You tube Channel

Not really you don't get this

You can’t miss with Philly Sophistisoul right !! And yet another obscurity that is hard to accept as such - surfacing for your seasoned palate, demanding only the best. True Reflection are a high calibre quartet that recorded just the one LP, but truly seize their moment to leave a mark reeking of quality. Boasting both incredible tenor and falsetto leads, and exceptional harmonies, you really cannot fail to be impressed when the songs are as good as this. Review by Trakbuv

Another volatile star that blazed for one album and then imploded, scattering its components to the far reaches of the soul galaxy. And in “Where I’m Coming From”, paraphrasing from the movie Bladerunner, True Reflection ’shone so very brightly’. With roots in Washington DC, the quartet came together at the mighty Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, PA. And under the august auspices of arrangers Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, and Vince Montana, an assured seam of quality was ingrained into the vinyl. And to add to the mix, True Reflection were no strangers to the recording studio themselves. Glenn Leonard had been a member of The Chancellors (recall ‘All the way from Heaven’), The Instant Groove, and The Unifics. Joe Blunt had also been with The Chancellors. The remaining two members, Joe Coleman and Bobby Cox do not seem to have any obvious musical connections prior to True Reflection.

However, True Reflection did provide a springboard for their musical careers. Glenn Leonard went on to replace Damon Harris as first tenor and lead singer of The Temptations (1975-83), with possibly his most notable lead on the single ‘Power’. Jo Blunt joined The Drifters in 1975 just as their popularity soared in the UK with popcorn numbers like ‘You’re more than a number’ and ‘Hello happiness’. He featured as lead on several tracks including ‘Like a movie’ and ‘When you coming home’. Joe Coleman went on to form part of The Persuaders line up (1974-75) and later teamed up with his brother William, and Richard Gant (another ex-Persuaders who had been replaced by one Howard Kenney), to form Mirage. In 1978, they released an excellent LP in their own right entitled ‘Princes of Love’.

Back to 1972, True Reflection release their debut single “Beer Cans and Empty Hands” b/w “Silent Treatment” (Atco 45-6905) to a thunderous silence. The following year they follow it up with a long player utilising the same writing/production team responsible for their 7″, namely Bob Currington, T. Lester, W. Lester, R. Brown and Joe Blunt. Some may recognise these as the same dudes that kicked up a storm for The Modulations on their ‘It’s Rough Out Here’ LP. And for me, a comparison in formula of funky burners and sweet ballads can be readily drawn between the two high calibre sets.

“Whispers” is a wonderful introduction to the band, a gritty blend of Norman Whitfield and the Sigma Sound, with fabulous lead vocals and harmonies all neatly tied up with a message to the music - probably my favourite track. “That was yesterday” drops the pace to deathly slow with a sombre falsetto, all recalling The Chi-Lites in structure - very impressive. “Society” packs another political punch with a growling lead brooding over a smart synclavier groove. “What you don’t know” is a delightful urgent falsetto-led dancer, and the falsetto is maintained for the tuneful ballad “It really hurts”. This really carries a potfull of stardust in its exquisite tenderness - unbelievably good. The tempo drops a touch for the lovely “Helpless man” boasting terms of endearment like ‘I need you baby like a clock needs his hands’. The skipping “That’s where I’m coming from” provides a slightly more commercial edge to the proceedings, but still wonderful in its own brief way - and a real throwback to the essence of popular soul music of the time. The dramatic “Look at all the lonely people” is another very pretty ballad, if slightly saccharined by its sentiment.

For me, there really are no weakness in the whirl on either side of the platter. Fabulous vocals, exceptional harmonies and great, if not entirely memorable, tunes conveying some thoughtful lyrical content. Another startling reminder of how high the bar stood in the early part of the seventies. But also a very lamentable stinging pinch of the number of high quality bands that came and went with little or no public regard. ‘And then they disappeared like tears in rain.’

