BETH CARVALHO - NOS BOTEQUINS DA VIDA (1977)

Well, it's been a while folks! After the previous great contributions from Smooth (and me being the DJ in residence at our local jazz festival for three days straight) it was time to first invest some spare evenings in rearranging my CD collection, 'cause it was a mess, let me tell you that. A DJ has to bring a nice variety of stuff when he's behind the decks and that usually means flipping through piles and piles of your best stuff before you have a case full of hot material that will serve a wide variety of jazz aficionados. Result: CDs everywhere afterwards. So back to rearrangement of the cabinet it was. And while I was at it, I decided to do the same with my record collection. And that's when I bumped into this lovely Beth Carvalho album again. I almost forgot I had it. Of course it's a bit of an 'off the wall' post for me, since there are a few highly professional blogs for Brazilian music with very dedicated webmasters and I will never be able to match their knowledge, but still I do love Brazilian music a lot. And there's plenty of Brazilian good stuff to play for your audience as a DJ. I bought this Beth Carvalho back in the days, simply because it's such a joyful and lively album. It will always get you in a better mood. Now here and there on the net you can read that Beth Carvalho popularized a style of samba known as 'pagode' and -apparently- the real samba connoisseurs think her music is too commercial and thin. Well, I honestly can't say anything about that. I just like this album. It is also out of print and after I played it again I thought to post it here for your listening pleasure. I've included high res cover- and label scans and I have either the original or a later pressing, 'cause the front cover I have here differs from the one you find everywhere. Beth doesn't even feature on my front cover; she can only be found on the backside. Anyway, please enjoy tracks like "Saco De Feijão", "Olho Por Olho", "Lá Vem Ela Chorando (Dinheiro Não Há)", "Cuidado Com A Minha Viola", "Desengano" and of course all the other cuts. Composers are, amongst many others, Carlos Cachaça, Benedito Lacerda-Alvarenga, Paulinho Soares, Paulo Cesar Pinheiro, Nelson Cavaquinho and Guilherme De Brito. All in all a lovely Beth Carvalho album and I worked my ass off to deliver a great sounding, pristine rip for y'all, as always at 320Kbps! Let's see those replies, folks!


Note: one of the visitors by the name Groovin High, left a very informative comment. Allow me to copy and paste it here for all of us:

"Please let me clarify the term "pagode". It's an old word, maybe as old as samba itself, and it has been used to describe some of the oldest, most traditional kinds of samba. It basically means a samba party. (Even classic old-school sambista Paulinho da Viola has a samba called "Pagode do Vava".) Anyway...when a group of sambistas from the Carnaval bloco called Cacique de Ramos started to become popular in the late 70s (they soon after formed a group called Grupo Fundo de Quintal) the press latched on to the word "pagode" to describe the music. Beth Carvalho got involved with them (recorded their songs) and spread the word nationwide. Now, if you will,...fast forward 15 years. A new samba-like music emerges, that is basically simple-minded, danceable pop (i.e. drivel). What does the press decide to call it???: "PAGODE". (again) THAT'S the "thin, shallow" music being referred to. In the 3 years I lived in Brazil, I never heard a sambista or pagodeiro speak of Beth Carvalho with anything but the highest respect."

SMOOTH POSTS - NEW CONTRIBUTIONS (2009)

Buddy Smooth at My Jazz World drops by my blog again with two brand new and oh so lovely contributions. Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack, together with Donny Hathaway. Three fantastic artists and two fabulous albums. Now since I'm currently DJ in residence at our local Jazz Festival, I have to keep it brief, but my guess is that nobody wants to miss these marvellous gems. One little remark for the beat diggers and sample hunters: the track "Back Together Again" by Flack and Hathaway was once used by Biz Markie for his hit "It's Spring Again".

Of course Smooth delivers two CD like rips in his signature audio quality, everything pristinely compressed to MP3 at 320Kbps and of course with high res cover scans! Enjoy, folks!

ARETHA FRANKLIN - TODAY I SING THE BLUES (1969)

01. Walk On By
02. One Room Paradise
03. Take A Look
04. Evil Gal Blues
05. Every Little Bit Hurts
06. Won't Be Long
07. Without The One You Love
08. Trouble In Mind
09. Rough Lover
10. Today I Sing The Blues

Aretha Franklin


Note: Simon666 left a great comment and told me that we should all read THIS super informative article written by Ish from the great Ile Oxumaré. And read it folks. It shines a new light on Smooth's out of print contribution. We have a winner here! There's a story to this gem and it turns out that this Aretha Franklin album ain't exactly easy to get by!

