Steve Arrington - Dancin' In The Key Of Life

Steve Arrington was a legend where I grew up. His period with Slave was widely considered to be their best work, and Slave were, like, deep-cut superheroes of the soul/funk scene. Arrington has a voice like no-one else. And whilst his previous two Hall Of Fame albums had been perhaps a bit left-field for most, the excitement around the arrival of this album, in 1985, was palpable.

The album’s three bangers, Feel So Real, Dancin’ In The Key Of Life and Turn Up The Love sounded MASSIVE on a club soundsystem. In fact they sound MASSIVE in my kitchen this morning.

Feel So Real has a trumpet solo by Freddie Hubbard, no less, and Paulinho Da Costa lays a patina of beautiful tippy-tappy percussion across the whole album.

Lyrics frequently verge into the sneaky gospel and are generally uplifting, although Willie Mae is the bleak story of the death of a child.

On the 12th July 1985, Steve Arrington played the Hammersmith Odeon (thanks again RaysGigs). I was there. I was disappointed. He played the album, jammed with the band for a bit then fucked off home. I had a letter published in Blues & Soul magazine whingeing about it, which I feel a bit embarrassed about now. But this was like, I dunno, Elvis coming over and playing just his Moody Blue album (yeah, I know he died soon after it was released, but you get my point.)

I’m very glad to see Arrington has experienced something of a revival in recent years, with Thundercat, particularly, featuring him. His voice is still incredible.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#SteveArrington
#DancinInTheKeyOfLife

Miles Davis - The Man With The Horn

This arrived in the post this morning. A beautiful quality Japanese pressing to boot, albeit sans obi strip.

I really cannot fathom what is going on with the sleeve art work.

I’ve tried listen to this with my 1981 ears on, as well as my 2025 ears.

Alright, worst first:

To be honest it’s no surprise that the album's two low-points were the ones where Randy Hall was involved.

In the context of 1981, the dancey instrumental Shout sounds in-keeping with the crossover output of other horn players around that time, Tom Browne, Donald Byrd, or Herb Alpert, for instance. Of course we kind of expect more of Davis.

The cringe-inducing ballad, which is the title track is a contender for the worst ever Miles Davis tune. Hall's lyrics are just awful:

Smooth, suave, debonair,
Describes a man so rare.

The good bits:

Mike Stern’s guitar solo on Fat Time is ridiculously good.

Marcus Miller’s bass playing is wonderfully understated.

The distorted guitar sound on Back Seat Betty is delightfully odd.

The stand out track by a country mile is Aïda, not least because of Al Foster’s spectacular drumming.

Just waiting for a copy of Tutu to arrive now.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#Jazz
#MilesDavis
#TheManWithTheHorn

John Spithead

2025-06-30 02:03:10

Getting Randy

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Miles Davis - You're Under Arrest

It is commonly said that this album was Davis’ stab at a commercial hit. As if him covering two of the day’s recent pop hits (Human Nature and Time After Time) was ever going to get him into the top ten. I don’t think this is the case, and I'll tell you why.

First off, the usual way for jazz players to score a money-generating crossover hit back in those days was via the dancefloor, hence you get jazz-fusion albums with soul singers added for a couple of tracks, see Wilton Felder (feat. Bobby Womack), Sadao Watanabe (feat. Roberta Flack), Ralph McDonald (feat. Bill Withers) etc, not by recording two instrumentals of slowish-tempo pop hits, slathered in John Scofield’s chorus pedal-laden guitar.

Secondly, no-one has ever said, “We need a pop smash, get John McLaughlin on the phone!” And McLaughlin is all over this album like a twiddly-jazz rash. Sometimes, it’s both him and Scofield. Jazz foot & mouth.

Thirdly, it’s always been part of jazz to take a slab of popular music and do something special with it. Davis has done this before: Porgy and Bess anyone?

Finally, Davis kept both of the covers in his set for the rest of his career, which he would be very unlikely to do if he didn’t value them highly.

So, let’s talk about the covers, shall we? Human Nature, was written by one of Toto and discovered and finessed under Quincy Jones’ keen eye, for inclusion on Thriller which gives it a bit of a ick-factor. However, it is arguably NOT just a Noncey McNonceface song, and it is helpful to untether the song from its most famous singer. Davis’ version of this is just wonderful. I just wish it were longer.

