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By Larry, March 14, 2010 2:26 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.83 – Really Together!
Recorded live at Master Groove @ Forbidden City 3/10/10

Playlist

Listen/Download 85MB/192KB Mixed MP3 (No Zip file for live mixes)

As promised I have returned to you with last Wednesday’s set from Master Groove @ Forbidden City. Things just keep getting better there, with the nicer weather bringing in bigger crowds, and the quality of the records played remaining consistently high.
I know I’ve said this before, but allow me to restate the obvious once again. Much like the Asbury Park 45 Sessions (from which many of the Master Groove DJs come), Master Groove is really the place to be if you want to hear all manner of fine, funky and soulful music selected and mixed by people who really know what they’re doing. The really groovy thing is, none of the DJs, either the ‘house’ selectors DJ Bluewater and M-Fasis, or the rotating cast of guest spinners, are working the exact same kind of sounds. The records themselves are different, and the sensibilities applied to their presentation are unique, and all worth hearing. Unlike a night dedicated purely to funk 45s, or Northern soul, or any other specific genre, each of the Master Groove DJs brings an interesting spin (pun intended) on the music.
I find the night especially rewarding because my host, DJ Bluewater, has been very cool about encouraging me to change things up, thus the diversity of the mixes/sets I’ve done there.
This time out I had my mind set on either downtempo or Mod soul, and went with the latter (which turned out to be cool since on the same day I drove up to Forbidden City I got an invite to work on a long-form set for a radio show, in which the planned downtempo mix will expand to twice its original size, details to follow).
Now, my definition of ‘Mod soul’ is loosely based in a formula mixing hard dancefloor soul, soul jazz (especially Hammond grooves) and a touch of proto-soul/R&B. The end result should be (and was) danceable, tuneful and above all groovy. While I’m sure there’s a Mod or two out there that might take issue with my selections, it is (as always) impossible to please everyone.
Things get off to a rousing start with one of my all-time favorite 45s, ‘Do the Monkey With James’ by Perry & the Harmonics. I remember the day I found this 45s. I had never heard of the band, but with a title like that, how could I pass it by? Good thing I let it play too, because on another day, when I was less patient, I may very well have put the 45 back in the box after hearing a slow intro like that. Just wait until that organ kicks in. KABLAMMM!!
Most soul collectors will point you in the direction of Don Gardner’s unfuckwithable OG version of ‘My Baby Likes to Boogaloo’, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the garagey edge to the Emperors cover version. They take some of the slam out of Gardner’s version and replace it with an echoey sort of menace. Very cool.
I’ve written about Scatman Crothers’ ‘Golly Zonk! (It’s Scat Man)’ before, but I must reiterate that this is becoming one of my favorite 45s.
Dave Davani’s ‘The Jupe’ is a stylish, swinging slice of UK Hammond. Nuff said.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Pacific Northwest sound. The R&B was always sharp and the rock always had a soulful edge. Jimmy Hannah and the Dynamics were an integrated combo who were one of the stars of the PNW scene. Give their version of Eddie Holland’s ‘Leaving Here’ a couple of listens. As it stands right now (and I can’t promise this won’t change), it’s my favorite version of that particular song.
Rodge Martin only recorded a few 45s in his lifetime, but ‘Lovin’ Machine’, which I first heard as an 80s cover (Secret Service) of a 60s cover (Easybeats) is one of the hottest soul 45s you’ll ever come across. Look for the film of him performing this tune live on a Nashville TV show in 1966. Powerful stuff.