ROBERTA FLACK - FEAT. DONNY HATHAWAY (1979)

01. Only Heaven Can Wait (For Love)
02. God Don't Like Ugly
03. You Are My Heaven
04. Disguises
05. Don't Make Me Wait Too Long
06. Back Together Again
07. Stay With Me

Roberta Flack ft. Donny Hathaway

Note: it turns out that there's a story to this album as well. Smooth came up with a nice little customer review from Amazon: "This was intended to be Roberta's second full fledged collaboration with Donny Hathaway but as we all know, Donny committed suicide before the recording was finished, so we'd never know what the final product might have been had the album been completed. Nevertheless, what we eventually got from the sessions were 7 tracks featuring Donny's vocals on only 2 of them. On 2 tracks, the songs ran back to back for nearly 18 minutes long, so Atlantic must have been pretty desperate to drag out the half complete sessions into a full length album. How else to explain an interminable 9-minute plus take of "Back Together Again" when a 4 to 5 minute version would have done the job ? That aside, the good news is that the quality of this, Roberta's disco album, is remarkably even. Roberta's and Donny's voices blend beautifully on their hit duet, "You Are My Heaven". For those who think Roberta doesn't ever let rip, just listen to the last 15 seconds before the fade out. For a fleeting moment, I thought I was hearing Aretha! The other stand out but curiously ignored track is Gwen Guthrie's "God Don't Like Ugly". Here, Roberta gets into an unusually funky groove with excellent phrasing and some of her most soulful singing. The two non-disco ballads on the album, "Disguises" and "Stay With Me", also hold their own. "Disguises" is particularly poignant and moving. So, "Roberta Flack featuring Donny Hathaway" isn't quite what its title professes. She flirted with disco but avoided its excesses and worst influences. This album is clearly one of Roberta's better late 70s/early 80s efforts since abandoning the persona of virtuoso performer for that of classy MOR artiste."

Thank you, Smooth, for another mesmerizing guest post and don't be a stranger: let's see those replies, folks!!

CERRONE - CONTRIBUTIONS (2009)

Well folks, as most of you will remember, I posted the first Cerrone album in the Brigade Mondaine trilogy a while ago and it's still there. But in the reply field of that post, many visitors uttered the wish to complete the trilogy with "La Secte De Marrakech" and "Vaudou Aux Caraïbes". After some misunderstandings that occurred in the reply field, I got in touch with a fellow blogger who kindly suggested to share his rips of the two remaining Brigade Mondaine soundtracks with us.

Let's all thank Simon at Disco Connection, 'cause he's been the one to hook us up with two fine rips at 320Kbps, complete with great label scans and the original artwork. And although the covers might not be in high resolution, they will still add to the enjoyment of these fantastic Cerrone soundtracks. No extensive descriptions this time, so let's all enjoy Cerrone's masterpieces. Let's see those replies folks!

CERRONE - BRIGADE MONDAINE 2, LA SECTE DE MARRAKECH (1979)

Cerrone - Brigade Mondaine 2


CERRONE - BRIGADE MONDAINE 3, VAUDOU AUX CARAïBES (1980)

Cerrone - Brigade Mondaine 3

Thanks again to Simon at Disco Connection for completing the Brigade Mondaine trilogy!


Note: BM2 has a few digital skips (especially around 1'10" into the track of "Le Cachot"), which indicates that the original rip was most probably taken from CD-R. These error readings are in the original source of the one who ripped it and can't be blamed on our contributor!

And don't forget to reply folks! This piece of intercontinental collaboration took a lot of time and effort!

NOTE: It has come to my attention that Andee The Disco Prince was responsible for the rip of the third album in the trilogy, so just like Simon already did in the reply field: credit where credit is due, thank you Andee The Disco Prince!

STUFF - STUFF IT! (1979)

Hello Everybody, I guess I have to keep the article brief this time since my keyboard keeps backfiring and sometimes simply stops working. I have to unplug it and then plug it in again, then it works for a while and allows me to type text and then, out of the blue, it doesn't do anything. I must have worn it out, so time to get a new one. Anyway, this lovely album by Stuff was on my post list for quite a while and now I finally remembered to put it up. Produced by Steve Cropper, band members Cornell Dupree, Gordon Edwards, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Chris Parker and Richard Tee deliver a joyful album with mostly instrumental tracks. The band that was started by Gordon Edwards only left us four albums: "Stuff", "More Stuff", "Stuff It!" and "Live In New York". Another release, "Live In Japan", has recently been posted by Smooth on My Jazz World. So an amazing line-up of musicians, doing a great job and now I'm done with writing, 'cause while typing I had to re-plug my keyboard four times.

Buy

NOTE: since it turns out that this album is still available on CD for a reasonable price, I had to take the rip offline. The goal is to post out of print material only and I simply overlooked the fact that this gem is still out there!

