Al Green
Love And Happiness
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I’m Still In Love With You (1972)

Monty Alexander
Love And Happiness
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Rass (1974)

Jurassic 5
Baby Please
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Feedback (2006)

Al Green’s “Love And Happiness” is one of those tunes that’s loved by all. Enjoy the original, and consider adding a couple of clever reinterpretations to your MP3 collection.

Al owned the R&B charts in 1972, releasing two terrific LPs: I’m Still In Love With You and Let’s Stay Together. Al had so many hits in the early 70s that “Love And Happiness” wasn’t even released as a single. Bonkers.

Jamaican jazz organist Monty Alexander covered “Love And Happiness” a couple of years after its release. Ernest Ranglin’s rhythm guitar provides a subtle reggae backdrop for epic solos from Monty and guitarist “Trini” Clarence Wears.

“Love And Happiness” must have been massive in Jamaica; check out Al Brown’s full-on reggae version, also from 1974:

Jurassic 5 chopped up Al Green’s original “Love And Happiness” and reassembled it into an entirely different thing. The double-time rapping from MCs Akil, Zaakir, Mark 7even, and Chali 2na complement Exile’s bouncy production and DJ Nu-Mark’s razor-sharp scratching.

“Love And Happiness” has been covered by everyone from pop-jazz sax player David Sanborn to disco queens First Choice to this pretty awful house version. There seems to be a version of “Love And Happiness” to satisfy any musical taste.

Stevie Wonder
Creepin’
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Released in 1974

TLC
Creep
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Released in 1994

Scala & Kolacny Brothers
Creep
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Released in 2010

This time on Musical Cousins: three totally different songs with three totally different takes on the word “creep.”

First up, Stevie Wonder’s haunting “Creepin’,” featuring backup vocals from Minnie Riperton. In this song, creep refers to the stealth way a lover invades the dream world. The melody is typical Stevie perfection, but the moody, off-kilter synth floating underneath hints at something less rosy.

In TLC’s 1994 single, “Creep,” the Atlanta trio and producer Dallas Austin made a buoyant R&B/pop classic dedicated to cheating on the one you love.

The last take on the word “creep” comes from an early Radiohead composition where the creep in question is the song’s self-hating narrator. I prefer Scala & Kolacny Brothers’s cover, used to great effect in the trailer for The Social Network. Dozens of post-pubescent Belgian girls singing in unison truly is creepy.

Workinonit
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Two Can Win
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Don’t Cry
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Album: Donuts (2006)

J Dilla’s Donuts isn’t for everyone. It has zero commercial aspirations, and would fairly be categorized as an experimental art project. But for those of us who like to deconstruct how producers dig for and manipulate samples, Donuts abounds with creativity and originality.

Donuts is sui generis: impossible to imagine anyone else creating it, and with no apparent influences. Sure, many others have started with the same set of tools — a diverse stack of vintage vinyl (most of it rare 45s), an MPC drum machine, a turntable, and a Mac — but no one synthesized these elements quite like Dilla.

Most of the time, sample-based productions extract a few seconds of a track, loop it, and layer a beat on top of it. But Dilla can chop up a track into precise chunks, then reform it into its hipper cousin.

Let’s compare a few tracks from Donuts with the original R&B records Dilla beatmined. (Sadly, I don’t have any of the original tracks to share, but YouTube was able to provide.)

“Workinonit” may be as close to a pop song as Donuts gets. At nearly three minutes, it’s the longest track on the record. I was surprised when I tracked down its source, the obscure 10cc track “The Worst Band in the World.”

Dilla magically wove together a bunch of elements from the record, sped them up, and added the occasional Beastie Boys chant. Even the percussion sounds appear to be mostly taken from this 10cc bit of weirdness. Hearing the original after getting to know Dilla’s version is a joyous, dissociative experience.

“Two Can Win” provides the most dramatic contrast from its predecessor, The Sylvers’ stealthily complex “Only One Can Win.”

