Comments (0)

By Larry, August 13, 2017 10:14 am

DJ Bluewater – Rocksteady Request/strong>

Hopeton Lewis – Rocking Mood
Viceroys – Send Request
Alva Lewis – Return Home
HiTones – Don’t Play A Fool
The Heptones – Crying Over You
The Caribbeats – Highway
Bunny & Ruddy – On The Town
Joe Nolan – Cool It With Reggae
Dudley Williamson – Anything You Want
The Cool Cats – What Kind of Man
Tommy McCook – SuperMan
Lynn Taitt – Tom Dooley
The Silvertones – Cry Little Girl Cry
Keith & Tex – Let Me Be The One
Bongo & Les & The Crystalites – Home Sweet Home
Keith Blake – Musically
Derrick Harriott – The Loser
The Graduates – Pretty Girl
The Kingstonians – No False Witness
Hemsley Morris – Love Is Strange
Freddie McKay – Tears Won’t Help
David Anthony – All Night
Freddie McKay & The Aces – A Little Bit Will Do
Alton Ellis – Ain’t That Lovin’ You
Beverley Simmons – Please Don’t Leave Me

Listen/Download -DJ Bluewater – Rocksteady Request 157MB Mixed MP3

__________________________________________________________

Greetings all.

Welcome to Part Eight of the Funky16Corners 2017 Allnighter/Pledge Drive aka The Summer of Soul!

This week we have a great selection from Asbury Park 45 Sessions veteran, blogger and podcaster DJ BLuewater.

Bluewater’s reggae and rocksteady crates run deep, with the finest in Jamaican 7-inch killers.

His new mix, ‘Rocksteady Request’ is packed with jams from start to finish with both familiar names/sounds and obscurities.

Bluewater’s Allnighter contributions are always eagerly awaited, so pull down the ones and zeros and get your rocksteady on!

Dig the sounds, and make sure to click on the Patreon button to help keep the lights on here at Funky16Corners!

________________________

We will continue with a new mix every week for the duration of the summer, with a selection of stellar contributions yet to come from some of my (and your) favorite selectors including  Tarik Thornton,  and HeavySoulBrutha Dave B.

The fundraiser will also take a slightly different form this year, moving to Patreon (click here or on the logo below to go to the Funky16Corners page) , where you will be able to spread your contributions out over the entire year (i.e. if you pledge 12 bucks, it doles it out a dollar a month over the course of a year), which will help cover the ongoing server/broadcast/hardware expenses. This year has seen the upgrade of a couple of crucial pieces of equipment, and any help you fine people can provide will keep the machinery moving here at Funky16Corners central.

So please dig deep so we can continue to do the same!

In addition to all the broadcasts and the blogging all of the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg mix archives will continue.

As I have mentioned recently, the changes to the general format here are as thus – The concentration of the operation will continue its shift to podcasting/radio, with the Funky16Corners Radio Show originating every week as a live broadcast, Thursday nights at 9PM Eastern on MIXLR, and will continue to be posted as a downloadable podcast every Friday, and broadcast in the UK on Cruising Radio.

The Iron Leg Radio Show will also move to a monthly live broadcast (day to be determined) also on MIXLR and will continue to be broadcast on Cruising Radio in the UK.

Don’t forget, my weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! is on the air live, every Wednesday night from 10-12. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. So tune in when you get a chance!
_______________________________________________

So, download and dig the mix, keep digging the radio shows, and we’ll be back next week with another groovy mix.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

PS Head over to Iron Leg when you have a minute!. <

Comments (0)

By Larry, August 23, 2016 10:10 am

Ken Boothe

Listen/Download – Ken Boothe – Let’s Get It On MP3

Greetings all.

How’s about a little mid-week soulful reggae?

Ken Boothe, one of the truly great Jamaican voices, from the rock steady era on, has appeared in this space a few times before, with his epic reading of Syl Johnson’s ‘Is It Because I’m Black’ as well as his groovy take on the Royalettes ‘It’s Gonna Take a Miracle’.

Today’s selection is the title track from his 1974 LP ‘Let’s Get It On’ (also home to the aforementioned Syl Johnson cover).

One of the best crossover LPs of the 70s, ‘Let’s Get It On’ features a number of cool covers from the Four Tops (That’s The Way Nature Planned It), Paul McCartney (My Love), Neil Young (Down By the River, oddly credited to Boothe and producer Lloyd Charmers) and as in today’s selection, the mighty Marvin Gaye.