JUNIOR MANCE - STRAIGHT AHEAD! (1964)

Back again, folks. Recently buddy Smooth posted two Junior Mance albums from the early seventies: That Lovin' Feelin' and The Junior Mance Touch and his shares made me think of a Junior Mance album out of my own collection, "Straight Ahead!"; a straight up Jazz album that features the Bob Bain Brass Ensemble. Problem was that I couldn't find it at first. It took me a full week to locate the album: I completely forgot that it was still sitting in one of my record bags and not in my cabinet... That's what happens when you DJ a lot, you take records from here to there and sometimes you simply forget to put them back. Anyway, with the two brilliant Junior Mance albums that Smooth posted in mind, I just thought it would be a nice thing to put this one up for y'all. It'll give some nice insight in how the sound of Mance changed from the mid sixties to the early seventies. On "Straight Ahead!" we find eleven enjoyable cuts, with two compositions of Junior Mance himself: "Happy Time", a very church choir kinda track and "Señor Mance", which he wrote together with Bob Bain. The other known cuts like "In A Mellow Tone", "Fine Brown Frame" or "The Late, Late Show" will give you an idea of what to expect, so get ready for some enjoyable big band material. Of course the emphasis is on Junior's piano work; the Bob Bain Brass Ensemble delivers the rest of the goods. We have Shelly Manne on drums, Monty Budwig on bass, Bob Bain himself on guitar (Li'l Darlin'), Don Fagerquist, John Audino, Pete Candoli, Ray Triscari and Al Porcino on trumpets; Lew McCreary, Milt Bernhart and Vern Friley on trombones; bass trombones by George Roberts and Kenny Shroyer. All in all a high energy Jazz LP with some superb and loud brass here and there, combined with more easy goin' tracks. My copy of this album is the mono pressing. I've so far not been able to lay hands on the stereo version. I personally think that the rip is just excellent. Mono, yes, but still the whole thing sounds tight, crisp and sparkling and I'm very pleased with the full mono end result. I truly hope you guys think the same. Time for us al to move straight ahead with this straight up Jazz gem, as always done at 320Kbps including hi res cover scans. Let's see those replies folks!!

LINDA CLIFFORD - LET ME BE YOUR WOMAN (1979)

And another week has passed, time for a new gem. The other day a friend of mine was looking for the sample/loop in a modern dance production called "Here Come One" by Restless Soul; a track that -as far as I know- is only available on a CD compilation from 2000 called Beats and Pieces. I was able to help him out: the sample/loop was taken from the track "Don't Give It Up" by Linda Clifford. The part we're talking about here is from the break which kicks in at 5'25" and house producers will love it. So that was it, but since I played other parts of the album for him, he immediately wanted a full rip of it. So I did just that and when I was done, I checked to see if the album is currently out of print, and it is. Even on Linda Clifford's homepage the CD is no longer available. So I had a good reason to post it! Linda Clifford has a fantastic voice and here and there on the net people even call her the queen of disco. Now I don't know if you can call her that, 'cause there are so many 'queens of disco' in my opinion, but one thing is true: this is a fabulous album. On the back cover of this RSO release you will find the bell-ringing names of Gil Askey, Jim Burgess, The Jones Girls, Keni Burke, The Curtom Horns and Strings and one track, "Hold Me Close" was written by Curtis Mayfield. The overall production of the album is tight, crisp and spacious and some tracks just swing like a train. The two lengthy 12" cuts "One Of Those Songs", mixed by Jim Burgess and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which was mixed by Jimmy Simpson offer disco as it's supposed to sound, while tracks like "Don't Give It Up", "Sweet Melodies" and "I Can't Let This Good Thing Get Away" are less busy and more funky. It's also nice to hear that "I Can't Let..." has a double drum track. You can even hear the bass drums 'galloping' a bit here and there. Of course Linda Clifford's towering voice is the dominant factor and what a joy it is to listen to her when she sings loudly, also in the two ballads that are present. Anyway, this fabulous Linda Clifford album shows us once again that disco will never be a four letter word. As always pristinely ripped at 320Kbps with hi-res cover scans including the sexy inside photo of Linda herself, so let her be your woman and let's see those replies folks!!

JOHNNY HAMMOND - HIGHER GROUND (1973)

And here we are folks, with my second Johnny Hammond post. Almost two years ago I posted Johnny Hammond with "Wild Horses Rock Steady" and now it's time for Higher Ground. This album was released on KUDU as KU-16, but the French copy that I have is a CTI pressing; CTI-9032. According to Doug Payne's outstanding website this used to be perfectly normal back in the days. Anyway, the artwork that I included in the file will show you what the French did: they poorly covered up the spot where the original KUDU logo used to be and pasted a CTI logo on top of it. "Higher Ground" was arranged and conducted by Bob James, and his sound is all over the place. A lot of the typical bits and pieces that some of us will recognize from Bob's early albums immediately reveal his influence. And of course we have our line-up of the 'regulars': Ron Carter on bass, Jack DeJohnette (on "Big Sur Suite") and Steve Gadd on drums, George Benson on guitar, Hank Crawford playing alto sax (on "Big Sur Suite") and Joe Henderson on tenor sax. I won't give away all of 'em, 'cause it's also fun to check out the back cover yourself and read all those other lovely names that play on this gem. The album features four lengthy tracks and especially the beat diggers will love "Higher Ground" and "Big Sur Suite", since parts of their intros and breaks have been sampled many times. "Catch My Soul" is what I'd call a typical Bob James track, with crisp, loud horn stabs and a very orchestral atmosphere and "Summertime/The Ghetto" offers an exciting rendition of two well known tracks combined into one. Of course Johnny's organ work is all over the place, but what I like even better are the sax solos and make sure to pay close attention to the drums in the right channel, 'cause both Gadd and DeJohnette, who 'does' Big Sure Suite, are fabulous here. So let's move ourselves to a higher ground and check this hot one out. As always ripped at 320Kbps and let's see those replies, folks!!

