Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Primitive Sound System - Mixed Tape Sessions - Oct 17th

Hello Y'all,
Thanks to EVERYONE who came by the Record Swap at DC's Tavern. This one was the best yet with people buying, selling and trading records past 9PM. We had some great new sellers with some of the best records we have seen at the swaps and all for amazing prices. Coming up at DC's is the Halloween Party with a Cowboy and Indians theme on Monday October 31st. Not sure who is supposed to be the spookier of the two choices or is it just the fact that it's a theme party at a bar that is already filled with Freaks and Creeps (you no who you are). I'll be manning the deadly wheels of steal in the Fun House for the Halloween party and I'm bringing Tricks, Treats, Cow Pies, and the healthiest servings of 7" and 12" Punk Rock slabs of vinyl but they must marinate for a week. So in the meantime for your listening pleasure I bring you a list of things that I have come across in the past 3-4 months.

Monday October 31st - DC's Tavern Cowboy and Indian Halloween Theme Party Extravaganza hosted by Merilee and Carolynn
DC's Tavern
"Back In Back"
505 8th Street (Between Jefferson and Madison)
Hoboken NJ
For More Info:
phone: 201-792-5550
www.dcstavern.com
email: dcs@dcstavern.com

Some recent finds and swap acquisitions...

'Big' John Patton - "Fat Judy, Part 1 & 2" (Blue Note cat. 45-1920)
I have been trying to get ANY 45 by John Patton for years and I couldn't be happier with this one. Written by drummer Ben Dixon who has joined Patton on many sessions including the essential Grassella Oliphant "The Grass Is Greener" LP on Atlantic. Like the Oliphant LP "Fat Judy" is a great swinging groover that should get any dance floor bouncing.

Jimmy McGriff - "Stump Juice" b/w "The Worm Turns" (Groove Merchant cat. GM-1033)
I can't say enough about JImmy McGriff. McGriff is easily one of my favorites of the Jazz Organists and had one of his Funkiest runs on Groove Merchant. Ironically "Stump Juice" is the song that gets most of the press but I gotta say that "The Worm Turns" is by far the better track. This is one badass track with a smoking guitar line that rivals some of the best 60's Garage instrumentals.

Rufus Thomas - "The Breakdown (Part I & II)" (Stax cat. STA-0098)
I sold my copy of this at one of the past swaps by accident... what an idiot! Once again this very cheap copy in amazing shape has eased my head. A deep breath and a couple of spins at very loud volumes and all seems right in my very twisted world. Not all tracks with sought after break beats are worth playing all the way through but "... Part II" is nothing short of perfection. Thomas rarely misses regardless of time period or style.

Israel "Popper Stopper" Tolbert - "Shake Your Big Hips" b/w "Lost Love" (Warren Records cat. WAA-107)
I love the Warren LP that the "Popper Stopper" but out in the late 60's. The LP is one of those great mixed tapes running from Soul, Funk, Pop, Rock and Country but it is songs like "Shake Your Big Hips that are the stand outs. I hope I don't have to describe a song called "Shake Your Big Hips."

Booker T. & The MG's - "Boot-Leg" b/e "Outrage" (Stax cat. S-169)
I have played "Boot-Leg" off of the Booker T. Greatest Hits record forever but never even thought of looking for the 7" until now. I got this one very cheap. Heavy fuzzed guitar and pounding drums lead off this funky organ party. At times sounding a bit like AC Reed's "Boogaloo Tramp" this one is right up there with the best or their best like "Red Beans and Rice."

Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band - "Standing In The Grits Line" b/w "Sweet Thing" (Janus Records cat. J-164 "This Song Is Rated "F" (FUNKY)
"Standing..." could be one of my favorite Covay tracks ever and he has a lot of them to like. It's not even for the fact that it is Rated F... for FUNKY. The pace on this track is slow and keeps the tension up and the groove down. Covay's voice is so soulful right from his spoken introduction to his last "Uhh!" New Orleans sounding in the piano and pace with horn bursts and some very tasteful guitar lines push this from beginning to end and it is heavy as hell.

The Meters - "Ease Back" b/w "Ann" (Josie cat. 45-1008)
I used to have every Josie Meters 45 but a few have gone missing. This is one I missed the most so it was nice to get an unplayed store-stock copy for cheap. "Ease Back" has that slow Funk groove that made the The Meters master of their own sound and style and unmatched by any instrumental group. These guys had feel and chops to match. The drumming and guitar are what's most noticeable (like most Meter's tracks) but this time Bass and Organ act as the rhythm section in a more traditional manner allowing the drums to be even more expressive than usual. Zig can do no wrong from his throne and "Ease Back" displays his thinking process as he improvises his way around the beat adding subtle flourishes and pauses all the while .

