Yussef Dayes - Black Classical Music

Because this album sits next to 'Davis' alphabetically on the shelf, it gets looked at more often than most and I think, “must play that again one day” more frequently than most other records.

Brownswood really splashed out on this album: double album, decent pressing, embossed sleeve (ooh-la-la!), cast of thousands. It feels like the concept was to do a British Kamasi album and the result is a highly competent funky, jazz album which shows off all Dayes’s influences. I remember when I gave it its first listen, thinking, “I know all the records you’ve been listening to, mate.”

I find it all just a bit underwhelming. Where are we going here? What are we hoping to achieve? How are we driving the art form forward? Because without this, it’s such a waste of talent.

Also, I’m of an age where the sound of a fretless bass through an octaver still sets my teeth on edge, thanks to the over-use of Pino Palladino as a bass player in the 80s (No Parlez, anyone?) Pino’s son, Rocco, plays on this album and has a remarkably similar sound which is slathered on all over the shop. Fucking horrible – it’s still too soon.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#YussefDayes
#BlackClassicalMusic
#Jazz
#Music

The Comet Is Coming - Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam

I was lucky enough to see The Comet Is Coming live in Sydney, promoting this album, I reckon. The audience was roughly 50% super-cool young folk and 50% old white dudes who looked like they owned record shops. It really went off.

Whilst I acknowledge the hard work and talent of the other two members, Shabaka Hutchings is so fucking cool. Such a restrained yet imposing presence. His Caribbean-tinged, front-foot, Gatling gun blowing, marks him out as something really special.

The band called it a day after this album.

The band drew lazy comparisons to Sun Ra, which was largely based on them having a space/cosmic shtick, rather than it being a musical comparison. You’d be better served comparing them to Van der Graaf Generator musically.

I own three of their albums, but rarely fancy playing them, to be honest. I thought it might be because that speck of the zeitgeist on which they sailed had passed. However, playing this today, I’ve really enjoyed it.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#TheCometIsComing
#HyperDimensionalExpansionBeam
#Jazz
#Electronic
#ShabakaHutchings
#Music

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force - I Wonder If I Take You Home (Extended Version)

I found a whole section of my record collection which contains loads of 1980s 12" singles. Hooray!

I’ve talked about Full Force’s production skills before, but there is really no better example of them at their prime than this - it all sounds so...expansive and punchy. The perfect setting for Lisa Velez’s stab at becoming the Puerto Rican Madonna.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#LisaLisaandCultJamwithFullForce
#IWonderIfITakeYouHome
#Electro
#Freestyle
#Music

John Spithead

2025-03-08 04:39:47

Give me some static!

James Brown with Full Force - I'm Real

It's 1988 and James Brown is mightily pissed off about everyone sampling his work (and, more to the point, him not making any money from it). He's had a bit of a comeback with Living In America and decides to hitch his horse to the Full Force wagon, which is careering down the hill of hits at breakneck speed.

It's really a Full Force album, featuring JB (and Maceo Parker), with Brown pissing and moaning about not getting what he deserves, and going on about how great he is, like the man in the pub you've tried not to make eye contact with for the past 45 minutes. It rather clever-onically uses loads of JB samples.

I clearly recall how fucking MASSIVE Static, I'm Real and - to a lesser extent -Keep Keepin' sounded in clubs at the time, until the wheels were stolen from Full Force's wagon by...everyone (including Stock, Aitken & Waterman), leaving it on four little piles of bricks by the side of the funky highway.

This is the UK edition (on Scotti Bros.), which has a small photo of Full Force (with JB front and centre) on the back, which measures an inch by an inch-and-a-half.

Lew Lewis Reformer - Save The Wail

In the early 90s, used to live about ten doors away from a book and record shop, although I don’t think I ever bought any tunes from inside the shop, as it was quite expensive and I was on the dole. However, I did pick up a couple of crisp biscuits from the 50p box out the front, including this.

This has a little label telling me that there is 2 tracks slight wear. This kind of detailed evaluation of condition used to be pretty much standard practice for record shops, rather than just sticking $50 on it and hoping no-one notices the warp, scuffs, scratches, inner-groove distortion, food particles, jizz stains, or whatever.

Lew Lewis came from Canvey Island, in the ‘Thames Delta’. He taught Lee Brilleaux to play harmonica and was in Eddie & the Hot Rods, before going off to do his own thing. This album came out in 1979 on Stiff Records, and its got a very Stiff sound to it.

