Collecting 1972's Life, Love and Faith, 1975's Southern Nights and 1978's Motion, as well as a bonus disc of a complete 1975 concert, The Complete Warner Recordings is the rare compilation that serves as both highlight reel and in-depth tutorial. To call Allen Toussaint "underrated" is both fitting and a slight understatement, as though his recorded output over the past 50 years has been incredible (for those who've been keeping track), he's best known as the writer of other people's hits. Glenn Campbell made "Southern Nights" his own in his 1977 album of the same name, Bonnie Raitt used "What is Success" as the centerpiece to her 1974 Streetlights LP and just about everyone has their own version of "Working in the Coal Mine." Looking back on his string of LPs for Warner/Reprise in the mid 70s though, it's amazing Toussaint didn't hit it big in his own right. The first of the bunch, Live, Love and Faith, overflows with hits, touches on tripped out funk and, though bordering on genre exercise, manages to hold together quite nicely, but his second LP for the label, Southern Nights, is the true masterpiece. Held together by the title track, sections of which weave in and out of the LP in ghostly apparitions, Southern Nights is a classic fusion of southern soul and tasteful psychedelia in the hands of a true master - impeccably arranged from end to end and fascinating through a set of headphones. Its follow up, Motion, doesn't quite move me as do its predecessors, but I'm sure it will eventually, so it's great to have on deck. Highlights of the live set include "Last Train" and "Southern Nights," but really, it's incredible all the way through to Toussaint's closing statements.
Showing posts with label Soul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soul. Show all posts
Friday
Allen Toussaint
The Complete Warner Recordings - 1972-1978
Collecting 1972's Life, Love and Faith, 1975's Southern Nights and 1978's Motion, as well as a bonus disc of a complete 1975 concert, The Complete Warner Recordings is the rare compilation that serves as both highlight reel and in-depth tutorial. To call Allen Toussaint "underrated" is both fitting and a slight understatement, as though his recorded output over the past 50 years has been incredible (for those who've been keeping track), he's best known as the writer of other people's hits. Glenn Campbell made "Southern Nights" his own in his 1977 album of the same name, Bonnie Raitt used "What is Success" as the centerpiece to her 1974 Streetlights LP and just about everyone has their own version of "Working in the Coal Mine." Looking back on his string of LPs for Warner/Reprise in the mid 70s though, it's amazing Toussaint didn't hit it big in his own right. The first of the bunch, Live, Love and Faith, overflows with hits, touches on tripped out funk and, though bordering on genre exercise, manages to hold together quite nicely, but his second LP for the label, Southern Nights, is the true masterpiece. Held together by the title track, sections of which weave in and out of the LP in ghostly apparitions, Southern Nights is a classic fusion of southern soul and tasteful psychedelia in the hands of a true master - impeccably arranged from end to end and fascinating through a set of headphones. Its follow up, Motion, doesn't quite move me as do its predecessors, but I'm sure it will eventually, so it's great to have on deck. Highlights of the live set include "Last Train" and "Southern Nights," but really, it's incredible all the way through to Toussaint's closing statements.
Collecting 1972's Life, Love and Faith, 1975's Southern Nights and 1978's Motion, as well as a bonus disc of a complete 1975 concert, The Complete Warner Recordings is the rare compilation that serves as both highlight reel and in-depth tutorial. To call Allen Toussaint "underrated" is both fitting and a slight understatement, as though his recorded output over the past 50 years has been incredible (for those who've been keeping track), he's best known as the writer of other people's hits. Glenn Campbell made "Southern Nights" his own in his 1977 album of the same name, Bonnie Raitt used "What is Success" as the centerpiece to her 1974 Streetlights LP and just about everyone has their own version of "Working in the Coal Mine." Looking back on his string of LPs for Warner/Reprise in the mid 70s though, it's amazing Toussaint didn't hit it big in his own right. The first of the bunch, Live, Love and Faith, overflows with hits, touches on tripped out funk and, though bordering on genre exercise, manages to hold together quite nicely, but his second LP for the label, Southern Nights, is the true masterpiece. Held together by the title track, sections of which weave in and out of the LP in ghostly apparitions, Southern Nights is a classic fusion of southern soul and tasteful psychedelia in the hands of a true master - impeccably arranged from end to end and fascinating through a set of headphones. Its follow up, Motion, doesn't quite move me as do its predecessors, but I'm sure it will eventually, so it's great to have on deck. Highlights of the live set include "Last Train" and "Southern Nights," but really, it's incredible all the way through to Toussaint's closing statements.
Thursday
Numero 33: Light: On The South Side
Friends, the inimitable Numero Group has done it again. Set for release this month, the heroes of lost and found treasures are taking pre-orders for Light: On the South Side, a massive 2 LP set of mid seventies Chicago south side soul/funk bundled with a 132 page book of B&W photos of the era. Considering this sweet hometown homage looks to be the most impressive entry in the Numero catalog - yes, even better than Belize City Boil Up and Don't Stop: Recording Tap, stone classics around the House of Heat Warp - my pre-order's already in the stack. What's more, it means I got to wrap my ears around an instant download of the whole affair while I bide my time for the box and book to arrive in a couple of weeks. This is how you run a label, folks. Check out the preview below.
Tuesday
Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! - 1966
It was on the phenomenal title track to this classic LP that most listeners first came to know the name Joe Zawinul. Brooding, funky and brimming with far more soul than you'd expect from a white Austrian immigrant in the mid-1960s, Zawinul's now-legendary Wurlitzer-based composition easily pinpoints the exact moment at which the fusion of jazz and R&B was brought to the masses. Cannonball's career was hardly the same from this point on, and Miles would dive headlong into the brew soon enough with Zawinul as his lead songwriter and keyboardist. The entire Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! LP is a Southern gospel-soaked goldmine from end to end, even if this "live" session was cut in front of a select studio audience with an open bar, but nothing here matches the deep, laid-back groove of that title track. It all started here. So long, Zawinul.
