THE TROPICS - AS TIME'S GONE

Whoop! Whoop! In many cases, a song with a repeated chanted such as this would prove obnoxious, but in the hands of these cats, it's quite alright. Maybe it's the stomping beat, trippy drone-out guitars, and overall outrageous attitude that's in these grooves...

Hailing from the tropics of southwest Florida, legend has it that the group traveled to Chicago in 1966 to compete at the International Battle Of The Bands in which they took first place- a contract with Columbia Records.

The group released a handful of singles (showing a strong British Invasion/ folk rock influence) on Columbia that never broke nationally. The group was fantastic, boasting strong vocals and musicianship, as well as excellent production work from Teo Macero, known mostly as a jazz producer who is immortalized by his groundbreaking work with Miles Davis, among others.

from 1967...

THE TROPICS - AS TIME'S GONE

THE EPSILONS - THE ECHO

By the time this record was released in 1968, the sweet soul sound heard in these groups was becoming as prominent in soul music as the (James Brown influenced) hard hitting funk. The sweet soul sound (heard most prominently at the time in Chicago soul) took a cue from Doo Wop vocals and matched it to a slow grooving soul beat that is one of those magical combinations of styles that produced a whole lot of great records.

The Epsilons were a soul group based from Philadelphia (but based in Memphis at the time of this recording) that only released two records; however, (falsetto) vocalist Lloyd Parks was also heard on Arthur Conley's smash hit "Sweet Soul Music" and became an early '70's member of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

It's a beautiful track showcasing an incredible group vocal performance.

from 1968...

THE EPSILONS - THE ECHO

WILLIE BOBO - GOTTA HUSTLE ON

Willie Bobo is a legendary figure in the world of Latin/ Afro-Cuban jazz; not only did the man play percussion (with a focus on his timbale work) alongside Tito Puente, but Mr. Bobo also played on several Latin-influenced jazz records by the likes of George Shearing and Cal Tjader, as well as cutting several LP's on his own.

This track took his percussion work into the proto-disco era in a VERY appealing way. On top of a relentless groove, the percussion drives HARD on top of a very jazzy piano (which reminds me a whole lot of Willie Tee's playing), a spaced out guitar and electric piano, and superb horns.

from 1974...

WILLIE BOBO - GOTTA HUSTLE ON