Bobby Parker’s rave up ‘Watch Your Step’ is, in addition to being an ass kicker of a record, also provided the blueprint for a number of other records by lesser known artists like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
Tighten your belt, because once you hear Dave Baby Cortez’ heavy ‘Gettin’ To the Point’ your trousers may actually get blown off.
Speaking of powerful, influential records, Benny Spellman’s ‘Fortune Teller’ was covered many, many times, but I always find myself returning to the original for that Allen Toussaint piano and that rich, New Orleans feel.
The appeal of Derek Martin’s ‘Daddy Rollin’ Stone’ can be boiled down to two short words: bad ass.
You already know I’m a huge fan of Chuck Edwards, and his ‘Downtown Soulville’ is one of the truly great soul 45s. It should tell you something that no less a light than the mighty Mr. Finewine made it his signature record.
The Soul Clan – Don Covay, Solomon Burke, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex and Ben E King – fulfilled every ounce of their collective promise in the top side of their only 45, ‘Soul Meeting’. One can only imagine what might have been had they sustained that level for an entire album…
Freddy Scott – along with various and sundry combinations of musicians – waxed some of the heaviest soul and funk 45s to come out of Florida in the 60s. ‘Pow City’ lives up to its title in a big way.
Sugar Pie DeSanto’s ‘Go Go Power’ is a stone killer, and a 45 that eluded me for a long time. Imagine my delight when I found it a few years back. It ought to have been a big hit.
Though ‘Really Together’is credited to both Billy Vera and Judy Clay, as far as I can tell Clay does not appear on the song. Relegated to the b-side of one of their 45s, ‘Really Together’ -  barely two minutes long -  is a real eye opener. One of those ‘where has this record been all of my life’ records.
I’ve never been able to find out anything about Lewis Clark, but ‘Dog (Ain’t a Man’s Best Friend)’ is a real floor filler.
Oliver Morgan was one of the great New Orleans soul singers of the 60s. ‘La La Man’ written and arranged by the mighty Eddie Bo, was an answer record of sorts, to Morgan’s 1963 single ‘Who Shot the La La’ (also written by Bo), and features a killer vocal by Morgan, and some hot, HOT snare drum.
Atlanta’s own Roy Lee Johnson, previously of Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, recorded ‘Boogaloo #3’ in 1966. The record has an amazing swing to it, with the guitar line and the saxophone accents. I love it!
Rumor is that ‘Dottie Cambridge’, with her driving cover of the Sir Douglas Quintet’s ‘She’s (He’s) About a Mover’ was none other that Dorothy Moore who later hit the charts with ‘Misty Blue’.
Believe it or not, Gentleman June Gardner’s New Orleans classic ‘It’s Gonna Rain’ is a cover of a Sonny and Cher B-side. Believe it further or not, the Sonny and Cher original (with vocals) is a soul-garage killer. Check it out sometime.
We return to the sound of Mr Benny Spellman with yet another soul classic that I first heard second-hand (via the Artwoods cover), ‘I Feel Good’. If you can find yourself a copy of this 45, flip it over for ‘The Word Game’, which recycles the instrumental track from composer Allen Toussaint’s earlier band the Stokes’ ‘Young Man Old Man’.
Brother Jack McDuff’s cover of the Marvelettes ‘Too Many Fish In the Sea’ is a Hammond classic.
Though I’ve always been partial to Gladys Knight and the Pips’ funked up cover of the tune, there’s no denying the power of Shirley Ellis’ classic original version of ‘The Nitty Gritty’.
I’d like to say that the first time I heard Titus Turner’s ‘Sticks and Stones’ it was coming out of Ray Charles’ mouth, but it was another one of those cover-of-a-cover things (Secret Service covering the Zombies). Nobody did it better than Brother Ray.
This set closes out with an old favorite, co-written and produced by Sly Stone, that being Bobby Freeman’s ‘C’mon and Swim’, a heavy, serious soul party record that was actually a sizeable hit in 1964.
So, I hope you dig the set, and I’ll be back later in the week with something cool.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, March 11, 2010 4:53 pm