ESTHER PHILLIPS - PERFORMANCE (1974)

And we're back, folks. This time with Esther Phillips and "Performance". I have an 'on and off' relationship with Esther's output. Sometimes months pass by that I, for some reason, can't even think about playing her records and then, for weeks on end, I can't get enough of it. For me it basically has to do with her voice. I guess. I don't know what it exactly is. She reminds me of Marlena Shaw and with her I have the same thing going on. There doesn't seem to be a middle of the road kinda thing here. Anyway, the last couple of weeks I've been listening to a lot of the Esther Phillips albums I have and the last one I checked out the other day was the album featured here today. The weather here has been very nice these last couple of days, sunny and lazy, and "Performance" featured as my personal soundtrack this entire week. As with so many KUDU/CTI albums, we'll find a star studded line-up of the known session players: Gary King and Gordon Edwards on bass, Bernard Purdie and Steve Gadd on drums, Bob James, Richard Tee and Richard Wyands on keys, Charlie Brown, Richie Resnicoff, Jon Sholle and Eric Weissberg on guitar, Ralph McDonald on percussion, Hubert Laws on flute, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Mike Brecker on tenor sax and Jerry Dodgion on alto sax and Urbie Green on Trombone. Please make sure to check out the back cover here, 'cause there are way, way more top notch artists playing and singing on this Esther Phillips jewel. The album delivers plenty of slow, soulful rhythm and blues and many of the jazzdance DJs amongst us will absolutely dig the superfunky "Disposable Society"; here's where we find Steve Gadd on drums and Bob James on electric keys by the way. All in all a very laid back album that's excellent for chilling in the backyard on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Esther Phillips' heroine addiction and the years of heavy drinking finally took her life on August 7, 1984. She died of cirrhosis of the liver and a kidney infection at the age of 48. Some minor online research will give you plenty of good biographies, so read them, it'll make you appreciate her music even more. My copy of "Performance" has some surface noise, but as always I don't mind telling you that I put a lot of effort in the final audio quality of this rip. Artwork embedded in every track for the Pod users and high res cover scans in the file itself, now let's all enjoy Eshter's Peformance at 320Kbps! Let's see those replies folks!

JAMES BROWN - LIVE IN NEW YORK (1981)

And once again we have a guest post from Smooth @ MyJazzWorld. This time we have a not so easy to find live recording of good ol' James Brown, performing live in New York. The whole album, a double LP to be exact, was recorded live at the famous Studio 54. In the midst of the live tracks we will also find two instrumentals: studio tracks performed by the Bay Ridge Band. It made me wonder if the Bay Ridge Band also forms the band that backs up James during these live recordings. It's too bad that the Bay Ridge Band instrumentals have so clumsily been thrown in on this album, 'cause it breaks the continuity of the show and the first instrumental, "Brown's Inferno" doesn't even have a nice fade out. It's simply and brutally cut off after three minutes and "Bay Ridge Boogie" is misspelled as "Bay Ridge Boogy". There are more typos: "Get Up Offa That Thing" is actually spelled on the back cover as "Get Up Off That Thing", "Get On The Good Foot" is simply written down as "Good Foot", "I Got The Feelin'" has become "Got That Feeling". The other thing is that Get Up Offa That Thing, "Try Me" and "This Is A Man's World" all begin with the horn riff intro from "Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time".

So yes, the continuity of the album is a bit broken and yes, the cover information is on the shady side, but man, is this a superb live recording! Admitted, you have to be in the mood for James Brown's super fast renditions of classics such as "Get On The Good Foot", "Sex Machine", "The Payback, "Cold Sweat" or "Please, Please, Please", but on a lovely, sunny Saturday afternoon, when you're getting ready to go out with the boys for a beer with the ladies, this sparkling Studio 54 performance from the hardest working man in showbusiness will certainly live up the gathering and most definitely your mood. Especially the continuous cheering of the audience gives it that extra spark. Smooth delivered a pristine rip at 320Kbps, so enjoy folks and let's see those replies!

