playlistul arata bine pentru ca le-a ales chiar cu grija. nu e orice compilatie ce-o gasesti pe net. sunt mii pe net, dar putine asa.
merita cumparate, la 5 eur sunt platina.
CD1
1. BOBBY WOMACK - ACROSS 110th STREET
A talented guitarist and songwriter, highly regarded in both rock and soul circles, Bobby Womack began performing as a child over 50 years ago and is still going strong. The title track he co-wrote with J J Johnson for the cop/gangster thriller ‘Across 110th Street’ is today the best known aspect of the film, a funky soul masterpiece used prominently by Quentin Tarantino in his 1997 homage to 70s crime flicks, Jackie Brown.
2. SOUND EXPERIENCE – IT’S A FUNK THING
Producer Stan (The Delfonics) Watson attended Glen Mills Reform School in Philadelphia as a teenager in 1952. 20 years later he returned with Sound Experience for a live show that would surface as an album on New York’s GSF label. A nine-piece outfit (including five horn players) with a hard black rock sound a la Funkadelic, Sound Experience formed at Baltimore’s Morgan State Coillege in 1970 and recorded two further LPs with watson; studio sets for Buddha called Don’t Fight The Feeling (1974) and Boogie Woogie(1975).
3. IKE & TINA TURNER – CUSSIN’, CRYIN’, AND CARRYIN’ ON
Specialising in a raucous rock ‘n’ soul hybrid, the Ike and Tina Turner Revue was among the most popular black live acts of the 60s and early 70s. After working with Phil Spector in 1966, they hopped around labels in a mercenary fashion for a few years, making records for Modern, Minit, Blue Thumb and others. Crunching beats underpin a bitter tirade aimed at a former lover here on a track released by Dallas’ Pompeii Records on the album Get It Together!
4. JIMMY McGRIFF - DIG ON IT
With a deep, earthy swing punctuated by grunting bass chords, Jimmy McGriff was one of the most consistent soul jazz organ stylists of the era. A former Philadelphia policeman who studied with Jimmy Smith and Richard “Groove” Holmes, he recorded notable albums for Solid State, Blue Note, Groove Merchant and others. Sampled by A Tribe Called Quest on God Lives Through, ‘Dig On It’ is from the tasty Soul Sugar, produced by Sonny Lester and originally released by Capitol.
5. CURTIS MAYFIELD - PUSHERMAN
Superfly probably had more influence on the black youth of America than any other film in this period and the late Curtis Mayfield’s soundtrack was a significant part of the appeal. Counterpointing main character Priest's heroic wardrobe, charisma and successful bid to stick it to the Man, Curtis’ brilliant score avoided moralising but left people in no doubt about the reality of drugs.
6. LIGHTNIN’ ROD - SPORT
Lightnin’ Rod was the alter ego of Alafia Pudim, core member of the Last Poets (formed Harlem , 1969) who helped pioneer the rhyming style that would later become rap. His Hustlers Convention LP, which had a powerful street-level impact and was used as a breaks record by some of the first hip hop DJs, relates the cautionary tale of a ghetto player and master of “streetology” called Sport, who introduces himself here backed by Kool and the Gang.
7. ANN SEXTON – YOU’RE LOSING ME
Equally at home with ballads or a butt-shaking groove, South Carolina chanteuse Ann Sexton recorded for a variety of small labels during the seventies with the lion’s share of her work released by Nashville’s Sound Stage 7/77 family. A dancefloor perennial, ‘You’re Losing Me’ has an elastic bassline and raw vocal that’s impossible to resist.
8. GIL SCOTT-HERON - THE BOTTLE
“A dollar, nine gets a bottle of wine,” in this penetrating analysis of the evils of alcohol abuse taken from Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘Winter in America’ set on Strata East. His no-nonsense street poetry and songwriting smarts allied with the keyboard playing and arrangements of Brian Jackson made for a potent and provocative listen, and gave inspiration to legions of future rappers.