I’ve often proffered that much of the classic Jamaican music of the 60s and 70s is merely soul music with a specific riddem, and there is hardly another singer (all props to Toots Hibbert, natch) that demonstrates that as well as Ken Boothe.

Boothe is a fantastic singer, capable of smooth, loverman style as well as a rougher, Otis Redding-esque rasp, both on prominent display in ‘Let’s Get It On’.

Boothe lays into the lyric with passion, and the song’s already relaxed pace/structure lends itself readily to reggae.

The instrumental backing is basic (though the lead guitar is distinctive without getting in the way), and the backing vocals aid and abet Boothe nicely.

There’s a lot of Boothe’s material available in reissue an in iTunes, but as far as I can tell this album (at least in whole) is not. That said, original copies are not terribly expensive, and start to finish you’d be hard pressed to invest in a better reggae LP.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll see you 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 16, 2015 1:54 pm

Judy Mowatt

Listen/Download – Gaylettes – Son of a Preacher Man MP3

Greetings all.

Welcome to another week here at Funky16Corners as we all join together in the waning days of the summer to regret complaining about the heat one last time (before we start complaining about the cold, or at least that’s how it is for those of us here in New Jersey).

We’re going to get the week started with one of of my all-time favorite Jamaican covers of US soul, and another one of those 45s that I couldn’t believe that I already hadn’t written about.

The 45 in question is the Gaylettes 1969 version of ‘Son of a Preacher Man’.

Though Dusty Springfield had the biggest/best known hit with the song in 1968, in the next couple of years Aretha Franklin, the Carnival and even the Gaylettes made some inroads into the US charts with versions of the tune.

The Gaylettes were a Jamaican trio (recording in the UK) featuring Judy Mowatt (later a solo star and member of Bob Marley’s backing singers the I-Threes) Beryl Lawson and Merle Clemenson. The group recorded a bunch of singles in the late 60s, including one of my favorite rock steady 45s, their reworking of Brenda Lee’s ‘Here’s Comes That Feeling’.

The Gaylettes version of ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ features some very groovy organ and guitar and breaks from the laid back funk of Springfield’s hit, opting instead for a brisk, dance floor-friendly pace.

Their version was a minor hit in the Northeast (New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts) in the end of the summer of 1969, which goes a long way to explaining why the single got two US pressings, on Hourglass and Steady.

The US was getting its first real taste for reggae sounds in 1969*, with substantial hits by Jimmy Cliff (Wonderful World,Beautiful People) and Desmond Dekker and the Aces (Israelites) that year, which may have primed the pump as it were for the sound of the Gaylettes.

It is a groovy record indeed, and I hope you dig it.

Keep the faith

Larry

 
*Though both Millie Small and Prince Buster had gotten US airplay in 1964 and 1967 respectively
_________________________________________________________________________________________

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 (1)

By Larry, June 23, 2015 10:46 am

DJ BLuewater – Over and Over

Dermot Lynch – Cool It
The Three Tops – It’s Raining
Lloyd & Glen – Keep On Pushing
Whistling Willie – Soul Tonic
The Ethiopians – Losing You
The Tonettes – What You Gonna Do About It
The Techniques – Where Were You
Pat Kelly – Trouble In Mind
The Freedom Singers – Real Gone Loser
Johnny Osbourne – Go Find Yourself A Fool
Alton Ellis – Personality
John Holt – Have You Ever Been In Heaven
The Sensations – War Boat
Johnny Osbourne – Warrior
The Hippy Boys – National Dish
Johnny Organ – Something Tender
Boris Gardner – Don Juan
Sound Dimension – Psycho Reggae
Dennis Alcapone – The Sky’s The Limit
Fabulous Five – Come Back And Stay
Dave Barker – Green Grows The Lilacs
The Heptones – Cry Baby Cry
Glen Adams – She’s So Fine
John Holt – Let’s Dance
Zoot Simms – All Rudies In Jail

Listen/Download DJ Bluewater – Over and Over

Greetings all!

Today’s set comes to you from another Asbury Park 45 Sessions head, the mighty DJ Bluewater.

Bluewater has some of the deepest Jamaican crates around, and always whips up a stellar mix of reggae and rocksteady sounds for the Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This time out is no expection, with over an hour of fine, vintage island sounds.

So dig it, make your donation via the Paypal button and stay tuned for more sounds.

