Saturday, 22 January 2011

Its Been a while........New Purchases for 2011

Sun Ra - The World Is Not My Home (Jazzman JM.079)

Tracklisting:

A A Foggy Day
B Mayan Temple
C October
D Blues On Planet Mars
E Disco 2100
F Sky Blues (Live)

(Limited edition of 999. )

3 x 7" singles on clear vinyl with a glow in the dark slipmat, in hand numbered, hand-printed gatefold sleeve.

From Jazzman Label:


Following the unprecedented success of our previous Sun Ra triple pack (JM.073 – The Shadows Cast by Tomorrow) which sold out worldwide within 24 hours of release, here is the second and final installment of our foray into the intriguiing, beguiling and mythical world of the Sun Ra 45. The triple 45 set includes 6 sides of Sun Ra in his various incarnations spanning three decades.




CHRIS POWELL - I Come From Jamaica / Country Girl Blues 7" (JBJ.1012)


Tracklisting:

A) I Come From Jamaica
B) Country Girl Blues

"New from Jukebox Jam comes something else - a wild Carib-Jazz flavoured R&B gem flipped with a big and brash big city Jump Blues number! A neat pairing of two of Chris Powell‘s hottest sides! The top side ‘I Come From Jamaica’ is a totally unique early exotic RnB jam, whilst ‘Country Girl Blues’, is a delicious RnB dancehall mover aimed at shakin’ hips & shufflin’ feet!

Bandleader Chris Powell was a relatively busy in Philly through the late 40s and 50s, cutting a raft of Jump sides and a number of crooning big-band ballads for the Columbia, Okeh and Grand labels.

Amidst his releases for Okeh lies this curious novelty - ‘I Come from Jamaica’, unlike anything else Powell recorded and similarly out of sorts with much of the contemporary R&B sounds of the day. From the off, as we hear odd percussive sound effects over an off kilter latin rhythm, it’s clear that we are in experimental territory. What follows is a sheer delight - an exotic, jazzy, Caribbean themed dancer which ALWAYS turns heads! This also showcases the first known recorded work of the influential jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown…"
(Jazzman Records)


LEE MOSES - Reach Out, I’ll Be There / Day Tripper 7" (JM.079)


Tracklisting:

A) Reach Out, I’ll Be There
B) Day Tripper

"It was 1966 when lead singer Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops belted out the original version of Reach Out, I’ll be There, reaching No. 1 in the RnB charts in the process. And deservedly so, because this Motown gem is widely regarded as one of the best songs ever recorded. So much so that it’s attracted a variety of cover versions, including everything from disco (Gloria Gaynor) to punk (Snuff), from psych (Merrilee Rush) to new romantic (Human League). That’s all very well, but in my considered opinion the BEST cover version has to be that from little-known soul singer & guitarist Lee Moses.

The problem with a cover version arises from its contradictory nature. The song itself has already been created, so how to create something that’s the essentially the same, but different? And then how to make it distinctive, and better? One way is to choose a different style, such as the punk/disco/psych versions mentioned above. Back in 1967 Lee Moses did just that – and he chose RAW, HEAVY FUNK as his theme. And wow did he succeed! It’s easy to make a mess of a cover because comparisons are always going to be made with the ‘superior’ original. But I think it’s fair to say here that Moses blows the Four Tops into orbit. He rips the Beatles to shreds too, check Day Tripper on the flip for a mind-blowing example of how to put some passion and soul into what was essentially a plod-along pop song. If you want to hear how to do a cover version, take a lead from Lee Moses – put some fire, soul, heat n guts into it, and do it better!
" (JAZZMAN RECORDS)

Billy Byrd - Lost In The Crowd / Silly Kind Of Love 7" (Soul7.018)


Tracklisting:

A) Lost In The Crowd
B) Silly Kind Of Love

"Big Tune!!! Top drawer modern soul with an irresistible thumpin' beat that’s RARE RARE RARE, now out on our SOUL7 label for all to hear! Another quality double sider and with Billy Byrd’s throaty vocals appearing on two class songs. Produced by Georgia native Calvin Arnold, known for his funk output, perhaps it was his influence that gave this record such a solid, intense rhythm? Yes it’s the beat that really counts, few records of this nature have such an incessant, heavy groove that has so much appeal to the dance floor. Back in the ‘70s when it was first released the record went nowhere, and it’s remained extremely scarce ever since. Why such low sales? Was ‘Lost on the Crowd’ ahead of its time? We certainly think so, and NOW is the time to put that right!"


DYNAMIC CORVETTES - Keep Off The Grass 7" (Ru Jac / tr126)


Tracklisting:

A). Keep off the grass
B) Its a trap

"Here we have another sought after funk 45 which gets a proper re-issue treatment. The Dynamic Corvettes recorded those two sides in 1971 for Rufus Mitchell's Ru-Jac Records label out of Baltimore, Maryland. Between 1963 and 1972 Mitchell put out more than 50(!) 45 r.p.m. singles on his label. Most artists recorded soul music, but some were jazz musicians or hybrids of the two. An interesting side note is that a young Joe Quarterman spent time writing for many Ru-Jac artists in the 1960s." (Sounds Of The Universe)


THE 6 DEGREE SOUTH - Loving You (Is To Far Out) 7" (FRY 008)



Tracklisting:

A) Loving You (Is To Far Out) (part 1)
B) Loving You (Is To Far Out) (part 2)

"The Six Degree South's deep funk anthem 'Loving You (Is To Far Out)' is commonly acknowledged as a masterpiece of its genre. Not just for the amazing drumming, the sultry female vocals, or the doom-laden horns - but because they pulled off what so many R&B groups of the early 70s tried (and failed) to do... they combined the sinister 'end-is-near' dark psychedelia of the late '60s, with the funkiness and dance floor punch of early '70s street funk - creating a weaponised hybrid brand of funk that sounds fresh and exiting
To read Lois Black's lyric 'My hot pants are just a part of me' on paper suggests a cash-in novelty tune of the era, but contrasted with the stark and relentless funk of the backing track it becomes absolutely transportational!

A nomadic group, spending most of the 70s playing one-nighters at military bases and residencies at ski lodges (!) with no real home-base - the band had previously been classed as impossible to locate. Funk DJs and collectors had been on their trail for over a decade when a chance phone call in 2009 found a member living in Atlanta. Which brings us to the legitimately licensed and uber-anticipated reissue of this genre-defining deep funk jewel, here at long last it's the Six Degree South!
" (Fat City Records)


IMPERIAL TIGER ORCHESTRA - Lale Lale / Yefikir Woha Timu 7" (BS 45009)



Tracklisting:

A) Lale Lale
B) Yefikir Woha Timu

"We are really proud to present the first single of the Imperial Tiger Orchestra with 2 exclusive tracks recorded in our own larsen studio ! They play ethiopian groove instrumentals, just as Mulatu Eskete or Getatchew Mekurya did during the late sixties & early seventies ! They already released a self produced mini album, and a 12” on Mental Groove Records. They were the big sensation on stage during the last “Musiques Ethiopiennes”festival in Addis Abeba (organized by Francis Falceto the originator of the classic Ethiopiques compilations series). They also played with the likes of Melaku Belaye, Selamnesh, Zinash or Mesele Asmamaw, & we now impatiently wait for their first long player !!" (Larsen Records)