9. JOE THOMAS - THANK YOU (FALLETIN ME BE MICE ELF AGAIN)
Sax/flute player Joe Thomas was engagingly styled as the “bony Godfather” on a 1974 album called ‘Moog Fluting’ he recorded for GRC, but it’s a lacklustre job compared to the three dates he made for Sonny lester’s Groove Merchant concern around this time. Comfortably among the best of the many covers of the Sly and the Family Stone smash, this is from the first of them, Joy of Cookin’, featuring guitarist Jimmy Ponder.
10. EDDIE BO - IF IT’S GOOD TO YOU (IT’S GOOD FOR YOU) [PART 1]
An important presence on the New Orleans music scene for many years, singer, songwriter, pianist and producer Edwin J. Bocage released more singles than every other local artist save Fats Domino and was one of the foremost architects of Crescent City funk. His biggest hit, Hook and Sling on Scram, reached the national R&B top 40 in 1969 and was followed by this similarly exuberant though less successful gem.
11. S.O.U.L. - THE JONESES [PART 1]
Cleveland’s Sounds of Unity and Love were an experienced four piece who, in 1970, won a deal with Musicor Records in a battle of the bands contest and subsequently recorded two coveted albums for the label. An amazingly soulful tale of drug addiction, The Jones’s was among a handful of 45s S.O.U.L. recorded after their second LP before splitting up.
12. THE BACKYARD HEAVIES – CHITLIN’ STRUT
The Backyard Heavies may well have been the house band at Reflection Sound studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they cut Chitlin’ Strut b/w Humpin. Certainly they included Roger Branch, the leader of the Reflection Sound band and formerly sound engineer at Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn’s Sea-Saint studio. A cracking funk instrumental, ‘Chitlin’ Strut’ appeared initially on the New Orleans Hotline label and was later leased to Scepter Records.
13. DAVID BATISTE & THE GLADIATORS - FUNKY SOUL [PART 1]
Not much is known about David Batiste and the Gladiators, merely that this stunning if all too brief instrumental was originally released on the tiny Soulin’ label in New Orleans and later on Instant Records.
14. SIR JOE QUARTERMAN & FREE SOUL - THE WAY THEY DO MY LIFE
A fine jazz trumpeter, Joe Quarterman earned the handle ‘Sir’ in high school singing with a group called the Knights. He formed Free Soul in 1970 and their only (self-titled) LP was released by New York’s GSF label. A rich blend of socially-conscious soul and funk recorded in Washington, it showcased the hit single (I Got) So Much Trouble On My Mind and several other fine grooves, notably this string-marinated beauty. Free Soul parted over financial problems a couple of years later and Sir Joe returned to college to earn a degree in architecture.
15. RICHARD “GROOVE” HOLMES - FLYJACK
The late “Groove” Holmes had an excellent rep on the Philadelphia/South New Jersey circuit well before he signed his first record deal with Pacific Jazz in the early 60s. After a productive spell at Prestige, he cemented his status as a soul jazz organ legend at Groove Merchant, where he engaged in some epic battles with Jimmy McGriff. A hypnotic guitar line and Holmes’ vivid comping propel Flyjack, the funkiest cut from his ‘Night Glider’ LP.
16. CHUCK BROOKS - BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Thick, unhurried funk and the wisdom of the little known Chuck Brooks captured at Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi and picked up by GSF. The B-side to the northern spin You Can¹t Be in Two Places at the Same Time.
17. THE NOTATIONS - SUPERPEOPLE
Formed in Chicago in the late 60s, The Notations were a four piece vocal group who recorded for local labels, notching a brace of minor early seventies hits for Twinight. By 1974, they’d joined the roster at the Curtom subsidiary Gemigo, where they recorded one self-titled LP and several singles. An uptempo plea for sanity and tolerance, Superpeople is definitely the one of the tunes for which they’re best remembered.
