Sunday, September 03, 2006
A Soul Funk & Reggae Long Weekend Shakedown...
Just in time for Labor Day weekend on Eastern Parkway...
Know this: I was not kidding in a recent music post and comment when I said there wasn't really much new music getting me open. In fact, until I heard and starting playing the excellent Cali Iz Active album by Tha Dogg Pound last week, the only thing I was playing regularly at home and on recent road trips to the Hamptons and Vermont was a lot of old school reggae. Allow me to put you up on it (and a little bit of soul music too) 'cos can you really live on Port of Miami, Idlewild and those lackluster Roots and Method Man albums alone??
This Is Crucial Reggae: Soul Party - a very solid collection of 60's soul and R&B covered by mostly reggae unkowns (at least to me) except for the "Soul Shakedown Party" done by Bob Marley & the Wailers. Preview snippets of the album here.
DJ Spooky's In Fine Style: 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records - I told you about this excellent 2-disc compilation of dub, rockers and ska a while back on my other site. Let me recap: don't think, just go cop - this is ESSENTIAL. Preview it:
- An mp3 megamix by Spooky here.
- Disc 1: Lee Perry "Disco Devil" - best known as the track sampled to good effect by Kanye West for "Lucifer" from Jay-Z's The Black Album.
- Disc 2: Daddy Livingstone "Rudy a Message to You" - best known by 30-something plus Brit, anglophile, rudeboy and mod-orientated types as the track covered by The Specials under the title "Message to You Rudy" from their classic debut album Specials.
Jamaica to Toronto: Soul, Funk & Reggae 1967-1974 - I ain't check this out other than the mp3's on the page linked but it sounded pretty good and the concept is crazy. T.dot massive, stand up!
And here's some soul stuff to go with the yard sounds:
A while back I promised next day(-ish) coverage of some 30th Anniversary Reissue CD's from SOLAR records. Here it is now finally: best of collections by Shalamar, Midnight Star and Lakeside prove yet again that 80's soul and R&B music wasn't as dire as some people argue.
John Legend “Save Room” - the first single from the follow-up to his smash debut Get Lifted album? This is no "Ordinary People" but I'm not mad at the 60's-esque pop-soul sound on this track.
And not strictly soul music but very soulful (if somewhat generic) sounding: a look at the new Strange Fruit Project album, The Healing.
But to end: say it ain't so! Ron, why didn't you PAY YOUR TAXES! Now he's gonna be doing a 3 year bid and will become Mr. Biggs for real. Keep ya head up.