Tomorrow: DJ RP of Funkdefy!

Everyone that donates will get the 2015 premiums, including the new badge and a bumper sticker!

See you on Monday.

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).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, November 18, 2014 1:57 pm

____________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all.

I’m dipping back into the archives today for another favorite mix of mine.

I put together ‘Beneath the Planet of Funky16Corners’ back in 2007 for the Souled On on blog.

As you’ll see once you pull down the ones and zeros, I was in a pensive mood at the time, and while things are soulful and occasionally funky, they also fall on the quieter side of the spectrum, best listened to mellowed out with the lights down low.

This was always a fave of mine (i.e. one that I listen to on my own time, frequently) not only because I dig its component parts so much, but also because they fell together pretty nicely as well.

So dig it, and I’ll be back on Friday with something cool.

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, July 17, 2014 7:01 pm

Clarence Curvan

Listen/Download Clarence Curvan – Feeling Nice

Greetings all

The end of the week is at hand, and so I will remind you once again that the Funky16Corners Radio Show takes to the airwaves of the interwebs each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you cannot be there at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab yourself an MP3 out of the Archive here at the blog.

The song I bring you today is one of those ‘white whale’ 45s that I chased (fruitlessly) for years.

I first heard Clarence Curvan’s ‘Feeling Nice’ many years ago when the esteemed Dave Withers did a guest set at the Asbury Park 45 Sessions.

As soon as the needle hit the record I was running up to the decks to see what the song was.

I plugged the info into my (old) phone, and started looking.

It bears mentioning that that was two phones ago.

I had the record plugged into an E-Bay saved search, which continually came up snake eyes.

I had all but given up hope that I would ever get my hands on a copy of the 45 (It popped up once but got bid out of my grasp pretty quickly), when it finally showed up early this year.

This time (thanks to a healthier bid..cough..) I prevailed, and in a few short weeks ‘Feeling Nice’ was heating up my play box.

Clarence Curvan was a Trinidadian drummer/bandleader who recorded traditional island sounds and calypso as well as soul and funk over the years.

He and his band migrated to the United States in the early 70s, where they recorded ‘Feeling Nice’ for Brooklyn-based Charlies Records.

‘Feeling Nice’ is as aggressive an ode to the wonders of the kind bud as has ever been laid down (maybe a little too aggressive for most folks smoking it…), but one shouldn’t let that get in the way of a good party, and this party is GOOD.

The bass (especially groovy), organ and guitar chug alongside the drums with a wailing vocal, all over a funky rhythm with a distinct island flavor.

So slip this one onto your podlike thingy, make yourself up a nice, fruity tropical drink and start dancing.

Have a great weekend.

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, June 12, 2014 11:18 am

Prime Mundo – Soundset
rudy ray moore – put your weight on it [generation int.] wilson pickett – baby call on me [double l] meters – just kissed my baby [soul jazz] dave and ansell collins – that girl [big tree] hector rivera – drown my heart [barry] fatback band – njia walk [perception] the people’s choice – hot wire [grandland] bo diddley – ooh baby [checker] jackie verdell – hush [peacock] bobby moore’s rhythm aces – try my love again [checker] junior parker – lover to friend [blue rock] billy fury – what do you think you’re doing of [decca] jaynetts – sally go ’round the roses [tuff] b bumble and the stingers – nautilus [rendezvous] roy ayers – i can’t help myself [polydor] trevor dandy – is there any love [numero] dennis brown – black magic woman [sun shot] roscoe shelton – you got to roll with the punch [sound stage] jesse boone and the astros – no particular one [sunburst] sly and the family stone – remember who you are [warner bros.]

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: DJ Prime Mundo – Soundset

NOTE: Today’s mix is from another Asbury Park 45 Sessions hitter, this time from my man DJ Prime Mundo.

Prime is another one of those guys that always has a surprise up his sleeve. His taste is unfuckwithable, and he is well versed in funk, soul, jazz, reggae and rock.

When you strap yourself in with a DJ Prime Mundo mix you know you’re in for an exciting ride

.
He is a master chef out in the real world, and applies the same level of craft when on the turntables.

We have six more new mixes coming, starting on Monday with the mighty Tarik Thornton. You will not want to miss it!

If this is the first you’re seeing of the 2014 Allnighter, make sure to scroll back for mixes by M-Fasis, Tony C, DJ Prestige, Kris Holmes and Funky16Corners!

See you next week.

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________
Contest!

