Its hard to believe that two of these records are 18 years old. I was working in a record shop back in 1991 when Carl Craig's 4 Jazz Funk Classics was released, and it pretty much blew my mind, opening me up to a whole host of musical possibities. These records pretty much defy categorization. They rode in on the back of the Detroit techno invasion, but the sonic palette employed is coloured with a range of sounds and rhythms and textures that were unique in the dance music of the time. Carl Craig draws on a disparate range of influences that includes funk and soul and disco, cosmic italo, industrial, rock, jazz, modern experimental composition; the whole of musical history is probably in there somewhere, distilled down into a dizzying gritty mess of euphoric confusion. Perfect for Interplanetary Disco Dancing:
The tracks:
69 - 4 Jazz Funk Classics (Planet E 1991)
01 69 - Ladies & Gentlemen 02 69 - If Mojo was A.M. 03 69 - My Machines (pt 1)-Extraterrestrial Raggabeats (pt 2)-My Machines (reprise) 04 69 - Frequency Finale
69 - Lite Music (R&S 1994)
05 69 - My Machines 06 69 - Microlovr 07 69 - Jam the Box 08 69 - Desire
Innerzone Orchestra/Shop - Untitled EP (Planet E 1992)
09 Innerzone Orchestra - Bug in the Bassbin 10 Shop - Nitwit 11 Shop - Surreal
FRS - Harder (Global Cuts 1994)
12 FRS - Harder 13 FRS - Love is the Message 14 FRS - Theme from FRS
Carl Craig presents Paperclip People - The Floor (Open 1996)
15 Paperclip People - The Floor 16 Paperclip People - Reach 17 Paperclip People - Steam
More tranquil Berber sounds from Southern Morocco. Oudaden are one of the most popular groups in the region, their music can be heard in many of the shops and stalls in teir hometown of Agadir, and throughout the lush Souss Valley and up into the Anti-Atlas mountains. I love their reverb heavy, meditative music.
This great video was filmed in the breathtaking surroundings of the Anti-Atlas mountains, the perfect setting for their thoughtful songs:
Tracklist:
01 Tafokt Ortbadlt
02 Guighn Sik Afouss
03 Artahnout Ayseyad
04 Ibi Omalo Talatine
05 Sidi Rbi Laafou
Delightful, lilting rumba from 'the seven bosses'. Knockabout vocal harmonies and flamboyant guitar work make this a winner. Weirdly, the first track just stops when the band are in mid flow, as if the producer cut the tape. This is not dodgy recording, but as the music appears (or disappears) on the vinyl. Oh well.
Here's a clip from Congolese TV, those boys are looking sharp:
A friend of mine had a battered old cassette version of this album and we used to sit around and listen to it a lot when I was in my mid to late teens, it's the only Lou Reed solo record that ever really meant anything to me. The album kicks off with a live version of Gimmie Some Good Times, sarcastic and bored he sounds like he's lost the ability to distinguish between the good times and bad, it sets the tone perfectly. The raw, minimal punk sound of much of the album suits Lou's dark heart and cynical sensibilities, but on the beautiful, moving title song the album really transcends...this is a sordid New York story, brutal and tragic, shot through with passion and honesty and understanding of human weakness. Listening to the album is like eavesdropping on a conversation between partners in an abusive relationship, the partners being Lou and New York City...he knows the place is bad for him, but he just can't bring himself to leave.
Track list:
01. Gimmie Some Good Times 02. Dirt 03. Street Hassle --a. Waltzing Matilda --b. Street Hassle --c. Slipaway 04. I Wanna Be Black 05. Real Good Time Together 06. Shooting Star 07. Leave Me Alone 08. Wait
This dodgy looking compilation from 1984 contains a couple of real boogie funk gems and some great early rap, like this:
Even Dead or Alive's ultra-camp electro-funk version of 'That's the Way I Like It' sounds pretty fresh. The tracks were all lovingly mixed together by Peter Rohmer who was a dj at the famous Hamburg discotheque, Trinity.
Track List:
The Jazzie Ladies - Blowin' Your Mind Andre Cymone - Survivin' in the 80's CD III - Get Tough Was (Not Was) - Out Come The Freaks (ElectroMix)
Dead Or Alive - That's The Way I Like It Herbie Hancock - Rockit The Tribe - Jungle Rock Herbie Hancock - Autodrive
Fantastic album of salsa and merengue from one of Latin America's most popular orchestras. The songs are great and the band are tight, as you can see:
Check that incredible keyboard player!
Track list:
01 El Son de Santurce 02 La Salsa de Hoy 03 El Cantante del Amor 04 La Melena 05 No Quiero Llanto 06 Mi Merengue con Salsa 07 A Veces Me Preguntan 08 Tremendo Cumban 09 Dugu-Dugu con Saus 10 El Gordito de Oro
The music is, of course, for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear then go out and try and buy stuff...or something, give money to a down on his luck musician, or sponsor a good busker, it may be the start of something beautiful.
If any of the zips die, then post a comment and i'll try to repost. And leave comments, abuse, name calling, any response is welcome.
I think all of the albums posted are currently unavailable, but if this is not the case we'll remove the offending files.
69 - 4 Jazz Funk Classics (Planet E 1991)
69 - Lite Music (R&S 1994)
Innerzone Orchestra/Shop - Untitled EP (Planet E 1992)
FRS - Harder (Global Cuts 1994)
Carl Craig presents Paperclip People - The Floor (Open 1996)
