Category Archives: Jazz
CHOCOLATE MILK-ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS.
CHOCOLATE MILK-ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS. During their career, Chocolate Milk recorded with both Allen Toussaint and Paul McCartney and released eight albums. Of these eight albums, their debut album Action Speaks Louder Than Words is probably the best known. Released in 1975, Action Speaks Louder Than Words is a mixture of funk and soul. …
ETTA JAMES-AT LAST!
ETTA JAMES-AT LAST! As someone who has always loved soul music, I’ve long been a fan of Etta James music. Miss Peaches had one of the most recognizable, charismatic and soulful voices you’ll ever have privilege of hearing. From 1954, until her final album The Dreamer, released in November 2011, her music touched the hearts …
LOU RAWLS-UNMISTAKABLY LOU.
LOU RAWLS-UNMISTAKABLY LOU. Unmistakably Lou was Lou Rawls second album for Philadelphia International Records. Released in May 1977, it was the follow-up to All Things In Time, released in June 1976. All Things In Time would be a hard act to follow for Lou, as it had reached number seven in the US Billboard 200 …
TERRY CALLIER-TURN YOU TO LOVE.
TERRY CALLIER-TURN YOU TO LOVE. Have you ever heard of the soul singer who gave up music for fifteen years to become a computer programmer? This isn’t a joke, this is what happened to Terry Callier back in 1983. Before this, the two albums Terry recorded for Elektra in 1977 and 1978 hadn’t been a …
DR JOHN-IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD.
DR JOHN-IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD. Anyone who collects records or CDs will tell you that one of the biggest buzzes for a collector is either finding an obscure or rare album in the most unlikeliest of places. For me this has included, many years ago finding mint editions of rare soul albums in a dark …
ESTHER PHILLIPS-YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY.
ESTHER PHILLIPS-YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY. Not only did Esther Phillips have one of the most distinctive voices in music, but she was one of the most versatile vocalists of her generation. Whether it was soul, jazz, blues or even funk or disco, she could handle a song with aplomb, and deliver it with …
MINNIE RIPERTON-COME TO MY GARDEN.
MINNIE RIPERTON-COME TO MY GARDEN. Although I’ve previously written about Minnie Riperton’s music, with articles on Adventures In Paradise and Perfect Angel, I’ve as yet, to write about her debut solo album Come To My Garden. Today is an opportunity to revisit what was Minnie’s first album after leaving Rotary Connection. Come To My Garden saw …
EDDIE HAZEL-GAMES, DAMES AND GUITAR THANGS.
EDDIE HAZEL-GAMES, DAMES AND GUITAR THANGS. A few years ago, in 2006, I was listening to an Atlantic Records box set What It Is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves 1967-1977, when I came across an Eddie Hazel track California Dreamin.’ Wow, the Mama and Papas song never sounded like this I remember. I started trying …
CHIC-REAL PEOPLE.
CHIC-REAL PEOPLE. Last week, I was lucky enough to get a copy of Nile Rodgers new autobiography Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny which was truly, a fascinating read. It dealt with not just his music career, but his early family life. Now I’ve many similar books over the years, …
LEON HAYWOOD-COME AND GET YOURSELF SOME.
LEON HAYWOOD-COME AND GET YOURSELF SOME. Back in 2000 when I was listening to a BBE Records compilation Strange Games and Funky Things III, compiled by Kenny Dope, I first heard what’s probably Leon Haywood’s best known track, I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You. It’s one of these compelling and catchy tracks that once …
LOU RAWLS-ALL THINGS IN TIME.
LOU RAWLS-ALL THINGS IN TIME. By the time Lou Rawls signed for Philadelphia International Records, he’d already had a long and successful career in the music industry. He’d released his debut album Stormy Monday on Blue Note Records back in 1962, and since then, had released over twenty-five albums for a various record companies including …
MARLENA SHAW-SWEET BEGINNINGS.
MARLENA SHAW-SWEET BEGINNINGS. During a career that began in 1967, Marlena Shaw has recorded albums for some of the biggest and most famous, record labels. Her first label was Cadet Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, where she released two albums Out of Different Bags in 1967 and Spice of Life in 1969. From there, …
JON LUCIEN-PREMONITION.
JON LUCIEN-PREMONITION. Recently I wrote a review of Jon Lucien’s first album for Columbia, Song For My Lady. This was the first of two albums he recorded for Columbia after leaving RCA, for whom he recorded three album. These three albums I Am Now in 1970, Rashida in 1973 and Mind’s Eye in 1974, were …
JON LUCIEN-SONG FOR MY LADY.
JON LUCIEN-SONG FOR MY LADY. Some time ago, I wrote about two of Jon Lucien’s album that he recorded for RCA in the early seventies Rashida and Mind’s Eye. Both albums were three albums full of some great music, but sadly, they failed commercially. Although the albums weren’t huge commercial successes, Jon’s music was highly …
TERRY CALLIER-FIRE ON ICE.
TERRY CALLIER-FIRE ON ICE. One of my favorite artists of all time is Terry Callier, who I’ve previously written about before. In these articles, I’ve featured What Color Is Love, the second of the three albums he recorded on Cadet, a subsidiary of the famous Chicago label Chess. This is one of my favorite of …
DR JOHN-GRIS GRIS.
DR JOHN-GRIS GRIS. Imagine the scenario that I’m going to describe, because it really happened, and it demonstrates that even the most experienced people in the music industry get things wrong. In January 1968, Dr John had completed his debut album Gris Gris, but when Ahmet Erteghun at Atlantic Records heard the record, he disliked …
TERRY CALLIER-WHAT COLOR IS LOVE.
TERRY CALLIER-WHAT COLOR IS LOVE. Over the past thirty-five years, I must have bought and listened to, thousands of albums. Many of these albums are albums are great albums, but commercially, weren’t successful. Often it’s hard to understand why these albums weren’t successful, why they never sold in larger quantities and why the artist wasn’t …
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE-THERE’S A RIOT GOIN’ ON.
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE-THERE’S A RIOT GOIN’ ON. Often a band will change musical direction. There can be many reasons for this. Sometimes, it’s because they’re looking for commercial success, other times, they’re moving with changes in musical trends, it can even be to reflect changes in society. Another reason can be problems within …
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE-FRESH.
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE-FRESH. The band this article is about, were one of the most important bands in the late 1960s’. They were a multiracial and multi-gender band, whose music was a fusion of styles, including, soul, funk, rock and psychedelic music. Their music influenced groups across these genres. The story of this band …
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