March 30, 2004
Booyacka.
The Original Gangster has dropped in to say hi! Giving him just enough time to have a little dig at me (stifles laughter, only joking Ian!), it's always an honour.
Penman's what you might call "the effortless hipster", he knows that something's crass cultural currency is the third generation manifestation of it's cosmic vibrancy. Yeah I did seem to give "Ingram" the band quite short shrift. There are (you'd be probably be exhausted to know) pre-echoes of some kind of revival of interest in this era. Reynolds going out of his way to tell anyone and everyone of his love for Vicki D's "The Beat is Mine" and Freez's "Southern Freez", Soul Jazz releasing their "British Hustle" Compilation (surely the benchmark of a viable revival when these cats sign on), Honest Jon's have put out a Candi Staton compilation (admittedly from a slightly different era), er, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Though strangely, while the Garage scene is often a key link to those heady Essex Soul Raves, it's never been less slinky or pink than right now.
In terms of the Mutant Disco era (the revival of which the Penster rightfully takes great glee reigning in), the hotly-anticipated "Calling Out of Context" collection of previously-unreleased Arthur Russell material must be the final act of barrell-scraping. I've withheld chiming in on this for the simple reason that I was waiting to get my grubby mitts on the difficult-to-find double vinyl edition of the Audika set (bloody typical!) I have to say I think this collection, in direct contrast to what I was hoping for it here, is a clinker. And everyone's afraid to say so, innit.
More often than not unreleased material is best left that way. If an artist hasn't managed to get past the hurdle of releasing their music, even on the tiniest limited edition run, then I say leave it be. Of course there are exceptions, like The Velvet Underground's fourth LP. There is in fact lots of of quite obscure Russell material, which was once available, which could do with being put out: Peter Gordon's 'That Hat", Peter Zummo's "Song IV", "Sketch for Face of Helen", the Tower of Meaning LP.
It's tragic to reflect that Russell sounds crushed and desperate on "Calling Out of Context" (the only highlight being "Wild Combination"), palpably depressed, you can hear it in the crack in his voice. Where "World of Echo" is windswept, iconoclastic and arrogant; "Calling Out of Context" is worn-down, lonely and courageous. I'm sorry, when I hear these qualities in music I just want to shut the blinds, make the poor dude a cup of tea, tell everyone the show is over and in this instance hand out free copies of Henry Flynt's "You Are My Everlovin'", Caetano Veloso's 1986 eponymous solo LP and Francois Rabbath's "The Face of the Bass."
So yeah 80's Soul. I'll be hastling Kirk Degiorgio again! Personal highlights include Mtume's "Juicy Fruit" (on a loop in my coffin), Chic's "Happy Man" (at my 20th Wedding Anniversary) and Maze's "Twilight" (when, and if he's even writing one, the Penster's book gets published).
Posted by Woebot at March 30, 2004 09:31 AMYou could do a whole thing on Russell-a-like records. Like Ra in that sense.
Posted by: Matt Woebot at March 30, 2004 04:36 PMI'm not knowledgable enough to comment on Arthur Russel records, but 8Ts soul... well I;m not that expert on that either but some off the cuff faves:
Don't stop the music; Just be good to me; Funkin for jamaica (FABULOUS record); and the daddy, Don't stop til you get enough, which I overheard at a wedding party in hotel i was staying in on Saturday and sounded just pulverising. You should've seen the room go off to that on a Friday night in Ilford in 1982.
Honourble mention to D Train's you're the one for me just cos my memory's been jogged and its on the line from 8Ts soul to house. From there to Good Life, but also to Loose Ends, yum...
Posted by: paul "the mover" meme at March 30, 2004 10:10 PMIsn't Don't Stop strictly speaking 70s (it came out in 78 I believe)...
On the 80s tip, yeh Freez and all that, but I always had a soft spot for Imagination, kinda like neuromantic soul innit...
Anyhow, thanks for saving me cash, Matt. i would have wasted it on that arthur russell elpee. Still, desperate to get hold of World of Echo, that's being reissued later this yr I think...
Posted by: mark k-punk at March 30, 2004 10:30 PMbut, but, but - 'the platform on the ocean', is one of the greatest songs i have heard in this or any other lifetime. also, where did you track down a vinyl copy from and more tho the point, if you don't like it, can i buy it from you?
