Handsome Boy Modeling School - Are You Down With It (feat Mike Patton)

ORIGINATION White People
LAST LISTENED TO sunday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT whatever
RATING

The Handsome Boy Modelling School are producers Prince Paul (of Stetsasonic and De la Soul fame) and Dan Nakamura (who was part of Dr. Octagon and the Gorillaz, amongst others). On their two albums they have become famed for their extensive list of guest vocalists over their unique brand of Hip Hop. This track is from their second, less critically successful album and features former Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton making a rare excursion into coherence.

Having been a long time fan of Patton, it was first and foremost his work with FNM that appealed. Since the end of that band, his vocal work, whilst always distinctive, has not so much strayed as run full pelt from convention. In particular his work with Fantômas is just plain nuts. Over their several albums there is barely one recognisable syllable. Which has its time and place and i'd be a liar to write that i never visit that time and place, however i still enjoy hearing his voice in coherence.

Here as one might expect, he does employ a fair range of different voices and styles from his vast arsenal. But they are all engaged in singing, or rapping, actual words and it is a rare treat.

Musically, HBMS are on the ball as ever. Their gift is to be able to not only put their various vocalists at the centre of each piece and build a different sonic background for them, but to be able to join all the disparate pieces together to form an harmonious whole. This is an approach that could probably only work in Hip Hop. Seen from afar, the album's patchwork array of styles reflects the cut-and-paste approach that is the mainstay of Hip Hop.

This piece is has a deep and slow groove that is instantly recognisable as one of theirs.

(radio silence)

Nothing today at all. I forgot to listen to whatever i had in my head when i awoke and soon after i was playing cars with a small boy called Rory, thus losing it for good. It was probably The Wonder Stuff, though.

Pharoah Sanders

ORIGINATION his lungs, i guess
LAST LISTENED TO january
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT really quite high, considering the quantity of his recordings where i woke
RATING

Saxophonist Pharoah Sanders is one the best known musicians to have been involved in the free jazz movement of the '60s and '70s. He is famed for the sound he produced, which was unlike almost any other before or since. It is a sound that was rich and full of overtones and, when he really let lose with it, he was able to balance on the very point at which tone gives out to noise. It is a breath-taking sound, which sadly many poor fools found unlistenable. That's there loss. The spirit and passion in such playing was and is unmistakable.

This morning i woke with the sound of his playing in my head. Such is the nature of the playing, its very freeness, that finding that one small particular riff in his work is next to impossible. Around the period of his work that i know best (the late '60s to early '70s), he recorded many pieces which stretched whole sides of LPs. In fact, for many of the CD re-issues, i suspect that many of these pieces have been put back together, as they could never have fitted on one side of an LP. So finding a tiny, half second riff in a piece that is over 30 minutes is a task that i will happily fail. Instead, i'm just going to listen to all 32 minutes and 47 seconds of the staggering The Creator Has A Master Plan and let its energy carry me on into my day.

Jimmy McGriff - The Bird Wave

ORIGINATION Electric Funk
LAST LISTENED TO january
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT reasonable
RATING

Another superbly funky piece of jazz from the period that Blue Note records calls its Rare Groove period (that being '67-'70). Jimmy McGriff only put out a few LPs for Blue Note during that time and Electric Funk is probably the best known.

On The Bird Wave, he tickles his hammond in a lovely fashion, with a style that is far more light fingered than the often-copied Jimmy Smith. As you would probably expect, there is plenty of funky brass stabs throughout, however here it's the rhythm section that is the big story. Sadly, they and the rest of the band are listed as unknown, which is a real shame because the drumming is excellent (i've long suspected it could be the superb Idris Muhammad, but there is no way to know).

The track opens with the drums alone, and it's one killer break. Next up is the electric bass, which meshes to the funky drums perfectly. Then in comes light-fingered McGriff, soon followed by those brassy slabs. The rest of the song plays out with as many funky breaks and crescendos as could be hoped for and all the time those drums and the bass keep the funk rolling.

The rest of the album, incidentally, is pretty damn good too.

The Wonder Stuff - Donation

ORIGINATION Never Loved Elvis
LAST LISTENED TO last night
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT Millau Viaduct
RATING

Sometimes it can be hard to separate music from the time and place when it was first heard. I've always had that problem with certain bands from around the late '80s and early '90s. The Wonder Stuff is definitely one of those bands. Floppy fringes, baggy shirts, flowery dresses. Kids who are playing at being 'different'. It's like getting a hint of the smell of an ash tray from a glass of wine. You don't want it to be there, but it always will be.

