Live On Wax: Les McCann, 1972

 Live On Wax  No Responses »
May 162011
 
 

Cochise
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North Carolina
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Get Yourself Together
(w/Rahsaan Roland Kirk)
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Album: Live At Montreux
Released in 1973

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I’ve always dug Les McCann, and when I found this Live At Montreux double LP in a local record store ($5, near mint), I knew it would be quality.

The Montreux Jazz Festival is Switzerland’s prestigious annual event on stunning Lake Geneva. In recent years, Montreux has drifted a bit off brand; for its 44th season, jazz greats such as Coolio, Arcade Fire, and Ricky Martin are on the programme. (To be fair, actual jazz greats such as George Benson, Diana Krall, and Herbie Hancock are also on the bill.)

Les McCann’s Live At Montreux was recorded during an earlier, purer incarnation of the festival, in 1972. Les was already a legend at Montreux — and Switzerland in general — because he had released a hit live album from the festival, 1969′s Swiss Movement.

For his second recording from Montreux, Les brought along bassist Jimmy Rowser, drummer Donald Dean, and percussionist Buck Clarke. Like many jazz artists of the time, Les experimented with electric, amplified instruments and Live At Montreux is a showcase for the many colors and textures of the recently-invented clavinet keyboard.

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Musical Cousins: 3 Types of Creeps (Stevie Wonder, TLC, Scala & Kolacny Brothers)

 Musical Cousins  No Responses »
Apr 022011
 
 

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

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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.

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Crate Diggin’: The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta

 Crate Diggin'  No Responses »
Mar 262011
 
 

Driven To Tears
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When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around (Different Gear Remix)
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Voices Inside My Head
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Album: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)

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For an album that the band itself isn’t particularly satisfied with, Zenyatta Mondatta sure has some gems on it. The accepted story is that The Police were pressured to complete the record prior to going on a world tour, despite the band’s grumblings. Regardless, Zenyatta Mondatta succeeds due to the trio’s chemistry, songwriting, and musicianship.

Zenyatta Mondatta‘s biggest hits were the terrific “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” and the idiotic “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.” More interesting are the dancefloor classics that captured a band willing to broaden their sound.

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R.I.P. – Nate Dogg

 R.I.P.  No Responses »
Mar 202011
 
 

Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None)
Snoop Doggy Dogg w/Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Warren G
Released in 1993
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Oh No
Pharoahe Monch w/Nate Dogg, Mos Def
Released in 2000
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The Set Up (Remix)
Obie Trice w/Nate Dogg, Redman, Lloyd Banks, Jadakiss
Released in 2004
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Sad to hear of Nate Dogg’s recent passing. Nate wasn’t the first singer to provide R&B-style hooks on rap records (TJ Swan, perhaps?), but I can’t remember any R&B/hip hop hybrid prior to Nate’s 1992 appearances on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic that didn’t inflict collateral damage to anyone’s street cred.

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Crate Diggin’: First Choice, Delusions

 Crate Diggin'  3 Responses »
Mar 172011
 
 

Let No Man Put Asunder
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Love Having You Around
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Dr. Love (Tom Moulton 12″ Mix)
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Album: Delusions (1977)

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The onset of spring makes disco bloom on my hi-fi. And though it has its place, I’m not talking about the commercial disco I wish I heard at Studio 54; I’m talking about the soulful proto-house disco I wish I heard at the Paradise Garage. One of the best examples of the latter is First Choice’s Delusions LP.

Annette Guest and Rochelle Fleming founded First Choice when they were still Philadelphia high school students. Rochelle reminisces:

Our success didn’t hit us until graduation night. We were marching down the aisle and the principal of the school said he wanted to congratulate First Choice… then the whole graduation class just stood up and hollered and screamed.

Five years later, as disco was starting to dominate the pop landscape, First Choice (Rochelle, Annette, and new member Ursula Herring) released Delusions. In hindsight, First Choice is perceived as more of a singles act rather than album artists. Delusions, however, is a fairly consistent collection of songs, thanks in part to the lush production from MFSB’s rhythm section: Ron Baker, Norman Harris, and Earl Young.

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