Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain (1974)

Absolutely classic deep, southern soul with that sweet Memphis sound. This album was produced by the genius R&B and soul producer Willie Mitchell, and was originally released on his Hi Records label, home also to Al Green. Ann Peebles' voice aches and swoons across these songs and the band are super tight.

Tracklist:

01 I Can't Stand The Rain
02 Do I Need You?
03 Until You Came Into My Life
04 (You Keep Me) Hangin' On
05 Run, Run, Run
06 If We Can't Trust Each Other
07 A Love Vibration
08 You Got To Feed The Fire
09 I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
10 One Way Street

Get it HERE.

Essential Logic - Wake Up (1979)

Essential Logic were an English punk band formed by Lora Logic in 1978 after the break-up of X-Ray Spex. On this short ep, the music is spikey and dissonant with a clear reggae thing going on a couple of the tracks, and you're either going to love or hate Lora's quirky vocal style. The saxophone she honks occasionally has a sound that reminds me of Henry Cow or one of them arty 70s groups.
Interestingly (or maybe not depending on your point of view), the guitarist from Essential Logic, an upstart called William Bennett, went on to become one of the most notorious and allegedly sinister figures in The History of Underground Music. Bennett founded Whitehouse in 1980 and I have difficulty thinking of a more provocative or controversial musical combo.
Not a synthesizer or reference to deviant sexual practices to be heard here though, you'll probably be relieved to hear.
Following Essential Logic's split in 1981, Lora went on to play with groovy units such as Swell Maps, The Raincoats and the Red Crayola.

Tracklist:

01 Wake Up
02 Eagle Bird
03 Quality Crayon Wax O.K.
04 Bod's Message

Get it HERE.

Cumb Assemble (Celestine Ukwu Memorial Band) - Tribute to Celestine Ukwu (RAS 1978)

Gorgeous Nigerian highlife played and sung in tribute to the great Celestine Ukwu who died in 1977.

"Oh dear Celestine Ukwu / Why have you left us / Without anyone?"

"In the memory of many Igbo people of Nigeria, late Celestine Ukwu is a paragon of wisdom. He is a true philosopher who is in-depth in analyzing the social world. His musical ingenuity is a fruit of deep reflection on mankind in general. His creativity is emblematic for the entire spectrum of Igbo music industry, past present and future.

He is a musician with a profound originality. Although died and gone, his legendary works linger on in the socio-cultural life of the Igbo people.

Music no doubt has a universal language. The rhythmic poetical flow of music is enjoyed by all people irrespective of culture or language. The content or the expression anchored in a piece of music obviously tells how an individual person or a group of people perceives and interprets the world. Music therefore is a passionate expression of reality in philosophies. Musicians are also known as poets who are also known as thinkers and philosophers. In music, a subjective attempt is made to recreate the objective reality. Therefore music is all about a passionate expressions of life, birth, death, love, pain, injustice, happiness, rejection, oppression, politics, religion, ethics, fear, anxiety, sickness, poverty, richness etcetera.

The Igbo culture is among the cultures in the world that expresses its worldview in music. Sometimes, decoding the meaning of musical expression is like decoding coded lines of poetries. At other times, the meaning enshrined in a piece of music stands very intelligible. In the case of Celestine Ukwu, one sees a true born philosopher. He is a conscientious reflector on things. As a talented musician, he is a social observer."

http://www.codewit.com/featured-news/the-philosophical-mind-of-an-igbo-musician-celestine-ukwu.html

You can hear Celestine Ukwu's beautiful music here, and here, but in the meantime you'll have to make do with this.

Tracklist:

01 Tribute to Celestine Ukwu
02 Uche Chukwu
03 Chi Na Elo
04 Don't Loose Courage

Get it HERE.

The Modern Lovers - Live (1977)

I picked up this classic Modern Lovers live album at a car boot sale a few weeks ago, and strangely it seems to be unavailable at the minute, so here's your chance to hear it. Anyone unfamiliar with the work of Jonathan Richman may be confused and perturbed by what might initially sound like the cracked ravings of some adenoidal man-child, however this one is worth several chances and unless you have a heart of stone, it's bound to win you over in the end. The charm, good-humour and optimism of his lyrics and performance are utterly infectious and these songs are sure to put a smile on your face if you're feeling low (which I sincerely hope you are not!).

Tracklist:

Side One: I'm A Little Airplane / Hey There Little Insect / Egyptian Reggae / Ice Cream Man

Side Two: I'm A Little Dinosaur / My Little Kookenhaken / South American Folk Song / New England / The Morning Of Our Lives

Get it HERE.

An Album Full of Soul - Various Artists ($tateside 1965)

Excellent compilation of rare soul sounds from the mid '60s. I picked this one up in a flea market last week but unfortunately it came without a cover and also with a big scratch which makes Brooks O'Dell's 'You Better Make Up Your Mind' unplayable - hence it not being included in the zip. My current favourite tracks here are Little Eva's excellent cover of 'Stand By Me', which is an uptempo dancefloor stormer, and Titus Turner's 'I'm a Member of the Club'. Mostly though, this is lovely, blue, doleful, soulful stuff.

Tracklist:

01 Clyde McPhatter-Everybody's somebody's fool
02 Little Eva-Stand by me
03 Brooks O'Dell-You better make up your mind
04 Lee Dorsey-Work work work
05 Glady's Knight & The Pips-Lover's always forgive
06 Eddie Billups & The Gigs-My Faith in you
07 Pearl Woods-Something touched me
08 Titus Turner-I Am A Member of the club
09 Gladys Knight & The Pips-Stop and get a hold of my self
10 Big Dee Irwin-You satisy my needs
11 Betty Harris-What a sad feeling
12 Ed Towmnsend-I Love you
13 Earl King-You'll Remember me
14 Bobbie Smith-Wait
15 Clyde McPhatter-I Belong to you

Get it HERE.

Francisco Ulloa - Merengue! (1987)

I got back from two weeks on the beautiful Spanish island of Menorca earlier this week and I found this great album of Afro-Latin sounds the day after my return. This is a heady blend of African and Hispanic rhythms and it rushes headlong at breakneck speeds from start to finish. Francisco Ulloa has flying fingers and his accordian playing is pretty breathtaking:

Tracklist:

01 La Tijera
02 Agua De Tu Fuente
03 La Situacion
04 El Beso Robao
05 Tongoneate
06 Ramonita
07 Mañana Por La Mañana
08 Los Caballos
09 Linda Mujer
10 Lucas Y Radhames
11 La Lengua
12 San Francisco
13 Homenaje A Bolo

Get it HERE.