Somehow of the other, i have managed to see through this in the case of the Wonder Stuff. It's probably because their songs are so catchy in a very poptastic way. Vague hints of the Beatles. Their album Never Loved Elvis is probably the best for this. All manner of lovelies are on here, chief amongst them being Size Of A Cow.

Donation is one of the less catchy numbers. Even still, there are still enough hooks for it to stick well in the memory. Also, and this is the main reason for my recent enjoyment of it, there are large washes of wah-wah throughout the song.

I reckon that the Stuffies were head and shoulders above their competition and should probably have a higher standing in musical history than they do. On the strength of tunes like this, i'm sure their time will come (again).

James Brown - Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (Remix)

ORIGINATION In The Jungle Groove
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT jump back and kiss myself
RATING

I love this too much to put into words. Listen to it. Listen to those drums. Listen to that bass (oh the bass)! And the brass. And the organ. Listen to James Brown. Mr. Dynamite! Soul Brother Number One! The Hardest Working Man In Show Business! Mr. Superbad! The Godfather Of Soul! JAMES BROWN!

Listen when James shouts "Clyde!" after the bongo break (oh yes, bongos too!) and the drums return, followed by Bootsy on bass, it is one of those moments when i lose the power of speech.

If you don't like this song, i suggest you stop reading here and never, ever darken this page again. We don't like your kind 'round here. Have you no soul at all?

Sly & The Family Stone - If You Want Me To Stay

ORIGINATION Fresh
LAST LISTENED TO can't say for sure
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT piccadilly line
RATING

One of my favourite Sly moments. It's a lovely, laid back and slinky piece of funk that is moved along by the power of the bass playing, which right in the middle of the tune. Bolted on to that is some sparse drumming, that is backed by a very simple drum machine pattern. Behind this brass and piano bubble along to either side of the listener, keeping things light and giving hints of playfullness. This, in turn, points to Sly's vocal, which is definitely one of his most playfull-sounding. Finally, Sly uses his organ to stab out emphasis every so often with some big, but not overpowering chords. It's hard not to end up with a smile on your face after listening to this. Just what the world needs on such a grey and miserable day.

Yellow Sunshine - Yellow Sunshine

ORIGINATION Skye Presents The Breaks (v/a)
LAST LISTENED TO some time ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT it not quite as small as it may appear at first
RATING

Yellow Sunshine were formed for only one self-titled LP of funk rock fusion in 1973. This, the title cut, is a respectable entry in the funk rock field. It is an entirely guitar driven piece, with the only non-rock standard instrument being some bongos. This gives it a vague Santana-ish feel, although to be fair the guitar playing is never as flash.

The track has also been plundered several times over in recent years for its groovy drum break that occurs near the end.

Monday Mash Up

Today's song was a little confusing. This was because, as it turned out, there were four songs running into each other in my head. It took my barely awake brain a little while to prise them apart and work out what they all were. So, here they are in order of appearance:

DNA vs Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner

ORIGINATION pass
LAST LISTENED TO no idea
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT St Kilda
RATING

As far i can recall, Vega had originally released this track as an acapella on one of her albums. When a couple of naughty sample-boffins nicked the whole thing and put it out as a bootleg, her record label didn't like it but she did and it was given a proper release. The result is a fairly sparse song mixing electronic beats and basic electronic instrumentation with Vega's original lyrics. It went on to become a hit.

Danny Elfman - Augustus Gloop

ORIGINATION Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
LAST LISTENED TO saturday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT Scotland
RATING

Danny Elfman is one of the best and most unique composers working in films today. He has been a long-time collaborator with director Tim Burton, working on films such as Edward Scissorhands and Mars Attacks!, as well as countless other projects (including the theme for The Simpsons). His scores always carry his particular brand of fair-ground otherworldliness and darkness, that not only make them instantly recognisable as his, but also perfectly suited to the kind of dark fairy tales that Burton often spins.

Last year he scored Burton's remake of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which saw him using lyrics in his score for the first time. Augustus Gloop is the first song we see sung by the Oompa Loompas and is comes about when that 'great, big, greedy nincompoop' is sucked away up a chocolate pipe.

The has something of a rock-meets-primitive-tribe feel. Many voices sing the ludicrous lyrics and a variety of drums pound away. There are also lovely big stabs of brass. The song ends with drums and chanting, echoing the supposed tribal background of the Oompa Loompas that was about to be revealed.

