isaac hayes - do your thing (1972)
black moses! black moses! something about his buttery milk dud head & a voice to reflect that drives me coo-coo for coco puffs! mostly its has to do with the way he holds a revolver. have you seen truck turner? you should. a jive talkin, actin pack flick with a jammin soundtrack that makes you wanna free the slaves. pharaoh! pharaoh let my people go!
Oct 25, 2010
Oct 21, 2010
there's a bird in the house...it landed on my pillow!
inez foxx & charlie - mockingbird (1963)
awesome fakie remakes:
dusty springfield 1964
aretha franklin 1965
the brother and sister duo were america's sweethearts (well, at least in north carolina). id like to compare them ike & tina, but that would be a little too incest-y. the ying/yang pair used to work the stage with dramatic antics like all the great performers including the turners, by crying, shouting and dancing all over the place scratching up the wood floors. it was inez, with her small frame, that would fall out similar to james brown's collapses on hes knees at the end of shows. charlie would pick his sister up from the floor, dust her off and carry her off the stage. ironically some critics have also compared inez to some of the ladies of the jb clan, assuming she would be a fit for the fierce and raspy club. i think her sound she was too clean for that. and just like tina, inez was intrigued by the sound of rock and roll and was inspired to experiment with a more "hippie flippin" style of soul music. she did have the crossover capabilities, but the record companies felt that style or sound only worked better with brighter, but less colorful ladies like dusty springfield for that new genre...so thats why we didnt hear much from inez, apparently she wasnt marketable enough. and you gotta know what im thinking. "we can cross over to your side of the street, but dont you even think about lookin over here." okokokokok....we hear you!!! ramblin...thanks for tryin inez, im listenin! love-joy!
awesome fakie remakes:
dusty springfield 1964
aretha franklin 1965
the brother and sister duo were america's sweethearts (well, at least in north carolina). id like to compare them ike & tina, but that would be a little too incest-y. the ying/yang pair used to work the stage with dramatic antics like all the great performers including the turners, by crying, shouting and dancing all over the place scratching up the wood floors. it was inez, with her small frame, that would fall out similar to james brown's collapses on hes knees at the end of shows. charlie would pick his sister up from the floor, dust her off and carry her off the stage. ironically some critics have also compared inez to some of the ladies of the jb clan, assuming she would be a fit for the fierce and raspy club. i think her sound she was too clean for that. and just like tina, inez was intrigued by the sound of rock and roll and was inspired to experiment with a more "hippie flippin" style of soul music. she did have the crossover capabilities, but the record companies felt that style or sound only worked better with brighter, but less colorful ladies like dusty springfield for that new genre...so thats why we didnt hear much from inez, apparently she wasnt marketable enough. and you gotta know what im thinking. "we can cross over to your side of the street, but dont you even think about lookin over here." okokokokok....we hear you!!! ramblin...thanks for tryin inez, im listenin! love-joy!
Oct 11, 2010
"hello my love...i heard this song before"...yes, yes you have.
brothers johnson - strawberry letter 23 (1977)
story goes something like this...boy meets girl. girl writes love letters to boy on strawberry scented paper. boy in return writes a song to express his affection. girl loves song and plays song for her cousins. cousins love song as well. one cousin plays the song at their wedding ceremony. friend hears song at the wedding and goes bananas. friend of the cousins re-produces song and gives back to cousins to re-record. cousins ask boy & girl if ok. boy doesnt mind, hes written hundreds of songs. the song is a commercial hit and dominated the r&b charts for weeks on end. song becomes a defining anthem for west coast funk and r&b and continues to inspire to infinity and beyoooond!!! right quentin tarantino? the end!
cast:
boy: shuggie otis
girl: ehhh
cousins: george and louis johnson aka "brothers johnson"
friend: quincy jones
story goes something like this...boy meets girl. girl writes love letters to boy on strawberry scented paper. boy in return writes a song to express his affection. girl loves song and plays song for her cousins. cousins love song as well. one cousin plays the song at their wedding ceremony. friend hears song at the wedding and goes bananas. friend of the cousins re-produces song and gives back to cousins to re-record. cousins ask boy & girl if ok. boy doesnt mind, hes written hundreds of songs. the song is a commercial hit and dominated the r&b charts for weeks on end. song becomes a defining anthem for west coast funk and r&b and continues to inspire to infinity and beyoooond!!! right quentin tarantino? the end!
