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What happened when (Monkees producer and Turtles member) Chip Douglas, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Gene Parsons, Howard Kaylan, Henry Diltz, Cyrus Faryar, and (probably) Micky Dolenz' Moog synthesizer got together in '67? This beautiful piece of folk-rock melancholy holiday sound was born.
Unjustly obscure, in a perfect world this is the type of record that would be heard everywhere during the holiday season.
Peace and love to all.
from 1967...
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT - WILL YOU STILL BELIEVE IN ME
Christmas arrived early this year, in that I found a copy of this record (that I've been chasing for many years) back last July.
Issued both in 1976 (to the fan club in limited numbers) and again in
1986 (this copy), this single hardly ever turns up for sale because both
pressings were so limited, and most people tend to hang onto them. I
have no idea where the '86 release was even SOLD, as I was both a
Monkees fan and reading Goldmine magazine as a youngster during this era
and I never remember seeing it for sale, and certainly have never seen
it in any record stores. Perhaps producer Chip Douglas repressed it for
the fan club only, I'm simply not sure. I've had both sides of this 45
on a lo-fi bootleg LP for over 20 years, but nothing beats having this
copy with the uber-cool picture sleeve showing the fellas in the studio,
reunited.
Chip Douglas and (Turtle) Howard Kaylan wrote the song back in 1968, and
it was issued as a single by a group calling themselves The Christmas
Spirit, which was made up of several Turtles and Linda Ronstadt. While
the song was revisited for The Monkees version, it was completely
re-arranged in a far superior way for their track, which is pure magic.
The group was unable to use the name Monkees due to legal restrictions,
so the record was cleverly released as We Three Monkees. Michael Nesmith
chose not to participate, but the rumor mill claims that it's none
other than Nez playing pedal steel guitar on both sides. Micky and Davy
take turns on the lead vocal, which is heartfelt and lovely, and the
song itself is a wonderful thing. What's in the grooves makes it obvious
that everyone involved was having a ball when they made the record.
Davy takes the lead for a very moving, country flavored version of
"White Christmas" on the flip side, which shows how this man could croon
with the best of them and how missed he is.
The words written on the back of the picture sleeve, "An expression of
friendship and togetherness to make the holidays a little brighter for
all of us" couldn't be more spot on.
Whatever it is that you celebrate, I wish you peace, love, and happiness today, tomorrow and everyday.
from 1976...
THE MONKEES - CHRISTMAS IS MY TIME OF YEAR b/w WHITE CHRISTMAS
One of the prettiest, yet little known soul Christmas singles.
I'm not sure if this Betty Lloyd is the same singer who was a member of
the east coast girl group The Percells; Thomas Records was a Chicago label (an offshoot of Curtis Mayfields' Curtom label), and this track certainly has an indelible
Chicago stamp on it.
The lyrics brilliantly capture the feeling of being alone at Christmas,
but without self pity. Oozing with quality, this song should truly be a
holiday standard.
I'm not one to pick favorites of anything, but this 45, along with The Staple Singers staggeringly beautiful Twenty Fifth Day Of Decemberare my favorite holiday records.
I didn't say much about the a-side on my original post, but the real story is in the grooves. It's a wonderful song, played and sang with exceptional talent by this excellent group that deserved mass fame.
Here's what I wrote about it 7 years ago:
One area that wasn't explored very deeply by US garage bands was the
Christmas record; however, Chicago's Saturday's Children were way too
sophisticated to be called a garage band.
Here, the band (deeply
influenced by the Beatles) melds "Deck The Halls" with Dave Brubeck's
jazz standard "Take Five' and turns it into a jazzy, quasi-psychedelic
number that I almost guarantee will bring on some holiday cheer. This
group had an incredible knack for harmonies, and tackle the tricky 5/4
time signature with ease making for the most hypnotic Christmas record
I've ever heard. The other side is an exceptional holiday original
showcasing their excellent group harmonies and songwriting skill.
I
don't know what was in the water and air in Chicago & Detroit
during the 60s, but whatever it was it propelled soul and rock music
into the stratosphere, with massive amounts of high quality records
being released.
File under: Greatest B-Sides to a massive hit single.