Danny Elfman - Violet Beuregarde

ORIGINATION Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
LAST LISTENED TO saturday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT Scotland
RATING

Violet met her end by chewing bubblegum, a disgusting habit. Here the Oompa Loompas get funky in the tale of her end. For not having been known as funky, Elfman pulls of mid-'70s funk with discoish flourishes incredibly well.

The song builds up slowly from random sounds and (more) chants of Oompa Loompa, until disco strings and funky guitar take over. From then on it's funktastic: organ! bass! brass! even the comedy ultra-low voice. It returns to the random sounds again at the end, as if the whole thing had never happened. Quite excellent!


Nouvelle Vague - Friday Night, Saturday Morning

ORIGINATION Nouvelle Vague
LAST LISTENED TO december
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT Eigg
RATING

This is a nice, easy version of a not so well known Specials track. The dreamy, washy sound of the track contrasts well with the unpleasant story of british friday night binge drinking.

(same again)

ORIGINATION Hang On In There Baby
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT stupidly high it seems
RATING

Thanks, subconscious for giving me exactly the same song today as yesterday. And there was me thinking it was meant to be the seat of imagination. Pah!

Johnny Bristol - Hang On In There Baby

ORIGINATION Hang On In There Baby
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT scraping the sky
RATING

Johnny Bristol was part of the Motown family from '61-'73, where he was a song-writer and producer. It was only after he left Motown that he finally recorded his own material. Hang On In There from '74 was his first LP and this, the title track, was his first single. It was also his biggest ever hit, reaching No.8 in the US pop charts. It is a confident, smooth piece of '70s soul, in a similar vein to what Barry White was producing: there is the laid back drums, the funky little wah-wah guitar fills and smooth and sweet, sweet strings. Over this Bristol's voice sits somewhere between the buttery smoothness of Terry Callier and the boulder-shifting rumble of White. The song builds to an enjoyable, impassioned climax, by way of some soloing brass, where supporting female backing vocals add some nice call-and-repsonse dynamics.

Little Barrie - Memories Well

ORIGINATION 7"
LAST LISTENED TO a few days ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT goodies
RATING

I forgot to write this earlier. The blog site was down and i had work to do. And now it is too late and i want to go to bed, so tough. You'll just have to guess what it is like and where it cames from.

Ka The Snake - Trust In Me

ORIGINATION Th Jungle Book
LAST LISTENED TO years ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT the tiniest of tiny
RATING

That sneaky snake Ka has man-cub Mowgli up his tree and is trying to hypnotise him into being his lunch. It starts with a solo clarinet (or some other woodwind instrument - i can almost remember when i used to know these things) that slowly lulls, before a relaxed tango begins the (ha) dance of (near) death. Then Ka starts to sing in his superbly sibilant voice. The whole effect is so mesmerising that listening to it just now i have nearly fallen back asleep, which just won't do. I'd better go and wake up.

The Blackbyrds - Do It Fluid

ORIGINATION Night Grooves
LAST LISTENED TO januaryish
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low again
RATING

The Blackbyrds were out together by jazzer Donald Byrd using a group of his university students. They played a superior brand of jazz funk that should really be described as funk jazz. They had loads of soul, far more than was common in this genre, and none of the horrible, sparse, slappy bass lines that characterises the most tedious of jazz funk and has since given it a bad name.

Do It Fluid, from their 1973 self-titled debut is very funky. It's driven along by the kind of synth that has come to be associated with Stevie Wonder's output of that period. Along with this are some damn fine solos and a near-constant chant of either i like to party or do it fluid. It all adds up to the kind of track you can't sit still through.

First Edition - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)

ORIGINATION The Big Lebowski (film)
LAST LISTENED TO over a year ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT tiny
RATING

This is a rather fun piece of nonsensical psychedelic-pop from '67 that happily contains several levels of amusement. Firstly, there are the lyrics. For example:
Someone painted April Fool in big black letters on a Dead End sign
I had my foot on the gas as I left the road and blew out my mind
Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
What? That doesn't make any kind of sense.

Now consider the second point, which goes some way to explaining the lunacy of the lyrics: the song was written by a bunch of guys who never had and never would have any psychedelic experience. They were a bunch of straight-laced white guys with a record contract who jumped on the psychedelic wagon, sorry, bus to make this pop hit.

Thirdly, and most amusingly, First Edition were one of the early points on country white-beard Kenny Rogers long walk to fame.