Junior Wells

Listen/Download -Junior Wells – You’re Tuff Enough

Greetings all.

Friday is here, and I’m happy to say that last night’s Master Groove @ Forbidden City was an unqualified gas.
There was a nice crowd and as is always the case, the hot sounds were flying fast and furious.
This time out I got my shit together and recorded my set, which I’ll be posting on Monday.
Since I am currently sleep deprived (and have a day’s worth of errands ahead of me) I’ll be uncharacteristically brief.
If you’re a fan of Chicago blues, the name Junior Wells should be a (very) familiar one. In a career that spanned more than four decades, Wells, as both a harp master and a vocalist laid down lots of very tasty music. His collaborations with the mighty Buddy Guy are legendary and have rightly secured him a place of honor in the blues pantheon.
However, like many of his contemporaries (Guy included) Junior Wells dabbled (with more success than many) on the soul and funk side of things. Today’s selection is one of his finest efforts from that side of the stylistic street.
Last year, on my Massachusetts digs, I happened upon a hippie-ish record store in a back alley of an ivy encrusted college town. To my delight, their bins were filled with all kinds of groovy 60s pop and rock LP, and in addition to some stuff I hadn’t heard of, I pulled a couple of longtime wants as well.
Toward the end of my time in the store I noticed a small bin of 45s on the side, and while it didn’t look all that promising, I’ve learned through experience that only a fool passes up a  stack of unexplored 45s. Good thing too, since the first handful of singles I picked up yielded the song your hearing today.
A subsidiary of Chicago-based Mercury Records, Blue Rock had a discography that stretched from 1964 to 1969 and was home to all kinds of groovy soul, funk and blues sides. Junior Wells recorded four singles for the label in 1968 and 1969, the first of which was the slamming ‘You’re Tuff Enough’.
While I wouldn’t say that ‘You’re Tuff Enough’ crosses the line into funk territory, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop it into a funky DJ set. It’s a searing bit of powerful sock soul, with a great vocal by Wells and a kick-ass arrangement (by none other than the mighty Charles Stepney!).
Certainly the best two dollars I’ve ever spent in Massachusetts.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back with that live set on Monday.
Have a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, March 9, 2010 5:03 pm

Mr. Willie Tee

Listen/Download – Willie Tee – Sweet Thing

Greetings all.
I hope that the middle of the week find you all well, especially those of you within driving distance of the Big Apple. I’ll be spinning tonight (Wednesday 3/10) at Master Groove @Forbidden City, and it’d be great to meet up with some more of you good people. I have a very special, downtempo Mod Soul set line up, which I think you’ll dig. The beer will be cold, the food is excellent, and of course the vinyl (spinning at 45RPM) will be worth the trip. I hope to see you there.

A few weeks back, when I dropped the Northern Soul mix, I made mention of the fact that one of the best records in that mix (the Four Larks ‘Groovin’ at the Go Go’), which was a long time white whale of mine eventually made it’s way into my crates via a very cool, and extremely generous reader who found a mint copy of the record and sent it to me. Today’s selection arrived at the Funky16Corners record vault in much the same way.
Late last year, my man Tarik (who’ll also be spinning tonight at Botanica alongside the mighty Mr. Finewine) connected with me via the interwebs to tell me about some digging he’d been doing down in New Orleans. Naturally I was jealous, but also glad to hear that someone was excavating vinyl in the Crescent City. Not long after we’d chatted, a package arrived in the mail, and in addition to some cool stuff for the little Corners, Tarik sent me some very cool 45s, my favorite of which is today’s selection.
If you’re a fan of New Orleans soul and funk, the name Willie Tee (nee Turbinton) ought to be a familiar one. In addition to mid-60s records under his own name for NOLA and Atlantic (1965s ‘Walking Up a One Way Street’ is a big fave with the soulies), Willie went on to form the Gaturs* with his brother Earl, and made some of the best instrumental funk 45s to come out of New Orleans in the early 70s. He was also an accomplished jazz musician.
In the years before and after the Gaturs, Tee made a number of excellent records for a variety of local (Hot Line, Bonatemp, Gatur) and national (Atco, UA, Capitol) labels, up until his untimely passing in 2007.
Today’s selection, ‘Sweet Thing’ was released on the Gatur label in 1973. It’s one of Willie Tee’s funkiest outings, with a real, slick uptown sound that sounds like it could have been pulled from a blaxploitation soundtrack. Not only do you get Willie’s fine vocals and funky electric piano, but there are layers of wah-wah guitar and classy strings. I also dig the mix of drum set and hand drums. The last time I dropped this at the Asbury Park 45 Sessions it had a couple of the other DJs running up to the turntables to see what it was.
Yet another great funk 45 from the Big Easy.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Friday

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, March 7, 2010 7:00 pm

The Eight Minutes

Listen/Download – The Eight Minutes – Here’s Some Dances

Greetings all.
I hope everyone enjoyed Hammond Week 2010, and you’re good and ready to slip inside a couple of nice funk 45s.
Before we get going I have a programming note, that being my return to Master Groove @ Forbidden City this Wednesday for some more of that good funk and soul spun at forty-five revolutions per minute. As always, I’ll be joining DJ Bluewater and M-Fasis, and if you’re going to be in the area (that being New York City, on Avenue A between 13th and 14th Streets) you should fall by, grab some cold beer and perhaps a steamed dumpling or two and soak up the sounds.