I make no bones about the fact that I love the hits as much as the rarities; it's all music that makes us feel good, and just because millions of people happen to dig something collectively, that doesn't make it any less beautiful (I always have to excuse myself to get a glass of water when someone starts rambling about how any popular music isn't as good as "X"). So, yeah, I love the A-side of this record, and the lightweight pop-soul of The Fifth Dimension was pretty darn groovy.
The b-side, though, is a STONE GROOVE! LA's finest session musicians GET DOWN, and of course this groups patented vocal blend is heard in supreme form. The song, too, is unique - pushing aside conventional chord changes, it keeps modulating higher and higher, echoing the yearning sentiment as heard in the lyrics. When this one comes on during long drives, it's pretty much a guarantee that I'm gonna repeat it a few times, 'cause it's just *that* cool.
from 1969...
THE FIFTH DIMENSION - DON'T CHA HEAR ME CALLING TO YA
While it isn't a secret that Dwight Twilley is one of the all time great power pop artists, this very scarce track is a bit of a secret psychedelic mini-masterpiece.
I first heard this song on the excellent Great Lost Twilley Album CD that I was fortunate enough to snag from the record store I worked at in the mid-90s before it disappeared and became a pricey collectable in the days when out of print CD's actually commanded a serious premium. I couldn't even begin to guess how many times I used this song on mixed tapes over the years.
This record was a bit of myth for me for many years as it NEVER turned up, and I doubted whether a US copy even existed; this is the b-side to 'Runaway', and the relatively common promo copy has mono/ stereo versions of that track, with no 'Burning Sand'. It was a happy day indeed when a copy of this turned up a few years ago, but it almost met a sad fate, as it was sent to me in a non-padded 'envelope' (basically a pathetic job of someone covering it in paper, taping it shut and shipping it). How it made it to me without getting cracked is a minor miracle.
This record has received the most hits to this site, and also has been responsible for the most people writing to me and either asking me to sell my copy (nope, not for sale) or to get a high-res rip off of my copy (undoubtedly since Common sampled this track). One of those wishes is (kinda) granted, as my YT uploads are always the highest possible resolution/ fidelity.
Everything about this record sounds STONED.
Here's what I wrote originally, and to my knowledge there's still no information out there about who D&K were/ are:
Another day, another mystery record!
I am completely transfixed by the psychedelic, deep vibe of this song.
Sadly, it appears as if this is the only record that these two made. A
pity, but at least we have this one.
As always, any information about this record would be greatly appreciated.
My original writeup (below) was written before I knew that the glorious lead vocals here were contributed by none other than Motown maven Brenda Holloway (and that there's also another Wooden Nickels 45 that is OK, but not on the level of this one). As Brenda was under contract to Motown at the time, her appearance here was uncredited. I've proclaimed this to be my favorite 45 of all time more than once.
Here is perhaps one of the ultimate one-off records. Other than
being a staple of collectors' want lists around the world for many
years, no one seems to know ANYTHING about this group.
Vault
records was located in Los Angeles, so it's safe to say this is an L.A
area record. The song was written by Chester & Gary Pipkin who
started out in doo wop groups and ended up becoming versatile composers
throughout the 60's and beyond.
One thing that is certain is that
this is one of the hottest 45's of the 60's; the band is cookin, and
the female lead/ male backing vocals are uplifting to put it mildly. The
low-fi recording only adds to the excitement (part of this may be some
groove damage to my copy but with a record like this, no big deal. This
is a record that I just wanna hear over and over again, LOUD.
(originally posted 10/11/13, with one more piece of the puzzle added to this post)
My love for the work of Jimi Hendrix is unparalleled; his innovative and ground breaking guitar work set the standard, but it was his songwriting, performing, and charm that extended his appeal beyond musicians. Hendrix was oozing music, and it was evidenced by these early sides, cut before his "discovery", move to London and imminent fame.
The Isley Brothers infectiously intense "Testify" was Jimi Hendrix first released recording session, and with his first guitar solo that was unleashed to the world, the man shows that he meant BUSINESS. He plays his break with a focused intensity that, no matter how many times I've heard it, still snaps my neck in to place in a way that no chiropractor ever could. After his release from the Army/ 101st Airborn in 1962, Seattle born Hendrix settled in Nashville, playing music with his army buddy Billy Cox. By early '64, Hendrix left for New York City, and began struggling to make a name for himself in the big apple.
All the while, The Isley Brothers pay tribute to the great soul stars of the day and whip up a fury akin to the most outrageous fire and brimstone revival.
