Follow The Leader
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Follow The Leader (Dub)
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Released in 1988

OK, I’m trying out a new feature, 12″ Gems. I gots fat stacks of phat tracks to share.

Take this one: Eric B. & Rakim’s 5-star classic single “Follow The Leader.” It killed in the later, hazy hours of house parties in San Francisco during the late 90s — nearly a decade after its 1988 release. It continues to be an invigorating dancefloor choice for certain kinds of parties.

I have an MP3 of this track that I got from one of the online music services. It completely neuters the bass, and sounds hollow. To me, Eric B.’s complex, moody beat is what drives the track and keeps it relevant. I spent some extra time on my encoding to try and capture it, but digital music can’t quite match the big thumping rhythm that only vinyl can deliver. Pump it through some good speakers and turn it up, and you’ll get a taste.

Lyrically and musically, the Long Island duo were an atom bomb that forever changed the landscape of hip hop in the late-80s. Sounds like a hyperbole, but if you know your hip hop history you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Take this stunning couplet from Rakim:

Music makes mellow, maintains to make
Melodies for MCs, motivates the breaks

If his wordplay wasn’t enough, Rakim was also deep:

In this journey, you’re the journal, I’m the journalist.
Am I eternal or an eternalist?

Eternalism is a philosophical construct proposing that the past, present, and future are all equally viable.

Rakim isn’t just being blasphemous by nicknaming himself The God MC; you don’t hear Chamillionaire rapping about existentialism.

I also included the b-side “Dub” version, which is borderline unlistenable, except perhaps if you’ve ingested some sort of amphetamine. In a nutshell: Eric B. experiments with reverb.

Oh, and as I said, I played this record out; it’s scratchy, it has pops and hisses… sorry about that, but it still sounds better than the CD.

Summer In The City
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Manteca
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“Sanford & Son” Theme
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Chump Change
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Album: You’ve Got It Bad Girl (1973)

To mark the one month anniversary of Ye Olde Blog, I’ve got a new feature that I hope you will enjoy: LP Classics, a tribute to the best records in my collection. The rules: each selection must have a few 4- and 5-star classics, and it can’t be a compilation or live album.

I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more auspicious debut for this feature than the LP I selected: Quincy Jones’s You’ve Got It Bad Girl. Released in 1973, it’s rarely mentioned among Q’s triumphs, but I’ve played and enjoyed this record countless times. I found it at a San Francisco sidewalk sale for $2, a deal that still makes me smile some 15 years later.

As you can see from the tags I assigned to this post, Quincy showcases his eclectic tastes on this LP. A few tracks originate from movies or TV shows, others are creative interpretations of other artists’ songs, and the liner notes detail several legendary session players providing support throughout the album.

The track that leads off the LP is also among Quincy’s most revered: a cover of “Summer In The City,” which takes The Lovin’ Spoonful’s 60′s anthem to euphoric and jazzy new heights. It won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement, but is probably best known for it’s opening loop, sampled in The Pharcyde’s magnum opus, “Passing Me By.” Various bits of the song have been sampled in lots of other tracks as well. Jones’s version is a mystical brew consisting of trippy grooves, sultry solos, and soaring vocals (provided by Valerie Simpson, of Ashford & Simpson).

“Manteca” is an aggressive update of a Dizzy Gillespie track from the 1940s. I love the tone shifts between the ridiculously tight horn section and Jerome Richardson’s breezy sax passages. I always feel so sophisticated when I hear Bob James’s jumpy electric piano solo. I kinda wish Q didn’t let the track’s propulsive energy spiral into chaos towards the last couple of minutes of the track, but this is still a total jam.

The final two selections are both themes to TV shows. Everyone knows and loves the “‘Sanford & Son’ Theme,” (aka “The Streetbeater”); how Quincy Jones manages to compose a perfect musical counterpart to the junkyard in which the show is set is beyond my comprehension. Sorry for the skips, but I’ve played this cut down to the bone!

Less known (and thus, slightly less pleasurable) is the theme to two different Bill Cosby shows, 1972′s The New Bill Cosby Show and a game show from 1974, Now You See It; neither made it past their first season, but their theme song endures. Little know fact: Q co-wrote the track with Cosby — Bill is one talented dude.