As I said, this week we’ll be getting down to a couple of excellent funk 45s, all recent acquisitions. Consider it a middle course of sorts, cleansing the palate from the Hammond grooves of the previous week and in preparation of what will hopefully be another live mix from the decks at Forbidden City.
The first of the weeks 45s is something I grabbed off of a set sale list last year after a short sample convinced me that to do otherwise would be foolish. Good thing to, since ‘Here’s Some Dances’ by the Eight Minutes is a groover.
The Eight Minutes were what collector types now refer to as a ‘kiddie band’, i.e. their ranks were composed entirely of children and adolescents. While it would be tempting to see these acts as a reaction to the success of the Jackson Five, keep in mind that a lot of this stuff predates the successes of the brothers from Gary, Indiana. The Five Stairsteps were charting with their Windy C sides as early as 1966 and the Eight Minutes (also from the Chicago area) released their first single in 1968.
The Eight Minutes, composed of children from the Goggins (Hank, Ricky and Ronald) and Sudduth (Hedda, David and Wendel) families originally came together in 1967 as the Soul Impacts. They changed their name and started recording as the Eight Minutes (after adding Juwanna Glover and Carl Monroe, i.e. Minutes seven and eight) and released their first 45 on the S.I.M. label in 1968 (which included ‘Here’s Some Dances’) , and then signed with the Jay Pee label. They recorded four singles for Jay Pee, the third of which includes a re-recording of ‘Here’s Some Dances’. They eventually went on to record an album and a couple of 45s for the Perception label before breaking up in the early 70s.
‘Here’s Some Dances’ is an especially groovy side, working the time tested dance craze angle (with shout outs to the Push and Pull among other steps). The vibe has a rocked up, somewhat psychedelic edge to it, with some tasty wah wah guitar and wailing organ (as well as a drum break) that sounds as if the kids had been listening to Sly and the Family Stone.
The Jay Pee version of ‘Here’s Some Dances’ was comped a few years back by the good people at the Numero Group on “Home Schooled: The ABC’s of Kid Soul”.
It’s a very cool side, and I hope you dig it.
I’ll be back on Wednesday with something from New Orleans.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, March 4, 2010 4:38 pm

Gene and his porkpie hat contemplating the Hammond

Listen/Download -Gene Ludwig – The Vamp

Listen/Download -Gene Ludwig – Well You Needn’t

Greetings all.

I hope the end of the week finds you well. I, on the other hand fell backwards through the front door of my house yesterday, landing flat on my back in a pile of toys. While my sons thought this was hilarious (I’m sure I would too if I’d observed it happening to someone else), I sit here feeling much like someone who fell backwards into a pile of toys, i.e. sore. I’m trying not to dwell on how much my own stupidity contributed to this accident. To do so would only make my back hurt more than it does.
I’ve decided to close out Hammond Week 2010 with an old favorite by one of the true masters of the instrument, Mr. Gene Ludwig.
I was lucky enough to interview Mr. Ludwig a few years back, and when you get a second you should pop on over to the old Funky16Corners web zine to read up on the read ups.
The tune I bring you today is the very first Gene Ludwig record I ever heard, courtesy of my man Haim. Back in the day, when he still lived on this side of the country, Haim – aware of my Hammond addiction -  had a record that he simply had to play for me, and that record was ‘The Vamp’.
You all know what a nut I am for organ records, and as soon as the needle hit the wax on the Travis 45 of ‘The Vamp’ my hair pretty much stood on end. A fantastic showcase for Ludwig’s keyboard skills, ‘The Vamp’ is also something much more.
There, in its two minutes and thirty six seconds resides a perfect encapsulation of the meaning of soul jazz. Featuring Ludwig on the organ, Jerry Byrd on guitar and Randy Gillespie leaving his drums for a turn on the tambourine, ‘The Vamp’ (so named since it was basically built on a riff in the studio) moves at a fairly brisk pace, yet, thanks to the absence of the full drum set, manages to generate an air of relaxed cool.
The tune opens with Ludwig’s fingers flying all over the keys, with short, rhythmic chops by Byrd as Gillespie pulls his tambourine out of the amen corner and goes to town. It’s at the minute mark that the organ and guitar switch places, with Gene comping on the organ as the guitarist solos at length until Ludwig comes back in to restate the main theme just before the fade out.
There, in well under three minutes resides pure, 1965, smokey night club, jukebox perfection. Back in 2007 I included ‘The Vamp’ (recorded from the 45, this somewhat cleaner version coming from the LP ‘The Educated Sound of Gene Ludwig’) in Funky16Corners Radio v.24.5 ‘Old School Hammond’, but since not everyone that follows the blog was around back then, and more importantly, it’s such an amazing record, I figured that I ought to bring it back for this year’s week long celebration of the instrument.
I’m also including – from the same album – Gene’s take on my idol Thelonious Monk’s (in his time, a survivor over the long haul, much like Mr. Ludwig) ‘Well You Needn’t’. It gives you a chance to hear the master’s jazz chops as he and the group dig in for six and a half minutes of pure, listening pleasure.
I’m happy to say that Gene Ludwig – 73 years young – is still working it out on the Hammond in 2010, with a full slate of dates. Make sure you check out his website for samples of his (excellent) recent recordings, as well as videos* some recent performances.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s selections, and I’ll be back next week with some funk.
Have a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