Around the same time, Hendrix also played on the session for Don Covay's "Mercy Mercy"; while that's a fine record in its own right, I'm not featuring it here due to it being one of the easier tracks to find. It's best heard on the excellent Hendrix box set West Coast Seattle Boy.
These sides have been reissued in different mixes/ edits, but here's part one and two as they were originally released in 1964.
from 1964...
THE ISLEY BROTHERS - TESTIFY
In lesser hands than The Isley Brothers (with young Jimi Hendrix on
guitar, no less), this track could have been a very pedestrian number
that was downright forgettable. The song itself isn't much of anything,
but in a way it's the precursor of James Brown's funk revolution that
was brought on my the following year's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"; a
rhythmic musical jam with lyrics that are more shouted/ chanted than
sang. And other than JB himself, there was simply no one better at
shouts than The Isleys, as they had been showing off since "Shout" back
in 1959.
Plus, Hendrix plays some incredible, DRIVING guitar throughout; the definition of soulful, loose and fluid.
from 1964...
THE ISLEY BROTHERS - MOVE OVER AND LET ME DANCE
This record has been a holy grail of sorts for me since, oh, around 1990 when I first read about it in the book Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy.
In those days, of course, there was no internet so the possibilities of
being able to hear this incredibly scarce record were close to
impossible! Luckily, some time in the mid '90's I finally got to hear
it, on a 5th or so generation cassette copy with tape hiss as loud as
the music! Both sides lived up to and in fact, surpassed my expectations. It's a great record.
There are conflicting stories about authorship of "My Diary" (Arthur Lee
is credited on the record, while Rosa Lee insists that she and Hendrix
wrote the song) and also the year of recording (Rosa Lee claims 1964).
The most likely story is that, in early 1965, young "Jimmy" Hendrix was
on tour with Little Richardand The Upsetters when he decided to go
AWOL in Los Angeles. Hendrix is said to have met Rosa Lee Brooks while
they were both in the crowd at an Ike and Tina Turner show, and that
night marked the beginning of a fleeting romance that lasted until Jimmy
headed back to New York City. Rosa Lee knew Billy Revis, head of a
small studio/ record label, who she and Hendrix persuaded to cut the
single. Legend has it that when Rosa Lee picked up Arthur Lee to go to
the recording session, Hendrix immediately became jealous and the
situation became tense (the two reconnected a few years later without
rivalry). Arthur's backing vocal is clearly heard on the record, and
Hendrix lays down some of the greatest guitar work of his entire life on
this track. The flip side, "Utee" was written in the studio and
features a red hot Hendrix break. The record was announced in the
Billboard Magazine in June of 1965, but other than a few rumblings in
L.A, never went anywhere. Within a few months, Arthur Lee formed the
group that, by the fall of 1965, became Love. Hendrix
struggled along in New York for another year and some months until fate
brought him into the lap of Animals bassist Chas Chandler, who took him
to London and helped make him a star. Rosa Lee Brooks has kept on
singing, but this seems to be her only release. And what a release it
is! (note: both sides were issued on the excellent Hendrix box set West Coast Seattle Boy a few years back, but it doesn't diminish the thrill of owning and sharing the actual 45 one bit).
from 1965...
ROSA LEE BROOKS - MY DIARY
b/w UTEE
Every time I hear the intro to this great record, it reminds me of the flamboyant Little Richard interview in the 1973 Jimi Hendrix
film where he claims that Jimi was ALREADY a star when he met him and
was a member of Richard's band. As the luscious guitar intro proves,
even though Jimi was playing in the Curtis Mayfield style at the time of
this recording, he was a musician of grace, taste, finesse and a giant
TALENT.
Allegedly Jimi's time with Richard was cut short due to the amount of
attention Jimi was receiving on the bandstand which infuriated the star
of the show, but fortunately he stuck around long enough to cut this one
and only single.
For nearly five years (late '57 until 1962) Little Richard had left the
sinners life of secular music, and became a preacher. It wasn't until an
offer to tour England in '62 came on the table that Richard made a return to his signature
secular sounds.
This record shows off beautifully how well Richard can SING. Everyone
knows that he can peel the paint off of the wall with the shouts, but
damn does he put in a stellar vocal performance here.
from 1965...