All in all, Just Walked In… is clearly bogus psychedelia. It is psych for people who either don't like it or don't understand it, in much the same was that Play That Funky Music White Boy is for funk. However for completely inexplicable reasons i quite like it (unlike Play That… which makes me incredibly cross). Maybe i should check my condition. Hmm…

Little Barrie - Please Tell Me

ORIGINATION We Are Little Barrie
LAST LISTENED TO last week
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT fairly low
RATING

Little Barrie are a three piece (guitar/bass/drums) who formed in Nottingham in 2000. Their music is a rough funky rock that has a very spontaneous sound, whilst at the same time exhibiting a meticulously crafted nature upon closer inspection.

Please Tell Me is from their debut album released in Feb '06. It contains all the best elements in Little Barrie's arsenal: there are some fine guitar hooks, simple, funky drums and wonderfully interwoven lyrics.

Rather than going on about this, let me direct you to a review of the album on Allmusic. On this occasion, their review really is exactly on the money and it seems fairly pointless to reinterpret it here. You could also have found out more about Little Barrie on their website, but it is currently being rebuilt.

Now go and get their album, it's great!

The Smashing Pumpkins - The Everlasting Gaze

ORIGINATION Machina
LAST LISTENED TO recently
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT don't care
RATING

I don't care too much for the Smashing Pumpkins. I've found most of their music to be a bit too whiney and self-indulgent. Read any biography or the band and you're bound to find the phrase "angst-ridden" and occasionally 'prog'. Around this point you can count me out.

However, there have been the odd moments when they cast aside this shadow of misery and made songs that had a bit more fire. This track is one them. It's got a large slab of guitar and some excellently ridiculous rock lyrics (You know i'm not dead) repeated throughout. It's got a defiant anger that is the rarely seen flip-side of the Smashing Pumpkins angst.

Good as it may be though, it's not really what i want in my head this early on a sunday.

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

ORIGINATION Live At The Rainbow
LAST WATCHED tuesday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low
RATING

I watched part of the History Of Iron Maiden Part 1: The Early Days DVD mid week and this fan-favourite was on it. It was can normally be found on their first (self titled) LP, although the version on Live After Death with Brucie singing is also top.

Won't you come into my room,
I wanna show you all my wares.
I just want to see your blood,
I just want to stand and stare.
See the blood begin to flow
as it falls upon the floor.
Iron Maiden can't be fought,
Iron Maiden can't be sought.

Oh Well, wherever,
wherever you are,
Iron Maiden's gonna get you,
no matter how far.
See the blood flow watching it shed up above my head.
Iron Maiden wants you for dead.

You have been warned.

The Theme From Superman

ORIGINATION take a wild guess
LAST LISTENED TO never
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT absurd
RATING

What? Why? Sometimes i wonder if my subconscious is taking the piss. The last thing i want in my head before breaking my fast is an image of Christopher Reeve in tights. Wonderful. I'm going out to find some milk and i'm not writing any more about this crap, may it please now leave my head.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Faith Healer

ORIGINATION Next
LAST LISTENED TO october
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low, low, low
RATING

I don't have time for this today, so it'll have to be quick.

Alex Harvey is one of the forgotten gems of not only Scottish music but rock in general. He was in from the start, playing skiffle in the '50s and RNB in the '60s, before moving on to his particular brand of theatrical rock that brought him modest fame in the 70s. After a few albums at the start of that decade nearly sank without trace, he finally scored chart success with a cover of Tom Jones' Delilah. He sadly passed away at the age of 47 from a heart attack whilst on tour in '82.

The Faith Healer is from Next one of his nearly forgotten (and best) albums, this one from '73. It is something of an minor epic. It begins with a bare synth pulsing, before the rest of the band slowly join in. The tension and sounds slowly build through the song's seven minutes to reach a satisfying crescendo. Note must be made of the fantastic guitar sounds and, of course, Harvey's Scots accent which is a joy to hear.

I could go on and i already have far more than i meant to. Time, however, conspires. Just go and get hold of a copy of this album. You won't regret it.

The Melodians - Rivers Of Babylon

ORIGINATION 20 Reggae Greats
LAST LISTENED TO no idea
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT non existant RATING

Just to clear this up straight away: this is the original version. Ok?

Good. Let us continue.

During the '60s and '70s, arguably the most creative period in Jamaica's musical history, almost none of its musical output reached beyond its shores. There was the occasional hit in the UK, but that was it. This left the way open for other acts to cover tunes and score hits, which happened on many occasions. Best known was the cover of this by Boney M and Blondie's version of The Paragons Tide is High. And then there was UB40, but i find it's best not to think about UB40 at all.