*There’s a great version of Gene and his group playing one of my favorite soul jazz standards, Percy Mayfield’s ‘River’s Invitation’

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By Larry, March 2, 2010 5:01 pm

Lonnie Smith makes with the smokestack lightning…

Listen/Download -Lonnie Smith – Stand

Listen/Download -Lonnie Smith – Mama Wailer

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week finds you better than me, at least in regard to your general health and well being. I am currently afflicted with some kind of upper respiratory infection that has rendered my throat sore, my body weak and slightly feverish and my general outlook on life at least temporarily grim. I know that this too shall pass, but it’s interfering with my ability to pack in a good night’s sleep, which is something I live for. If I don’t get my six hours in, I am a seriously crabby bastard, unfit to walk among the general population. I guess it’s fair to say that in the grand scheme of things I’m doing well. At least I don’t have the flu, and the wife and kids are healthy, so the Funky16Corners compound hasn’t gone into epidemic lockdown (yet) so I shall cease my grousing and do what I have been told I do best, which is lay some groovy sounds at your doorstep, stand back and feel the love.

But, before I do that, I should mention that I will be returning to Master Groove @ Forbidden City, Wednesday the next, that being March the 10th for another evening of funk and soul spun at 45 revolutions per minute, along with DJ Bluewater and M-Fasis. I haven’t decided what kind of set I’ll be dropping this time, but I assure you that no matter what, it’ll be worth hearing.
It is in that spirit that I bring you something extra nice this fine day. If you thought that Monday’s nine-minute burner from Rhoda Scott was long-form, wait until you stuff your ears full of seventeen minutes worth of the mighty Lonnie Smith.
The good Doctor (as he has been known for many a year), be-turbaned and masterful upon the Hammond, has laid down a mountain of grooves since he made his first album in 1967. Combining serious jazz chops with an ability to work soul and funk grooves, Smith is one of my favorites.
The track I bring you today is from his 1971 Kudu set ‘Mama Wailer’. I heard this record for the first time last year and when I did I set out to secure myself a copy post haste. While the whole album is worth hearing, the tracks I bring you today stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Sly and the Family Stone hit the charts with the original version of ‘Stand’ in 1969. One of their finest records, it was a perfect blend of funky soul and an era-specific, uplifting message. When Dr. Smith got his hands on the cut, he and his band (Ron Carter, Billy Cobham and Grover Washington Jr. among others) took the feeling of the original for the basic framework and then stepped off the edge of the world into a whole new, extremely far out place, located somewhere on the corner of Out and Psychedelic. The really interesting thing about Smith’s version of ‘Stand’ is that he steps outside of a standard presentation, flies off into the ether and never really comes back to earth. Things just get freakier and freakier, and the theme is never actually restated. By the time you get to the run of groove (the track occupies and entire LP side) it’s possible that you’ve forgotten what song you were listening to in the first place.
Though I often sing the praises of the power of a three-minute 45, there’s something to be said for musicians taking the time to stretch. Years back I was having a discussion with someone that should have known better, who was expressing his befuddlement about a jazz record (something fairly conventional, if memory serves) wherein most of the tracks sailed well past the eight-to-ten minute mark. He didn’t get how, or why someone would play for that long, i.e. what could they say in ten minutes that couldn’t be said just as well in three. At the time, I whipped out the eye-roll to beat all eye-rolls and tried to explain, but words failed me, and in the spirit of comity I decided to back off and fight again another day.
That day is here.
When you settle in and warm your ears up for a track as long as Lonnie Smith’s reading of ‘Stand’, it’s a whole different thing from getting the short, sharp blast of a 45. Though the form had been abused many a time by pretentious rockers (and jazzers of the same ilk), the longer track, when done well is a thing of beauty. Sometimes you get the standard modern jazz reading, with statement/restatement of the theme followed by each member of the band (piano, horns, bass, drums etc.) soloing in turn. Other times, like in today’s selection, you get a little of that, mixed in with a little of a freer feel. Smith’s cover of ‘Stand’ manages to do this, and – in the spirit of the original – edging over into a rockish vibe as well. No matter how jazzy, there’s no denying that things get a little psychedelic in the second half of the record.
If that’s too far out for even you adventurous types, I’m also including – as a bonus track of sorts – the title track of the LP. ‘Mama Wailer’ has a nice Latin groove, moving along at a very groovy pace. The Hammond takes a back seat, with Smith working mostly on clavinet and at just over six minutes, it’s a much easier to digest portion.
I hope you dig both tracks, and I’ll be back on Friday with some more of the good stuff.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, February 28, 2010 6:39 pm