LITTLE RICHARD - I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT BUT IT'S GOT ME (parts 1 and 2)
File under "early Jimi Hendrix as session man". Jimi comes out blazing
on the intro, and gets a chance to REALLY cut loose on side B.
Just like Hendrix moved east from Seattle to the Big Apple, vocalist and
sax man
Youngblood was transplanted into the bustling and cut-throat New York
City music scene
(he was born in Augusta, Georgia) and odds are the two met while playing
with Curtis Knight & The Squires. Lonnie & Jimi obviously had a
great chemistry that was demonstrated on this record (and their other
one cut together, "Goodbye Bessie Mae", a past 45 of the day).
This
record has erroneously been credited to 1963 many times, due to the
"mistake" date on the label, common to so many Cameo-Parkway (and
Motown) record labels.
from 1966...
LONNIE YOUNGBLOOD - GO GO SHOES
b/w GO GO PLACE
Before being "discovered" by Chas Chandler and the formation of the
Experience in England and the massive success that followed, Jimi
Hendrix lived in abject poverty and took whatever gigs and sessions he
could. Stints with The Isley Brothers and Little Richard which resulted
in sessions and tours were perhaps the most high profile, yet there was a
string of other fabulous soul singles cut that took full advantage of
the man's wizardry of the guitar.
This is one of the most obscure singles which feature Jimi, and what he does during the intro is 100% pure Hendrix. The recent West Coast Seattle Boy
box set collects this and other gems (including the impossible to find
Rosa Lee Brooks "My Diary" single, which is not only Jimi's first
session but also featured a pre-Love Arthur Lee), however the version of
this song used on the set is a completely different take!
Jimmy Norman found the most success of his career in writing the lyrics
to the eternal "Time Is On My Side", and released a handful of singles
on his own.
from 1966...
JIMMY NORMAN - THAT LITTLE OLD GROOVEMAKER
The Icemen were another group (or studio concoction) that used The Impressions as their guiding light; as Jimi could play those Curtis Mayfield licks as well as anyone other than Curtis himself, it only made sense that he played on these tracks. This is the most recent record I've added to this particular collection of Hendrix sessions, and it's a tricky one to find (I'm still after the Frank Howard and Lenny Howard singles - if you wanna sell me copies of these, please lemme know!).
from 1966...
THE ICEMEN - (MY GIRL) SHE'S A FOX
b/w I WONDER WHAT IT TAKES
Basically taking "Like A Rolling Stone" and changing the lyrics to
reflect civil rights protest, this would be a great record in it's own
right. However, even more interesting is the small credit on the label;
"arranged by Jimmy Hendrix". Yep, Hendrix himself before fame, and
before swapping the extra "m" and "y" in his name to become Jimi.
Hendrix
lays out some killer fuzz tone and plays some of the other great licks
that he played on his own famous version of "Like A Rolling Stone"
recorded a year and a half later at the Monterey Pop Festival.
Curtis
Knight was the bandleader that Hendrix worked with quite a bit, and
there are many recordings of him with Jimi which would be too complex
for me to get into in this entry. I love Curtis' powerful lyrics and
delivery on this track.
Sadly, the contract that begat this
record also became a thorn in Hendrix side; he was still legally bound
to producer Ed Chalpin (manager Chas Chandler bought up all of Hendrix
previous contracts except this one, which slipped thru the cracks),
causing great stress and legal litigation in Jimi's life, the end result
of which was Hendrix having to hand over the Band Of Gypsys album to
Chalpin for release on capitol records. This was after two shoddy albums
were also released by Chalpin of the Knight/ Hendrix recordings to cash
in on Jimi's name.
from 1966...
CURTIS KNIGHT - HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?
Ft Worth, Texas native Ray Sharpe took influences from rock n roll,
country and r&b music and created music that was entirely unique.
While his early singles (including the big hit "Linda Lu") could be
classified as rockabilly, these records also could fall into the r&b
classification. What's in a label anyhow?
By the time of this release, Ray was working in New York City with the legendary King Curtis.
Producer/ sax man King Curtis must have truly loved this track, as he
used it FOUR times, this being the first appearance. In early '67, Ray
Sharpe's vocal was removed, the track was sped up and new lyrics were
added and it became Aretha Franklin's incredible "Save Me. Also in '67, the same backing track was used for Owen Gray's version of this same song, and was released in the UK. Finally, in '68 King Curtis reworked the same basic track and turned it into "Instant Groove".
