Friday, December 30, 2005

Primitive Sound System Thursday December 29th at DC's

Hello Y'all,
Nothing could make my vacation more complete than a night of spinning records at DC's Tavern. The lingering gases of the Christmas spirit and the fumes from those diesel powered menorahs may have you still a bit dizzy, if not completely comatose, so I'll do my best to rejuvenate you all for New Years...or not. So get out, prime the pump, enjoy the music and as always; if you're drinking don't drive, if you're driving don't drink. Please always tip your bartenders. (Jersey still smokes.) See you there.

- pat.

Thursday, December 29th 10PM -2AM
DC's Tavern
BOOZE - POOL - JUKEBOX
SMOKE 'EM IF YOU GOT 'EM
505 8th Street
Hoboken, NJ
PH: 201-792-5550
eMail: dcs@dcstavern.com
http://www.myspace.com/dcstavern

Some ear-delicious tunes:
Johnnie Taylor (The Soul Philosopher) - "Doing My Own Thing" (Part II) (Stax Records cat. STA-0122)
OK, Stax Records is and always will be one of my favorite labels. Side one of this is a pretty standard Blusey, Soulful take with a Gospel style build-up but part two is just insane. Part two has a slamming drumming intro (most likely Al JAckson) that doesn't let up for a second. The drums aren't even noticeable in the mix on side one so it is like they felt like righting this injustice with this bare drums and guitar take. The background is filled with the angelic backups and horns from the first side but seem to be reverbed a bit more while the drums and guitar are as raw as clams on the half shell. Mmmmm.

Swamp Dogg - "Total Destruction To Your Mind" (Canyon cat. #53)
One of the craziest Soul songs ever. "Sittin' on a corn flake, Riding on a roller skate." This is some tripped out Dr. Seuss shit set to one of the grooviest backing tracks. Political between the lines and delivered with a smile. Swap Dogg's (a.k.a Jerry Williams) voice has an oily quality that is just as distinctive as it is slightly off making it one of my favorites. Writer, Producer, Arranger, Performer! Let's here for the Dogg!

Etta James - "Out On The Street, Again" (Chess cat. )
Replacing a very worn copy of this one with this nice new shiny one warms my soul. After Inbetween played this at 12" bar I realized that I just don't play this enough and now I have no reason not to. I have listened to it about 10 times tonight alone. Some performances just sound inspired and even though Ms. James rarely misses the mark or gives a mediocre performance something about this take just does it for me. Opening with an extended intro lead by drums the track builds to quite an epic. Back alleys, craps, shady characters and Black Magic. Hopefully some one has been smart enough to use this in a soundtrack. It's probably safe to assume that no one has so that is my tip of the day.

King Floyd - "Let Me See You Do THat Thing" (Chimneyville cat. CH NO. 442)
Why some people are relegated to the "One Hit Wonder" category is a real crime. King Floyd's first two records are great. His first LP is nothing short of perfect if you ask me even though "Groove Me" was originally rejected by Stax and Atlantic. This track is off his second effort. Driven by a slow bass line reminiscent of the sound from his first LP, with a heavy Muscle Shoals influence and of course that sweet raspy voice that entices the ears with every note.

I have a selection spanning 5 decades including some Blues, Country, Garage, Psych, Rock-N-Roll, Punk, New Wave, Hardcore, R&B, Soul, Funk, Gospel, Jazz and Latin.

Some Latin cover versions along for the ride:
El Chicano - "Brown Eyed Girl" (Kapp cat. K-2173)
Ricardo Ray - "Nitty Gritty" (Alegre cat. X-4024)
Cal Tjader - "Evil Ways" (Fantasy cat. FANT-659)
Willie Bobo - "Sunshine Superman" (Verve cat. VK-10448)
Orchestra Harlow - "Larry' Complaint" (Me & My Monkey) (Fania cat. 495)
Joe Bataan - "Es Tu Cosa" (It's Your Thing) (Fania cat. 535)
La Lupe - "Touch Me" (Roulette cat. R-7043) Dare me to play it, just dare me.