It’s one of my favourite albums of that time and place.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#LewLewisReformer
#SaveTheWail
#RythmnandBlues
#CanveyIsland
#StiffRecords
#Music

The Crusaders - Pass The Plate

In 1971, The Crusaders released this funky little nugget, after dropping ‘Jazz’ from their name.

It’s an album full of early jazz-funk grooves, with the occasional bit of proper jazz thrown in for good measure. I swear down that Stix Hooper hits the rim of his snare by accident at the end of the drum solo on Young Rabbits – ‘71-’72, and I think they fade it out to try and hide it. That’s my #low-stakesjazzfunkconspiracy.

Whenever I hear The Crusaders, I am reminded of a house party I attended somewhere in east London in about 1984. I was wearing a white t-shirt with the band’s logo in red across the chest. This had led me to get into a bit of a conversation with a group of black women. There was a bloke at the party who I don’t remember much about, other than he had a Southern Death Cult tattoo on his forearm, and, as he got increasingly pissed, he started being more and more of a cunt towards me. This came to crossed words, and the relative merits of The Crusaders and Southern Death Cult were mentioned, I think. I don’t think he liked any jazz-funk, to be honest, or me talking to a group of black women. At that age, I wasn’t one to walk away from a fight, and, rather inevitably, the conflict turned physical. I wonder if that chap ever hears The Crusaders and remembers his teeth.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#TheCrusaders
#PassThePlate
#Tamla-Motown
#Jazz
#Music

The Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's Just Begun

I grabbed a handful of Jimmy Castor Bunch LPs from a second hand record shop in the 80s, this one included, just because, by looking at the sleeves alone, you couldn’t go wrong. This, Castor’s second album from 1972, was the best of the bunch (geddit?)

I remember being delighted when, back in the old rare groove days of yore, probably my favourite DJ of all time, Nicky Holloway, used to open his set with It’s Just Begun. A MASSIVE tune.

The album later had its bones picked clean during the sampling years.

Listening to it today, as an entire piece of work, I’ve realised that it’s far more of a latin-tinged funk joint than I’d previously realised. It’s good, man.

An interesting quirk about this album is it is pressed on Dynaflex vinyl. This was RCA’s way of utilising less oil-thirsty vinyl during the oil crisis, by making a wafer-thin record. The record itself handles like Rolf Harris’s wobble board. The jury has been out for the past 53 years over the quality of these pressings, but to be fair, this copy is doing just fine.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#TheJimmyCastorBunch
#ItsJustBegun
#Funk
#Music
#Dynaflex
#RCA

Subhumans - Worlds Apart

The bloke who has reviewed a couple of Subhumans albums, this included, on AllMusic is an annoying cunt. He clearly doesn't know or understand punk well enough to give a decent review. I was going to go into more detailed critique of his criticism, but, to be honest, thought I might just give it as much effort as he has. This made me smile, though – it shows the standard:

‘A grungy-looking quartet of punkers’

Ignoring him, though, this is a top-notch Subhumans album, their third. It’s a bit less proggy than the one before and has quite a few of their big anarcho-singalong-bangers on it.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Subhumans
#WorldsApart
#Punk
#Music
#AdamBregman

John Spithead

2025-04-28 22:51:55

But when the children call you "Bastard" it will make you think again

Subhumans - From The Cradle To The Grave

Turns out I have this on both CD and vinyl.

When I read the recent book on Subhumans, I was delighted to find out they had been massive Rush fans. Once you know that, you can't not hear the influence. Musically, rather than lyrically - no Ayn Rand tributes here, thankfully.

This is a great album. The title track is one of my favourite 17 minute-long pieces of music.

#NowPlaying
#CD
#Subhumans
#FromTheCradleToTheGrave
#Punk
#Rush

Dr Feelgood - Sneakin' Suspicion

This album, the one where Wilko Johnson left the band, is one of their best.

The usual mix of covers and originals, with these sometimes containing little Canvey Island references, maintaining the Feelgoods’ kayfabe that the Thames Delta was just the British version of the Mississippi Delta.

Midnight on the river,
In the light of the flames (Sneakin’ Suspicion)

Me and my best girl along the wall,
In the long grass side by side,
Where the big ships go gliding by, go gliding by (Paradise)

Nowadays, Canvey has the UK’s largest ultra-orthodox Jewish community, who made the exodus (can I say that?) down from London over the past few years to live in this ultra-Brexity estuary-side town.