————————————

Buy the CD from Amazon and the vinyl from Groove Collect


Tracks
A1 Whisper 5:00
A2 That Was Yesterday 3:25
A3 Society 4:20
A4 What You Don’t Know 2:30
B1 It Really Hurts 4:00
B2 Helpless Man 5:00
B3 That’s Where I’m Coming From 2:40
B4 Look At All The Lonely People 4:40

And God you never get this..

http://rapidshare.com/files/407418526/the_true_reflection_-_1973_-_where_im_coming_from.rar.html

But he would of course post up an embed like this



Someone will end up featuring this on a media show soon...it's that simple

In the spirit of Parkers-Brutha Nature

One of the best tracks Richard Searling featured on his Soul show back in the day...a whole Year too late for Parkers....

Bipolar Friendship (Mar Variation)

The Dorian Concept track revised and added to by Mar (my fave vocalist of the year)...

It's a signature thing for me....my sort of Modern Soul...

Jean Grae - My Story

Another all time fave Gospel track...even if it's not Gospel in the accepted sense. The themes though of sinning -and guilt are writ large here-so it is deeply moving.

The Church does not accept abortion -no Church does-it's the law isn't it ?

As a Man I simply think "it's down to the Woman-it's personal choice". I certainly don't think it's murder and within a reasonable framework it is the sign of a civilised society. Then again I've never had one... Here though a dark and sobering story is told... and well realised in this video

The Twin Towers of Gospel

Here are two tracks about Gospel Music that contrast each other. They are both wonderful and exceptional and sincere. Both are songs written from a personal view point and have multi layers of ideas and thoughts behind them.Both are about Worship in an organised sense and deal with greater issues.

First from 2009 Brian Courtney Wilson and ""Just Love". It's almost perfect a fantastic voice tells a story of one Church and Congregation and how they make him feel special.
It's full of beautiful lyrics which speak of forgiveness and redemption. It gives the listener a sense that there is understanding...

"Touch somebody find that they understand when you tell them what you've been through, who you are...what you had to do..believe it when you hear them say -that the God we serve has made a way..."





The next track is by Tonex. He attended a lot of Churches as a boy-indeed he credits himself with being one of the first to introduce a full drum kit into the Church. His early recording career took off very well-on account of his excellent vocal and musicianship. He won Grammy's and played the game but always courted controversy. He took his chances and recorded a great deal of material that wasn't released much of it rather challenging. He has fought long and hard for musical independence. Back in the early part of the 2000's he walked away from Gospel-and several years later released several mix tapes made up of material recorded at the time.

The track featured below "The Love"-could not be a greater contrast to Brian Courtney Wilson's track. Here the Church is full of people not willing to forgive-people who "Stick up there nose at me" who judge on the superficial- who are money grabbers... Tonex spills it..... "I believe in God but I hate Religion- I believe in God but I'm a Sinner"... He means it as well....

One of my fave Gospel tracks

Melonie Daniels - He Lives

one of my fave you tube tracks. Amazing live performance and a solid groove along with a mad conductor and a cast of what seems like hundreds of backing Singers-give this a special sense. Worship really does depend on how much you buy into it. For agnostics there is much here to associate with, when our Melonie sings "Raise your hands up...come on! "-it's close to many Soul Act audience participation sections-only a whole lot better.

My personal take on why I think this is better is due to the fact it's a lot easier for me to accept that Melonie is being sincere. She believes in something and it shows-this entertainment with purpose. This is Worship. It's not Modern Soul (though it ticks all the right boxes)-in the sense that it's some track on a radio show to sit next to say Incognito. It's not a Love Song (in the boy meets girl way)-it's a clarion call for people who believe in something (live by rules)-too feel good about believing in something.

Many years ago I wrote to Richard Searling who was a DJ on Jazz FM and said "in the future your shows will consist of 50 percent gospel". I wrote this because all the best tracks he played were Gospel. Looking back now it's clear I was lead by the sincerity I perceived when I heard these tracks. I'm hardly special in this regard the secularisation of Gospel has always been about drawing on this force.

It seems to me that today Modern Soul has embraced Gospel like never before but failed to explain why or acknowledge what these songs are about. I recall reading in the early days of EMS a well known DJ writing "I love these tunes but get a bit put off when they start going on about Jesus too much". This is like saying "I like riding on a train but I don't accept it's ran on rails". It's the worse form of cop out or it's simply saying "my ears think it's good but my brain doesn't". Music does not need to be understood to enjoy it-however when dealing with Religion -one of the great topics of the age to bring it down to this level seems wrong to me.....