Cyndi Lauper, who wrote and first performed Time After Time, has undergone something of a revision of her status as an artist, so her work is no longer seen as pop drivel, as it largely was at the time, but as something of greater import. That’s fine: times change. However, it’s important to bear in mind that Davis had selected this song from the depths of the low-status, disposable shite pile, where it dwelled at the time.

I'm on my fourth or fifth spin of this album, and I like it a lot.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#MilesDavis
#YoureUnderArrest
#Jazz
#JohnScofield
#JohnMcLaughlin
#CyndiLauper
#HumanNature
#TimeAfterTime
#QuincyJones

Miles Davis - Decoy

Follow my train of thought here if you will. After my Randy Hall post, I watched Miles and Chaka do Human Nature live on you tube, and came to the conclusion that I really should dedicate part of my life to having a proper listen to Davis’ 80s work.

I’ve pulled the Discogs trigger on copies of Star People and The Man With The Horn (featuring Randy Hall, of course) and am actively pursuing a copy of Tutu.

I picked up a couple of his LPs from this period (Decoy and You’re Under Arrest) in the late 80s, secondhand, when, to be honest, the angular rhythms, celestial synth sounds and slap-ping-pop bass that had sounded so new and exciting in 1984 were sounding distinctly old hat by that time and they already seemed like a bit of an error of judgement. Certainly, the person who fucked them off into the second hand record shop thought so.

I’ve played them occasionally, but they've tended to feel a little too much like hard work, especially when there’s so many other of his albums to listen to. But anyway, today’s the day I go balls-deep into Davis’ 80s product.

Allmusic’s review of Decoy is both scathing and quite funny.

There’s some whopping names on this album: Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Al Foster (RIP), and Branford Marsalis (whose soloing is low-key, but breathtaking, and my favourite thing about the album, I think.) But the dominant sounds are John Scofield (guitar), Darryl Jones (bass) and Robert Irving III (synthesizers). Davis’ horn sounds reverby and a bit distant.

I don’t know whether the time is right for this to sound fresh and lovely again, or whether I’ve evolved as a person enough to appreciate it fully, but I fucking loved this from start to finish. I’m now on my second play.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#Jazz
#MilesDavis
#Decoy

John Spithead

2025-06-30 02:03:10

Getting Randy

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Various Artists - Street Sounds Vol. 1

I dug this out after it came up here.

Back at the beginning of the 1980s, Morgan Khan had a brainwave. Every couple of months he'd have a guess at what were looking to be the biggest dancefloor hits and license eight or so of them for release on his compilations. The kids (of which I was one) lapped them up.

We were so busy lapping that we didn't notice their shitty pressing quality, because that doesn't matter when you are playing them on a Fidelity stereo with a 2 pence piece Blu-tacked to the tone arm to stop it jumping. It was a different age.

Khan expanded this empire into Electro, Jazz, world music and - if I recall correctly - a magazine to take on Echoes and Blues & Soul. A look at the current Street Sounds website, shows they now do beer, clothing and slipmats.

I have quite a few Street Sounds albums, and they are able to transport me back to my youth like no other albums. This one for example perfectly encapsulates the early post-disco period. This came out the year I left school: the Falklands, Thatcher, Carlsberg and Marmite flavour crisps...it wasn't all Crass and Theatre of Hate.

It is an absolute travesty that neither Morgan Khan nor Street Sounds have a Wikipedia entry. If I could be arsed, I'd do something about that.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#StreetSounds
#MorganKhan

John Spithead

2025-06-28 04:53:04

All mine

Inner Life - Moment Of My Life Extended Version 12"

Another Salsoul banger. I think I first heard this on the [https://www.discogs.com/release/112290-Various-Street-Sounds-Edition-1/url]]1982 Street Sounds 1 album.

Jocelyn Brown on lead vocals.

Sneaky Gospel.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Salsoul
#InnerLife
#JocelynBrown
#ShepPettibone
#Boogie

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Tinselwig

2025-06-29 01:51:59

Sunday Coffee and Tunes - 29/06/25

Pleasure - Joyous

This is one of those records I'd keep picking up and then putting down cos I knew nothing about it but was drawn to the cover. I love the design of this album art!

