CHALICE: STANDARD PROCEDURE- ROOTS REGGAE MODERN SOUL

CHALICE- STANDARD PROCEDURE- LP-PIPE MUSIC- 1983

It's been a while since my last entry, I know, but I promise I'm back and I'll be posting again on the regular. Anyways, I copped this nice roots reggae LP recently and was instantly captured by the joint featured below, "Funny Kinda Reggae". The track has a modern soul/boogie type of feel, namely due to the more standard soul/funk rhythm as well as some dope synth playing throughout as well. The rest of the album is mostly standard roots reggae material (nothing wrong with that at all) but features a similarly large helping of synthesizer work as well. Worth checking out.

FUNNY KINDA REGGAE


Get It Here

LEROY HUTSON-HUTSON-LP- 1975

LEROY HUTSON- SELF TITLED- LP- CURTOM RECORDS- 1975
Pretty much all of Leroy Hutson's work is worth tracking down, if you can these days, so I was ecstatic to pull this record from the store a week or so ago for a very cheap price. Put out by Curtom Records, Curtis Mayfield's Warner Brothers subsidiary label, this is exactly the type of record that reminded me why I got into the soul-funk-jazz record/beat digging world as it has quality sampling material, open drum break included, and just good, soulful music throughout. My personal favorite cut is "Lucky Fellow" sampled most famously for the Erykah Badu song "No Love" on her album Baduizm.

"Lucky Fellow"


Get it Here

UNIVERSAL JONES- VOL. 1- LP- EUGENE MCDANIELS

UNIVERSAL JONES- VOL. 1- LP- MGM Records- 1972
When I found this record in the store and saw that Eugene McDaniels was part of the group and producer of the album I was sure that this would be a quality LP. Anyone familiar with Eugene McDaniels' hard-to-find solo work (Headless Heroes of The Apocalypse, Outlaw) knows the unique, eclectic, soul-funk-jazz-rock sound that has been tapped into by many hip-hop producers over the years. I certainly was not disappointed with the purchase. The song that really caught me first was the 10 minute long funky spiritual jazz workout "Hello To The Wind".

Hello To The Wind


Get It Here

DON JULIAN-SHORTY THE PIMP-7"-BLAXPLOITATION FUNK

DON JULIAN and the LARKS- SHORTY THE PIMP Pt. 1 & 2- MONEY RECORDS- 1973
Not a super rare 45 at all, this is just quality blaxploitation era funk/soul music. The copy I recorded here is pretty crackly, but still well worth a listen.

SHORTY THE PIMP- PART 1


SHORTY THE PIMP- PART 2

GEORGE DUKE- A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR- LP: SUMMER MUSIC

GEORGE DUKE- A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR- LP- EPIC RECORDS- 1979
For the second straight day it's been 50 degrees plus in the Twin Cities, which for mid-March is a miracle, or a sure sign of global warming, depending on how you look at it. Anyways, the weather's got me thinking 'bout spring and summer and few tunes say "warm weather" like George Duke's brilliant "Brazilian Love Affair" off of this LP. George Duke's use of Brazilian percussion, (maned by the legendary percussionist Airto) guitars, and vocal harmonies, as well as his standard synth experimentation, give this joint a unique sound that makes you feel like you're at the beach in Rio, or at least somewhere warm. The LP features a great cast of Brazilian musicians who help create great jazz/funk/soul/Brazilian fusion, including Flora Purim, Raul De Souza, Milton Nascimento and the aforementioned Airto. Enjoy the song and the warm weather, those of you in MN.

A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR

DAN BOADI-MONEY IS THE ROOT OF EVIL-LP- Ghanaian Afro Beat HEAT

DAN BOADI & THE AFRICAN INTERNATIONALS- MONEY IS THE ROOT OF EVIL- LP- NAAP PRODUCTIONS
One of the many benefits of kicking it with an international group of friends is getting access to music you otherwise wouldn't get the chance to hear or sometimes even hear about. When my guy M.anifest made a trip back to his native Ghana a few years ago, I made sure to let him know to grab any Ghanaian music he could come across, especially any Afro-beat/highlife, and especially on vinyl. He brought back a good number of LPs and singles, but this was hands down the find of the bunch. I had actually encountered Dan Boadi's music briefly through a re-issue 12" single of "Money Is the Root of Evil" on Turntable Lab's website back in the day, and the tune hit me so much that when I threw this LP on the turntable and heard the exact same bassline drop I almost lost bowel control in excitement. I never thought that I would be able to get my hands on an OG copy of such a dope, obscure Afro-beat LP. Turns out this record was recorded by Boadi and the African Internationals in Chicago, which makes me hopeful I might be able to find another copy at some point in time in my digging life, but in the mean time I'll enjoy what I got. Check out the title track and "Play That Funky Music" (not the Wild Cherry version) below.

MONEY IS THE ROOT OF EVIL


PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC

BLUE EYED SOUL: ANDREW LEWIS BAND-THE BLUE ALBUM

ANDREW LEWIS BAND-THE BLUE ALBUM- LP- RICHMOND RECORDS- 1977
I found this record in the jazz section in a local record spot and threw it on the turntable expecting late-70's fusiony jazz/funk/rock. But I was surprised to hear more straight up soul/funk type tunes, certainly with a jazz/rock influence (hey it's an all white band with one brother on vocals) but definitely not the crazy fusion sound I was expecting. I wanted to post the whole LP up here, but upon further listening there were a couple of skips on my copy, so I picked my two favorite joints on here to share instead. "Midnite Man" is a very dope horn-heavy with some potential sample moments, while "A New Day" is a slice of some real nice mellow soul. And if anybody has a cleaner copy they'd like to share with me, please let me know (oduckworth@gmail.com).

"MIDNITE MAN"

"A NEW DAY"