Monthly Archives: July, 2012
THE O’JAYS-WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN.
THE O’JAYS-WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN. Any group that celebrate twenty-five years in the music business must be doing something right. For The O’Jays, they’d been formed in 1958 and released their debut album Comin’ Through in 1965. It was when The O’Jays signed to Philadelphia International Records and released their first album for …
MARLENA SHAW-WHO IS THIS BITCH ANYWAY?
MARLENA SHAW-WHO IS THIS BITCH ANYWAY? When Marlena Shaw left Cadet Records after the release of her second album The Spice of Life, she became the first woman to sign to the prestigious Blue Note label. During the four years Marlena was signed to Blue Note, she released some of the best music of her …
TEDDY PENDERGRASS-T.P.
TEDDY PENDERGRASS-T.P. By 1980, Teddy Pendergrass was at the height of his commercial success. Teddy has released three studio albums since leaving Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes. This trio of albums, 1977s Teddy Pendergrass, 1978s Life Is A Song Worth Singing and 1979s Teddy had all been certified platinum. Such was Teddy’s popularity, that …
SAGE MONK-HEARTACHE ALLEGORY.
SAGE MONK-HEARTACHE ALLEGORY. Over the past twenty years, the way people discover, buy and consume music has evolved beyond recognition. Maybe rather than evolution, the best word to describe these changes are revolution. No longer is a record shop people’s first place to look for new music. Instead, it’s the internet. Now downloading is perceived …
DAVID GRANT-DAVID GRANT.
DAVID GRANT-DAVID GRANT. For any artist, leaving a successful group can be something of a gamble. Regardless of how successful the group has been, there’s no guarantee that a successful solo career will follow. Obviously, there are exceptions to this, with Teddy Pendergrass one that springs to mind. After he left Harold Melvin and The …
CHARLES BRADLEY-NO TIME FOR DREAMING.
CHARLES BRADLEY-NO TIME FOR DREAMING. Although it was a long time coming, Charles Bradley released his debut album No Time For Dreaming in 2011 on Dunham Records. By 2011, Charles was fifty-three, and during his life, he’d travelled more than a few roads, most of them twisty. His love of music started when his sister …
THE CRUSADERS-STREET LIFE.
THE CRUSADERS-STREET LIFE. Having started their career as The Jazz Crusaders and releasing their debut album Freedom Sound in 1961, it took a change in name and sound before their music became commercially popular. This transformation occurred in 1971, with The Jazz Crusaders becoming The Crusaders. They released their “debut” album as The Crusaders in …
MY SALSOUL MARSHALL JEFFERSON PRESENTS:THE FOUNDATIONS OF HOUSE.
MY SALSOUL MARSHALL JEFFERSON PRESENTS:THE FOUNDATIONS OF HOUSE. Often when writing about Salsoul Records, I’ve mentioned how important a part Salsoul played in the development of house music. Salsoul’s music wouldn’t just influence the first generation of house DJs, but several generations of producers. Even now, that influence is apparent, with producers paying homage to …
MYSTIC MERLIN-SIXTY THRILLS A MINUTE.
MYSTIC MERLIN-SIXTY THRILLS A MINUTE. When Mystic Merlin signed Capitol Records, it looked as if the New York based soul and funk group had a great future ahead of them. They were tipped to join funk’s elite, joining Parliament, Funkadelic, Brass Construction, B.T. Express. Charles Kipp had been hired to produce their debut album Mystic …
LISA LISA AND CULT JAM WITH FULL FORCE-LISA LISA AND CULT JAM WITH FULL FORCE.
LISA LISA AND CULT JAM WITH FULL FORCE-LISA LISA AND CULT JAM WITH FULL FORCE. After signing to Columbia Records, the three members of Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Lisa Velez, Alex Panador and Mike Hughes would embark upon the most successful period of their career. During the four year period between 1985 and 1989, …
HOLY SPIRIT-SPIRITUAL SOUL AND GOSPEL FUNK.