I'd first seen it at a record fair years ago and the guy next to me digging said "ohhh that's great album you should get it" when I was checking it out. I didn't have enough money then to take a punt as it wasn't cheap and also wasn't sure about this random advice.

For the last few months I discovered it had been tucked away in one of our local stores which is more known for punk/metal/indie but has a small soul and jazz section. I finally gave it a listen the other week and it's tops! It brings the same "joyous" vibe that Donald Byrds Places and Spaces gives. It has a cast of thousands on it. Starts with an instant party mood lifter and ends with the track Selim which has crazy bass lines. 

This is a rerelease by Jazz Dispensary and one for the We Buy Records podcast bingo- mixed by Kevin Gray, proper inner sleeve, quality pressing, good price point etc.

#nowplaying #nowspinning #vinyl #records #pleasure #jazzfunk #soul #jazz

Flora Purim - Stories To Tell

Friendica has been out of action for a while, so I've got a bit of a backlog of tunes to post. Glad it's back, but I'm going to miss those 503 Service Unavailable messages. It means some of those #NowPlaying tags will be a bit of a lie.

I went onto Discogs over the weekend to have a quick look at what Flora Purim albums I don’t have and discovered that I own this. Turns out it had been mis-filed.

A really decent album. Brazilian-Fusion with the emphasis on the Brazilian. Flora calls back to her work with Chick Corea/Neville Potter’s Scientology-fusion Return To Forever work on the super-angular-funky title track.

It has Earl Klugh listed as guitarist. I’ve got a couple of his albums and they tend to be verrrrry melllllow affairs. I was onto the second side when I thought, “Bloody hell, Earl, you’re going for it a bit.” Turns out Carlos Santana was swapped in for that track.

Looks like I paid $20 for this, probably in Mr V’s in Semaphore. Bargain.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Music
#FloraPurim
#StoriesToTell
#JazzFusion
#BrazilianFusion

Flora Purim - Open Your Eyes You Can Fly

A prime slice of mid-70's Brazilian-fusion, featuring all the usual suspects, or, as it says under the personnel photo on the inside of the gatefold, 'Flora and some of her associates...'

This album has Flora covering the Chick Corea/Neville Potter Scientology-singalong, Sometime Ago from the Return To Forever album of a couple of years prior.

The sticker on the cover shows I paid $8 for this. I reckon it was from Porthole Records in Port Adelaide in about 2010.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#FloraPurim
#JazzFusion
#BrazilianFusion

John Spithead

2025-05-03 01:26:05

What shall we see, for the first time altogether?

Chick Corea - Return To Forever

This is the album that gave birth to the band Return To Forever. Corea's next album would be Light As A Featherfriendica.world/display/84b6ef… You can see why they might've thought this particular vein might've been worth chiseling away at a bit more.

I picked it up yesterday. Japanese pressing, no obi strip - which the record nerd in me mourns, but the pragmatist in me doesn't mind, because they are a bit of a ball-ache to keep undamaged. Japanese pressings, though, are always beautiful.

I think jazz-fusion must've been quite big in Australia in the 1970s, because second hand record shops often have a good selection. Also, there's always a disproportionate (to my mind) amount of Herbie Mann and Chuck Mangione albums.

Addit. After a few spins, this album is just getting better and better. An amazing piece of work.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#ChickCorea
#ReturnToForever
#JazzFusion

Chick Corea - Return To Forever

This is the album that gave birth to the band Return To Forever. Corea's next album would be Light As A Featherfriendica.world/display/84b6ef… You can see why they might've thought this particular vein might've been worth chiseling away at a bit more.

I picked it up yesterday. Japanese pressing, no obi strip - which the record nerd in me mourns, but the pragmatist in me doesn't mind, because they are a bit of a ball-ache to keep undamaged. Japanese pressings, though, are always beautiful.

I think jazz-fusion must've been quite big in Australia in the 1970s, because second hand record shops often have a good selection. Also, there's always a disproportionate (to my mind) amount of Herbie Mann and Chuck Mangione albums.

Addit. After a few spins, this album is just getting better and better. An amazing piece of work.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#ChickCorea
#ReturnToForever
#JazzFusion

John Spithead

2025-02-27 10:25:20

Floating like a bird am I

Chick Corea and Return to Forever - Light As A Feather

The second RTF album, with Flora Purim on vocals, her husband Airto Moreira on percussion, Stanley Clarke on bass, and Joe Farrell on flute and saxophone, has them gliding through really complex Brazilian-jazz-fusion flavours, without compromising on complexity or losing the groove - a very hard balance to achieve.