18. O’DONEL LEVY - BAD BAD SIMBA
Between 1971 and 1976, O’Donel Levy waxed a series of modestly successful sides for Groove Merchant and, like many jazz guitarists of the period, his catalog gives up a soulful array of popular covers and soulful originals. Bad Bad Simba from the album Simba is one of the latter. Love those coy trumpets on the intro, Levy’s nimble runs and Steve Gadd’s powerhouse drumming.
CD2
1. PATTI JO - MAKE ME BELIEVE IN YOU (7" version)
The original Wand 45, as opposed to the 1975 extended disco remix, of this classic Curtis Mayfield production. The supposedly 16 year old Patti Jo supplies a very grown up, very powerful vocal performance over a banging beats and awesome strings.
2. CURTIS MAYFIELD – FREDDIE’S DEAD
Another signature Mayfield piece from the immortal Superfly soundtrack. As recycled by Gang Starr on Gusto, Master P on Kenny’s Dead, Donell Jones on When I Was Down and more.
3. MACEO AND ALL THE KING’S MEN - BETTER HALF
In May 1970, led by tenor sax great Maceo Parker, the majority of James Brown’s band walked out togther in frustration at a lack of recognition and/or reward. Inking a deal with House of the Fox Records in Nashville, they recorded an LP called Doin’ Their Own Thing. But despite serving up funk bomb after funk bomb, it stiffed, and some suspect this was because Brown paid DJs not to play it. ‘Better Half’ was sampled by Gang Starr for Form of Intellect and on LL Cool J's Cheesy Rat.
4. BETTY HARRIS – THERE’S A BREAK IN THE ROAD
Born in, Orlando, Florida, Betty Harris cut her first sides in 1960 for Douglas Records and spent time at Jubilee Records before signing with Allen Tousaint and Marshall Sehorn’s Sansu concern in 1965. Although her single ‘Nearer to You’ dented the national charts two years later, follow-up success proved elusive and Betty was out of the music business by the turn of the decade. She now drives a big rig truck for a living. ‘There’s A Break in the Road’, featuring the instrumental talents of The Meters, was originally issued on Shelby Singleton’s SSS label.
5. MOODY SCOTT - (WE GOTTA) BUST OUT OF THE GHETTO [PART 1]
A strong, innately funky vocalist, Moody Scott waxed a succession of gritty sides for the Sound Stage 7 and 77 labels between 1969 and 1972. Here he rails against “the pusherman” over bouncy rhythm track and kicking horns.
6. JAMO THOMAS – JAMO’S SOUL
Thomas came to Chicago from the Bahamas in the early sixties and recorded for a host of labels over the next dozen years, including Sound Stage 7, Chess, Decca and the Curtis Mayfield-affiliated Thomas imprint. The B-side to the Northern Soul stomper ‘Arrest Me’, this horn-heavy percussive jam was probably recorded in 1966, an early example of the way R&B was flowering into funk.
7. TIMMY NORMAN AND THE O’JAHS - LET IT ALL HANG OUT
With its shuffling rhythm and goofy lyrics, Let It All Hang Out comes off like a country soul variant of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues. An obscure 45 on Sound Stage 7, it is one of the very few tunes in black music history - along with Hoes We Knows by New York rappers Black Sheep - to namecheck sauerkraut.
8. IKE TURNER & THE KINGS OF RHYTHM - THINKING BLACK
As part of their deal with the Turners, Pompeii Records released an album of funky instrumentals by Ike and his band, a sister record to the above-mentioned Get It Together!! that shared two of the same cuts. The album was called A Black Man’s Soul and Thinking Black opened it in some style.
9. THE SKULLSNAPS – IT’S A NEW DAY
The drums at the beginning of ‘It’s A New Day’ have been sampled so frequently that they are now one of the most familiar sounds in modern music production, but the rest of the track deserves love, too. It’s arguably the strongest recording by the enigmatic three piece responsible for one highly prized LP issued on GSF.