Anyone that donates today to the Allnighter/Pledge Drive will (in addition to getting the badge and stickers) be entered into a random drawing for a copy of the Cultures of Soul 45 reissue of two very solid tracks by Roy Roberts, ‘So Much In Love’ (upbeat Northern Soul) and ‘You Move Me’ (Gritty, mid-tempo funk).
There will be more drawings over the next few weeks for CDs by Cultures of Soul, Light In the Attic and Secret Stash, and 45s from Cultures of Soul!

___________________________________________________________________________

The winner of yesterday’s drawing for The Wheedle’s Groove II CD is Manual Records and Comics!

____________________________________________________________________________

Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, many of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a couple of great new contributors.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge, as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

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 (6)

By Larry, November 3, 2013 1:06 pm

Zap Pow

Listen/Download Zap Pow – Soul Revival (45)

Greetings all

Before we get rolling today/this week, I should take a moment to note that today marks the ninth anniversary of the Funky16Corners Blog (as well as the entrance into our tenth year!).

While I don’t want to go into any ‘state of the blog’ nonsense, I did want to take a sec to thank everyone that comes around to partake in the musical goodness.

Blogs come and go, and traffic is not what it once was.

Some of that has to do with the series of problems/moves that beset Funky16Corners over the years (especially the domain change) which threw a lot of people off the scent as it were, but there’s no denying that music blogging is not as popular as it once was, for both the fans and the proprietors.

The interwebs are a huge, fickle beast, and the intellectual property/copyright wars of the last few years have scared off a lot of bloggers. While blogs as a construct are often short-lived (I’d love to see the percentage of blogs that are abandoned in the first six months), DMCA attacks (some of them valid, many of them not) have chilled the world of music blogging considerably.

That said, I’m not going anywhere.

I (obviously) dig doing Funky16Corners, and the Funky16Corners Radio Show, and (though opportunities have been slim to none of late) getting out and spinning records for the peeps.

As long as I have something to say, and sounds to share, you can depend on Funky16Corners.

So thanks for stopping by.

______________________________________________________________________________

I thought we might get the week off to a hot start with something tasty from the island of Jamaica.

It would be safe to say that I am not – by and large – a consumer of reissues, with most of my music-relates dollars devoted to the pursuit and capture of the OG.

Economically it doesn’t make a tremendous amount of sense, but that’s just how I’m wired.

However, every once in a while someone turns me on to a comp where the originals in question are (at least for me) especially hard to get my mitts on, and the music is incredibly hot.

Such was the case with the ‘Funky Kingston’ comp that came out about ten years ago.

You know I dig reggae, and funk, and whenever someone gets their musical chocolate in my peanut butter, i.e. reggae funk, I am, by virtue of the calculus, exponentially more down.

This, and it’s sequel volume, ‘Soul Power: Funky Kingston 2’ were both a heavy part of the rotation, and – as is often the case – added a number of records to my want list.

Some of these weren’t terribly hard to track down, some were EXTREMELY hard to find, but they were more than worth the trouble.

You see one example of the latter category before you today.

The first time I heard ‘Soul Revival’ by Zap Pow, the pleasure/acquisition center of my brain was activated and I set out to find myself a copy of this gem for my record box.

The thing is, it took YEARS.

If you follow things around here you’ve heard the stories of records that pop up frequently and get bid out of my reach every time.

‘Soul Revival’ was not one of those.

Truth be told, it wasn’t until last year that my searches yielded any results at all, and (ironically) when they did, I ended up with a copy of the 45 AND the LP both within weeks of each other (funny how that works, isn’t it??).

Here we have a tight, funky band, combining intertwined guitar and bass lines, hard hitting drums and a hot horn section in an almost James Brown-y way (with some Kool and the Gang thrown in), with precious little (at least on this record) to let you know that the whole thing originated in Jamaica.

It’s got a real “get up and dance” kick to it (thanks to that Harry J production).

Their 1976 ‘Revolution’ LP features more ‘straight’ reggae, including a nice version of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’ (featuring their vocalist at the time,none other than Beres Hammond) as well as touches of rock and Afrobeat.

The group had a huge hit in the UK and Jamaica in 1972 with ‘This Is Reggae Music’.