The Gered Mankowitz photographed sleeve has Lee Brilleaux looking both snug and cool in a proper old sheepy, lighting a fag outside the Alibi Club, keeping a watchful eye on a woman and man having a proper old snog.

Flip it over, and you get a closer shot of the woman’s arse, because her beau has hoisted up her skirt, and it has a Dr Feelgood tattoo on it. Class.

Nowadays, people would assume that Brilleaux was being a bit of a nonce for doing this, but I think he was supposed to be exercising coercive control, which of course everyone was greatly in favour of in those days.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#DrFeelgood
#SneakinSuspicion
#WilkoJohnson
#RythmnandBlues
#CanveyIsland
#Music

Various Artists - Kunta Kinte 2017

Brooklyn sound system/label https://dub-stuy.bandcamp.com/album/kunta-kinte-riddim-2017Dub-Stuy give us four shining, and very varied, examples on this 12” from 2017.

I've mentioned before what a sucker I am for a Kunta Kinte riddim, so I won't repeat myself.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#KuntaKinte
#Dancehall
#Reggae
#BurroBanton
#RiderShafique
#ShantiD
#DJMadd
#Dub-Stuy
#Music

John Spithead

2025-02-28 04:19:17

Flash Kunta

The Revolutionaries - Kunta Kinte (Kentaro Remixes)

Tokyo's DJ Kentaro is one hell of a turntablist and, on this 12" from 2009, he throws the Kunta Kinte riddim around like a fucking blindfolded juggler on a unicycle...on a tightrope...over a tank of piranhas. It's all very fancy.

There's nothing at all wrong with that, in my book, but then I'm a complete sucker for the Kunta Kinte riddim however it arrives to me, although this does seem like a lot of hard work at times.

I'm also partial to a lock groove. Saves you having to get up to turn the record over.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#DJKentaro
#KuntaKinte

Steel Pulse - Handsworth Revolution

I fucking loved Steel Pulse as a kid. This is one of those LPs from around that time that, even though I didn’t own it, I was familiar with every track. My sister had the 12” of Ku Klux Klan, which got rinsed in our house, and I'd acquired the 7” of Prodigal Son from one of those newsagents cheapo random 7” rotating tower racks they would have at the time. The rest of it I guess I picked up by listening to John Peel, or by osmosis. I picked the actual LP up at a boot sale in Romford in the mid 80s. It has one of those Record & Tape Exchange stickers on the front which show it being reduced in price over time.

When I moved to Brum in my late 20s, I can remember how thrilled I was to be walking across Handsworth Park (going for a free veggie feed at the Sikh festival, which is in itself pretty thrilling) - my equivalent of when people go and walk across that zebra crossing at Abbey Road, I suppose. It didn’t look much like the record sleeve.

This holds up as a fine example of political British reggae, infused with the spirit of Jah and under the expert roots reggae knob-twiddler and exactly the right man for the job, Karl Pitterson. David Hines’s vocal style was ripped off wholesale by Sting, which is so obvious once you know.

The thanks list on the back of the sleeve has amongst its thankees, stalwart of Brummy pub-blues-rock, Steve Gibbons, and The Stranglers, both of which seem like odd mates.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#SteelPulse
#HandsworthRevolution
#Reggae
#Birmingham
#Music

Miles Davis - On The Corner

I listened again to Questlove’s 2017 podcast interview with Mtume this week. They obviously spend a bit of time discussing his time with Miles Davis.

And one another lesson I learned from Miles: when you cross the bridge, 
burn it so you can't even go back.

In 1972, Davis had got the funk. He had been influenced by James Brown and Sly Stone and decided that what Young Black America wanted was a blend of this with Stockhausen, Paul Buckmaster and free jazz, with trumpet played through a wah-wah pedal like Jimi Hendrix’s guitar. He crossed that bridge and lit that match.

Turns out Young Black America didn’t want it, the critics declared it a steaming turd, and it caused Davis to go off on a six year hiatus/sulk/cocaine binge.