It's no surprise that Curtis loved the track, as it's a smoker- taking
its cue from Them's "Gloria", the track is a masterpiece is smoldering
dynamics. While the track starts off in full flight, through some subtle
nuances the musicians keep turning up the heat until its a smoldering
inferno of go-go goodness. None other than Jimi Hendrix is on guitar, as
well. Hendrix is really given a chance to play on Part 2, although he
plays a very subtle (yet still effective) break.
from 1966...
RAY SHARPE - HELP ME (PART 1 + 2)
A super cool double sider, made even more exciting by the presence of
none other than Jimi Hendrix blazing on guitar during one of his
earliest sessions.
Just like Hendrix, vocal and sax man
Youngblood was transplanted into the bustling New York City music scene
(he was born in Augusta, Georgia) and odds are the two met while playing
with Curtis Knight & The Squires. Lonnie & Jimi obviously had a
great chemistry that was demonstrated on this record (as well as on
their other single together, "Go Go Shoes") and while Jimi only gets
scant opportunities to cut loose, it's clear from Jimi's breaks on
"Bessie Mae" that all the pieces were in place for Hendrix to turn the
music world upside down only mere months after this record was cut.
This
record has erroneously been credited to 1963 many times, due to the
"mistake" date on the label, common to so many Cameo-Parkway (and
Motown) record labels.
from 1966...
SOUL FOOD
b/w GOODBYE BESSIE MAE
Ooh dig that guitar on the opening...Who else could it be... None other
than Jimi Hendrix! This track was recorded in New York City shortly
before Jimi left for England and became a superstar.
Not much of a
song here, per se, but it's a really hot slice of simmering early funk
and Jimi's incredible guitar and the pounding drums make this one hot
record.
from 1966...
BILLY LAMONT - SWEET THANG
As mentioned above, the same backing track for Ray Sharpe's 'Help Me' was recycled several times. This is an excellent version of the track, featuring Jamaican born Owen Gray delivering a fiery vocal. It's an obscure one, as it was released only in the UK.
This one's only gonna be up for a short time, so grab it while you can.
This single, released in April 1970, was the last thing Jimi released while he was still on earth, and it was withdrawn shortly after its release. Some say that Jimi was unhappy with the mix, but the real reason may never be known.
What *is* known is that the 45 mix of 'Stepping Stone' is ONLY heard on the original 45; the version used on the posthumous Kiss The Sky LP is very close, but on close listening there are some subtle differences in the wall of guitars weaving in and out of the track.
Both sides of this record are devastating; 'Stepping Stone' is one of Jimi's greatest guitar symphonies, and the song clearly shows the frustrations that he was feeling in his life and music at the time. Buddy Miles' intense drumming makes this song feel like an out of control freight train until the final explosion at the end and the engineer's statement of 'you made it'. 'Izabella' is one of the blueprints of funk-rock, with an unstoppable groove and a lyric full of powerful metaphors. Jimi's brilliant songwriting was right on par with his spellbinding guitar work. The man *was* music.
Jimi was the greatest, and my biggest influence as a musician.
Here's one that's never been previously featured here. A scarce record, took me quite a while to score a copy.
While Sharon Tandy is best known for the immortal freakbeat classic 'Hold On' (a devastating record), she cut several more excellent sides, many of which were backed by the legendary Les Fleur De Lys (who back her up again on this monster).
Starting out with a funky, solo wah wah'ed guitar, the band and Sharon kick in with a HEAVY groove and OWN the next 2:15 with a massive performance.
Sharon Tandy has an interesting story as well. Born in South Africa,
Sharon appeared in a South African beat film while still a teen, and
then relocated to the UK at the insistence of her management. Sharon met
with moderate success, and was lucky enough to record at Stax studios
in Memphis in 1966.
Phew, is THIS one red hot mystery record! It's a Chicago release, and I'm gonna
guess it was released around 1965. Haven't been able to find any info
about the artist at all (other than he cut a few more sides, but in the mid-'70's). Just when
you think they cant possibly cook any more, they throw in the whoa whoa
whoas and we're left picking up a roomful of rubble from the
devastation.
