ID: Devin Horwitz

TITLE: Soul Makossa
ARTIST: Afro Lafeyette Band
LABEL: Musidisc 1973

I believe this is the original Italian pressing of the classic break record with Hihache. Not to mention its got a great cover of Manu Dibango's "Soul Makossa". I stumbled across this record while in Amsterdam a few years back. I'm not sure why, but I always seem to do alot of stumbling when I'm in Amsterdam. It's definitely one of my favorite digging spots, Utrecht too.

TITLE: The Blue Gorilla Kain Juggernaut Records 1970?
ARTIST: Kain
LABEL: Juggernaut 1970

This is some super heavy, spiritual apocalyptic blues/jazz. Kain is Gaylan Kain from The Original Last Poets and his spit-in-your-face lyricism on this album makes the Last Poests catalog seem like a Dr. Suess book. Kain is truley a possesed individual. KMD member Zevlove X (now MF Doom) turned me on to this record right around the time his brother (Subroc) was killed and he was finishing the Black Bastards album. That whole second KMD album oozes samples from this Kain record and is loosely based on the similar conceptual ideas. Some real deep shit.

TITLE: DREAD - Dub Store Special
ARTIST: Dub Specialist
LABEL: Studio One 1975

This classic dub album is one of the earliest in a set of about a dozen dub only lps released for Studio One in the 70's. Although boasting versions of some of the tighests tunes from their catalog, that alone wouldn't land it on this record check. More specifically, this record is an original pressing, cover and all. It comes correct with suspect yellow screen printing on a black-dyed piece of cardboard folded to made a record jacket. On closer inspection of the jacket, the more professional print job on the inside shows it came from a box of Ruetman-B, an over the counter vaccination for rubella or small pox or something that must have been an epidemic in Jamaica at the time. Seen Rasta.

TITLE: Total Explosion
ARTIST: Syl Johnson
LABEL: Hi Records 1975

This is not the Syl record you hear most about but dude lets loose on this later release. Beside the ill harmonica and guitar solos, the Willie Mitchell production is solid all the way through. You've got a bunch of tracks that'll rock the house down coupled with some lighter cuts for that late-night, after-party love fest.

TITLE: Giants of the Organ In Concert
ARTIST: Jimmy McGriff & Groove Holmes
LABEL: Groove Merchant 1973

A great live 2-LP recording of the organ legends from a gig they did in Boston. I'm usually not a big fan of live recordings on wax but this one's hot. Everyone from hip hop heads to hippies love this album. No matter where I play "The Preacher's Tune", without fail, someone comes up to ask me what it is. For real.

TITLE: Coke
ARTIST: Coke
LABEL: Sound Triangle 1973

A pretty obscure Latin groove album that some people are hip to because of the banging break that starts it off on "Na Na". And with the same subtlety that the cover insinuates, the track's chorus instructs "It's so easy if you give it a try, come on everybody let's all get high." Overall an interesting LP, but it was the artwork that really grabbed me.

TITLE: Drum Beat
ARTIST: Jim Ingram
LABEL: Respect 1974

I forgot about this record for years until Cut Chemist broke it out as part of his routine on the Word of Mouth Tour. It's this Afrocentric percussion kind of record but the twist is the artist Jim Ingram was known for being a journalist and broadcaster not a musician. When this guy speaks he's got this commanding voice that makes you instantly believe everything he says. "It began in Africa...", the title track starts, and from there on out Ingram drops mad historical science from the origin of the beat to understanding a black women's beauty. All this over ill congas and rumbling basstomes.

TITLE: With You in Mind
ARTIST: Lou Johnson
LABEL: Volt 1972

A cool deep soul record with that blues twist you hear on alot of Volt records. Co-produced by one of my favs, Allen Toussaint, this record has become a hot commodity for the swipes De La Soul took at the track "The Beat". A pretty mellow listen otherwise.

TITLE: Space Funk 45
ARTIST: Manzel
LABEL: Fraternity 1978

I don't know much about this group, but the cut "Space Funk" seems to be a rage with all the kids. Intro complete with backwards Beastie-like drums and debilitating bass tones, unfortunately they lays the disco synth sauce a little heavy on this dish. But the second course "Jump Street", a little more straight ahead and listenable, has one of the hottest drum breaks I've found in recent digs. Big up to this obscure wax wonder outta Cinncinati.

TITLE: Want Man? Gilly's record shack??
ARTIST: Unknown
LABEL: Gilly's Record shack??

I wish I knew what this record is, you know how those dub 7" never have anything one 'em but mad dirt. The vocal side is labeled Want Man in black marker and has a female singer, but the version sounds nothing like it. I don't know what it is but it's ridiculous. If I had to guess I'd say it was 1979, but it sounds like Jackie Mattoo on peyote or something.

TITLE: Guava b/w Hard Hats Ray Rivera Orchestra
ARTIST: Ray Rivera Orchestra
LABEL: MGM

This 45 is two of the better cuts off Now Sound Of The Ray Rivera Orchestra LP. "Hard Hats" is kind of a unauthentic latin/funk fusion with a loungy vibe thrown in. The flip, "Guava" I think has a Beasties sample off Egg Man or something, I can never remember all song titles from Paul's Boutique, but its hot either way. Never really heard a record with this kind of sound.