What a fucking incredible album though.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#MilesDavis
#OnTheCorner
#Jazz
#Fusion
#Music

Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey

The wife has been on a Hüsker Dü tip of late, and I’ve been making a conscious effort to listen to bands I’ve never really heard and giving them some eartime (it was Uriah Heep yesterday), ‘cos you never know. Anyway, this arrived in the post today, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

Hüsker Dü were included in Half Man Half Biscuit’s Irk The Purists for good reason - people who love them go on and on about them. And, if anybody ever read these posts, purist or otherwise, I’d probably irk them by picking their fist major label release.

I normally avoid anything tagged Alternative Rock. Hence, Hüsker Dü remain a bit of a mystery to me.

There’s some big tunes in here. Whether they warrant all the fervour, I don’t know. It all goes a bit REM in places.

Also, Bob Mould would’ve been one of the best made-up punk names, if it wasn't his real name.

Two words to say about the pressing (the only Record Store Day release I own, on lilac vinyl): cät shït.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#HüskerDü
#CandyAppleGrey
#AlternativeRock
#Music

Johnnie Taylor - Just Ain't Good Enough

Johnnie Taylor recorded only this one album for Beverly Glen Music before, quelle surprise, the relationship ended in bitterness and acrimony. (BGM had form in this area.) But what an album!

This is another Beverly Glen record that takes that deep southern soul feeling and chucks everything, including the big, fancy, marble, double sized, Hollywood kitchen sink at it – plumbed in by Patrick Molten and Otis Smith.

In What About My Love and Just Ain’t Good Enough, this album contains two of my favourite tunes ever.

The sleeve contains the most uneffusive statement from (presumably) JT: “I would like to thank a lot of great people who put forth their efforts. I enjoyed doing this album, and I hope everyone enjoys it as well.”

It also has the most aggressive promo stamp: “LOANED FOR PROMOTION Not for Sale/May Be Reclaimed.” Reclaimed? Yikes!

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#JohnnieTaylor
#JustAintGoodEnough
#BeverlyGlenMusic
#Music

John Spithead

2025-08-11 03:22:29

White Lines

Anita Baker - The Songstress

Anita Baker was working as a secretary and singing in the group Chapter 8, when Beverly Glen, an independent soul label put out this, her solo debut in 1983.

To say it had high production values was an understatement. She had a supporting cast of top-notch producers, players and singers. She even got a gate-fold sleeve. No expense was spared.

How could an indie label do this? Crack, that’s how. The album was financed by “Freeway” Rick Ross, multi-million dollar dealer of cocaine and apparent fan of velvety jazz-soul vocals.

Otis Smith, who owned the label, was a bit of a spiv. He had promised Bobby Womack he could get a deal for him with Motown, but instead signed him to Beverley Glen, giving world wide distribution to Motown, but keeping the US rights to himself. The Poet & Poet 2 sold millions. Bobby never saw a dime - but it cost him a fortune to get out of his contract.

Anita Baker never got paid for this album and spent thousands (and a couple of years) trying to get out of her contract, so she could sign for Elektra.

By, 1985 even his law firm had sued him to get paid for their services.

I bet “Freeway” Rick Ross never had to send a solicitor's letter.

Once signed to Elektra, Baker became the epoch-defining singer of smooth Mum-soul.

I bought it in the Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly Circus on import.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#AnitaBaker
#TheSongstress
#Music
#Soul
#FreewayRickRoss
#BeverlyGlen

Old And New Dreams - Playing

Old and New Dreams was a quartet made up of former Ornette Coleman sidemen: Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell. They played a mix of Coleman’s tunes and their own work, in an attempt to keep the free jazz flag flying.

This album finds them recorded live in Austria in 1980. As with a lot of live recordings, I’m left a little cold, despite the obviously brilliant chops on show. Being there would obviously have been wonderful.

Interestingly, the front cover has a photo of a football goal. In small letters at the bottom right of the sleeve are the words, “The kicker suddenly started his run.” Turn the sleeve over and, along the bottom is written, “The goalkeeper, who was wearing a bright yellow jersey, stood absolutely still, and the penalty kicker shot the ball into his hands.” Turns out this is a quote from Austrian writer Peter Handke, describing the goalkeeper’s dilemma (which way to dive, or whether to dive at all) at a penalty kick, in his short novel from 1970, Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter, or The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick. I’d never noticed this before.