10. DAWSON SMITH - I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN MAKE IT [PART 1]
An old school floorfiller that still has legs, Dawson Smith’s self-penned angst at the cost of living - an accomplished James Brown soundalike complete with Maceo Parker-esque sax solo - originally appeared on the Scepter label.
11. BOBBY WOMACK & J. J. JOHNSON - HARLEM CLAVINETTE
A premium J. J. Johnson instrumental by from the soundtrack to Across 110th Street.
12. LLOYD PRICE - THEY GET DOWN
A native of New Orleans, Price became a star with massive 50s R&B and pop crossover hits like Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Stagger Lee and Personaility. A shrewd businessman, he formed and ran several record companies with partner Harold Logan, but when Logan was murdered in 1969, Price took a hiatus from the business, moving to Africa and joining Don King to promote Muhammad Ali bouts. For his one album of the 70s, To The Roots And Back on GSF, he updated some of his most famous compositions. They Get Down was the funky highlight.
13. RAMON MORRIS - SWEET SISTER FUNK
A tenor saxophonist who distinguished himself as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers on the 1972 long player Child’s Dance, Morris made one strong album as a leader for Groove Merchant. This is the title track, a spicy soul jazz dancer anchored by the sprightly playing of the aptly-named Mickey Bass.
14. RASPUTIN STASH - THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT
8 Chicago session regulars led by guitarist Martin Dumas Jr, Rasputin’s Stash recorded their first album for Cotillion in 1971. For their second on Gemigo three years later, though they’d slimmed down to half the size (and their name was shrinking), they’d lost none of their facility with a groove as evidenced by this brawny number. When Gemigo later went under, the band moved to Curtom for a pair of singles under the names R-Stash and then simply Stash.
15. GENERAL CROOK - FEVER IN THE FUNKHOUSE
Crook was born General Columbus Crook Jr. in Mississippi, 1945. At the age of 18, he relocated to Chicago where, after six years, he’d honed his skills sufficiently in the city’s southside lounges to land a recording contract with Capitol. Nothing happened for him hit-wise, however, until he signed for the tiny Down To Earth label, where he cut funk favourites like Gimme Some (1970) and What Time It Is (1971). A spell at Wand in 1973/4 yielded his only long player and this rolling groove.
16. REUBEN WILSON - SUPERFLY
A one-time boxer, organist Wilson began performing professionally on the L.A. circuit in 1962 before moving to New York in 1966. Within two years he was recording for Blue Note, where he made 5 albums before signing with Groove Merchant and getting funky on two more. His punchy take on ‘Superfly’ was one of a number of soul covers to be found on the second album, titled after the War hit ‘Cisco Kid’.
17. SOUND EXPERIENCE - 40 ACRES AND A MULE
One more from the rare LP ‘Live At Glenn Mills Reform School For Boys’ - a heavy and highly indignant jam first released as a 45 on Stan Watson’s Soulville imprint out of Philadelphia.
18. CURLEY MOORE & THE KOOL ONES - FUNKY, YEAH
Curley Moore was a singer who cut sides for Sansu Enterprises, but he had little to do with this slamming guitar-driven number. This is the work of New Orleans legend Eddie Bo, credited to Moore for some reason (he was hanging around the studio at the time according to Eddie) and released on House of the Fox.
19. THE AFRO-AMERICAN ENSEMBLE - GONE IS THE LAUGHTER OF YOU
Strong lead vocals by one L.C. Grier on this heartbreakingly sad groove. Taken from the black rock opera ‘Free the Black Man’s Chains’ on GSF, a story about the struggles of Julian Williams, the first black US Congressman.
20. CURTIS MAYFIELD FEAT. THE STAPLE SINGERS - BIG MAC (from the “Let’s Do It Again” OST)
In Let’s Do It Again Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby played a pair of blue-collar chancers (as they had in Uptown Saturday Night the previous year) trying to con a hood named Biggie Smalls. Big Mac is one of a clutch of accomplished cuts on a soundtrack composed by Mayfield and featuring the Staples Singers.
