January 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
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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)
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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.
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Published in Music, R.I.P. |
January 8th, 2010 | No Comments »
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Can’t Fake The Feeling
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Released in 1980
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"Can’t Fake The Feeling" has been very good to me. As you can see from the photo of the label above, I paid a pretty penny for it but It was worth it. It’s one of those records that kills on the dancefloor, and few of my generation have ever heard it before — qualities that make DJs very happy.
When it was released 30 (!) years ago, it was — justifiably — a massive #1 club hit. It’s easy to see why: the beat is steady, the production is tight, and the melody is catchy. And then there’s Geraldine’s raw, expressive singing that hearkens back to a time when dance track vocals were recorded with limited to no filters, pitch correction, or digitized harmonies.
It was released on the Prism label (Prism would later morph into seminal hip hop label Cold Chillin’ Records) and was written by Geraldine and Kat Dyson, who is primarily known for playing guitar with Prince’s New Power Generation. I’m sad to say that my limited online research into Geraldine didn’t reveal much about her; "Can’t Fake The Feeling" was her biggest hit.
Published in 12" Gems, Music |
September 16th, 2009 | No Comments »
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Barbra Streisand (w/Barry Gibb)
Guilty
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Album: Guilty (1980)
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Tanya Morgan
Stay Tuned (Sunset Version)
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Album: Sunset (EP, 2005)
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A couple of months ago, I was diggin’ in the dollar bin at Amoeba and came across Guilty, a Barbra Streisand/Barry Gibb duet album from 1980. My Mom totally had this record, and played it frequently enough that the title song came back to me instantly. As I stood hunched over the crate on the floor, I wondered what other beats might lurk within the dated airbrushed sleeve. For a buck, I could satisfy my curiosity and prevent lingering back damage.
I had thought about featuring Guilty in a new gBlog feature dedicated to cheesy pop, but couldn’t find enough tracks on the record that were bad-good enough to share. Oh well. At least the title cut — which won a Grammy and features the brothers Gibb (aka the Bee Gees) on background vocals — entertained me enough to rip it and upload to my iPod.
I had pretty much given up on the idea of blogging about the record. But a few weeks after I had put it aside, I heard a familiar sample in a podcast from The Sound of Young America. It was included in a 2006 performance by an unknown rap group with a misleading name: Tanya Morgan. (According to their MySpace profile, “THE NAME MEANS NOTHING…AND EVERYTHING. JUST ENJOY THE MUSIC! THATS AN OLD QUESTION PLEASE DONT ASK IT ANYMORE! LOL”)
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Published in Music, Musical Cousins |
March 9th, 2009 | No Comments »
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Wishing On A Star
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Do Your Dance
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Album: In Full Bloom (1977)
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About six months ago, the music world lost Norman Whitfield. Whitfield was one of the driving forces behind the Motown label, writing and producing a jaw-dropping litany of hits including “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” and “War (What Is It Good For).” After leaving Motown in the early 70s, Whitfield stole some of the label’s underused assets and started his own eponymous shingle.
Whitfield Records biggest success was the 1976 soundtrack album for Car Wash, with the title track, “I Can’t Get Next To You,” and “I’m Going Down” representing on the singles charts. Their follow-up record, In Full Bloom didn’t include a hit as infectious as “Car Wash,” but still produced a few memorable tracks.
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Published in Crate Diggin', Music |
February 21st, 2009 | No Comments »
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Gwen McCrae
All This Love That I’m Giving
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Album: Melody Of Life (1979)
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Cassius
Feeling For You
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Album: 1999 (1999)
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This time out on Musical Cousins, two tracks that will make you shake your booty. Spaced 20 years apart, Gwen McCrae’s disco-funk classic, “All This Love I’m Giving,” inspired the arch French duo Cassius to produce “Feeling For You,” a bouncy electro-house track from their underappreciated 1999 album. Two very different approaches to dance music, but don’t make me choose.
Gwen McCrae is one of those 70s soul divas who never quite penetrated the mainstream in the same manner as her contemporaries (e.g. Donna Summer, Diana Ross). Emerging from the shadow of her (allegedly) abusive ex-husband, George McCrae (responsible for the mid-70s hit “Rock Your Baby”), Gwen released a few mildly successful records before getting rediscovered in the UK and enterprising hip hop producers. She’s still at it, but has shifted her talents to gospel music.
Cassius started their career remixing tracks from French house progenitors Daft Punk and Air. 1999 was their debut album, and burned up the dance charts all over the planet. For the single “Feeling For You,” Cassius took a phrase from “All This Love That I’m Giving,” sped it up and looped it, and dropped layers of synthesizers and beats behind it. Sounds simple, but there’s a mathematical precision to how Cassius constructs their tracks, maximizing their danceability quotient.
Published in Music, Musical Cousins |