One of the coolest things about all of my years featuring records on this blog was when the artists or their relatives would contact me. Shortly after the posting, I received these messages:
"This Is my GrandFather his stage name was Jimmy Dobbins but everyone
knew him as Jimmy Brown, He is Deceased now, he died in 1995 My name is
Devin Brown and i inherited his amazing vocals"
"He was Born 1945 in Jackson Mississippi, But after he Graduated from
High he moved to Gary Indiana, which is where he met my Grandmother, and
they moved to Chicago thus, My uncle, Jimmy Brown Jr. was born,1967,
then My Mother, Jaconna Brown was Born in 1969.Most of the love songs he
made were dedicated to my grandmother"
(originally featured early on in this blog, sometime in 2007)
Happy birthday Neil! Such an inspiration to so many of us. Whether he's pulling at our heart strings with a gorgeous acoustic ballad, blowing the roof off with Crazy Horse, gettin' freaky with a vocoder, or kicking out a freakbeat side such as this, Neil RULES.
On it's own, 'Mr Soul' is one of THE classic '60's rock n roll tracks; of course it was heavily influenced by 'Satisfaction', but Neil and the Springfield take it someplace entirely different; the alienation of stardom, which is a world that Neil has revisited several times in his career. Dewey Martin clearly shows off his soul fanaticism with a drum performance that's straight outta Stax, Bruce Palmer freaks out on bass, and the three guitarist/ vocalist, driven by talent and ego, turn in a performance for the ages.
Even cooler is that the 45 features an alternate guitar solo that is less 'to the gut' and more tripped out psychedelia.
from 1967...
THE BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD - MR. SOUL
Bonus! Here are two other examples of Neil 45's with a different mix ('Cinammon Girl'), and an exclusive live performance ('Last Trip To Tulsa')
Evie Sands has had a fascinating career in which there were far too many near misses, mostly
due to competing versions of the same songs by other artists released at the same time. However,
her records have grown legendary throughout the years, and for good
reason! Evie is still out there performing; she was a true pioneer in that she's not only an incredible vocalist but also a highly skilled guitarist.
Transcendent is the only way to describe this one. A
masterpiece in production (reminds me of what a Brian Wilson/ Phil
Spector/ Motown collaboration would sound like), this song is infectious
and jaw dropping. Quite possibly the best fake out ending on record, too.
Alright! Sorry for the gap in posts... Back with a red hot side that has never been previously featured here.
Big Ella (Ervaerlla Tate) is a bit of a mystery figure; she cut 3 singles in the late 60's and qwuickly disappeared from the world of recorded music.
Being as Bobby Rush is listed as writer and producer, it's safe to say that this is a Chicago joint.
The best story though is in the grooves; 'Too Hot To Hold' is a scorching, intense slab of sister funk with an incredible vocal and a band that can easily give the JB's a good bit of competition.
The great Little Willie John (big brother to Stax artist Mable John) lived a tragic life; while many of his records were big hits on the R&B charts (and several were covered later by other artists), he battled alcoholism. He died at age 30 while in prison.
This man's voice is one of the most powerful and haunting in all of R&B, and he could deliver a ballad in a way that can break your heart, and blaze a rocker in a way that can kick start everything immediately into 5th gear.
"I'm Shakin'" stands among his greatest records; the vocal delivers the lyrics in a way that cuts straight to the bloodstream, and the stop-start arrangement is brilliant, and is known to drive dancers wild out on the floor. This track was reissued in 1963 with drums overdubbed during the verses; in my opinion, the extra percussion only makes the record lose a little bit of its magic and I prefer the original. Either way, though, you're gonna groove.
Gary, IN's (about 30m from Chicago) Lonnie Lester cut three fantastic
and RAW singles in the mid-60's (some copies of this record are billed
as Lonnie Lester & Chuck Danzy; Danzy was the saxman) of which this
is his first.
This record has a fantastic, late night party atmosphere kind of feel,
capped off with a storming, powerful vocal from Mr. Lester.
2017 has taken away the incredible CAN rhythm section; earlier this year, drummer Jaki Leibezeit passed, and today we lost bassist Holger Czukay.