cast:
boy: shuggie otis
girl: ehhh
cousins: george and louis johnson aka "brothers johnson"
friend: quincy jones
Oct 9, 2010
book covers
otis redding - fa fa fa fa fa - sad song (1966)
"he is singing to a man..." this was a guaranteed quote that would emerge from my ma's mouth every time a otis redding song came on the radio. and after a few seconds of song-a-long and toe tappin, "you know otis was a homo right?" she would continue so innocently. i say innocently cause it was socially acceptable to be a bigot or racist back in the day and if youre offended, then you must be clueless simultaneously. now it took me years to figure out why my mom would stand by that statement for over 40 years. i knew that he was happily married with 3 kids (which doesnt hold any man to anything) and he was so....manly, i couldnt understand where this was coming from. i know it was a sign of the times of the closet gay, but still to this day no trace of gay is evident when it came to otis. so why gay ma?? then it dawned on me during an interview i watched w/ otis....he had a lisp!! just too funny. sometimes ignorance can be quite comical. my ma knows better, but my dad is still calling people of asian decent orientals....so you see we still have a long way to go! oh man, she would kill me if she knew i wrote this. hahahahaha! love-joy
"he is singing to a man..." this was a guaranteed quote that would emerge from my ma's mouth every time a otis redding song came on the radio. and after a few seconds of song-a-long and toe tappin, "you know otis was a homo right?" she would continue so innocently. i say innocently cause it was socially acceptable to be a bigot or racist back in the day and if youre offended, then you must be clueless simultaneously. now it took me years to figure out why my mom would stand by that statement for over 40 years. i knew that he was happily married with 3 kids (which doesnt hold any man to anything) and he was so....manly, i couldnt understand where this was coming from. i know it was a sign of the times of the closet gay, but still to this day no trace of gay is evident when it came to otis. so why gay ma?? then it dawned on me during an interview i watched w/ otis....he had a lisp!! just too funny. sometimes ignorance can be quite comical. my ma knows better, but my dad is still calling people of asian decent orientals....so you see we still have a long way to go! oh man, she would kill me if she knew i wrote this. hahahahaha! love-joy
Oct 7, 2010
whatcha see is whatcha get
the dramatics - what you see is what you get (1972)
phillycheese steak sound is one that cant be touched. the groups that came from philly & put east coast r&b on the map, were not be reckoned with. they remind me very much of my cousins from gary, indiana. real tough guys with some serious hardships. but you know, real man's men! all of them second cousins from me ma's side, which means that they all served our country and returned vietnam vets. not so much recepted as heroes as expected, but as unknown soldiers. so fucked up what they had to endure, but best believe that it was this sound that helped them get through those times. they have talked about how there is nothing like the soulful sounds of american rhythm and blues. the sounds brought along with it all the other senses; the taste of sweet potato pie, the touch of afroed hair, the smell of the blacktop streets, the mental images of being home sitting on the stoops shuckin and jivin. plain and simple. the music was an escape from the realities of hell and is the reason why 60s & 70s r&b music is so essential cause it wasnt only tunes to groove to, it was soundtrack to our everyday lives and the sentiment of our souls. this my opportunity to say thank you to my family for all their sacrifices, spirit, love, dedication & soul! love-joy
phillycheese steak sound is one that cant be touched. the groups that came from philly & put east coast r&b on the map, were not be reckoned with. they remind me very much of my cousins from gary, indiana. real tough guys with some serious hardships. but you know, real man's men! all of them second cousins from me ma's side, which means that they all served our country and returned vietnam vets. not so much recepted as heroes as expected, but as unknown soldiers. so fucked up what they had to endure, but best believe that it was this sound that helped them get through those times. they have talked about how there is nothing like the soulful sounds of american rhythm and blues. the sounds brought along with it all the other senses; the taste of sweet potato pie, the touch of afroed hair, the smell of the blacktop streets, the mental images of being home sitting on the stoops shuckin and jivin. plain and simple. the music was an escape from the realities of hell and is the reason why 60s & 70s r&b music is so essential cause it wasnt only tunes to groove to, it was soundtrack to our everyday lives and the sentiment of our souls. this my opportunity to say thank you to my family for all their sacrifices, spirit, love, dedication & soul! love-joy
Oct 5, 2010
did you hear that? what did he just say?
