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.

Beyond Belief
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Shabby Doll
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Man Out Of Time
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Almost Blue
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Released in 1982

Elvis Costello is a great all-around songwriter. His work features creative and catchy melodies, deftly honors a range of musical genres, and delivers lyrics that can be both narrative and poetic.

Imperial Bedroom is among his better LPs. Elvis’s artistic restlessness often results in his albums lacking in cohesion. But Imperial Bedroom succeeds due to its diversity and craft; no wonder it is regarded as one of Elvis’s best.

Released in 1982 — his seventh album in five years — Elvis teamed up with a new producer, Geoff Emerick. Emerick was an engineer on many of The Beatles’ later records (the first track he engineered was “Tomorrow Never Knows”), and his influence on Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ sound is clear.

Elvis earned the cover of Rolling Stone just after the release of Imperial Bedroom.

The album starts off with the two-and-a-half-minute epic “Beyond Belief.” The lyrics feel great rolling off the tongue (“History repeats the old conceits. The glib replies, the same defeats”), but my poetic interpretation skills are insufficient to decipher the song’s meaning; my best guess is that he’s awed by a woman who can be cruel.

“Shabby Doll” — which is really fun to say — is filled with idiosyncratic touches: Steve Nieve’s bouncy piano, Bruce Thomas’s bass popping up in unexpected places, and Pete Thomas’s driving rhythm punctuating the final minute of the track.

“Man Out Of Time” is one of those tracks where there’s a lot going on, but the sum is greater than its parts. The riotous shrieking that bookends the song is incongruous with its more serene middle. The lyrics can be inscrutable (“There’s a tuppenny ha’penny millionaire. Looking for a fourpenny one” Huh?). But when that chorus hits, it’s hard not to sing along.

The last featured track is definitely my all-time favorite (and 5-star classic) Elvis song, “Almost Blue.” Musically and lyrically, it could have been performed by Frank Sinatra or Nina Simone in a smoky lounge. Elvis really digs deep on his vocal performance, landing slightly behind the beat to heighten the melancholy.

In the liner notes that came with a CD reissue of Imperial Bedroom, Elvis reflected on his achievement:

Many of the… songs on the record… exhibit a malaise of the spirit and a sinking feeling about happy endings.

That pretty much sums it up.

Only You
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Close The Door
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It Don’t Hurt Now
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When Somebody Loves You Back
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Album: Life Is A Song Worth Singing (1978)

This is part two of a two-part tribute to Teddy Pendergrass. part one

Teddy Pendergrass’s Life Is A Song Worth Singing is a fine example of how Philly soul adapted to the disco/funk movement while remaining true to the diverse vocal personalities, complex orchestral arrangements, and accessible melodies that defined this popular regional subgenre. Teddy was (arguably) the biggest star of the storied Philadelphia International label, with a voice that can blow you away or woo you to bed — sometimes within the same song.

The first featured cut is “Only You,” which I can’t listen to without remembering Eddie Murphy’s classic bit from Delirious:

“Close The Door” may be my all-time favorite Teddy track, an unequivocal 5-star classic and Teddy’s only single to crack the Top 40 pop charts. Laid-back but with a driving backbeat, this is a groove you can put on at the end of a night of dancing for one last feel-good jam.

Your hip black aunt would have been mighty pissed at me if I didn’t include “It Don’t Hurt Now,” which was one of those Teddy tracks that had women throwing their panties onto the stage. What did Teddy do with all those panties?

The final selection is the uplifting stepper “When Somebody Loves You Back,” arranged by the legendary Thom Bell (check the “Flight of the Bumblebee” strings). This is typical of the songwriting style pioneered by (Kenny) Gamble & (Leon) Huff — catchy and straightforward with a touch of melancholy.

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Don’t Leave Me This Way (Dim’s Re-Edit)
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Album: After The Playboy Mansion (Compilation, 2002)

Teddy Pendergrass
You Can’t Hide From Yourself
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Album: Teddy Pendergrass (1977)

This is part one of a two-part tribute to Teddy Pendergrass. part two

This week’s passing of soul legend Teddy Pendergrass hurts a little bit. Few can claim as much authority on the mic as Teddy. During his prime, even his ballads were turned up to 11.