Ike & Tina Turner - "Cussin' Cryan" & Carryin' On" (Pompeii cat. SD6004)
This has been a hard one to locate in playable shape. One of those great LPs that plays like a mixed tape. Recorded in 1969 the songs run from 50's style R&B to early 70's Funk instrumentals. Recently these Pompeii sessions have gotten reissued in several different configurations. This copy of the LP is a stereo one and unfortunately that means a few tracks were "electronically reprocessed for stereo" which might as well be nails on a chalk board to me but it is only 3 of the tracks so I will keep it.

Maxwell Davis - "Batman Theme! Composed By Neal Hefti and other Bat Songs" (Crown Records CST 509)
The Maxwell Davis here could be the same Maxwell Davis of the 50's LA R&B scene. This LPs sound would certainly hint at that. From start to finish this LP Soulful swings through one organ instrumental after the other. Regardless if this is that Mr. Davis with track titles like "Creepy Crawlers," "Super Chase," "Harry Danger," "Mean An Nasty" and my favorite title of all... "Lawyer Fraud" you'd be foolish to not at least give this a listen. Most of the tracks have a very dated 60's organ instrumental sound and others are almost funky at times but every track kicks ass.

I got the next 4 records at the Record Swap from Peter Gunn...

Timmy Shaw - "I'm A Lonely Guy" b/w "Gonna Send You Back To Georgia" (Scepter / Wand Forever cat. SWF 21,079)
I found a great entry on Wikipedia that included this song - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon's_jukebox Regardless of your opinion of John Lennon it is interesting to see what he had loaded into his jukebox. There are not many surprises but there are definitely some interesting entries. Timmy Shaw is apparently an alias and this song has been reissued more than once (here on Scepter / Wand). Shaw kicks the crap out of "I'm A Lonely Guy." This one starts with sweet backing vocals building with the intro and then Shaw jumps and things really get going. The drummer kicks and rolls as the guitar stabs and solos freely throughout the track accentuating Shaw's tortured yet Soulful vocal.

Irma Thomas - "I'd Do It All Over You" b/w "We Won't Be In Your Way Anymore" (Canyon cat. #31)
Recently I can't get enough of the female Soul 45's. Voices as raw as a sax solo and sometimes as sweet as a flute. Although I can listen to the sweet ones I can't get enough of the raw and Funky ones. I never even saw a copy of this and I'm happy as hell that Mr. Gunn had extras. Ms. Thomas follows the beat in a rapping style and practically shouts her lines with her voice on the verge of cracking. Written and arranged by Jerry Williams Jr. a.k.a. Swap Dogg the music is classic Muscles Shoals but with the drums a bit more out front.

Nina Simone - "Save Me" b/w "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" (RCA cat. 1903)
For the past year or so I became obsessed with versions of this song. Aretha Franklin of course made it famous but there are many interpretations. Wanda Davis weighs in with one of the heaviest on her exremely rare 45 but Nina Simone really makes the song here own. The song was recorded in 1969 for RCA and stands up to any of the soul hits of its day. Organ, bass and drums are most prevalent in the mix and help to make this one of the funkiest efforts by the Ms. Simone.

Ray Scott - "Lilly White Mama, Jet Black Dad" (Andre Williams) b/w "The Prayer" (Red Foxx) (Checker cat. 1234)
Mmmmm Here's a good one. I recently started to look for more Andre produced stuff and lo and behold this pops up. I can't find any quick info on who Ray Scott was but I did find this crazy ass Andre discography that is massive - http://koti.mbnet.fi/wdd/andrewilliams.htm. "Lilly White..." is pretty great with a soulful country bounce, spoken word vocals and Gospel backing vocals.

Re-issues and some new bands keeping the Funk alive...

1984 - "There's A Wrinkle In Our Time" b/w "Theme" (previously unreleased) (Tramp Records cat. TR-104)

Bo Baral "Funky Sex Machine" b/w Bo Baral and The Poets Of Rhythm - "Funky Sex Machine (live)" (Tramp Records cat. TR-1003)

The Poets Of Rhythm - "Ham GAllery" b/w Jaguar - "Battle Of Funk" (Freestyle Records cat. FSR7012)

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - "How Do I Let A Good Man Down" b/w "My Man Is A Mean Man" (Daptone Records cat. DAP-1024)

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - "If This Ain't Love (Don't Know What It Is)" b/w "instrumental" (Timmion Records & Studio cat. # 011)