I picked this superb ECM German pressing up as part of the best ever opshop streak a few years ago. It’s got a $2.50 sticker on, but might’ve even been half price or less.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#OldAndNewDreams
#Playing
#DonCherry
#OrnetteColeman
#DeweyRedman
#CarlieHaden
#EdBlackwell
#PeterHandke
#Music
#FreeJazz

George Duke - I Love The Blues, She Heard My Cry

I picked this album up in my local record shop a few years ago after I’d popped out to buy a cucumber or something. They’d had a delivery of second-hand jazz-funk and I couldn’t resist filling my boots.

It has a real heavyweight line-up, including Flora Purim, Airto, Leon Ndugu Chancellor, Lee Ritenour and Johnny “Guitar” Watson, but it largely falls short of the potential there. It’s easy to let the album’s worst moment, the absolutely awful, no redeeming features, Rokkinrowl – in which they do a really poor Jimi Hendrix impression, overshadow the rest of the album.

The high points are Flora Purim’s appearance on Look Into Her Eyes, a song she later reprised on That’s What She Said; Someday sounds years ahead of its time, Duke’s keyboard playing is so him-sounding and his electronic wizardry is so advanced for 1975, and it’s always good to hear JGW singing and playing.

Worth noting, it’s an Aussie pressing which, for once, isn’t really shit.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#GeorgeDuke
#IloveTheBluesSheHeardMeCry
#Jazz
#JazzFusion
#FloraPurim
#Airto

John Spithead

2025-06-28 04:21:55

I can feel you in my space

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

The Natural Four - Nightchaser

This is an album of pretty standard Curtom fare, with the producers, LeRoy Hutson, Chuck Jackson, Lowrell Simon, and Richard Evans amongst them, being far higher achievers than the band themselves.

What you get is an album of decent pre-disco, seventies soul with only one relatively dreary ballad. Get It Over With is the stand-out tune. To be fair, almost any of the up-tempo tunes could have turned out to be modern soul classics. Except they’re not.

The front cover shows the four band members in their glad rags, in a swanky pad with seven hot ladies. Naturally. The glass coffee table has what looks like a large plate of falafel. They’re all having a whale of a time, except for the bloke on the bottom right who is looking at one of the ladies like he’s just asked her to shit on the glass coffee table and she’s refused.

Flip to the rear of the sleeve and the photo is of the same room in the aftermath of the party – wine bottle on the floor, clothing scattered asunder, ashtray half full of nubs, people and falafel all but gone. Who’s going to tidy up?

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#TheNaturalFour
#Nightchaser
#Soul
#Curtom
#Music
#LeRoyHutson

Hugh Masekela - The Boy's Doin' It

On 27th September 1984, as part of the London Festival of Black Music at the Wembley Arena, I saw Hugh Masekela live. (Also on the bill that night were Philip Bailey, The Crusaders, Ronnie Laws, Stanley Clarke with George Duke and Junior Giscombe – how’s that for a line-up?)

The next morning I was on the Central Line and who should get on my train but Hugh Masekela. I was quite star-struck. When we came to our stop and I passed him to get off the train, I said quietly, “Good gig last might, mate,” He said, “Thank you, my friend.” I think he’s the most famous person I’ve ever met.

Masekela recorded this in 1975 in Lagos, and it’s accordingly full of Fela vibes (the album is dedicated to him), although mixed with a pan-African and funk influence.

I picked this up for £1.99 in a Birmingham charity shop in the 90s.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#HughMasekela
#TheBoysDoinIt
#Music
#FelaKuti
#Lagos
#CentralLine

Slade - Old New Borrowed And Blue

Slade all look a bit gloomy on the cover of this album. As well they might, considering they were now well into the slide towards diminishing returns.

This is the fifth Slade LP I’ve posted about, so there’s nothing much left for me to say about them. So pour yourself a nice cup-a-soup and I’ll tell you a bit about Wolverhampton.
- Woverhampton Wanderers is one of the most...erm, exciting away games. I once got hit on the head with a ten bob bit there.
- Goldie, Liam Payne, Edward Elgar, Caitlin Moran and Eric Idle come from Wolvo.
- I once saw Fugazi there (at the Wulfun Hall, in case you were wondering). They were a bit boring.
- My mate Dave and I once schlepped all the way there to see Swamp Dogg, who had cancelled.

*This, if my memory serves me well, is a lyric from legendary Wolverhampton punk band The Velvet Underpants, whose name many train passengers would recognise from it being painted on a wall next to the train line at Birmingham New Street Station.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Slade
#OldNewBorrowedAndBlue
#Music