Of course, I dove into the collection on a hunt for all things Teddy. Embarrassed to say, I only had a greatest hits collection and Life Is a Song Worth Singing, Teddy’s second LP. After listening to Life Is a Song Worth Singing from end to end, I decided that it is worthy of LP Classics designation; a full post is forthcoming.

I did have a few Teddy tracks on some compilations, plus Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes’ Wake Up Everybody, their landmark 1975 LP with Teddy on lead vocals. That record included a bunch of great tracks, chief among them the rousing 5-star classic "Don’t Leave Me This Way." Even though the LP version is a scorcher, I decided to digitize a 2002 “re-edit” from Dimitri From Paris that modestly improves upon the track’s mixability.

The other track I selected is “You Can’t Hide From Yourself,” from Teddy’s 1977 eponymous solo debut LP. As the title might indicate, this became an anthem in gay discos. Philly Soul architects Gamble & Huff threw it down yet again, combining a thomping beat, blaring Philly horns, and a positive message with one of Teddy’s most urgent vocals.

Some biographical notes upon Teddy’s passing:

• Read his NY Times obituary or his Wikipedia page.
• Everything changed for Teddy after a 1982 car accident made him a paraplegic. Though he rarely performed live after the accident, he did keep making commercially successful records. But he mostly dedicated his post-accident life towards advocating for the rights of those with spinal cord injuries.
• Teddy got his start as a replacement drummer for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. Harold quickly figured out that Teddy could also sing, and reassigned him to lead singer. Get a taste of Teddy’s percussion skills in the clip below (he picks up the drumsticks starting at 3:40):

• The ladies loved them some Teddy, and he occasionally put on shows where only women were allowed in the audience as he passed around lollipops shaped like himself (R. Kelly, take note). In researching Teddy’s life, I was surprised to learn there may have been another side to his image as the consummate ladies’ man. Because I want gBlog to value musical drama over the real-life variety, I won’t go into the details here, but a quick search about the nature of Teddy’s car accident will clue you in.

The Magnificent Seven
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The Magnificent Dance
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Released in 1981

This edition of 12″ Gems features one of the most addictive bass lines to ever grace the dancefloor. The Clash isn’t the first band to come to mind when you’re up in the club, but “The Magnificent Dance” appeals to pretty much anyone who gets up to get down. (For the record, “Rock The Casbah” works brilliantly too.)

The Clash were consistently pushing the boundaries of music. Though mostly defined as a “punk” bank, they also incorporated reggae, political fury, and — as demonstrated on this 12″ — rap into their sound. “The Magnificent Seven” was recorded in 1980, and may have been the first rap record made by whitey (with the possible exception of Blondie’s “Rapture,” which came out at roughly the same time).

Though Mick Jones was the true rap fanatic in The Clash, it was Joe Strummer who busted out the rhymes used in “The Magnificent Seven.” Legend has it that Joe freestyled all the lyrics after checking out local rap outfits across New York City. Joe was a notorious lefty, and his worldview nudged rap towards protest music: “What do we have for entertainment? Cops kickin gypsies on the pavement.”

But what’s really special about this 12″ is the B-side instrumental remix, “The Magnificent Dance.” Equally beloved by adventurous rockers, hip hop heads, and house music junkies, it continues to be sampled, looped, and worn out by DJ’s around the world.

The Clash were savvy enough to recognize the dancefloor potential of their recording and targeted this remix to DJs, successfully:

WBLS was blasting all over [New York] city and we just hooked onto some of that vibe and made our own version of it. We made an instrumental mix of “The Magnificent Seven” and WBLS played it to death. You couldn’t go anywhere in New York that summer without hearing that. And that was us! Weirdo punk-rock white guys!

— Mick Jones, from the documentary Westway to the World

Oh, and about that bass line: it wasn’t played by a member of The Clash. That honor goes to the heretofore unknown (at least to me) Norman Watt-Roy. Watt-Roy came up with the classic rhythm spontaneously while dropping in on The Clash during the Sandanista! sessions at New York City’s Electric Lady studios. If you want to know how funky Norman truly is, take a gander at his teeth.