Posted by: stirmonster at March 31, 2004 12:25 AMalso, a vote for "You And Me" and "Hop On Down" on Calling Out Of Context. guess Russell is the proverbial phonebook singer for me
Posted by: Paul at March 31, 2004 05:50 AMit's all about
i wonder if i take you home
would you still be in love
bay-bee
becasue i need you tonight
oh-uhoh
vocal science innit
and also
love come down
by evelyn champagne king
but you already knew that
Posted by: luke at March 31, 2004 08:42 AMIf all this is true then it means that, for once, I am increadibly hip. What a fluke. I'll have to wait another 15 years for this to happen again.
Posted by: oliver at March 31, 2004 09:06 AMDanni Petroni on Heart 101 FM.
Posted by: oliver at March 31, 2004 09:09 AMThe Soul Show on Radio London, Sunday mornings, Robbie Vincent, right after the reggae show, 1983 . Then stick on some Psychic TV very loud.
Yeah Mark, I was thinking about just when 8Ts soul can be considered to have started and stopped. I suppose this has all been covered in the liner notes of the soul jazz release (bit too hipster for me probably) but there's a few groups of different records here: the Brit jazz funk / soul thing (Can You Feel the Force onwards); the slightly more digital, slightly later soul stuff (Evelyn King, Mtume, Imagination); the big bad US power house soul stuff (Just be good to me). While Don't stop til you get enough is earlier, I think it counts simply because it was an Essex dancefloor staple throughout -- it was always current. 'Course, 8Ts soul morphed seamlessley into Soul II Soul, Loose Ends, D-Train, and from there into house music.
Imagination were SO important. They released a dub version of their first album!!! Ground-breaking! I'd really like to track it down.
Oh yeah -- Mama Used to Say -- one of the best records ever. Mixes in perfectly with Wham Rap too, pop-pickers.
Posted by: paul "the mover" meme at March 31, 2004 09:39 AMhave to be careful with this (got my wrist smacked by a brother cos of my slavery comments on the ingram post, i wasnt saying the band had been slaves, sheesh!) but here goes anyway:
the thing with the 80s soul is that (maybe even intentionally) its exclusionist. its black music getting with the programme isnt it? and in this sense it mirrors the slow jamz stuff.
i guess the terrain we're looking it as NOT DISCO (though it rubs up against it) D Train, that's nearly not 80s Soul (cos of the Prelude/Kervokian connection and that music's "tracky" qualities). 80s soul is basically "anti-tracky".
Other proper underground stuff: Joyce Sims "All in All" (a Manronik production that) Imagination (i have that dub lp paul, its alright...) and Linx (who weirdly i used to have loads of records by). Of course there's the question of Level 42's place in all this in the UK ;-)
I have a fun book "Whos Who in Soul Music" by Ralph Tee (turned out to be a friend of a friend) which covers this era in full record-knob detail.
Posted by: Matt Woebot at March 31, 2004 09:51 AMNight Dubbing by Imagination currently in stock on cassette (if you're not fussed) in Oxfam, Upper Tooting Road, for £2.49.
Does this mean that Danny Baker was right all along (vis a vis circa 1980 NME rant against white boy punkfunkers, we only like dance music when it's wearing a Better Badge, the REAL revolution is going on with Light of the World, Hi-Tension et cetera)?
(I seem to remember that DB picked Liquid Gold's "Dance Yourself Dizzy" as his top single of 1980)
Posted by: Marcello Carlin at March 31, 2004 10:23 AMSee also today's N Maja comments on Low Budget Soul (their "Mystery Rose/Waves" is just about the best Britsoul piece I've heard since "Hangin' On A String"). Clearly we need to keep an eye on Abstract Blue Recordings; they could prove to be important.
Posted by: Marcello Carlin at March 31, 2004 10:26 AMMy mum used to play Imagination all the time. 'In the Heat of the Night', that album. That's how I got into music. Listening to Imagination while building airports out of Lego.
Posted by: oliver#2 at March 31, 2004 01:08 PMAnd Shalamar!
Posted by: oliver at March 31, 2004 01:36 PMto Oliver
...you built an airport out of Shalamar!
No. I built it on rock and roll.
Posted by: oliver#2 at March 31, 2004 03:47 PM