Rapping Reverential...

Sometimes you have to laugh

Chat roulette superstar and deeply funny member of of the cast of "the League" Jon Lajoie casts his eye over rap and.....well he's kinda like Alan Sherman...

(his take on autotune is definitive -see shared items)

SOUL UNDERGROUND ..SATURDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER 2010

oh yeah.....It's got that something extra alrighty

HUNKS HUNKS HUNKS! from Everything Is Terrible! on Vimeo.

FREESTYLIN' TAKE FIVE BANK HOLIDAY SUNDAY AUGUST 29TH 2010

Zo ! and another one

Rather good......

Bandcamp of the day

http://gloof.bandcamp.com/

At $10.00 seems a bit dear to me but I do admire this sort of turntable-ism. Frankly it always seems piss easy. I've always been a fan of tape manipulation. I've got six LP's from the BBC Radio-phonic Workshop-I admire early Zappa-I think the notion of Loopzilla with Clinton ten feet away from the tape recorder with the tape wrapped round a cotton thread wheel is awesome. As a teenager I searched Exchange and Mark for a Revox A 77 and never bought one. Since using wave editors though (since 1998) and especially Wavelab-I can now loop almost any track-copy and paste several examples of the loop onto a new file and so on. It's a time eater though and having sat through listening to the same loop for 10 minutes you do doubt your sanity.

I can't think of an example to post up here though right now. I'll dig one out or make a new one for you....

Say I'll open London Town in a wave editor (or LA Nights) and do something like this



But I don't and you know-even if I could I admire the references here to Little Brother with regard to the chat (this could be from The Listening). It's clever....I like this one as well from here sort of today's Smooth Jazz track

Diary of a DJ (as told to me)

Roger Williams.
Tuesday
I have a reputation -"yes indeed" as Teena Marie once sang. Of course I've been in this Soul Game a long time-I've seen upstarts come and upstarts go and guess what? - I'm still here. Yeah... "I'm still here 'n breathin" as Rapper Big Pooh once spoke (across a funky back beat).Is my life complicated? Of course it is- and not many people realise just how much I have to do.
For example I've listened to 47 CD's choosing just 9 tracks, completed a CD Cover -recorded my Soul Sorts Borneo show, as well as cooking a meal (my Soul Soufflé as it known)-all in around 20 minutes this Tuesday Evening....Phew ! When it comes too relaxing, well I enjoy DJing in many half empty (or half full as I always remind promoters) Events up and down the country. I'm also a keen squash player having recently given up basketball.

Wednesday
One thing -it helps in this Game if you keep your feet on the ground. Thankfully I mix with a lot of people who know nothing about Soul-people such as Ralph Teee and everybody on the EMS Forum (except those who post about my show). A bit of humility also helps. I listen a lot to other DJ's and I must admit to admiring a few who no longer DJ (my inspiration) and a couple who still DJ. The secret of being a good DJ? Listen to me and rip off the tracks I play. The secret of being a GREAT DJ? Go up to a mirror and say "Hi! I'm Roger Williams". You need confidence in this game if you aren't about to be eaten alive and spat out again.

Thursday
I'm often asked by those visiting my Blog or Podomatic page "How would you describe your style in selecting music?” Well (smiles) it's not that complicated -I search endlessly then I give everything a listen and somehow-the playlist chooses itself. One tip is to listen and think "do I like that?" or "Would Steve Jackson play it?" or even "has Goldsmith already played that?” A bit of common sense also helps. If it's a choice between a track called "Suck my Dick N*gger bitch ho" and "Forthcoming on Expansions Charissa sings Soppy Love Songs"...well you know the way I'm going to go..... You must know your listener in this dog eat dog scene. Not that it's easy for me because I get thousands of downloads a week- but those losers on Starpoint frankly they could invite their audience to a meeting in a telephone box and still have room for a piss.

....................................................