The Melodians were a vocal trio best known for their sweet harmonies. They recorded Rivers Of Babylon during the rocksteady period and, after a career of mostly love songs, it was their first song to touch on Rastafarian consciousness.

In Rastafari, Babylon is a white colonial or imperialist power structure that is responsible for the oppression of all blacks and as such it has very negative connotations. On the other hand Zion is the black spiritual home, seen as being specifically Ethiopia, it is also roughly comparable to Judao-Christian-Islamic heaven. Hence the chorus:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

This was the biggest hit that The Melodians ever scored. In '71, the following year, their producer died and the quality of their output was seen to drop, never to reach these heights again.

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Do You Wanna Get Heavy?

ORIGINATION Acme
LAST LISTENED TO sunday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT probably quite goood considering
RATING

It's them again. They seem to have been hanging around in my head a lot the past few days. Today was no exception, other than there was more or less two songs in my head at once. Both this song and Magical Colors, the one preceding it on the cd were mixed up in there, but this song won out eventually.

As with every other JSBX song, it's the old two-guitar retro-ish rock 'n' roll. The differing ingredients in this track are some nice supporting organ and a whole load of soul in the second half. In fact it's this second half that really make the tune. There is some excellent vocal interplay along with the chants of "Do you wanna get heavy" and the delicate organ is reminiscent of the organ that played behind Al Green in some of his best moments. A bit of a change of pace for these guys, but still excellent.

Stanley Turrentine - Boogaloo

ORIGINATION Blue Note Rare Grooves
LAST LISTENED TO a few days back
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT low
RATING

Turrentine was best known for his '60s soul jazz on Blue Note. This example was composed by his then wife and fellow jazz artist Shirley Scott. Her organ opens the track with the main melody, whilst Turrentine interweaves his tenor sax between her lines. He plays in his usual gutsy style here and over the ensuing solo. This is followed by a guitar solo which passes with little incident. At best it's a typical second-string Blue Note guitar solo. Scott is next up, with a solo that is no more inspired than the previous, before things are rounded off with one more typical Turrentine solo. The best thing about the track is the drumming, provided by the ever-dependable Idris Muhammad, who played for pretty much everyone during his long career.

Overall Boogaloo is not a particularly noteworthy tune. It's probably only of interest because it's a boogaloo and it's on Blue Note and even then it's not their best boogaloo. Lou Donaldson's Alligator Boogaloo is quite a bit more interesting. What is rather odd about this tune is that it seems better than it actually is. It really does not benefit from any close attention.

One for the wallpaper.

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Blue Green Olga

ORIGINATION Acme
LAST LISTENED TO late december
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT none too good
RATING

More excellent retro-ish rock 'n' roll from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. As usual, it's sound over content but that doesn't matter when the sound is as good as this. The hook here is in the lyrics "she is blue green, she is blue", which frankly i doubt even Spencer himself understands but of course it really doesn't matter. It just sounds great.

This time, along with the usual twin guitars and pounding drums, there's also a female backing voice and some subtle scratching, so it's not all business as usual. Apart from the business of cranking out great rock 'n' roll, of course.

Hoagy Carmichael - Hong Kong Blues

ORIGINATION Honky Soul, Race Music, Hard Bop & Anachronic Jazz
LAST LISTENED TO yesterday
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT pretty good
RATING

Hoagy Carmichael is best known for such tunes as Georgia On My Mind and Stardust. Both those and many more of his compositions went on to become standards in American pop. This tune, however, did not which is hardly a surprise considering that it is about an opium sot. It tells the tale of this poor unfortunate who is stranded in Hong Kong and who has no money left to return home. Compared to the kind of anti-drug messages we have become prey to today, it is quite soft and in fact does not seem to offer much in the way of discouragement. Also, its laid-back jazzy setting with light oriental motifs does nothing to help spread any negative feeling. Still, for all that it is an enjoyable little song.

Du Droppers - Bam Balam

ORIGINATION The RCA Blues & Rhythm Revue
LAST LISTENED TO last night
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT good and high
RATING

Like many of their contemporaries, the members of Du Droppers started out singing gospel. They formed as a group in '52 and soon began singing r'n'b. After an initial hit for a minor label, they were signed early in '53 to RCA, who were trying to break into the r'n'b market at the time. A few more hits quickly appeared, but that was as far as they went. By '54 they had been sidelined to a subsidiary label and, after some line up problems, they were gone by mid '55.