I hope you dig the track as much as I do, and I’ll see you 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 (5)

By Larry, March 21, 2013 11:42 am

Funky16Corners Presents: Soul Version

Jackie Mittoo – Hip Hug (Coxsone) – Booker T & The MGs
Gaylettes – Son of a Preacherman (Steady) – Dusty Springfield
Dobby Dobson – Don’t Make Me Over (Pama Supreme) – Dionne Warwicke
Federalman – Soul Serenade (Steady) – King Curtis
Ken Boothe – Gonna Take a Miracle/Version (Hulk) – Royalettes
Winston Wright – Heads or Tails (Green Door) – Booker T & the MGs
Lorna Bennett – Breakfast In Bed (Harry J) – Dusty Springfield
Byron Lee – Who Done It (Dynamic) – Monk Higgins
Pioneers – Papa Was a Rolling Stone (Trojan) – Temptations
Horace Andy – Show and Tell (Money Disc) – Al Wilson
Pat Rhoden – Living For the City (Attack) – Stevie Wonder
Byron Lee – Shaft (Dynamic) – Isaac Hayes
Winston Samuels and the Cintones – Let’s Get It On (Clintone) – Marvin Gaye
Byron Lee – Hot Reggay (Dynamic) – James Brown
Shark Wilson and the Basement Heaters – Make It Reggay(version) (Ashanti) – James Brown
Pat Rhoden – Boogie On Reggae Woman (Horse) – Stevie Wonder
Alton Ellis – La La Means I Love You (Mr Tipsy) – Delfonics
Tomorrows Children – Sister Big Stuff (London) – Jean Knight

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners Presents Soul Version – 109MB Mixed MP3/256K

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your side of the universe, and that you’re all ready for the weekend.

Don’t forget that the Funky16Corners Radio Show hits 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 subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 (or two, or 100) out of the archive here at the blog.

The fam and I are taking some time off to chill in the coming weeks (which will be filled with specially selected reposts of some of my fave tunes from the archives) so I figured I’d leave you with something special until I’m back behind the keyboard again.

The mix you see before you is the fruit of what I like to call one of my “special boxes”.

The Funky16Corners record vault is lined, floor to ceiling (in some places) with crates of LPs and boxes of 45s, and sprinkled liberally with a grip of those old-timey, pasteboard, 45 carrying cases.

As pretty much any collector does, I grab those cases wherever I find them, first and foremost because they’re cool looking, but because – and I’m pretty sure you figured this out already – I’ve got lots and lots of 45s that need a place to stay.

I mentioned the “boxes” before, those being the purpose-made 45 storage boxes that hold over 100 discs each. There are lots of those.

However, my collection has its niches, certain sub-genres, not collected as aggressively as others (for a variety of reasons, though usually boiled down to issues of availability), and many of these niches get packed away in those smaller boxes.

There’s one for disco 45s, one for rockabilly/instro 45s, and the one that gave up today’s sounds, the reggae and ska 45s.

I’ve been a huge fan of ska and reggae since I was in high school, when the Two-Tone revival was in full swing and I was led by bands like the Specials to investigate the first-wave of ska, going back to the mid-60s.

It would be fair to say that the bulk of the ska and reggae in my hands is on CD, especially old comps and the later (excellent) Trojan mini-box sets.

However, I’m always on the lookout for Jamaican vinyl, often seeking out favorite records (some of which – Winston Wright, Pioneers, Shark Wilson – are in this mix) and grabbing cool stuff whenever I encounter it in the field.

As the contents of this mix show, I’m a big fan of reggae covers of American soul tunes, of which there are many.

The groovy  thing – and something I’ve discussed in this space before – is that despite the stylistic delineation, what you’re hearing is still demonstrably soul music (albeit with a reggae beat).

The influence of American R&B and soul on Jamaican music is undeniable, with many powerhouse AM radio stations, in cities like New Orleans and Miami sending out American pop to the islands.

What you hear isn’t mere “coverage”, if you will, but rather some truly great singers like Ken Boothe and Alton Ellis, and instrumentalists like Winston Wright, Jackie Mittoo and Byron Lee, interpreting some of the finest material available at the time.

Soul Version is composed of just about an hour of my favorites, running (like my personal tastes) from sweet soul, to organ instrumentals, to funk and just a touch of dub.

Many of these records have appeared here at Funky16Corners over the years, either by themselves or in mixes.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

PS I just realized I took a picture of the wrong Pioneers 45…sorry ’bout that.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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, September 11, 2012 2:10 pm

Pat Rhoden

Listen/Download Pat Rhoden – Living For the City

Greetings all

It’s been a while since we addressed things in a reggae stylee here, and since I had something warming up in the on-deck circle, I thought it wise to whip it on you.