Gary Lee
Summertime and I'm feeling mellow
Got up this morning and shaved the old Barnet. Regardless of all those rather unfunny Uncle Fester Jokes I think it looks good on me. I've been shaving my head a very long time now-certainly for as long as anyone up North. I'm not talking skin heads either -they just used a number 1 clip guard and hated people. Nope, rubbing on the old shaving cream and getting out the Bic-was the preserve of the uber trendy Soul Boy back in the day. Probably a Southern thing..we had clubs like "baldy's" and "slapheads" playing stuff that would take months to reach somewhere like Blackpool Mecca (which is over rated)...course that's forgotten about today. Will go on line later and find some great new tracks nobody knows about.

Next Day.
Just got back from a chinwag with Carl. I floated my idea of a head shavers chart for Starpoint. I could include artists like Joe; celebrities like TV's Kojack (who loves you baby) and top rated old soul boys such as myself. Carl seemed interested enough but I took too long about it and ended up letting down my Girlfriend. Now where did I put that foot pump?

The day after...erm no hang on is it....?
I'm looking forward to my show on Monday having got some great new tracks lined up from last year. I can't help but know that as a DJ -it's very difficult to remain consistent over time. It's not like I can ignore everybody walk down to the record Bar in Brixton and buy what that Black Bloke tells me too and just play that. If only it were so simple. I love Brixton-it's so London. They do things there years before they do in say Moss Side (which is over rated). Was thinking about Duncan Goodhew on the Underground-I mean... was he a shaver or had he once had leukaemia? Also I wonder if Gail Porter is on face book?.................................................

For Joanna and Selena

Blogs are web logs and they are about personal things...I joke with Selena (who I work with) that I have a Blog called Bobby's Blog. Bobby is Selena's Man and ( a lucky Man indeed)..However She is prone to mention his defects in the conversation that sometimes occurs to negate the endless boredom. On Aug 04th I celebrate 12 months in my current job at the CITY OF HUB.... We listen to the radio and over recent weeks I have asked "who is this track by....?" Joanna has always told me but by the next week I couldn't recall it and it's become an in joke..... Coz it's a bit rubbish really... But the fact I constantly ask says something....

Thanks to the two of them (plus Rob, Manni, Jacko, Dave and John White)....they are mighty fine people and a pleasure to know....

7 Days is too .....

Note the irony....of the You Tube embed...PHEW... horrific Northern Soul....from erm long long ago-Let me tell you now the standard way of introducing this Disco Demand 45 RPM single by Chuck Wood back then (Wood being the porn term for Penile Erection)....was to say -

"and now here is Chuck Wood and Seven Inches is too long"-

I couldn't make this up.....
**************************************************
So there you go- my first week of posting on this blog....I got myself 4 followers and thanks to Steve a tiny bit of feedback.If anyone else has been on here I can imagine a slight musical overload.. Indeed I have been excessive.....Course and thankfully 60 posts in a week is a pretty hard average to maintain..and I will slow down to a walking pace soon enough.

Of all the stuff I have posted the only one that I've heard elsewhere is

http://altmodsoul.blogspot.com/2010/07/leak-of-day.html

I heard it on Tuesday on Peace FM..... Yet to feature in the other world of Modern Soul but it's early days -well seven days : ).

Tanya Morgan and another one

Featured all over the net...latest share from Meezy Listening vol 11....Having heard this a lot of times recently it has become a firm fave ....

Soul Cycle.....

Nice stuff....








Go here and spend some money you tight wad

http://soulcycle.bandcamp.com/track/prototype

Featured by Paul on his SCR show...

http://salfordsoulfunkjazz.podomatic.com/entry/2010-06-06T14_00_41-07_00

From Moovmnt

Meet Oriol: real name Oriol Singhji, born in Barcelona. He lives between London and Cambridge now and possesses some serious musical skills. “Night and Day” connects the dots between Oriol’s musical tastes, from the 70’s fusion and experimentation of Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder to the lush house of Theo Parrish, Larry Heard and Recloose. He rewires these influences into something totally exuberant and soulfully fresh. His debut album “Night And Day” has the depth of musicality and subtlety of an artist who knows exactly what he wants, and it’s also the perfect summer album. Pre-order this double album (Planet Mu) HERE via Rush Hour if you know what’s good for you.