It's one hell of an album, even on my rather shitty Australian pressing.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#ChickCorea
#ReturnToForever
#Jazz

Billy Cobham - Spectrum

This was another of yesterday's purchases. I'm playing it quite quietly, because I'm up early, having had a quick easy run to stretch out the old legs ahead of tomorrow's Adelaide Marathon, a run for which I am barely prepared. It's also general election day today, here in Australia, so quite an exciting weekend all round.

Back in the early 80s I used to watch Billy Cobham's Drum Clinic on the telly. The show isn't listed on IMDB. YouTube's got it though. I remember having my mind blown by Cobham explaining time signatures and - if I remember it correctly - playing one time signature with one hand and another time signature with the other. Bloody show off. (I'll sit down and watch the series again when I get time.)

He is such a musical drummer. Hugely influential (apparently a huge influence on Phil Collins, so it's not all good, eh.)

Whenever this album is discussed, Bristolian trip-hoppers Massive Attack get mentioned too, because they had the good taste to sample Stratus for Safe From Harm. I know it's a cliche, but I'm going to mention them too, because it was such a good use of a sample. That Leland Sklar bassline - oof!

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#BillyCobham
#Spectrum
#MassiveAttack
#Stratus
#BillyCobham'sDrumClinic

Rush - Archives

I picked up this issue of the first three Rush albums combined into one gate-fold sleeve (officially a ‘box set’) in a chazza in Brum in the 90s, just because it seemed too good to leave there, and it ignited my fascination with the band.

It charts an interesting journey from their rather lumpen Led Zep influenced eponymous debut, on to the second album ‘Fly By Night’ , where new drummer Neil Peart’s playing immediately sets them out as something else completely, through to the third album ‘Caress Of Steel’ where they start to drift towards more proggy waters.

One pound forty nine well spent.

When we got hitched in Vegas, Rush were playing that night. Someone wasn’t having a bar of spending their wedding night watching Rush live. It wasn’t me.

Also, today I found out that at least two Rush songs are inspired by Ayn Rand. Yikes! Like sausages, you don't want to see how Rush songs are made.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Rush
#Archives

Richie Cole With Eddie Jefferson - Hollywood Madness

I was reminded about this album when reflecting in yesterday's Tom Waits post, on how I'd got into him.

Cole plays competent, chirpy alto sax, but his albums are frequently greatly enhanced by the presence of vocalist, Eddie Jefferson. This album was Jefferson's last studio recording before he was shot dead (in Cole's presence), a crime for which no-one was convicted, although an allegedly disgruntled dancer was tried and acquitted.

The Tom Waits track, Waitin' For Waits has Jefferson on lead vocals, The Manhattan Transfer on BVs and Waits himself on spoken outro. It's fire.

The picture on the sleeve probably seemed like a good idea at the time. It reminds me of Iggy Pop's Lust For Life.

#NowPlaying
#RichieCole
#EddieJefferson
#TheManhattanTransfer
#TomWaits
#Vinyl
#HollywoodMadness
#Jazz

John Spithead

2025-04-19 05:39:41

And it's a battered old suitcase, to a hotel someplace

Tom Waits - Small Change

This is my first post on my new/old lappy with Linux Mint. Very nice it is too.

My mate Dave (RIP) was wise. Amongst other things he was the first to spot that Morrissey was becoming a wrong-un and would have this discussion with Smiths loyalists over the football, and there were a lot of them in the mid-80's over the Orient. He also liked Tom Waits and would tell me I was underestimating his music by dismissing it. Interestingly, the song that had put me off him was off this album ( [i]The Piano Has Been Drinking[ (Not Me)/i]. They used to show a video of it on the telly a lot, and it just got on my tits.

Waits had popped up in a little cameo on a Richie Cole album I'd bought, and I really liked that, and I suppose my taste for him grew from there. i must say though, I think I got into his later, noisier stuff before I got into this earlier, sing-y stuff.

I like it now, though. I haven't played this for years. It's really good.

#NowPlaying
#CD
#TomWaits
#SmallChange