While CAN was always a complete showcase for the brilliance of all members, Holger was responsible for getting the bands music onto tape, as he engineered and edited most of their recordings. It's downright mind boggling to think about how great these records sound, and taking into account that they didn't even have a multitrack recorder until after completing 1974's Soon Over Babaluma. All of their incredible work from 1968-1974 was recorded LIVE to 2 track tape. While there was quite a bit of splicing and editing done to the music (mostly in turning improv sessions into songs), there was no 'fixing it in the mix'. While so much time today is spent in studios doctoring tracks with beat correction, pitch correction, etc, no amount of trickery can EVER sound as good as brilliant musicians kicking out the jams HARD.
For a band that stretched out into long improvisations that are best experienced on LP, they released some COOL singles along the way (one of which, 'Spoon' was a massive hit in Germany). The single mix of 'I'm So Green' is WAY different than the LP, and has a trippy intro that didn't make it on to the LP.
I'm forever grateful to Musician magazine; back when I was 15 in 1990, I read a review that covered reissues of their early albums. I had not heard of them until this review, and the words were incredibly captivating, and the writing drew me in with parallels to the influence this group had upon hip hop, noise rock, post punk, new wave. Through this review, they became a favorite band of mine before I even heard a NOTE. With my limited allowance (which was almost ALWAYS spent on music), I picked up the CD of Ege Bamyasi (which the article pointed out was 'the' one to start with). I filled out the catalog as I could, and eventually replaced the shiny discs with vinyl as they appeared. My high school band tried in vain to play 'Vitamin C' and 'Mushroom', but we just couldn't get those songs to sound anywhere near what they should have. It was great to hear 'Vitamin C' used so well on the excellent series The Get Down. The 45 version is the same as the LP, but I'm presenting it here because it is such a defining moment of the CAN ideology - freaky, haunting, psychedelic, and flat out FUNKY. Holger and Jaki are locked in as tight as a James Brown rhythm section.
Tago Mago is perhaps the bands crowning artistic achievement, and it certainly is an album that I have listened to hundreds of times and somehow always take away something new each time. 'Halleluwah' was released as a highly edited single, with a non-LP b side to boot ('Turtles Have Short Legs'). While 'Turtles' may be a bit silly and almost novelty like, it's still so damn funky.
Folks, please donate whatever you can to help the good people (and pets) of the great state of Texas.
In honor of the Lone Star state, here are two of my FAVORITE Tejas rock n roll records- originally posted here sometime in 2007-2008.
The Moving Sidewalks featured Bill (later Billy) Gibbons on vocals and
guitar, pre- ZZ Top. The group became one of the big draws on the
Houston scene and not only opened for fellow Texans The 13th Floor
Elevators but also when big time touring acts came thru town. Legend has
it, when the Sidewalks opened for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jimi was
so taken by Billy's playing that he gave him a pink Stratocaster and
Hendrix was on record as stating how much he liked Gibbon's playing.
Two Sidewalks were drafted, which revamped the lineup and the band became ZZ Top in late 1969. I had the pleasure of meeting the ZZ fellas a few years back, and I mentioned this record to Billy and how much I loved it. His response was 'keep that one in a safe place', and I could swear thatas he said that sentence it sounded like one of harmonized voices as heard on Eliminator and Afterburner.
'99th Floor' will always be a garage rock perennial, as its inclusion on the Pebbles Vol. 2 helped cement its status as one of THE great psychedelic garage rock cuts.
from 1967...
THE MOVING SIDEWALKS - 99TH FLOOR
Ahhhh my beloved Sir Douglas Quintet; originally "designed" by producer (and, most disturbingly a convicted pedophile)
Huey P. Meaux to be a Cajun flavored answer' to the British Invasion,
the group went on to be pioneers in mixing beat, blues, soul, cajun,
psychedelia and Tejano music in a way that shouldn't work but
practically ALWAYS did, thanks to the brilliance and genuine soul of
Doug Sahm.
This incredible track was cut for the excellent Kris Kristofferson film
"Cisco Pike", and was only released as a 45 (itself a record that took
me MANY years to find).
from 1971...
SIR DOUGLAS QUINTET - MICHOACAN
(2017 note) FUCK 'Sheriff Joe' for busting these guys for pot back in the '60's, and FUCK HIM for all his other racist atrocities.
A few folks have written asking if I plan on making the tracks downloadable again. The answer to that is no, I'm afraid. However, there are several advantages to the new mode: for one thing, artists + songwriters (or their estates) will make a little $ off of the streaming listens. I'm uploading everything in uncompressed audio, so my transfers are nifty quality (other than the surface noise/ groove wear present on my copies). Also, everything will stay up forever (or at least as long as this is all possible). If you MUST d/l, there are plenty of ways to do it off of youtube, but you'll have to figure that out on your own (hint: it's very easy).