Shareiff Robinson 2010

My fave Gospel Artist (as a solo singer) is Ton3x. He has many imitators and just because it's Gospel doesn't mean they can all sing as well as him. As a fan of Gospel and Soul music I look towards the lyrics for sincerity. This fairly new CD lacks a great deal in terms of polish and good singing. But I like the message in this track. Santa can make a change in your life....

John Blackwell Project

Another quite nice modern soul tune-not very alt though....The CD has picked up a few plays on streaming media which you'd sort of expect. Do quite like this track though. An April release I seem to think?

Dorian Wright

Fair to good CD-by which I mean the influences are all laid out to hear. Already featured on Select Soul...

Zo! and the better one Video

I'm like the bloke janitorial

Best of 2010- Promise Much More

From the unofficial series 3 of the Boondocks mix tape-Released several months before series three started comes this slice of complete perfection. The Boondocks are great, DB is great, Don Pea is great... I can tell you right now this has to be in my top ten tracks this year. AMAZING...

"I here from the start, there's no more greater love here in my heart.... more than you know...."

Norman Thomas from 2006

TBH I'm really not posting up enough Gospel/Santa style music- So lets remedy that with Norman from 2006

Reactivation of the day

The world of downloading be it free or paid for is at the best of times obscure. Places such as E Music for example often tag releases as current even if they are years old. For free downloads (illegal ones)-tags on single tracks are pretty important. A good tag reader will tell you the source of the file-leading you to other websites full of tracks. In recent years though Rar file taggers have become more like E music-telling porkie pies. A recent tagged 2010 Rar is by French artist QUINZE. The CD though is is from 2008. I was reminded of it and the lead track earlier tonight. I always liked this track- and here it is on You Tube...

Spirit of 95' Part 1

Back in the days when I was loosely involved with the SCR show see http://rapidshare.com/users/TMBM99 one of my main supporters and track selection inspirations was Greg Clifford. We exchanged a lot of PM's on http://back2basics.biz/index.php and shared a common interest in music. Greg is a few years younger than me and spent his formative years in the 90t's. The lad is into his facts and has a pretty sound knowledge. He also had a show on Starpoint back in 2008/9 but his busy schedule meant he had to drop out. He still posts up the odd mix or two but recently he created a homage to 1995 http://thesonofsoul.podomatic.com/. It's an amazing mix-put together with love for his musical past. A lot of my knowledge of 90t's music comes from Radio tapes-and it's hardly exhaustive. These days I'm probably more interested in Rap from the 90t's than "opera swing". However
ever since hearing his podcast I've been going back over 1995 CD's trying to find out what he missed. Of course all I've found is other tracks off the same CD's... Like this stormer from Michael Speaks....

Bonobo - The Keeper featuring Andreya Triana

From 2009 and featured on the Blind I compilation Meezy listenin vol 10 a rather sombre song which lacks polish but makes up for it in simplicity...

Smooth Jazz track of the day-Keith Williams 2010

From the rather tired Keith Williams CD this is a pretty nifty if not exactly sensational cover version....

Carmichael and a fast plodder

From a CD released back in March this year- a quick search of my reader shows it's been featured on Soul Sorts (in April) and on the Soul Sermon-but not this track though...

I'm at a loss why as it's very dance floor friendly-mind it did have a boring rock solo...(easily taken care of though not in this rather clumsy edit-but you know how it goes so many posts so little time)

Weird Cover Version of the day

This blokes a fucking nut job... Very French- very strange and oddly enough sounding like John Legend....

Sometimes I really fret for my sanity....




You won't get this on the Gary Lee show and rumour has it he's got a full size blow up Barbie....

The Golden Age of Hip Hope part 1

One of my favourite tracks from the 2000's....

The Urban Hangout: Speaking of the 90's

The Urban Hangout: Speaking of the 90's: "26/07/2010

Speaking of the 90's
Here's a few from Hip Hop's 'Golden Era' . . . ."

Cheers to Steve B....some more for ya....

