quick audio picks: 123
The apocalypse must be near, for just as the prophets foretold, the deepest depths of the digging world have come to light. Behold Bohannon, at his excruciatingly tough to find pinnacle, this Stop & Go album. This record has been a female...
expand review dog to track down since I was a wee baby digger, occasionally surfacing in scuffy circumstances that made appreciation of the exquisite quiet grooves impossible. Wise vinyl lovin' folks will jump on this semi-legit reissue that's a completely passable (and just as importantly), clean pressing of these tunes. "Save Our Souls(1)" is slow, sexy, and sampled. "Singing a Song For My Mother(2)" is the baaaadass tune here though, who's next when Ed's flexin? "Stop & Go(3)" is a Melting Pot-esque stomp with some freakout organ on top, and the rest of the album's full of open bass tones and drum hits for those with an inclination towards digital deviousness. Full color repro of the original cover and label, as is par for the course with these vinyl-only US repressings. -Monk
quick audio picks: 12
Cadet is quickly becoming one of my favorite labels. Something about their recordings have an unscripted funkiness to them. This is the prime example as producer Richard Evans (of Soulful Strings fame) and Harpist Dorothy Ashby team up to create a funky...
expand review harp album? And with all those NY producers sampling harps and strings, this record has achieved that on the record store wall ooooh that's that harp shit fame (and easily goes for $100-200). Once "Come Live with Me(1)" was featured on the Dusty Fingers, the secret truly was out. That wicked drum and bassline intro took heads in, then snapped it with the unfamiliar harp floating over the beats. The other big tune here is the drum heavy Soul Vibrations(2) with the eerie "Dunwich Horror" synthesizer thrown in for a haunting effect. Listen here as Dorothy solos like you never knew a harp could. The rest of the album is more in the bossa-nova style, but as witnessed this is one of those infinite sample records. A legit quality repress with gloss cover. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 1234
One of the most hyped records in diggin. Some call it one of the Holy Grails of the diggin scene... there's a Staple T-Shirt dedicated to it... in our Record Check someone says "maybe the greatest record ever made," ... it fetches...
expand review mad loot at shows. But then there are some who question its exalted status. At the Lab, we're split. Pete thinks it's all that, but Jasper thinks it's overrated. However we do agree that the instrumentation on this record is undoubtedly some of the baddest grooves ever pressed on wax. Complex movements with the hard drumming of Alphonse Mouzon. Sampled to fame by Tribe for their Low End Theory interludes (1), Beastie Boys' "Get It Together,(2)" Pete Rock's first album and Babu's Comprehension, this album presents buckets of sample-able moments. The vocals is where it gets sticky. McDaniels' religious vocals are not what you'd call traditional good singing. He sounds like a drunk cocktail lounge singer /chump choir singer/armageddon folk singer. But somehow over the funky arrangements his vocals are bizarrely engaging. On some tracks it gels perfectly like the RAMP-like "Jagger the Dagger,(1)" but on others it creates a strange clash like the catchy "See What's Happening..." during "Headless Heroes.(2)" This is where you go left or right. Whatever you think, this album is definitely intriguing and it tests the foundations and legitimacy of this whole diggin scene (quality vs. rare quality). This record has been the subject of multiple late nite conversations here at the Lab. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 123
Harlem River Drive, although brief in its existence (this is their only LP), was an important part of musical development led by the guidance of Eddie Palmieri. This record is generally known as the first prominent musical fusion of black and latin...
expand review musicians and art. Eddie enlisted an all star lineup of local New York Latin musicians with prominent jazz musicians (including Bernard Purdie). The album gained fame through the dancefloors with tracks like the monster "Idle Hands(1)" and "Seeds of Life." The title cut(2), "If," and "Broken Home(3)" have more of a soul tint to them and truly bring out the gut of the project. Very rare in the original (usually goes for over $100), this album has also been accused the familiar "over-hyped" tag, but in my opinion, it's the way you listen to it. Although Purdie and the rhythm section shine on the dance tracks, the album functions more as an excellent study of styles with the quality found in the blend and the message. Yada, yada. Feel it. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 1
By now everybody knows the famous "God Make Me Funky (1)" break on this record, but in fact the whole album is incredible. These are more or less the same musicians that played on Herbie Hancock's best selling "Headhunters" album and they...
expand review bring that same feel here, but with a less-produced, raw sound. Without the control of Herbie, the Headhunters unleash a much funkier sound and get busy with a lot of instrument experimentation (one of the percussionists plays about 20 different instruments on here).This experimentation is held down by the incredibly consistant and funky drumming of brother white man Mike Clark. Weather you like to relax with your lady friend, get down on the dancefloor or just sit around and meditate on the moods of apartment life, you will find something to speak to your funky soul on "Survival of the Fittest".Other moments of pleasure include the killer bassline of "Daffy's Dance" and just the general funkiness of "If You Got, You'll Get It." -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12
It has taken me til about a year ago to forgive Kool for "Cherish" and "Celebration". But the smell of 80s scrilla and scrimps will do it to the best of em. Enter the Gang's first album, a soul/jazz/funk defining masterpiece. This...
expand review record is a long player at the Lab and even gets the occasional rewind. The first track "Kool and the Gang" serves as just a teaser for this diverse album. "Breeze and Soul" is like elevator music for beat heads. Gentle melodies with heavy drums and open breaks. "Chocolate Buttermilk" has got the same feel but a bit more uptempo. Kinda like Brunswick-era Young Holt but with harder drums. 2 tracks perfect for loungin on the porch in the summertime (if we had one). "Sea of Tranquility" like the title is a snoozer, but hey, imperfections make the world go round.Side 2 starts with the dancefloor burner "Give It Up(1)". This one gets my chitlins heated with that infectious bass and open drum breaks (sampled for Beasties' "Booty", Gangstarr's "Take a Rest" and much more). "Kool's Back(2)" and the part 2 "The Gang's Back Again" is a funk classic with that down and dirty conga sound that sets it apart from Funk Inc. cover. Raw Hamburger slows down the funk, but the hook is nice. "Let the Music Take Your Mind", another much covered funk classic, is a live sounding guitar-driven jam highlighted by Kool's instruction of "let me get some greasy skins back there" followed by a drum breakdown and some nasty bass work. Although this album has the obvious breaks and funk classics, this album just gets better with every listen. Genuine feel good shit. Ask anybody who knows or tell someone who doesn't. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 1234
Of all the jazz-funk period Blue Notes, this one may have been the most in-demand. It has everything going for it: The striking sky blue cover with Lonnie Smith and scarved female hanging out the skyroof of his caddie; the genius typeface...
expand review treatment; and a high profile Tribe sample (Can I Kick It) on Lonnie's version of "Spinning Wheel(1)." So much so, that I dropped $40 at the Union Square record show for it (which was a shit ton of money in my college days). The rest of the album keeps pace as it's got a continual fiery quality that other albums from the same era lack. Check "Twenty Five Miles(2), Psychedelic Pi(3)," and "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf(4)." 5 tracks in all. -the mgmnt
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