Wu-Tang Clan
Hollow Bones
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Album: The W (2000)

Syl Johnson
Is It Because I’m Black
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Album: Is It Because I’m Black (1969)

Introducing Musical Cousins, where I take two or more tracks that relate to each other in some way. The most obvious application — including this one — will be to pair a modern-ish song with the original beat it samples. But I may latch on to other, more esoteric pairings as well.

For the inaugural edition, I’ve chosen a joint from the uneven Wu-Tang Clan record, The W. Verses from Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and Ghostface flow beautifully in a track that is made for headphones (but not for the dancefloor).

Contrast it to Syl Johnson’s original and witness RZA’s minimal, yet effective, sampling methodologies. He doesn’t utilize any sounds that aren’t part of the original song. He just increased the tempo, looped a few bits, and sprinkled on a few effects.

Though lyrically, the two tracks are markedly different — Johnson is wailing on the dehumanizing effects of racism while the Wu deliver intricate, crime-themed wordplay — they share an underlying despair and a driving force to persevere regardless of the bleak circumstances.

Bus Stop
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Laid Back
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Album: Bus Stop (1974)

Introducing Crate Diggin’, where I’ll digitize some tracks from my neglected record collection. I’ll try to focus on music that is still unavailable on CD and artists you may not be familiar with. This feature will be heavy on soul/funk/jazz from 1970-1975, since that’s what I was into when I was on the vinyl tip.

To kick things off, I’ve unearthed a record I picked up when I lived in New Orleans, Oliver Sain’s Bus Stop. Oliver was a big name in the St. Louis R&B scene, not just as a sax player, but also as a songwriter and producer. Each year, he organized an annual Soul Reunion, which just celebrated its 45th anniversary (even though Sain died in 2003).

Bus Stop was his second LP as a solo artist and focused on Oliver’s songwriting and sax skills. The record is a mixture of funk, blues, and the unfortunately-titled track, “Blowing For Love.”

The title track, “Bus Stop,” jump starts the record. Some of the heads out there may be familiar with this stomper. I think it’s been on a few comps. There’s a tight breakdown 1:20 in. I don’t think anyone has sampled it yet. You’re welcome.

The second selection is “Laid Back,” a slow-groover that will inspire you to seek out some sexytime, preferably with that special someone you really, really dig.

Oliver Sain, photo from the Bus Stop gatefold

Little Ghetto Boy
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Jealous Guy
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We’re Still Friends
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Album: Live (1972)

Introducing Live On Wax, where I’ll post some tracks from a live album, back when capturing a live concert was different enough from the recorded versions to merit release. I’ll also attempt to put some shine on recordings you may not have heard before and digitize my vinyl collection.

This time around, I selected some tracks from the late, great Donny Hathaway’s 1972 live album. Side 1 of the record (represented by “Little Ghetto Boy” and “Jealous Guy”) was recorded at NYC’s Bitter End club and side B (“We’re Still Friends”) was recorded at The Troubador in Los Angeles. Many live albums skimp on the production values, but these recordings are warm and intimate, with the perfect balance between performers and audience. Donny is among my favorite singers, and this set is a great example of the confident command he has over his luscious voice.

“Little Ghetto Boy,” is a song that may be somewhat familiar, as Dr. Dre samples it on The Chronic‘s “Lil’ Ghetto Boy”. Released only as a single, this version is a melodic, heart-wrenching parable of the two different paths a kid with a tragic childhood can take as he becomes a man.

A cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” is the next selection. One of the trends in pop music that doesn’t happen much anymore is the real-time cover version. Donny chooses a pair of tunes that were popular on he radio while he was on tour: Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and this bouncy, ragtimey rendition of Lennon’s more subdued original.

The testimonial “We’re Still Friends” rounds out the selections. It was so 70s for soul singers to introduce a song in the third person (“This is a little song about a couple that was in love…”) when everyone knows he’s talking about himself and some broken-hearted mama. I dig the way this performance builds, peaking in a bluesy guitar solo played by the awesomely-named Cornell Dupree.

The gatefold is vintage bohemian and the quotes from his peers and critics (“The Word Is Out!”) are priceless:

Black is more than beautiful to Donny Hathaway — it’s a sound and a way of life that he wants the world to enjoy.

— The Philadelphia Tribune

Dig it; the brother’s got a lot to say.

— Soul magazine

Donny has got his thing together!

—Roberta Flack