Shawn Lee went to Wigan Casino

Gotta love Shaun Lee- eclectic and ever changing his new CD builds nicely on his last.
It's a strange mix but on it are some uncanny representations of 1960t's Soul.
This isn't simply revivalist- it's a study...

Sounds like Northern...



You know I'd be worshipped for this if I was on Soul Source

Ah the same old same old....

Select Soul Show Playlist July 22nd

Hour One

Incognito (Ft. Christian Urich)- Let's Fall In Love Again [Transatlantic RPM]
Brian Culbertson (Ft. Kenny Lattimore) - Another Love [XII]
Zo! Ft. Sy Smith - Greatest Weapon Of All Time [SunStorm]

Oh yeah...keeping it unreal

Lets end on a good note....

more from New Zealand boys.........

Diary...........

In an occasional series we take a look at the personal musings of someone on the Modern Soul Scene (as told to me). Lets begin with Morag....

25 th May 7.30 am "Had a rough nights sleep- because of that bloody kettle I bought yesterday at Asda. I mean WTF !!!- no instructions or anything? I got the bloody thing home and I can't work out where you put the water in. The Spout on the thing simply doesn't let me fill it quick enough. Worse yet there is black cable coming off the back with a white plastic thing at one end-WTF is that for? I asked H and the ungrateful little swine simply said "Oh Mother get real" (Whatever that means?). That's Kids sacrifice your life for them and get jack shit in retutn. I'm tempted to take the Kettle back after all I have to go to Asda as I'm down to my last five boxes of wine-which probably won't see me out the week.

25th May 13.20..."H came to the rescue regarding the Kettle- The white thing and the end of the black cable you plug into the wall into something called a socket- and you fill it by opening something called a lid. H is amazing really and proof that having kids is the best thing that can happen to you"

25th May 17.30 "It's been a quiet day on EMS-so far nobody has had much interesting to say. My post about how to use the Kettle led to only one reply by Steve Shaw. He posted a link to a bit of software that turns your iphone into a cappicino machine... But what is an iphone?

25th may 22.30 Rounded the day off playing the sweet soul sounds of Marvin Gaye-he's good isn't he- I don't know what I'd do if he ever died?

The Rezillos Top of the Pops

Does anyone recall this tune ? A cash in record of the punk era, which lyrics describe cashing in. The catch line was Everybody's on Top of the Pops (Top of the Pops being a TV chart show).

These days you could sing Everybody's on Star Point Radio

I mention it so as to begin my ramble about Starpoint Radio an internet streaming station which features several good shows. Well really it features two very good shows "Urban Essentials" and "Select Soul" plus a lot of shows that are quite worthy, I suppose.

What I don't like about Starpoint is it's reliance on people who frequent one particular Soul Forum which is EMS. Over the last 18 months it has recruited many DJ's from this forum and frankly changed the whole nature of this once good interchange of info and tracks. I know that doing a Radio Show isn't easy I was involved in one myself a few years ago. Of course I got little support from EMS back then, seeing as people didn't need me to big up their show (as most didn't have one back then)-there was no need to say hello or add words of encouragement. Not that I mind this of course-it's par for the....

Of course my involvement with a Radio was at best peripheral-its not like I DJed or anything, so when sitting in judgement I can be honest. There are two big problems with Starpoint presenters-the first is the presentation. The only decent voices on Starpoint I've heard (and I've certainly not heard them all) are Teee and Ockers. Bigger well he's Bigger and Paul Goldsmith is OK-the rest though are flat and rather uninteresting. Now I've nothing against a variety of voices-we all can't be Alistair Cooke but really...put some bloody effort in the rest of you.

The next problem certainly with the EMS presenters is the music- now of course they all play some good music but it's the sad lack of variety that brings me down. Mark Randle is a real music lover but listening to his show this evening was so very predictable. I thought before the show "I bet he plays Zo but not" :
http://altmodsoul.blogspot.com/2010/07/zo-and-better-one.html

And of course he played Zo! feat. Sy Smith – Greatest Weapon Of All Time.