I’ve heard a rapper or two attempt to rhyme on this, but I can’t imagine interfering with the interplay between the tight harmonies of the title phrase, the Michael Jackson-esque lead vocals, and those expressive, otherwordly howls.

P.S. Any idea why Dilla decided upon the title to “Two Can Win,” even though the vocals say “only one can win?”

As far as I can hear, “Don’t Cry” restricts its sounds to a drum machine and a 45 of The Escorts’ “I Can’t Stand (To See You Cry).

As the track starts, the vocal sample is straightforward and virtually unadulterated. But at the 40 second mark, Dilla starts messing with your head: see-sawing tempo changes, sung syllables emulating percussion, only to have it all dissolve as the song’s key phrase is delivered: “I can’t stand to see you cry.”

Tragically, Dilla passed away from a rare blood disease three days after Donuts was released. It’s impossible for me to listen to it and not think about how sick he was when he recorded it, how aware he was that he wasn’t gonna make it, and the urge for him to gift as many ideas from his soul as he could in the time he had left. Imagining his process deepens my appreciation for Donuts; I wonder if I would feel differently about this LP without its backstory?

Kool G. Rap & D.J. Polo
On The Run (Dirty Untouchable Remix)
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Released in 1992

Ray Bryant
Up Above The Rock
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Released in 1969

I had a thing at work recently where I was overdramatically quoting (sotto voce) that psycho De Niro speech from The Untouchables:

That same day, my iPod shuffle randomly selected a remix of Kool G. Rap & D.J. Polo’s 5-star classic “On The Run,” which samples that very same quote. Funny how the universe works sometimes.

For those unfamiliar with Kool G. Rap, he was one of the progenitors of first-person mafioso rap, influencing The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and scores of others. “On The Run” tells the story of a drug courier for the mob who decides to steal from his employers, only to discover the Luciano family isn’t giving up its stash without a fight. Kool G. creates a compelling narrator, and moves the story along without sacrificing flow or rhyme:

The thought alone makes me shiver, damn
What if I get caught? They’ll find me floatin in the Hudson river
But if I escape, I’ll be in shape for my life
but they might, get my kid and my wife

Kool G. and Polo recorded the record in Los Angeles, which was unprecedented for an East Coast hip hop artist. Sir Jinx — a Los Angeles-based producer who worked on Ice Cube’s seminal AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted album — worked with Polo on the beats.

“On The Run,” was built around a minor-key sample from Ray Bryant’s late-60s piano-soul 5-star classic “Up Above The Rock.” It’s a prime example of building and releasing tension, with the melody shifting from Ray’s piano to horn, Grady Tate’s drums maintaining the beat while upping the frenzy, and an occasional piercing “Hey!” jolting the mood to a new place.

Common (w/Kanye West & John Mayer)
Go
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Album: Be (2005)

Linda Lewis
Old Smokey
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Album: Lark (1972)

Common has had quite the inconsistent career. But when Kanye West came knocking, Common stepped up his game, resulting in the pretty darn awesome LP Be. I fear Be may end up being the apex of Common’s recording career, but I’m still rooting for one of Chi-town’s finest.

Though Be has a number of enjoyable tracks, I’ve been surprised by how much its third single, "Go" has stuck with me. I think it’s the contrast between the mellow beat and the risqué lyrics that keeps it in rotation.

Kanye makes an able hype man and as for John Mayer, I think his contribution is limited to the echoed "Go" that is looped every two bars or so. (And he gets a songwriting credit?)

I hadn’t heard the Linda Lewis track Kanye sampled in "Go." To be honest, I hadn’t heard of Linda Lewis. But "Old Smokey" is a sweet, feel-good song that is ideally suited to a Sunday morning. Whatever led Kanye to isolate the short electric keyboard breakdown that appears towards the end of the song is a mystery to me, but I’m indebted to Yeezy for leading me to this rare groover.