uh-oh...that didnt sound right. i love listening to tracks with mistakes. remember when songs were done in one take. no layering, no adjusting, no tweaking, no do overs, and all that other fake sounding crap that distracts us from natural recording ablity. one of my favorite mishap is almost every album our godfather jb cuts. and what i mean by that are his lyrics. its seems like he doesnt write anything, just goes in the studio & starts jabbering...im sure there all kinds of verbal mistakes in jb history. i can think of a handful of songs that make sense. otherwise....
but other songs have less obvious mishaps, for example michael jackson saying the word "shoulders" when telling me "look over your shoulders honey" in "i'll be be there", no edits there...or even more subtle, during "for the love money" by the o'jays, there is a mini second where there is a blurb @ 2:23, someone says something about a "trick"..huh? what did you say about my mama? nah just jivin, just jivin...but in reality i have no idea what he says or what he wants to say. i just think its awesome! this recording sounds like it couldve been worked on over & over again, but noooo...one take! and there it goes... my lonely teardrop for todays pop music.ishame! are we even trying? let me know! please prove me wrong!
the o'jays - for the love of money (1973)
but other songs have less obvious mishaps, for example michael jackson saying the word "shoulders" when telling me "look over your shoulders honey" in "i'll be be there", no edits there...or even more subtle, during "for the love money" by the o'jays, there is a mini second where there is a blurb @ 2:23, someone says something about a "trick"..huh? what did you say about my mama? nah just jivin, just jivin...but in reality i have no idea what he says or what he wants to say. i just think its awesome! this recording sounds like it couldve been worked on over & over again, but noooo...one take! and there it goes... my lonely teardrop for todays pop music.ishame! are we even trying? let me know! please prove me wrong!
the o'jays - for the love of money (1973)
Oct 3, 2010
herbies redemption
herbie hancock - watermelon man (1973)
the song originally composed in 1962 was not a success for herbie hancock eventhough that was his intention. mongo santamaria cut his version and helped herbies cashflow for several years. but the rebirth of it in the 1970s is one that has inspired generation after generation in r&b, hip hop, jazz, soul and other world music. the headhunters album was herbies tribute to the godfather jb and sylvester stone. the fusion of psychedelic funk & soul powered music along side with african instrumentals, is an immersion into herbies soul. its an album that must be played in its entirety cause listening to each song reminds me how thorough and intricate music used to be. the phases, more than one and not just broken down into hook, line, and sinker. the influence of sly stone and jb are evident in the rhythms that make you bob your head. but then again herbie has talked about the beats desrcibing that they actually came from the watermelon cart rolling on the cobblestone roads. its always amazing to me how mental musicians find harmonies and beats in the most usual places. anyhow its by far my favaorite herbie album (at least for now). to say the least its out of this world! take it to the head. love-joy
the song originally composed in 1962 was not a success for herbie hancock eventhough that was his intention. mongo santamaria cut his version and helped herbies cashflow for several years. but the rebirth of it in the 1970s is one that has inspired generation after generation in r&b, hip hop, jazz, soul and other world music. the headhunters album was herbies tribute to the godfather jb and sylvester stone. the fusion of psychedelic funk & soul powered music along side with african instrumentals, is an immersion into herbies soul. its an album that must be played in its entirety cause listening to each song reminds me how thorough and intricate music used to be. the phases, more than one and not just broken down into hook, line, and sinker. the influence of sly stone and jb are evident in the rhythms that make you bob your head. but then again herbie has talked about the beats desrcibing that they actually came from the watermelon cart rolling on the cobblestone roads. its always amazing to me how mental musicians find harmonies and beats in the most usual places. anyhow its by far my favaorite herbie album (at least for now). to say the least its out of this world! take it to the head. love-joy
Oct 1, 2010
a wide spectrum
ok...well, where do i start? phil spector? ike's jealousy over tina's new opportunity? phil spector? tinas introduction to "rock" music as a result, stimulating her mind and pushing her creative boundaries? phil spector? you tell me, cause i dont know... i'll wait for suggestions. until then, i guess you just have to listen to one of phil spector's masterpieces...the epitome of his "the wall of sound". ladies and gentleman, tina turner & 634 other people in the studio. just one thing...FREE PHIL SPECTOR!!! damnnit!
tina turner - river deep, mountain high (1966)
tina turner - river deep, mountain high (1966)
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