NB last Friday Bigger did play the good one by Zo-mostly because somebody I know sent it to him

Now of course you shouldn't judge a show by a track or by a playlist-you need to listen to it in total. Mark Randle has been doing streaming radio for many years so his experience at putting tracks together is good and it shows. While he has a voice which frankly isn't exactly sexy he does manage to come across as quite bright-which is kinda rare across the Starpoint Schedule. I long for an alternate voice on there choosing different and underplayed new music. I feel I'll be waiting a long time....

(sigh)

Carlos Cannon

Smooth Jazz is the least trendy branch of Modern Soul- it takes a brave person to admit to liking it. Every now and again though there are some nice vocal tracks on smooth CD's. Take this one- ripe for a media show-if not already featured....



2010 as well!

Blue Cab and that 2000 sound

Nice oldie which is of it's time- a bit Portrait like- puts me in mind of Mike Stephens Solar Radio show....

Ben Jackson Trying

One of my fave tracks of the year-featured on a Soul Sermon mix and far as I can tell only available via Amiestreet... understated and sincere

Revivalist you tube embed of the day

From the TROY blogs and forums.... 1993 style.....

Cover song of the Day

From Blind I

On September 21st, John Legend and The Roots shake up the game a little bit with their new collaborative project, “Wake Up!“. You know it’s bound to be a stellar project just off the names alone, and here we are with the only track from the project that has features on it, a cover of Teddy Pendergrass‘ “Wake Up Everybody” featuring Melanie Fiona & Common. Indulge!

Cheesy stuff but Common makes it REAL..........

Leak of the Day

From the DAILY WHAT:

Hot Joint of the Day: Lauryn Hill - “Repercussions”
Suddenly, the first new sounds from Ms. Hill in nearly a decade. Is this a cut from the indefinitely delayed follow-up to Miseducation or a throwaway track from her “library of unreleased material”? Who cares? It’s Lauryn Hill.

Korean Pop...it ain't so bad....really

Sublime Korean Pop Music with more soul than your Average Starpoint show...

Bandcamp part 1

Back in the olden days Music was free. The mp3 was a format designed to exchanged between friends on shared networks with front ends called File Manager or Napster or Limewire. Then along came the ipod and with it those arguments that said music should never be free. Record shops began to close-people lost jobs and the world slowly changed. People blamed file share or the next best thing Blogs- it was always the fault of someone else.

Now you've got Bandcamp who give away free legal music and good free legal music as well. Take the compilation below-it's got this track on it one of the best from last year




This bellowing mad jazz that sounds like Go Go meets Keith Le Blanc



along with a 1975 proper latin re release....

and its free....

http://labelloveworldwide.bandcamp.com/

Kero One

I've always liked this talented bay area Korean American hip hop artist. Always good humoured and telling -his backing tracks have that bit of Jazzy. His third CD has recently been released called Kinetic World. It lacks a bit of the innocence of his earlier work in my humble....

Still a nice review of the Cd is reproduced here

“Calling Bay Area rapper Kero One the Asian Eminem might at first seem like an exercise in stereotyping until you tune into the messages he’s delivering on his third album, Kinetic World. Centerpiece track “Asian Kids” pulls no punches in its penetrating analysis of the cultural conflicts and contradictions that come into play when it comes to assimilating Asians into hip-hop culture. Of course, a “conscious” underground rapper like Kero One doesn’t limit his cultural critiques simply to his own ethnicity — Kinetic World finds him taking on society at large with a nuanced, sophisticated lyrical approach that goes hand in hand with his turbo-tongued flow. But even before you start to dig into the impressive lyrical content of Kinetic World, there’s a whole other level to be appreciated; Kero One makes the most of juicy, jazz-soaked production throughout the album, sometimes harking back to the glory days of jazz-sampling pioneers like A Tribe Called Quest. Whichever way you enter this record, there’s a lot to think about and a lot to absorb, from the rhymes to the concept to the arrangements, and the beats that back it all up.”

This is track one

Trice grills some cheese.....

Cheeesy but plundering some personal nostalgia for going out and being quite happy...
Dancing used to be a good thing to do....