I first featured the sounds of Pat Rhoden about a year and a half ago, and – oddly enough – it was also a cover of a Stevie Wonder tune, in that case ‘Boogie On Reggae Woman’.

As someone who’s always on the lookout for reggae/rock steady covers of US soul material, finding that first record was a treat. Happening upon today’s selection in the months afterward was a double secret irie treat indeed.

Rhoden was a singer who, though he recorded more than a little, seems to have receded into the mists of time.

He waxed sides for Ska Beat, Trojan, Attack and Horse from the 1960s on, as well as recording as half of the duo Winston and Pat (with the mighty Winston Groovy).

He recorded his version of ‘Living For the City’ in 1974 (Stevie took the OG to Number One in November of 1973).

Opening on an odd beat (but dropping into the reggae in short order), Rhoden’s version is slower than Wonders, but plenty funky.

I really dig the electric piano bed (there’s some acoustic piano in there too) running underneath everything and Rhoden’s vocal is very groovy.

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).

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 (5)

By Larry, July 19, 2012 2:15 pm

The Pioneers

Listen/Download The Pioneers – At the Discotheque

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is your weekly dose of soul with the Funky16Corners Radio Show. Join us at 9PM this and every Friday night on Viva Radio or fall by the blog over the weekend to pick yourself up an MP3 of the broadcast.

The tune I bring you today was one of those happy, completely unexpected discoveries that make record collecting such a gas.

I had long been a fan of Chubby Checker’s 1964 soul classic ‘(At the) Discotheque’.

If you haven’t heard it, don’t let yourself be put off by the name Chubby Checker. Though he’s best known for earlier fair like ‘The Twist’ (and countless iterations thereof) the Chub-ster acquitted himself quite nicely during his later years, and ‘(At the) Discotheque’ is one of his best.

That said, imagine my surprise when years after first grabbing a copy of Monsieur Checker’s magnum opus, I should stumble upon a reggae cover of the song by one of the greatest Jamaican groups (who had been featured in this space before) the Pioneers.

Known to fans of rock steady for records like ‘Long Shot Kick De Bucket’ and ‘Let Your Yeah Be Yeah’ and to soul heads for their incredible cover of the Temptations ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’, the Pioneers laid down their cover of ‘(At the) Discoptheque’ in 1973.

As far as I can tell the Pioneers excellent version of the tune wasn’t a hit anywhere, though it was released in the Netherlands (which is where my copy originated).

It’s another very cool version of cool song, and here at Funky16Corners, that’s all we need.

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

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 (1)

By Larry, August 21, 2011 2:38 pm

Ken Boothe

“Hulk like sweet soul!”

Listen/Download – Ken Boothe – It’s Gonna Take a Miracle

Listen/Download – Ken Boothe – It’s Gonna Take a Miracle (version)

Greetings all.

I hope all is well.

It’s been months since I last posted any reggae, and I’ve been pouring a lot of Jamaican sounds into my ears of late, so there is no better time than now.

As you know, while I love reggae/ska/rocksteady sounds in general, I’m always on the lookout for a cool Jamaican cover of an American soul tune.

The mighty Ken Boothe last appeared in this space back in 2006 with his stellar 1973 version of Syl Johnson’s ‘Is It Because I’m Black’.

The tune I bring you today comes from a few years before that (1970), though I can’t say with certainty (as is often the case with Jamaican pressings) when this particular pressing dates from.

The song is question is Boothe’s cover of the Royalettes soul ballad classic from 1965, ‘It’s Gonna Take a Miracle’.
If you haven’t heard the OG, get yourself out and grab a copy of the 45, since it’s a killer two-sider, with a storming bit of Northern Soul on the flip that I’ll be posting here this Wednesday.

That said, Boothe’s ‘It’s Gonna Take a Miracle’ is a great bit of early lovers rock.

The backing is simple, rhythm guitar, organ and drums, but Boothe’s vocal really carries the whole enterprise.

The cut originally appeared on Boothe’s 1970 ‘Freedom Street’ LP, produced by Leslie Kong, not long after the singer broke ranks with Coxsone Dodd.

The ‘version’ on the flip is groovy too, with lots of dubby effects and a nice mix.

The pressing is a little noisy, but on the upside you get that crazy label, so it all works out in the end.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with the Royalettes.

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.