JACK DEJOHNETTE'S DIRECTIONS - UNTITLED (1976)

Yesterday one of my friends came over to borrow my copy of Jack DeJohnette's Directions. And as I have said before, I never hand out my records to others, not even to my best friends, 'cause experiences from the past have learnt that it's the best way to loose your precious vinyls. So, as before, I offered to rip the entire album for him in the WAV format. When he finally left the joint, I decided to share this gem with you in MP3 on my blog as well. A few years ago I bought the album in a second hand store. I was offered to listen to it before I made my decision and what finally made my buy it, was the freaky but at the same time dreamy atmosphere of the album. I can't properly describe it. Anyway, the compositions are at times simply stunning. "Morning Star" for instance. A beautiful, beautiful and oh so sweet track that indeed does remind you of early mornings and the last faint stars in the sky, right before the sun rises. Or the fantastic opening track, "Flying Spirits". Whenever I play this one, I can't help but think that everybody in the studio was under the influence of something mind expanding. There's just so much melody and variation everywhere. The seventh and last cut, "Malibu Reggae", delivers exactly what the title suggests: a very wobbly reggae song as if it was played by a band, completely drunk from drinking too much Malibu. Some beat diggers might even like the intro to "Fantastic" because of Jack's fabulous drums. All in all a wonderful album with some wild, loud and complex solos in the more uptempo tracks, that will definitely be of interest for the lovers of this kind of Jazz. In the line-up we find Jack DeJohnette on drums (and tenor sax on "The Vikings Are Coming"), John Abercrombie on electric and acoustic guitars, Alex Foster on tenor and soprano sax, Mike Richmond on acoustic and electric bass and Warren Bernhardt on keys. Listen to it from A to Z and take your time for it. The production is spacious, tight, crisp and with a great balance between bass, mid and treble. The vinyl has some audible surface noise (the previous owner must have played it a lot), but in all modesty I will say that the audio quality of my own rip is just very good. Artwork is embedded in every track for the Pod users; the usual high res cover scans are available in the file itself. Let's follow Jack DeJohnette's Directions, nicely ripped at 320Kbps. Enjoy and let's see those replies folks, 'cause not only do I love reading your comments, but since audio quality of all my rips is important to me, I'd like to know your opinions about that too!

HORACE SILVER - SILVER 'N BRASS (1975)

And we're back! My two week holiday is over folks! So back to the rat race again... Today's special is this lovely gem by Horace Silver. "Silver 'N Brass" was the first of a series that began with "Silver 'N". After this one, four more titles came out: "Silver 'N Woods" (1975), "Silver 'N Voices" (1976), "Silver 'N Percussion" (1977) and "Silver 'N Strings Play The Music Of Spheres" (1978). I have never been able to lay hands on these four, no: I only have the LP "Silver 'N Brass". I know that other blogs like Bacoso's Orgy In Rhythm and Smooth's MyJazzWorld have posted either the entire "Silver 'N" series or individual albums, so it should be possible to obtain all five online. And if there's anyone out there who'd like to leave links to the remaining four titles in the comment field, then please feel free to do so. Anyway, "Silver 'N Brass" is a marvellous Jazz album that contains two hot and super funky cuts: "Kissin' Cousins" and "The Sophisticated Hippie". Very danceable and 'must haves' for every Jazz and Funk DJ, if you ask me. Bernard Purdy plays drums on both cuts, so that must be the reason why those two stand out. We see some more known names: Ron Carter on acoustic bass, Bob Cranshaw on Fender Bass; as always I included the front and back cover in the file so that you can read more about the other personnel. According to Silver's own liner notes he had been playing with the idea of having his own music orchestrated and thanks to the arrangements of Wade Marcus, that whole plan came together. The other four tracks, "Barbara", "Dameron's Dance", "Adjustment" and "Mysticism" are straight up Jazz compositions with some wild soloing here and there; highly energetic and inspiring to say the least -the brass section is simply great. Last but not least I have a question for y'all: is it just me, or is Horace undeniably playing horrible false notes during his piano solo on "The Sophisticated Hippie"? I'm talking about the part between 2'55" and 3'28". I truly can't help it; those 33 seconds of Horace's solo just sound false. I'm curious what you guys think, so let me know. Enough talk, time for us all to enjoy this lovely piece of out of print yummieness, of course nicely ripped at 320Kbps with the artwork included in every track for the Pod users. Once again I did my utmost to make the rip sound as perfect and crisp as possible, so let's see those replies on these issues, folks!