It was on the phenomenal title track to this classic LP that most listeners first came to know the name Joe Zawinul. Brooding, funky and brimming with far more soul than you'd expect from a white Austrian immigrant in the mid-1960s, Zawinul's now-legendary Wurlitzer-based composition easily pinpoints the exact moment at which the fusion of jazz and R&B was brought to the masses. Cannonball's career was hardly the same from this point on, and Miles would dive headlong into the brew soon enough with Zawinul as his lead songwriter and keyboardist. The entire Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! LP is a Southern gospel-soaked goldmine from end to end, even if this "live" session was cut in front of a select studio audience with an open bar, but nothing here matches the deep, laid-back groove of that title track. It all started here. So long, Zawinul.Thursday
Otis Redding
Live In Europe - 1967
Recorded during the infamous Stax/Volt revue overseas tour in the Spring of 1967, the Live in Europe LP is a testament to the overwhelming power of soul music during this brief window in time, and the absolute rapture into which Otis Redding would send his audiences. It was coined "Beatlemania in Reverse" for good reason. Sadly, this was also the final LP Redding would see released before his death in December of that same year. As the Stax house band throughout much of the decade, Booker T and the MGs backed all of the artists on this European tour, and here do the same for Otis. Rather than the smoky, hypnotic grooves laid down by his usual touring group (as featured on his In Person at the Whiskey a Go Go LP), the MGs provide a tight, bouncy elegance that, aside from a few deviations and extended endings, keep the songs true to their studio counterparts. But as with any Otis Redding live document, his vocal prowess and ability to reinterpret his own tunes is nothing short of stunning. Now, forty years since it was recorded, the version of "Try a Little Tenderness" included here remains one of the most incredible performances of all time.
Recorded during the infamous Stax/Volt revue overseas tour in the Spring of 1967, the Live in Europe LP is a testament to the overwhelming power of soul music during this brief window in time, and the absolute rapture into which Otis Redding would send his audiences. It was coined "Beatlemania in Reverse" for good reason. Sadly, this was also the final LP Redding would see released before his death in December of that same year. As the Stax house band throughout much of the decade, Booker T and the MGs backed all of the artists on this European tour, and here do the same for Otis. Rather than the smoky, hypnotic grooves laid down by his usual touring group (as featured on his In Person at the Whiskey a Go Go LP), the MGs provide a tight, bouncy elegance that, aside from a few deviations and extended endings, keep the songs true to their studio counterparts. But as with any Otis Redding live document, his vocal prowess and ability to reinterpret his own tunes is nothing short of stunning. Now, forty years since it was recorded, the version of "Try a Little Tenderness" included here remains one of the most incredible performances of all time. Tuesday
Jimmy Smith
Root Down - 1972
As an undeniable master of the Hammond Los Angeles
As an undeniable master of the Friday
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis/Live! - 1971
Easily among the finest live soul records of all time, Curtis/Live! helped to serve as Mayfield's official departure from the Impressions and solidify his standing as a force to be reckoned with in his own right. Recorded live at the Bitter End in January 1971, the LP is a testament to the man's incredible guitar work and, buoyed by the slimmed-down ensemble, his deft ability at crafting tunes that held up even without the mountain of horns and embellishments featured so prominently in his studio albums. But what's most amazing about Curtis/Live! is the extreme subtlety with which this music, and Mayfield's overtly political bend were displayed; and how both have gone unmatched despite being often imitated for so long. With Mayfield's message startlingly relevant today, this LP is simply too good to not be in your collection.
Easily among the finest live soul records of all time, Curtis/Live! helped to serve as Mayfield's official departure from the Impressions and solidify his standing as a force to be reckoned with in his own right. Recorded live at the Bitter End in January 1971, the LP is a testament to the man's incredible guitar work and, buoyed by the slimmed-down ensemble, his deft ability at crafting tunes that held up even without the mountain of horns and embellishments featured so prominently in his studio albums. But what's most amazing about Curtis/Live! is the extreme subtlety with which this music, and Mayfield's overtly political bend were displayed; and how both have gone unmatched despite being often imitated for so long. With Mayfield's message startlingly relevant today, this LP is simply too good to not be in your collection.Monday
Charles Wright and the 103rd St. Rhythm Band
In the Jungle Babe - 1969
Classic soul to the extreme and your new summer album. A year before the release of their breakthrough 1970 LP Express Yourself, Charles Wright and the 103rd Street Rhythm Band dropped this slice of funky psychedelic soul that marked the beginning of their creative peak. Like a looser version of Sly & the Family Stone, the band play off one another superbly, with super deep grooves, soul to spare and political consciousness that unfortunately, resonates just as clearly almost 40 years on -- Wilco's been covering the band's brotherly love anthem "Comment" (included here) for the past couple of years.
Classic soul to the extreme and your new summer album. A year before the release of their breakthrough 1970 LP Express Yourself, Charles Wright and the 103rd Street Rhythm Band dropped this slice of funky psychedelic soul that marked the beginning of their creative peak. Like a looser version of Sly & the Family Stone, the band play off one another superbly, with super deep grooves, soul to spare and political consciousness that unfortunately, resonates just as clearly almost 40 years on -- Wilco's been covering the band's brotherly love anthem "Comment" (included here) for the past couple of years.
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