Bam Balam was recorded in late '53 and like all good r'n'b it couches its true meanings in euphemisms and made-up words. Listening to it today, it's blatantly clear what they're singing about. However one has to assume that in the '50s the culture was more naïve, a safe assumption given that there was a genre born then and given the name rock 'n' roll (if you don't understand this means, go ask your mummy and daddy). Therefore songs like this were quite acceptable as pop records.

What is most notable about Bam Balam is that it was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in their first year on the scene. Famous for such (later) tunes as Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock and Stand By Me, they were about to become the biggest names in r'n'b. Less well know was that they were also about to become pivotal in shifting r'n'b towards the mainstream and in so doing they helping to vastly increase its cultural impact. This happened primarily through two avenues of their work.

Firstly through their song writing: they turned their songs into mini-plays which helped hook the listener, whilst simultaneously toning down some of the bawdiness for which r'n'b was known. Secondly, their production and arrangements brought in pop influences hitherto unseen in r'n'b. In this they are credited with bringing strings to the style, which helped shape a sound that soon became known as Soul music.

However, Bam Balam was before much of this happened. Nonetheless it's still a Leiber & Stoller composition and as such it's no different to the rest: a fun, up-tempo romp that has some pretty good melodies. You can't ask for much more.

Brother Jack McDuff - Hunk O' Funk

ORIGINATION Blue Note Rare Grooves
LAST LISTENED TO many months ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT are scraping the bottom of the barrel
RATING

I do like it when this happens. I've not listened to this track for ages and i'm really glad to have been reminded of it.

Brother Jack McDuff was one of the group of jazz organists that appeared in the wake of Jimmy Smith's success. McDuff like the others owes a great deal to Smith, although by the time of recording this, more than ten years into his career, his style had evolved some. It is slight slower and with far less emphasis on the higher notes when compared to Smith's style, making for a more funky, soulful sound.

1970, the year this track was recorded, was during McDuff's funkiest period, when he was putting out music on two of the best names in organ jazz: Cadet and Blue Note. The album containing this, To Seek A New Home, was recorded in London with a bunch of locals. By the sound of it, i'd say these guys where no strangers to session work, as this sounds remarkably like some of the best funk i've heard from the music library companies of the period. It also shows just how funky McDuff could be.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, he really has managed to put together a funk track that is quite jazzy, as opposed to jazz with a hint of funk. From the opening soft intro, the drum breaks, the wah-wah, the flute, clavinet and the funky, funky brass, this track has absolutely everything you want in a prime piece of funk. And, of course, over it all is Brother Jack's funky organ.

If i was ever forced to choose a favourite piece of organ jazz funk, i might very well choose this track. Considering my collection is weighted 20:1 in favour of Smith to McDuff, this has got to be a high recommendation!

Michael Jackson - Thriller

ORIGINATION tv
LAST LISTENED TO a few days ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT fair, falling slowly
RATING

So a few nights ago, i happened to notice that the full Thriller video was on that rather pants freeview music channel. I was flicking pointlessly, rather than just switching it off as i should've done. Naturally, i decided i would waste ten minutes watching Michael back when he was still more-or-less human.

It's funny, i've not seen the video for years. In my mind there where far more synchronised zombie dances in it and i had forgotten how radically different the song was cut. The first chorus was a long way into it and i think there might only have been just the two in total. Still, Michael's zombie make-up was well done, although it made me think more of the voodoo priest from Live And Let Die than zombie. It also made me wonder what he would have looked like if he had allowed himself to age normally. We shall never know.

As it happens, it also brought back one more, rather odd, memory. This being one from a few years ago, when i was staying for a weekend in a bunkhouse near Laggan with a big group of people. This was to celebrate an old friend's birthday. Now, if i remember correctly, the birthday girl is rather keen on old Wacko. So, one night a competition was held to see who could dance the most like the 'man' himself. I seem to recall sitting this affair out because, well, really, just because. Grounds of taste and all that.

However, at some point during the proceedings i made a comment regarding the skills, or more exactly the lack thereof, on display. And i was heard. And challenged: "you do better".

The funny thing is that i ended up joint winner. Not sure how. I even remember that at one point i was leading all the semi-synchronised zombies in whole dance routines. Must've been demonic possession. No other explanation fits.

Anyway, the song's not bad either, but you knew that already.