(Originally posted 8/2009)
One of the greatest (and quite possibly THE finest) west coast soul records,
this sublime 2 sider is a record I dreamed of owning for a long time,
and happily it now resides in a special place in my collection. Sure,
the labels may be in rough condition but the record sounds great and I
am just glad to have it any any condition, and very happy to share it
with everyone here. Part of the fun in collecting records is the
anticipation of getting certain ones, and if we had 'em all, there's
nowhere else to go (so I don't mind if it takes me many years to get
that particular record; it's worth the wait). (2017 addendum: I don't have much at all on my want list these days, and the ones remaining are STILL so tough to find, even after so many years of digging IRL and in the virtual world).
The Seven
Souls were formed at the University of Oregon, and were an integrated
group who moved south to Los Angeles and were taken under the tutelage
of musician/ producer/ pimp Larry Williams who cut this absolutely
perfect record with them. Sadly, they only released one other record (OK
but not at the 'other worldly' level of this one). The group sported not
only two phenomenal lead singers (Ivory Hudson takes the lead on 'I
Still Love You", and sax player Henry Moore sings 'I'm No Stranger') but
also young Bob Welch (later of the early 70's lineup of Fleetwood Mac which
gave us "Sentimental Lady") is playing those righteous, upfront guitar licks.
from 1967...
THE SEVEN SOULS - I STILL LOVE YOU + I'M NO STRANGER
Also, I'm making my debut behind the 1's and 2's tonight at FUNKY SOLE... LA's greatest soul party, at The Echo. I'm on the patio at 11:00.
(first posted 9/16/08)
Gene Chandler was featured MANY times on Daily 45. I
absolutely love the guy, and am fascinated with his career which found him not only as performer, but also songwriter, A&R man, and producer. Gene also worked closely with the incredible creative forces behind the Chicago soul sound (Curtis Mayfield, Carl Davis, etc)
and his choice of songs, writing, arrangements, and
vocal style is (in this writers humble opinion) are the epitome of (Chicago) soul. This is a tricky record to find, as it was released at the very end of the line for Constellation Records. The label was out of luck, out of money, and out of hits and very few copies were pressed/ distributed. In a way, this record was ahead of its time, in that it shows a much harder edged soul sound (here, the guitar takes front and center in the mix) that started to be more prevalent within the next few years.
Although Belita Woods only released three solo singles, they are three
records that I deeply cherish. In the later 70's Belita went on to sing
with disco band Brainstorm, and had a few dance hits (driven mightily by her powerful voice) with that group.
Her first release (1967) was the incredible double sider "Magic Corner
b/w Grounded"; which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest two-siders in 45 RPM history. 'Grounded' was the b-side, but it's just so damn powerful that I'm featuring it first. I'm a massive fan of the period in soul when the hard edged, funk tinged sound was coming in to more vocal oriented tracks; that sound is displayed here in an unparalleled way. 'Magic Corner' is a dreamy song, but it's no less intense thanks to the unbelievable vocal performance; Belita sings so hard that her voice distorts the tape and/ or microphone in several spots. Magic stuff indeed.
Belita Woods passed away far too young (63) in 2012; she
was a touring member of the P-Funk mob for many years, a tiny
little lady with a massive voice.
Gonna keep the daily 45 archives alive as best as I can, with the highest possible audio. It's truly touching how many people still write with kind words, or the people I meet/ speak to in real life that this site has made a positive impact upon.
Can't possibly keep up 'every day', but my goal is to repost something from the archives a few times a week, seasoned with the occasional 'new' track.
(originally posted on 10/12/2012)
This record is downright HAUNTING. A lone acoustic guitar picks out the
intro and sets the mood, which leads into the brilliant song and
arrangement. Lezli Valentine (a founding member of The Jaynetts), turns
in such a gorgeous, restrained performance, and is backed by a heavenly
group of ladies (or is it Lezli overdubbed?) on backing vocals.
This record sounds like the soundtrack from a dream, and I can't get
enough of it. It's so subtle that the depth of what's happening can
easily be overlooked through its hypnotic power.
