, a lot of that stuff doesn’t hold up well as either jazz or rock.

That said, I find that despite their undeserved obscurity, Natural Gas were actually pretty good, with enough compositional and technical wherewithal to create music that was sonically interesting and – it bears mentioning – rarely overbearing.

The two tracks I bring you this fine day exhibit two sides of the band.

The first, ‘Live and Learn’ is a slightly funky excursion featuring Olliver’s vocals running in and out of a tight instrumental backing. The band is tight, and the horn charts are tasteful, with the two sections of the group actually working together cooperatively (not always the case with these things). Olliver was a good singer, generally free of the sloppy, white soulboy-isms of many of his contemporaries. I’ll have to dig out a Mandala 45 and post it so you can get a taste for his earlier work.

The second cut, the instrumental ‘Rameses 1’ starts out as a Hammond groover, evolving into a more expansive jazz tableau, featuring some cool guitar. There are whispers of UK prog around the edges, but the organ drops out and the piano comes in (around the 2:00 mark) before it really unfolds too much. The remaining six minutes is split between contemplative piano, swinging, small-group action, and then a gradual return of the horn section.

It is – especially for the time – a work of remarkable good taste and subtlety, the band never straying outside the boundaries of their instrumental (or compositional) prowess.

The album ought to be better known.

George Olliver still performs and records today.

______________________________________________________________________________

Don’t forget that I’ll be spinning some tunes during the annual Point Pleasant Lions Seafood 5K and 1 Mile FUN Run/Walk on Saturday, September 17th in Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ. The run benefits the JT Foundation for Autism Awareness and runs right before the Seafood Fest (which starts at 10AM). I’ll be spinning all of the funk soul and disco you’d expect, so if you’re in the area, come on down and run, sit and watch people run while listening to music, or get your groove on before hunting down some delicious seafood. It’s a great cause and there’ll be good music, good people and good food, so what else do you need to know?

____________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you dig the tunes, 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.