Miss Rhoda Scott

Listen/Download -Rhoda Scott Trio – Sha Bazz

Greetings all.

As I sit here, just having come in from dragging an overloaded garbage can through the slush to its appointed spot (in another pile of slush), in the hopes that the garbage man will grace us with his presence so we don’t have to resort to an unfortunate system of indoor composting and burning garbage in the fireplace, I am temporarily chilled to the bone. Though we were spared the threatened snow disaster, it’s cold like the devil’s underpants out there. This winter has gone from bad to worse, and we now have several strata of dirty snow covering another layer of frozen mud in our front yard. The winter wonderland has morphed into a post-apocalyptic wasteland in a few short months, and we, the helpless observers are reduced to huddling by the fire, praying for spring.
It is in that spirit, and the knowledge that many of you are so afflicted, that I attempt to warm the surrounding environment with an entire week of Hammond organ burners.
Before I get started, I’d like to send out good wishes and congratulations to DJ Birdman and his lovely wife, who are the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy! If I know one thing for sure, in addition to parents that love him, that kid will grow up in a house full of good music (much like my own children).
The last time I did this, a little over a year ago, I figured it would become an ongoing series. I didn’t know it’d take me an entire year to get back to it.
The good thing it, that in the ensuing time I have amassed quite a stack of heaters to choose from, so much so that picking only three of them proved to be a daunting task.
The tune I bring you today is a fairly recent acquisition, the result of a chance sighting on a set sale list.
One of my favorite Hammond 45s is ‘Hey Hey Hey’ by the Rhoda Scott Trio. Picked up years ago while digging, its deep in the club, party time spirit never fails to give me a lift. In the years since I found that 45, I’ve always kept my eyes peeled for other stuff by Miss Scott, and was thwarted until I found the album featuring today’s selection.
Rhoda Scott, a native of my home state of New Jersey is one of the leading lights of that very exclusive sorority of female Hammond organists, along with Shirley Scott (no relation) and Bu Pleasant. She got her start playing in and around New York and New Jersey, before relocating to France in the mid-1960s (where she continues to play today).
The tune I bring you today ‘Sha Bazz’ is from her 1963 LP ‘The Rhoda Scott Trio Live!!! at the Key Club’. I bought this album pretty much blind, mainly on the strength of the fact that it was on the same label as ‘Hey Hey Hey’. I had no idea – until I started to do some research – that Tru-Sound was in fact a subsidiary of the Prestige label.
When the record fell through the mail slot, and I had the opportunity to drop the needle on the wax, I was in a word (or two), blown away.
Scott’s trio at the time consisted of multi-instrumentalist Joe Thomas (who has appeared in the space before on his main axe, the flute) and drummer Bill Elliot. ‘Live at the Key Club’ is evidence that they were wholly capable of kicking ass.
‘Sha Bazz’, which starts out with a mix of drums and chanting quickly evolves into a showcase for Scott’s mastery of the Hammond, building into a nine-minute plus crash course on the power of the instrument. ‘Sha Bazz’ is pure heat, with Scott’s organ in overdrive and extended solos by Thomas and Elliot.
I know I’ve made this allusion before (and I probably will again) but it sounds like Scott is straining the ability of the board (or the tape) to contain the sound coming out of the Hammond. You listen to this record and imagine some unsuspecting person strolling into the club, seeing the petite woman at the organ, ordering some old school cocktail (Rusty Nail anyone?) and then, before you know what happened it’s all KA-BLAMMM! And your hair is all mussed, and your glasses are on crooked and your drink is all over your pants and you look like one of those astronauts in a rocket sled with your face all peeled back and your eyes all bugged out.