THE TYMES - TYMES UP (1976)

And I'm back again, folks. Last week one of my fellow collectors wanted to borrow my copy of The Tymes with "Tymes Up", so that he could rip it for his sister. Now I never hand out my records to others, since it's the best way to lose your precious vinyls. So I promised to rip it for him, and during the process I decided to also share with y'all here on my blog. The Tymes have been in the music industry since 1959, and their history is pretty impressive, so I decided to not re-hash the extensive biographies that others have written. Read all about them here. On with the program. "Tymes Up" is * A Tom Moulton Mix *, as it says on the back cover, and although I always immediately connect Tom Moulton to Disco, I have to say that this gem by The Tymes is definitely a soul album with minor disco influences. The reason I bought it back in the days, was the impressive star studded list of session musicians. I read the back: the rhythm section, TSONY (The Sounds Of New York) was lead by Bernard Purdie, Ray Barreto played congas and timbales, Wilbur Bascombe did bass and the orchestra was TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia), no less! Read the back cover later on to discover even more big names. So without listening I forked out the 5 Euros for this mint copy and from that moment on I was the proud owner of this fabulous album. Now I do not necessarily care for the undeniable religious undertone of the LP; what matters to me is that all tracks breathe a joyful, extremely soulful atmosphere. I played the entire album in the car and the tracklist is perfect for driving. You should try it yourself. Anyway, the cuts I like best are: "Only Your Love", "It's Cool", "God's Gonna Punish You", "Hypnotized" and "To The Max(imum)", simply because they're either on the disco-tip or downright funky. As always I suggest you check out the entire record from start to finish to completely absorb the full soulfulness of it. I won't be surprised if beat diggers will sample some of the intros by the way. I worked hard to make the rip sound crisp and clear; the artwork is of course embedded in every track for the Pod-users here. Everything done at 320Kbps, so enjoy it and let's see those replies folks!

SMOOTH DELIVERY - CONTRIBUTIONS (2009)

This, my dear visitors, is POST NUMBER 100!! We have reached a milestone here!! A hundred posts with over a hundred out of print, forgotten, lost or simply unaffordable vinyl albums and, occasionally, CDs. A hundred posts that have harvested countless lovely replies and of course contributions that have all been ripped and posted with love by some of you. One of the major contributors to this blog, of course, is Smooth from My Jazz World.

Since his contributions to my blog are always outstanding, I decided to fill this post with his latest delivery of, in total, seven fabulously fantastic albums. By now the majority of the visitors here will know about our way of working together: I post out of print funk, soul, jazz, R&B and disco from my own collection and Smooth focuses on jazz, fusion and related styles. Since Smooth's goal is to digitize his entire vinyl collection, he of course encounters the funkier side of things too. And that's when he contacts me!

So no long article this time, no, let's immediately dive into these seven steaming hot diamonds, courtesy of Smooth. Everything of course pristinely ripped at 320Kbps! Let's see those replies, folks!! Here we go...!

GIL SCOTT HERON - 1980 (1980)

Gil Scott Heron

ARETHA FRANKLIN - SWEET PASSION (1977)

Aretha Franklin

MEMPHIS HORNS - GET UP & DANCE (1977)

Memphis Horns


SIDE EFFECT - PORTRAITS (1981)

Side Effect

SHOTGUN - SHOTGUN (1977)

Shotgun

SHOTGUN - IV (1980)

Shotgun

CHOCOLATE MILK - BLUE JEANS (1981)

Chocolate Milk

Yes folks: seven long lost but fantastic albums! Thanks again to Smooth for his wonderful contributions again. Enjoy and don't forget to reply!

QUAZAR - QUAZAR (1978)

Sometimes one post leads to the other in unexpected ways, as is the case with today's special. A visitor by the name of Tim enjoyed the Mutiny post from last week and, understandably, he immediately thought of this superb Quazar release, which has been out of print for a long, long time now. At almost the same time, another visitor of this blog was so kind to -anonymously- hook me up through email with a superb rip of the Quazar album, which was a relief, 'cause the cassette copy I have is too crappy to rip and post. So I announced this post right after Tim's initial comment in the Mutiny post. Anyway, back to the lecture at hand. Quazar by Quazar was released in 1978 on Arista and has only been re-released once in Japan on P-Vine in 1991. Considering the pristine quality of the rip, it must have been taken from the Japanese pressing. As we all know by now, Jerome Brailey formed Mutiny because of his disagreements with George Clinton, but Glen Goins formed Quazar for the exact same reason. And just as with Mutiny, the P-Funk is present all over this Quazar release. Glen Goins sadly died during the recording sessions of the Quazar album. He was only 24 years old. Eventually, Glen's brother Kevin Goins stepped in to finish this fabulous and fantastic album. Some minor online research will provide you with a crop load of interesting facts behind this release, so I suggest y'all do just that. In the meantime you want to play this superb P-Funkin' gem loud. Make sure to listen it through from A to Z and enjoy it to the max. Let's not forget the brilliant line-up of heavy weight musicians: Bass: Don Payne, Eugene "Moochie" Jackson, Glen Goins, congas: Darryl Deliberto, drums: Glen Goins, Jeff Adams, Jerome Brailey, guitar: Butch Watson, Glen Goins, Harry Watson, Harvey Banks, Kevin Goins, keyboards: "Deacon" Samuel Johnson, Greg Fitz, Richard "Shaidi" Banks, lead vocals: Eugene "Moochie" Jackson, Kevin Goins, Lady Peachena, saxophone, Clarinet and Flute: Darryl Dixon, trumpet: Monica Peters. Definitely a must for Funk DJs, and P-Funk aficionados. So even though the rip is not mine, I have to admit that the one who emailed it to me did a great job, of course at 320Kbps! Let's see those replies folks!