HOLY SPIRIT-SPIRITUAL SOUL AND GOSPEL FUNK. In an increasingly overcrowded compilation market, certain labels can be relied upon to release quality compilations. Three labels spring to mind, BBE Music, Strut and Harmless Records. Whilst other labels, including major labels continue to recycle the same collections of familiar and sometimes tired songs, albeit using different titles. …
THE SYLVERS-SHOWCASE AND NEW HORIZONS.
THE SYLVERS-SHOWCASE AND NEW HORIZONS. In these recessionary times, even the most dedicated music fan is feeling the pinch. With people having less disposable income than ever to spend on life’s essentials like music, it’s always a bonus when a record company releases two albums on one CD. This is what the good people at …
SATOSHI FUMI-COLOURS.
SATOSHI FUMI-COLOURS. The genesis of Satoshi Fumi’s musical career was when he discovered house music in the mid-nineties. It was the house music coming out of Detroit, Chicago and New York that first interested Satoshi. Having discovered dance music, Satoshi embarked upon a life long love of dance music, which lead to a career as …
DISCO RECHARGE: VOYAGE-VOYAGE.
DISCO RECHARGE: VOYAGE-VOYAGE. When Harmless Records launched their new label Disco Recharge back in June 2012, the new label’s first release was Voyage’s eponymous debut album Voyage. Released in 1978, this sees Voyage embark upon a worldwide whistle-top tour, where they pay homage to various styles of music. Their whistle-top tour ends in America, the …
WAH WAH WATSON-ELEMENTARY.
WAH WAH WATSON-ELEMENTARY. Whenever I listen to music, one thing I always do is look at which musicians play on an album. One man whose played on more sessions than the average musician has had gigs, is the one and only Wah Wah Watson, virtuoso guitarist and a man who weaves that unmistakable wah wah …
MY SALSOUL SELECTED AND MIXED BY DANNY KRIVIT.
MY SALSOUL SELECTED AND MIXED BY DANNY KRIVIT. Regular readers of this blog will have noticed that recently, I’ve been writing various articles on Salsoul Records. This has included Mixed With Love-The Walter Gibbons Anthology, Larry Levan-The Definitive Salsoul Mixes 1978-1983 and John Morales-The M&M Mixes which features previously unreleased Salsoul remixes. Many people will …
MYSTIC MERLIN-MYSTIC MERLIN.
MYSTIC MERLIN-MYSTIC MERLIN. Many times, I’ve mentioned how when you’re crate digging in a record shop, desperate for something new to listen to, but finding nothing inspirational, you’ve got to think laterally. One thing I, and many other people I know do, is look for an album cover that stands out. Ideally, you’re looking for …
ARETHA FRANKLIN-ARETHA.
ARETHA FRANKLIN-ARETHA. By 1978 and the end of Aretha Franklin’s time at Atlantic Records, her career had stalled, lost direction. She wasn’t enjoying the hits that were a regular feature of her early Atlantic. Granted there were occasional bright spots, with Break It To Me Gently, which although it gave Aretha a US R&B number …
CHERYL LYNN-INSTANT LOVE.
CHERYL LYNN-INSTANT LOVE. When Cheryl Lynn released her eponymous debut album Cheryl Lynn, it contained a single that since then, has become synonymous with Cheryl, Got To Be Real. It reached number one in the US R&B Charts, while her debut album was certified gold. Since then, Got To Be Real has become a disco …
JOHN MORALES-THE M & M MIXES.
JOHN MORALES-THE M&M MIXES. Over the past few months, I’ve reviewed a number of compilations of remixes from some of the best and highest profile remixers in the history of disco. Recently, I’ve reviewed Mixed With Love-The Walter Gibbons Anthology and Larry Levan-The Definitve Salsoul Remixes 1978, while previously, I reviewed Philadelphia Classics-The Tom Moulton …
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