Incognito Transatlantic RPM

The palette of Soul has many hues- me ? Well I like very dark colours myself-like Black for example. I also like the shades nobody else does sometimes for the right reasons (culture, personal references and stuff)-sometimes I like them for the wrong reasons too. Often though what causes me to not like something is perverse- like I'm kicking back at something. I'm sorry I do this- something in my wiring that is wrong perhaps-? it causes me to lose respect and to doubt myself, at times.

Incognito are a band who in UK terms are the very definition of Modern Soul . They have this huge fan base they play many gigs some even at events. They are clever enough to be a collective to draw in many guest stars and to have good vocalists.

Their new CD I imagine has been almost worshipped by the more vocal of UK soul fans-I imagine it has a 100 reply thread on EMS- with not a single voice saying anything negative or questioning about it. Well fair enough but for me the colour on this palette is pastel- say pink-or a washed out blue. Take the first track on Transatlantic RPM- an utterly pointless cover of LOW DOWN. It adds nothing and almost craftily takes nothing away from the original-leaving it completely neutral. It's lazy timid and frankly dull. About the time of the original release of Scaggs "Low down" on a Sunday Night there used to be a Radio Show called "Sing Something Simple" featuring The Cliff Adams Singers. It was the soft underbelly of old persons music scheduled as an antidote to the POP music of the day. This version of Low Down is the haunted ghost of The Cliff Adams singers and that's a big shame.

The use of Ursula Rucker is at least an attempt to bring a heavier hue to this watercolour. Alas the song isn't about to much- it lacks BITE!

Expresso Madureira track 11 on this CD has a title which tells you all you need to know. Retro dull salsa that side steps the real tempo-mochaccino jazz funk served in a milk bar. Raul de Souza cicra 1970t's-which fair enough was great in its day but this is like The BBC Light Orchestra....

The use of Mario Bondi as vocalist gives this CD all the street cred of Michael Buble his second track "Can't get Enough"- is just not good enough....The Leon Ware track however is pretty good-his vocal is as welcome as a drink in the desert-though I wish he'd of multi tracked has vocals more-but as the arrangement is over busy I suppose they'd of been lost.

The feeling I get from this CD is that it's OK-well crafted but songs not quite good enough to really grab me. It's also too tame and doesn't take on any real issues both in terms of words and music....

Then again make your own mind up... you'll love it...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A0BAKGIX

To live vicariously part 2

....Can't really tell you why I like this track but it never gets tired........
GOD DAM! SHE A KEEPER

live vicariously (Typical Weekend)-but not a weekender

To live vicariously is what it's about really...That's what I do...

From the Smoking Section(one of THE GREAT sources of music) and where (of course) I got this track....and it was these words of the post that sold it...

There’s spots where a lengthy description is unwarranted because a good song speaks for itself, providing a level of escapism and entertainment that doesn’t need to be quantified with words. After The Smoke is a two-man team – emcee Whuzi and producer Speek – and they’re out of Tallahassee, FL. And this song “Typical Weekend” jams, flush with a melodic keyboard, claps, lyrical ramblings about girl-chasing and continuous partying. To a degree, that’s all some rap songs need to make them enjoyable. Listen now and thank us later. If your weekend was good, this will help you relive it. And if it sucked, you can at least live vicariously through the ATS for three minutes.

That was in March- now it's even on You Tube.......This video kinda fails to really emphasise the lyrics bearing in mind what is written above...?


: )

The Obscure (part 1) For Ian Dewhurst...

You know if you were me you'd find this deeply amusing....

Doobie Powell.. sings about Santa....

Sublime gospel from 2009....

Gotta love..... Trackademicks

Remixers supreme they have (for me) the Midas Touch... From the Blind I Meezy Compilations-here they are breathing new life into Daniel Merriweather's track...Fat 80t's sort of Boogie style....

Masirah flicks light switch

Delightfully empty track from 2009 (according to my version) which re appears jazzed up remixed (with all the space filled with up tempo crap)... all over the place... But the simplicity of it is what appeals to me....

Sort of Sounds like Al Green

From a world music CD-one of my fave tracks of the year... The simple hook puts me in mind of big Al circa 76... hey you don't agree? Well fuck you- where were you at Al Green's concert?...I didn't see you there....