VARIOUS ARTISTS - SAVE THE CHILDREN (1973)

And after my own post of the Mutiny album it's time again for another soulful contribution from buddy Smooth. The "Save The Children" double live album contains great live recordings from fabulous names like Marvin Gaye, the Staple Singers, the Temptations, the Chi Lites, the Main Ingredient, the O'Jays, Isaac Hayes, Zulema, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Cannonball Adderly Quintet, the Push Mass Choir, Albertina Walker, Loretta Oliver, the Rev. James Cleveland, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Sammy Davis Jr., Roberta Flack, Quincy Jones, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jerry Butler, Brenda Lee Eager, the Ramsey Lewis Trio, Nancy Wilson, the Jackson Five, Jackie Verdell and Dick Gregory. Everything based of course on the documentary "Save The Children" which chronicles all the above artists that appeared during Jesse Jackon's Operation PUSH exposition held in 1972 in Chicago. Since I don't know too much about the "Save The Children" documentary, I can't give you any more information about it to be honest, but the most important thing of course, as always, is the music. The one thing I thought was interesting though, is that bits and pieces of Rev. Jesse Jackson's speeches on this gem are also to be found on the WattStax albums from the same period. Anyway, just play this one on a nice and lazy Sunday afternoon and enjoy those unique live performances by the absolute cream of the crop from the early seventies! Smooth delivered a pristine rip at 320Kbps, so let's see those replies, folks!

MUTINY - A NIGHT OUT WITH THE BOYS (1983)

Back again, folks! This time with another incredibly hard to find Mutiny album. I already posted Mutiny On The Mamaship on March 19th 2007 and since the rip featured here today is the only other Mutiny album I have, I decided to share it with y'all. I guess that the majority of the P-Funk aficionados here know of the fact that Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey is of course best known for being part of Parliament/Funkadelic in the seventies; the band he eventually left because of his disputes with George Clinton. "A Night Out With The Boys", I have to admit it, is not as strong as I thought it would be when I bought it from a Prince collector for cheap years ago. The whole album has a, let's say, cluttered sound and sometimes you get the impression that the record was not properly mastered before it was released. My copy is in excellent condition and still it sounds worn out. I don't know how to explain it. Still it's P-Funk all over the place, which once again proves that Jerome Brailey might have left the band, but never the Parliament/Funkadelic sound. The best track of the entire album, in my opinion, is "Peanut Butter & Jam (Funky Thang)". Other cuts to pay attention to are "In The Pocket" (with an obvious bassline quote to an older Parliament/Funkadelic track, so train spot that one), "A Night Out With The Boys" and "Raise". Bass: Jerome Brailey and Rodney Curtis, drums: Jerome Brailey, guitar: Dave Roeder, Lenny Holmes, Michael Hampton, Ricky Hitchcock, Skitch Lovett, keyboards: Kenni Hairston, Maceo Bond and vocals: Jerome Brailey, Kenni Hairston, Lenny Holmes and Skitch Lovett. Produced by Jerome Brailey himself. As far as I know this Mutiny release is very rare, or at least very hard to get by and I hope that it will lighten up the day of P-Funk fans. Done at 320Kbps and I worked my ass off to make it sound as good as possible, but remember: even though my vinyl is in excellent condition, the pressing in itself is just kind of 'muffled'. Still I think I made the rip sound better than the actual vinyl after I finally compared the two! So enjoy this night out! And let's see those replies, folks!

MIKE CLARK & PAUL JACKSON - THE FUNK STOPS HERE (1992)

And here it is: The Funk Stops Here by Mike Clark, Paul Jackson, Kenny Garrett and Jeff Pittson. Big thanks to one of my regular visitors, Funkish Bass, for this fantastic contribution!!

This magnificent bomb of an album has been out of print for many, many years and it's about time for all of us to listen to this steaming hot gem again.

I will most definitely write a more extensive article tomorrow, and if one of the visitors has the time to write a nice post in the comments, then I will copy and paste it directly into this article.

Funkish Bass made sure to hook us all up with a good ol' rip at 320Kbps and he even included all the artwork within the rip! So no more waiting folks, because the Funk stops here! Thanks again to Funkish Bass and let's see those replies, folks!