Know what I’m saying???
It’s records like this that make me wish I could step into the Wa-Bac machine (props to Mr Peabody and Sherman) and go back to any number of inner city bars in the 60s where players like Rhoda Scott were burning the joint up with small groups like this, perfectly bridging the gap between jazz, rhythm and blues and the oncoming freight train known as soul. The really groovy thing – especially for organ nuts like myself – is that Shirley Scott was (and is) adept at running bass lines on the Hammond’s foot pedals, making the trio sound like a much larger group.
I remember reading an interview with Jimmy Smith more than 20 years ago (maybe in Musician?) where he basically said, if you weren’t able to work those bass pedals, you weren’t really playing the Hammond. If you want to hear a great example of this – albeit in a much rawer context – check out Toussaint McCall’s ‘Shimmy’. There, in a 45 that is all but exploding with sound, you have only an organist and a drummer, where once again the organist is doing the work of two, operating the top and bottom ends of the Hammond. That’s musicianship.
Heavy stuff indeed, baby.
Dig it and I’ll be back on Wednesday with more of the same.

Peace

Larry

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Comments (3)

By Larry, February 25, 2010 6:54 pm

The Killer, in a quiet moment…

Listen/Download -Jerry Lee Lewis – Shotgun Man

Greetings all.

I hope every has spent the week ingesting Funky16Corners Radio v.82, on account of it’s packed from end to end with positively stellar soul 45s, each and every one deserving of close, individual scrutiny, but also groovy in a bunch (like bananas).
I’m already ruminating on the composition of my next Master Groove set, and a couple of recent acquisitions seem to be pointing me in a specific direction (yet to be revealed). Since it appears we’re going to spend the weekend buried in snow (again) I’ll have plenty of time to mull the subject over.
Also, a special word of thanks to Gregorious over at Ourstage for a very nice write-up on Funky16Corners!
Today’s selection is yet another in an ever growing string of tasty records, knowledge of which was imparted to me by the mighty Tony C over in the UK. Every once in a while Tony will drop me a line singing the praises of a record, and I know by now, if I’m not already familiar with it, I’d better find myself one because I’m going to dig it. That’s what they refer to as brand loyalty. Over the decades of my digging career (aren’t careers supposed to make you money??) I’ve been very fortunate in that any generosity I’ve given has come back to me tenfold.
This has a lot to do with hanging with other vinyl heads who know their stuff. If you head out on an expedition, and you have the benefit of another person’s digging skill set, shared information will always result in more cool records. My man Haim has been namechecked in this space countless times, because he has turned me on to an equal number of amazing records.
I’ve never had the opportunity to dig with Tony, but it is clear, via our correspondence that we dig the same kinds of music. Thanks to the fact that nobody knows all the great soul and funk records, and most people don’t know the same records, we are informed by one another when something cool comes along.
I’ve always thought that those in the collector/dj community who thrive on exclusivity – i.e. crate digger ‘secret squirrel’-isms* – were doing themselves, and the rest of us a huge disservice. There’s something unbelievably childish/selfish about things like that. Congratulations! You’ve found a wonderful piece of music and you’re going to keep it to yourself, so you, and only you can listen to it while locked in your mother’s basement, covered in potato chip crumbs and your own, special stink.
Kinda sad, n’est ce pas?
The record I bring you today is one of those 45s that I’d never come across until Tony brought it to my attention. I grabbed myself a copy, dug it a lot, and as a result I’m able to pass it along to you fine people this very day.
I have always been a fan of Jerry Lee Lewis. Of the giants that are blasted into rock’n’roll’s Mt Rushmore – Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley – it has always been a close race between Mr Penniman and Mr Lewis (with Mr Diddley coming in a very close third) as to who should be placed at the top of the pantheon.
Despite a very uneven career, it has always been clear to me that the Killer is one of the realest of the real, and this is in spite of the fact that he is a world class reckless badass. Head over to YouTube and take a gander at the man in performance, wrestling with his piano (and his unraveling pompadour), shooting sparks out of every part of his being and generally rolling like a juggernaut through the teenagers of the late 1950s. Only Little Richard – like Jerry Lee with a caboose full of dynamite – rocked harder, crazier and badder, specially since he was doing it in a segregated society.
As I said before, for one of the true giants of his era Jerry Lee didn’t have a tremendous amount of success. He only had about a half dozen significant hits (mostly in 1957/58) and by the early 60s most of his chart appearance consisted of covers of other people’s material. By the mid-60s he had switched labels, leaving Sun for Smash, and was weaving in and out of his stylistic lane.
It’s important to note at this point that while Lewis spent much of the 60s jumping back and forth between rock, country and soul (yes, soul) this wasn’t really much of a change. All of those elements were present to varying extents from the very beginning of his career, and it’s likely that any point where one of those influences became more pronounced than the others, someone else (like his record company) were attempting to push him where they thought he’d sell some records.
Today’s selection, ‘Shotgun Man’, which appeared on Lewis’s 1967 LP ‘Soul My Way’ – while unmistakably Jerry Lee Lewis – veers off into unusual directions. Those in the know might slap a ‘Mod soul’ label on this one, partly because of who the artist is, but also because it combines aspects of mainstream soul music (as it was in 1966/67) with older R&B roots and just a touch of propulsive rock’n’roll. I’d even go as far as to say that a little more emphasis on ‘the one’ would have nudged this into proto-funk territory (or at least hard edged sock soul). Penned by Jerry Lee’s road manager/brother-in-law Cecil Harrelson, ‘Shotgun Man’ makes references to a number of songs (‘Seventh Son’ ‘Agent 00 Soul’) and people (Howling Wolf, disc jockey John R) and at times sounds like James Brown pushed through a hillbilly strainer. There are points where it reminds me of some of his old labelmate Charlie Rich’s more soulful material.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday

Peace

Larry

*In saying this, I don’t include the Northern Soul practice of ‘cover-ups’, or exclusive dubs in the world of reggae soundclash, which are more a part of the theatricality of the experience. There’s an element of competition, but it’s less about keeping it to yourself than it is about bringing something special to the night.

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Comments (18)

By Larry, February 21, 2010 5:12 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.82 – Groovin’ at the Go Go

Playlist

Comments (3)

By Larry, February 18, 2010 6:04 pm

The Average White Band

Listen/Download -Average White Band – Person to Person

Greetings all.

I come to you at the end of the week on the brink of exhaustion.
In addition to my regular fatherly, husbandly and bloggerish duties, I spent last night in New York City, meeting some groovy people, and most importantly, spinning some soul 45s.
It was another excellent evening at Master Groove @ Forbidden City with my cohorts DJ Bluewater and M-Fasis, both of whom laid down very tasty sets of funk and soul.
I put together an all Northern Soul set, and was planning on recording it live, but as luck would have it, I left the house without the proper cable to attach the recorder to the board, so the live recording was not to be.
However, as we speak, despite the fact that any sane person would be in bed, catching up on lost sleep, I’m sitting here recording that set at home, so that I can bring it to you on Monday.
As a result, I’m going to make this entry short, sweet and Master Groove-related.
The last time I did a set at Forbidden City, my man M-Fasis, who always drops something that blows my mind, whipped a familiar disc on the turntable that made my head turn. Way back in the day, when I had my first copy of the Average White Band’s ‘AWB’ album, the song that really blew my mind (aside from ‘Pick Up the Pieces’) was a a little number called ‘Person to Person’. Back in January, when M-Fasis played this very record, two things occurred to me.
First, why was I sleeping on this most excellent 45?
Second, why hadn’t someone sampled that very tasty guitar lick?
The answer to the first question is one of those basic ‘forest for the trees’ conundrums, in which your’s truly is surrounded by mountains of vinyl, and sometimes I get preoccupied and forget stuff.
The answer to the second question is, but of course the song has been sampled, at least twenty times by folks like Big Daddy Kane and Public Enemy.
So, there you go.
So how about some of that tasty Scottish funk to get your weekend started?
I’ll get back to work on that mix, and I’ll see you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

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