Izanzaren - Legends of Berber Music Volume 3

HERE is the final installment of sublime and enchanting sounds from Izenzaren.

Get Up and Get Down! - Various Artists (Philips 1974)

Absolutely top notch collection of rare mid-'70s funk, soul and disco. The record contains some sweet northern soul like this one from Brother's Guiding Light:

It also has a sprinkling of street-tough ghetto funk like Etta James' stunning 'Out On the Street Again':

My very favourite though (and also one of John Peel's all time favourites) is this classic from Don Covay:


Tracklisting:

A1	Act One -	Tom The Peeper
A2	Brothers Guiding Light -	Getting Together
A3	Al Downing -	I'll Be Holding You
A4	Joe Tex -	Cat Got Her Tongue
A5	King Floyd -	Can You Dig It?
A6	Aaron Neville -	Hercules
A7	Cissy Houston -	Midnite Train To Georgia
A8	Annette Snell -	You Oughta Be Here With Me
B1	Whispers -	A Mother For My Children
B2	Roy C -	Got To Get Enough (Of Your Sweet Stuff)
B3	Etta James -	Out On The Streets Again
B4	Joneses -	Hey Babe (Is The Gettin' Still Good)
B5	Don Covay -	It's Better To Have (And Don't Need)
B6	Ohio Players -	Streakin' Cheek To Cheek
B7	Dramatics -	Choosing Up On You
B8	Little Anthony & Imperials -	La La La At The End

Get Up and Get Down HERE.

Bad Brains - Rock for Light (Abstract 1983)

The power of Bad Brains' classic 1983 hardcore album has not diminished over the years. Lightning fast and taut like razor-wire this record helped to define the sound of American punk. While Rock for Light is available on CD, the version that you can buy is completely different to this vinyl release. The CD contains 20 songs, most of which are significantly faster than the original recordings.
Check out this clip of a 1982 live show at New York's CBGB's. Total chaos:



Tracklisting:

1. Coptic Times
   
2. Attitude
   
3. We Will Not
   
4. Sailin' On
   
5. Rally 'Round Jah Throne
   
6. Right Brigade
   
7. F.V.K.
   
8. Riot Squad
   
9. The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

1. Joshua's Song
   
2. Banned in D.C.
   
3. How Low Can a Punk Get?
   
4. Big Takeover
   
5. I and I Survive
   
6. Destroy Babylon
   
7. Rock for Light
   
8. At the Movies

Get it HERE.

L'Afrique Danse Presents Orchestre Stukas (1976)

Glorious Rumba/Soukous from the mid-'70s. This is frantic, psyched-out stuff, twitchy drums and madly phased, wah-wah guitars. Here's what Gary Stewart had to say about the band in his great book Rumba on the River:

"The Stukas Boys had gotten their start as a neighbourhood band doing James Brown covers in 1968, nearly two years before their more successful competitors Bella Bella and Zaiko came along. In 1970 the group had improved to the point that it was able to secure a booking at the prestigious Para Fifi night club...and the next year it cut some records. By than a fairly stable core had evolved that included singers Lita Bembo, Lomingo Alida, Kisola Nzita, and Suka Bola, guitarists Samunga Tediangaye and Bongo Wende, and drummer Bakunde Ilondjoko

Like the Trio Madjesi, The Stukas Boys were known less for their music than for theirgreat live performances. And Zaire's developing show system was made to order for their front man, the incredible Lita Bembo. Young and athletic, Lita...had a workmanlike voice but the instinctive moves of a premier dancer. Once on stage, he alone commanded the audience.

Samunga, barely into his twenties, anchored the band with a flashy lead guitar which he sometimes plucked with his teeth a la Jimi Hendrix. But when the 'showman' Lita Bembo appeared, no one else had a chance. 'The young man will literally dominate the scene,' reported. 'He will make the mike "suffer." Dropping to his knees like a voodoo man in a trance, exhibiting his sacred dance...Lita Bembo proves his skill by showing off his impossible postures.' After his stellar performance at Zaire 74, Salongo declared 'he set the tone for the evening. And the concert he presented to the public brilliantly confirmed his rank as a great star of Zairean music'"

Here's a clip of this great band in action on a Saturday night variety show:



Tracklist:

01 C'est La Vie
02 Esta Bibisha
03 Colombo
04 Awuti Poto

Get it HERE.

Genius of Rap - Various Artists (1982)

This is a great archive of sounds from that delicious moment when hip hop burst out of New York's ghettoes in a blaze of spangly disco grooves and delerious, sharp tongued swagger. Here's a clip from the 1984 BBC documentary, Beat This, which featured all the great dj's, mc's, breakers and bombers of the time:

This film certainly caused a stir in my school playground, and you can watch the whole thing here.

Tracklist:

01	Twennynine Featuring Lenny White -	Twennynine (The Rap)
02	T-Ski Valley -	Catch The Beat
03	Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde -	Genius Rap
04	Afrika Bambaataa & The Jazzy 5 -	Jazzy Sensation
05	Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five -	Superappin'
06	Bon Rock & The Rythem Rebellion -	Searching Rap
07	Tom Tom Club -	Rappa Rappa Rhythm
08	Compass Point All Stars -	Peanut Butter

Get it HERE.

Manitas de Plata - Manitas et les Siens (1967)

Absolutely stunning gypsy flamenco recorded live at the festival of Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue region of France. During the '60s and '70s, Manitas de Plata (Little Hands of Silver) was one of the most famous flamenco guitarists in the world, playing the Carnegie Hall, the Royal Variety Performance and at a United Nations gala. For purists, his music was too raw and unpredictable to be considered as flamenco, but the improvisational flair of his performances and his ecstatic immersion in the creative moment make for engrossing listening.
Here's some footage:


And just for a treat, here's another clip from Tony Gatlif's moving film about the Rom people, their journeys and their musics, Latcho Drom:


Tracklist:

01 Eglise Maure
02 Sara La Noire
03 Hommage a Baroncelli
04 Benediction de la Mer
Side 2 Senor Carcelero - Galop de Camargue - Fandango de Manero et de Jose - Chant du Berger - Sola Lagrima

Get it HERE.

La Maya Y Otros 15 Exitos Para Su Fiesta - Various Artists

Picked up this fabulous compilation of Colombian Musica Tropical at a local bootsale. Full of cumbias and porros by some of the country's best bandleaders, it's a thoroughly entertaining listen that evokes the excitement of the dancehalls and fiestas of urban Colombia in the '50s and '60s.

Tracklist:

01 La Maya - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
02 El Pelequero - Ramon Rupain Y Su Orquesta
03 Te Casas Con Ella - Rufo Guido Y Su Orquesta
04 Cojan El Hombre - Manuel Villenueva Y Su Orquesta
05 Boyo E' Yuca - Pedro Salcedo Y Su Orquesta
06 Nada - Carlos Roman Y Su Orquesta
07 La Diana - Cumbiamba Ritmo Baranoero
08 Bogota - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
09 La Pollera Colora - Pedro Salcedo Y Su Orquesta
10 O A - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
11 La Electrica - Manuel Villenueva Y Su Orquesta
12 Wellcome - Carlos Roman Y Su Orquesta
13 Falta la Plata - Rufo Guido Y Su Orquesta
14 Se Vold - Ramon Rupain Y Su Orquesta
15 Labriegos De Mi Tierra - Julio Ojito Y Su Orquesta Polonuevo
16 La Quebrada - Cumbiamba Ritmo Baranoero

Get it HERE.