VAN MCCOY & THE SOUL CITY SYMPHONY - DISCO BABY (1975)

And after the previous post about all the link- and upload trouble I had with rips that were taken offline by a-holes that don't give a rat's ass that a LOT of music is currently unavailable in any format, I decided to delete that post and give the re-upping business one more try and finally all deleted rips are back up again; in this case the Ronnie Foster and American Gypsy.

And now it's time to enjoy a brand new rip from my buddy Smooth again. Now despite the fact that Van McCoy became world famous with the hit record "The Hustle", the whole album featured here today is currently unavailable. A weird thing to know, since "Disco Baby" is a great record. I once read that disco was officially declared dead on July 12th, 1979 and sometimes I get the feeling that from that moment on disco has become a curse. Well I don't agree with that and up to this day there's plenty of fabulous disco I still listen to. Funk, Soul, R&B, Jazz and Disco, I like 'em all. Anyway, the fans of disco will have a blast with this Van McCoy diamond. A lot of famous session players worked on the album as well. How about, amongst a lot of others, Richard Tee on keys, Eric Gale on guitar and Stephen Gadd on drums? We find covers of famous tracks like "Fire", "Pick Up The Pieces" (a lovely funkin' cover version with nice loud drums), the Eddie Hazel song "Shakey Ground" which was also recorded by The Temptations, and a Kenny Nolan/Bob Crewe cut called "Get Dancin'". Of course Nolan and Crewe are the ones behind the band "The Eleventh Hour". The final word on the Van McCoy rip is that you can't afford to miss it. A fabulous album that will always be remembered for "The Hustle" and still has so much more to offer. Smooth delivered a pristine rip at 320Kbps -the rule on both our blogs-, so let us all enjoy some disco, baby! And leave us a reply, folks!

Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year!

WALTER HEATH - YOU KNOW YOU'RE WRONG DON'T YA BROTHER (1974)

And I'm back again folks. I'm glad to see that the five rip Smooth special got so many positive reactions. I mean, it's always nice to see some appreciation for the hard work we do ripping vinyl to MP3. Anyway, today's special is Walter Heath. I have to be honest with y'all, 'cause I don't really know that much about Walter Heath. The reason I bought the album a few years ago was because it's a Buddah release; a label that of course is best known for Curtis Mayfield's output. Walter Heath brings us a lovely list of ten soulful tracks, with some great funky tunes here and there. Bass: Wilton Felder, drums: Ed Green, guitars: Louie Shelton, Ray Parker, Dan Ferguson and on keys: David Paich, Michael Omartian. Both beat diggers and funk DJs will find enough hot stuff on this album. Tracks to pay attention to are "Brother (Don't You Miss Your Mother)", "I Am Your Leader", "Africa", "Every Fool On Earth" and the super funky "Made To Love". Just listen this one through from start to finish, maybe with a nice cold beer and a good cigar in handy. The lyric sheet can be found in the file and for the Pod users I once again included the front cover in every track. I did my utmost to make the rip sound great; all tracks of course compressed from WAV to MP3 at 320Kbps. As far as I know this album never saw a re-release in any format, so it's a good thing that we can all check out Walter Heath again! Let's see those replies, folks!

SMOOTH DELIVERY - CONTRIBUTIONS (2008)

And as announced, this is the Smooth Special I told y'all about last week. As a lot of you already know, Smooth has his own specialized blog, where he focuses on Jazz, Fusion and related material. But since his and my collection have a lot in common when it comes to the funkier side of things, Smooth contributes those gems to my blog every now and then. And this time he has five hot rips for us, following the golden rule that we only post what is either out of print, impossible to find or simply too expensive for the average Joe.

Anyway, this post features something for everybody. Disco related material, Soul, R&B and of course Funk. Assuming that the majority of my visitors are well informed collectors of all these kinds of good music, I will not write an extensive article this time; it would make this post simply too long. The names speak for themselves in this case and for the younger cats and beat diggers this post will offer some hot stuff to check out.

These albums all deserve attention and various listening sessions, 'cause they are simply fabulous. Top notch producers, excellent session musicians; the whole nine. Of course all rips are delivered in pristine sound at 320Kbps. Thank Smooth for his lovely contributions. Enjoy, everybody!

(NOTE: for those that picked up the Roland Bautista album and noticed that track 8, "Night After Night" was missing, have a new chance to pick up the correct rip again. I contacted Smooth and he re-upped the proper version. Scroll down to Roland Bautista and go get it! Once again sorry for the inconvenience, folks.)

WILLY HUTCH - ODE TO MY LADY (1975)


Willy Hutch


PLEASURE - GET TO THE FEELING (1978)


Pleasure


MEMPHIS HORNS BAND - II (1978)


Memphis Horns Band


ROLAND BAUTISTA - THE HEAT OF THE WIND (1978)


Roland Bautista


SIDE EFFECT - ALL ABOARD (1982)


Side Effect

I am currently working on a few new rips myself as well again, so keep an eye on the blog people!