ID: Deejay Sureshot c/o Status Breaks N' Beats Vol 1 & 2, Soundbwoy Reggae Breaks N' Beats Vol 1,2 & 3, Sharpshooters and Conception records.


this guy from mexico randomly stopped by and gave us these stickers, some of our favorites in the collection.
_WHERE: Seattle, WA (the wetlands)
_COLLECTING SINCE: 86' when Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid In Full" changed my life!
_ FAVORITE DIGGIN' CITIES: London (UK), Portland, OR & Vancouver (B.C.) & L.A. California.
_ FAVORITE LABELS: (Besides all the obvious thousands of independent small labels) I like: Paragon-Birchmont-CTL, Encounter, MPS, Perception, Eastbound, Flying Dutchman, Prestige-Fantasy-Enterprise & Blue Note (you shouldn't forget the classic labels!).
_ COLLECTION SIZE: 10,000 (all quality-not multiple copies of bullshit promo's)
_ BREAK OF THE MOMENT: Mashmakhan "Dance A Little Step" on Jamie 45 1973, Barbara Jean English "You're Gonna Need Somebody To Love You" on Alithia 1973, Wanda Robinson "A Possibility" on Perception 1973, The Honeydrippers "Streakin" on Alaga 45 1974 and Sonny Raye & Fancy "Calvin No.1" on Sportscene 45 1975.
_ DOLLAR BIN MIRACLES: Turner Bros."Act 1", "Doldinger", Melvin Jackson "Funky Skull", James Mason, Don Julian's, Roy Porter, Nathan Davis, Eddie Russ, Ramp, T.O.B.E., Eugene Blacknell, Weldon Irvine etc.... MAG OF CHOICE: wallpaper, Big Daddy, Fader, Wax Poetics, Dazed And Confused & Straight No Chaser (I miss ego trip & Soul Underground!).
_ FAVORITE COVER: Sam Rivers "Contours" Blue Note 84206
_ TRACK TO MAKE LOVE TO: Tyrone Davis "In The Mood" into Carl Carlton "This Feeling's Rated X-TRA" (If that don't work, nothin' will).


TITLE: Collage
ARTIST: Eddie Drennon & B.B.S. Unlimited
LABEL: Friends & Co. (US) and ALTA (Canada)

This is one of those records that you never get sick of and basically has a lit bit of everything on here: Sweet soul vocals, fat basslines, hard bouncy drums and lush strings! An early disco LP from 75', so the tempo is more laid back and the funk is still present. Main vocals are by Esther Williams who is more famous for her 1976 solo LP "Let Me Show You" (also on Friends & Co.) and of course her underground B-Boy classic "Last Night Changed It All (I Really Had A Ball)". Personally, I think this is one of the best records of all time and alot of people aren't up on it so you can still catch it without have to pay a fortune. Contains the ill "Do What You Gotta Do" that Jazzy Jay used to cut up.


TITLE: Moody
ARTIST: The Gentle Rain
LABEL: Circle Of Sound - Polydor (UK)

When I want to listen to a record just for the sake of listening, I throw this one on the platter. This is such an amazing record that I have a hard time describing it! Take twelve current at the time (73) pop tunes and completely flip em'. Every single song is sick and has a nice loop or drum break. If you like Axelrod, Johnny Harris and KPM or other library records then you will soil your underpants when you hear this. Alan Hawkshaw of Mohawks fame on Piano, Brian Bennett on Drums etc... One of those records that you will either find in a easy listening section for $1.00 or have to pay $500 or more from a dealer who was lucky enough to find it. Rare and truly worth the money it fetches.


TITLE: Conversations With
ARTIST: The Silhouettes
LABEL: SEGUE

A very beautiful jazz album that is not only full of nasty vibe and flute samples but also contains two solid ass drum breaks on " Lunar Invasion" and "Fonky First". I really wish there was more records out there like this.


TITLE: Makin' It Happen |
ARTIST: The Don Carrington Trio
LABEL: Paragon (Canada)

One of the little known gems of Canadian funk records, "Makin' It Happen" is pure niceness. A very raw and gritty record with just vocals, hard drums, organ and sax. Two great drum breaks on "If I Were A Carpenter" and "A Song For My Father" but what makes them even better is that the drums are run through some sort of effect that makes them sound wet and very similar to Jamaican drum sounds! This whole record reminds me of Melvin Bliss' "Synthetic Substitution" because it seems so wrong but ends up being soooooooo right! Sappy vocals over blistering funk, works for me baby.


