washerman's dog: Soul

Showing posts with label Soul. Show all posts

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Good Vibrations 1-2: Jazz and Funk

Nothing dramatic just some good vibrations in jazz, funk, soul and R&B. The first two volumes of collection known as The Vibe!

The Vibe! Vol 1 -- Hypnotic Grooves, Hard Bop and Modal Jazz

Track Listing:

01 Estate' 61 [Quartetto di Lucca]

02 Jambo [Guy Lafitte Jazz Combo]

03 Lotar [Quintetto Basso-Valdambrini]

04 Five, Four and Three [Lee Konitz]

05 125th St. and 7th Ave [Oliver Nelson]

06 Take Ten [Paul Desmond]

07 Got No Money [Dusko Gojkovic]

08 Concerto For Billy The Kid [Georges Russell and his Smalltet]

09 Greensleeves [Paul Horn]

10 Ode to Trane [Harold Vick]

11 Tijuana Gift Shop [Charlie Mingus]

12 A Night in Tunisia [Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers]

13 Monotonia [Sestetto Basso-Valdambrini]

here

The Vibe! Vol 2 -- Ghetto Funk, Sweet Soul and Classic Breaks

Track Listing:

01 Shape Your Mind to Die [Leon Thomas]

02 Action Speaks Louder Than Words [Chocolate Milk]

03 Would You Believe in Me [Jon Lucien]

04 A Chance for Peace [Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes]

05 Elevate Our Minds [Linda Williams]

07 Mama Soul [Harold Alexander]

08 Oops Here I Go Again [Edna Wright]

09 Do Something For Yourself [Weldon Irvine]

10 Wild Party [Tito Duarte]

11 Ain't No Change [New Birth]

12 Sunshine Holiday [Carolyn Franklin]

13 God Made Me Funky [The Headhunters]

here

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Queen of the Backups: Clydie King

Clydie King

Who hasn’t wanted to be a back up singer? My first consciousness of this particular species of humanity was when I saw Gladys Knight and the Pips perform Midnight Train to Georgia on Soul Train in the early 1970s. I suspected that I should not be deriving such pure pleasure from seeing three men in immaculate suits moving in honeyed unison as if they were performing some seriously important task akin to healing or miracle working. I wanted to be a Pip, if only to possess a license to pull an imaginary train whistle and wear really loud clothes.

Clydie King is one of those amazing singers who seems to have backed up everyone from the Rolling Stones (Exile on Main Street), Steely Dan (Can’t Buy a Thrill), Lynyrd Skynrd (Sweet Home Alabama), Ray Charles (many many songs) and of course Bob Dylan (most of his Born-Again era work). Indeed, Clydie did more than simply back Bob up in the studio. She, for a while, was his wife, or at least ‘main squeeze’ and is said to have born the great man two children. Some even claimed she was instrumental is ‘leading him to the Lord’.

They say every back up singer’s dream to be the headliner. And Clydie King was no different. She issued several records under her own name and tonight, we present her debut album, Direct Me. Certainly not as nasty as Betty Davis, but neither as cotton candy as Diana Ross, Clydie’s voice brings back a rush of memories of 70’s American soul. Upbeat or slow, she’s got some chops and you can see why she was in such demand by all those white boy rockers!