TITLE: Konnichiwa (Hits For A Swinging Party)
ARTIST: Jimmy Takeuchi
LABEL: SRM (Canada)

This is a crazy "mod" funk record full of soul tunes covered by a Japanese drummer-band leader on a very small independent Canadian label called SRM. Every single tune has really hard bouncy drums and funky basslines! I have a couple records by Jimmy but this is my favorite and includes his take of "I Got The Feeling" by James Brown as well as "Soulful Strut", "Dock Of The Bay" etc... Kinda hard to go wrong when the drummer is leading the group.


TITLE: The Mail Must Go Through
ARTIST: The Cult
LABEL: Starburst

The infamous "Cult" funk LP outta Las Vegas is one of my faves for the following reasons: 1.) Naked Girl on Cover (There is also a 2nd cover with a brother on a horse which is not as sexy). 2.) It's on a very small independent label. 3.) The instrumentals on here sound similar to the JB's "Grunt" or "Blow Your Head". Nuff said.


TITLE: Rainbow Brown
ARTIST: Rainbow Brown
LABEL: Vanguard NY 1981

Super sexy soul-funk-disco LP that contains the classic joint "It Ain't No Big Thing" with lead vocals by Fonda Rae of "Over Like A Fat Rat" fame. The album cover is also suitable for wall framing with the fresh graphics.


TITLE: Love OF Mine
ARTIST: William Stuckey
LABEL: Symplex 1979

I know William Stuckey was on quite a few earlier funk 45's but this is the only album I've caught (maybe he has more?). Anyways, there is a track on here called "The First Time" that has a sick bassline, slamming drums, nice soul vocals and lush strings that I'm really feeling right now! What can I say, I like this record.




TITLE: Mulatu OF Ethiopia
ARTIST: Mulatu Astatke
LABEL: Worthy 1972 NY

I bought this record about 10 years ago and had to pay $20.00 for a sealed copy. I remember that I thought that was a ton of dough for a record. Now I wish I would have bought all the sealed copies this cat had. Oh well, live and learn. A gorgeous record that mixes the Ethiopian 5 tone scale with Afro-funk and Soul -Jazz. Of course it also has tons of sick samples - both drums and loops. This Vibes player was even sponsored by Ethiopian Airlines! How fresh is that?


TITLE: The Professionals On Tour
ARTIST: Jesus Acosta and the Professionals
LABEL: CES Belize - Kay NY

Sureshot took a chance with this one up in Vancouver, B.C. at a record dealers house. It was in the $1.00 (about .65 cents US) Canadian box in the corner. I was diggin' for funky reggae for my Soundbwoy comps and noticed that there was a reggae version listed of the O Jays classic "Backstabbers" as well as Michael Jacksons "Ben". I didn't have my portable with me and my man wouldn't let me play any of the $1.00 records on his Hi-Fi. The rest of the songs on the album are listed as Calypso, Traditional Belizean, Bolero or Soul (Weird Record). When I got back home to Seattle, I threw it on the turntable and listened to "Backstabbers " and "Ben" which were both quite wack to say the least. A few days later I listened to the record again and played "Theme From The Godfather" and was pleasantly suprised with the dope drum break intro and crazy guitar jabs & eerie organ solos. You can hear this tune on Status Breaks Volume 2. Beat diggers in NY should be able to catch this LP as the band did shows in the New York area.



TITLE: The Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Workshop Music From The WGBH 21" Classroom Series
ARTIST: The Stark Reality
LABEL: AJP (Ahmad Jamals record label)

Electric Vibes, drums, bass, guitar and creepy vocals make this a very odd record especially when it was intended for children! I sure as hell wouldn't play this for little kids, it bugs me out. It's a very cool record but is also one of those records that is rare for a reason (who bought it? and how was it marketed?). Sounds more like a fuzzed out psych record or maybe early Roy Ayers Ubiquity on Acid. The liner notes say: "Some of the damnest music either one of us had ever heard. This is Children's music!? O.K. , sera, sera- and Randy and I poured one quickie after another as we sat there losing our middle class minds. "Weird, Man." I Say, "Stark mad." Monty's voice?... somewhere between the filings on the edge of a pie pan, and the singing of a guru during one of his most exalted moments. The reason that most beat heads want this is because it does have some very ill drums and is loaded with vibe samples etc... I do like this record but it is kinda hard to listen to!



NEXT ISSUE: Roctakon