GRILOS

Erasmo Carlos, born Erasmo Esteves on June 5, 1941, in the Tijuca area of Rio de Janeiro, is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. A core member of the Jovem Guarda ("Young Guard") scene of 1960's Brazilian pop-rock, Erasmo often appeared on television, in magazines and feature films with fellow teen idols Roberto Carlos and Wanderléa.

In contrast to his simpler pop-rock early sound, Erasmo went on to produce several of the more moody and introspective MPB records of the 1970s, including Sonhos e Memorias, which featured the classic track "Grilos." The album is often considered just plain psychedelic, but it actually mixes an eclectic blend of smooth Latin-jazz, dreamy pop-psych, afro-Brazilian funk-soul and electro-acoustic folk-rock.

FUNKY HIGHLIFE

C.K. Mann is a guitarist originally hailing from Moses Kweku Oppong's band Kakaiku in the 1960s. In the '70s, Mann left Oppong and began his own band, Carousel Seven, in which he began composing his own songs and holding a basic osode beat with a solo guitar. The outcome of this combination was a mildly melancholy sound which was quite popular on the Ghanaian West Coast market.

Originals of this extremely rare LP have fetched over $350.

LET'S MAKE CHRISTMAS MEAN SOMETHING! VOLUME II

Jack Frost nipping at your nose? In-laws driving you crazy? Holiday travels stressing you out? Christmas season bringing you down?

Alas, my weary friends, we're here to help give Santa Claus a soul transfusion--and put a little extra kick into that mistletoe kiss.

Just in time for the impending madness of Christmas week and New Years, we're proud to present Volume II in our Let's Make Christmas Mean Something! series.

So thanks to all of you, dear readers, for another great year, and we'll see you in 2010! Big things to come.


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HOGIN' MACHINE

After Les Baxter made his mark in the late 50s and early 60s with classic exotica albums such as Ritual of the Savage and Tamboo!, he contributed soundtracks for a bunch of B-movies, including some classic horror flicks like Black Sunday and Baron Blood. As a composer of genre flicks circa late 60s, early 70s, it should come as no surprise that Baxter did some biker flicks as well. Hell's Belles, a 1970 Maury Dexter film, features one of the many American International Pictures with Baxter's cinematic scoring.

The highlight of the record is a 90 second fusion of spaghetti western and fuzz-funk called "Hogin' Machine," featuring one of the all-time great drum breaks at about :40 or so. The track was sampled by MF Doom ("Doomsday") and ShowBiz & A.G. ("Never Less Than Ill.")

SOCK IT TO ME SANTA

Before Bob Seger's name became synonymous with the Chevy "Like A Rock" commercials, he was just another hard working singer-songwriter from Detroit in the 60's.

In 1966, after playing in dozens of local bands without much success, Seger formed a new backing band called The Last Heard, which ultimately featured musicians he would continue working with for a while, consisting of Pep Perrine on drums, Carl Lagassa on guitar, and Dan Honaker on bass. With the Last Heard, Seger unleashed a furious James Brown/Wilson Pickett-influenced Christmas 45 called "Sock It To Me Santa." If only all Christmas music packed this kind of gritty soulful punch.

GO DOWN DYING

The huge and comfortable sound of Ray Brown's bass was a welcome feature on bop-oriented sessions for over a half-century, playing with, and for, legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Bud Powell. Brown's quick reflexes and ability to accompany soloists in a swinging fashion put him near the top of his field. After playing with Jazz at the Philharmonic, he married Ella Fitzgerald (their marriage only lasted during 1948-1952), and for a time led his own trio to back the singer. Brown recorded with an early version of the Modern Jazz Quartet (under Milt Jackson's leadership), and then became a permanent member of the Oscar Peterson Trio (1951-1966).

After leaving Peterson, Brown settled in Los Angeles, worked in the studios, continued recording jazz, and worked as a manager of several artists (including the Modern Jazz Quartet and Quincy Jones). He played with the L.A. Four starting in 1974, did a great deal to revive the careers of Ernestine Anderson and Gene Harris, and recorded extensively for Pablo and Concord.

One of Brown's more peculiar and funky efforts in his discography is the soundtrack to the film The Adventurers from 1970, and it's a mouthful of an album title: Harold Robbins Presents the Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim: Music from the Adventurers with the Ray Brown Orchestra Conducted by Quincy Jones. Though the film was a commercial and critical flop, the soundtrack became immortalized when Bjork sampled the track "Go Down Dying" for "Human Behavior."

Brown continued touring up until his death, dying in his sleep while napping before a show in Indianapolis on July 2, 2002.

PIMP

This moody downtempo tune shows the influence of Latin styles and Jamaican reggae in early 1970's Trinidadian music culture. The theme is said to be derived from Venzuela and was adapted by rapper 50 Cent for his massive smash "P.I.M.P.". Chief Mocambo engineer Steven "Def Stef" Tantrum did a wonderful job in restoring the old 8-track tape and mixing the track.

LET'S MAKE CHRISTMAS MEAN SOMETHING!

Guaranteed For A Soulful, Funky Christmas®!

(When adding to your iTunes, make sure you sort by Album Title for proper sequencing. The opening track should read "Intro.")

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RADIOPHONIC ODDITIES: FALL 2009

Ah, fall: the leaves are changing colors and falling lazily to the earth, the darkness of early evening nips at the heels of a blustery afternoon, the deep exhalations of our breath become visible in bleary, midmorning dazes.

Lovingly, as always, we are happy to share with you another mix of Radiophonic Oddities and Dusty Nuggets, deeply mined from the crates for your aural pleasure. As usual, the music is admittedly a veritable smorgasboard reflecting wildly eclectic records, to say the least.

So hit this here DOWNLOAD button, and hey....consider yourself informed. (And entertained.)

Big ups to DJ Clarence Duffy for assistance.

Tracklist:

1-Intro
2-The Dreaming Mind (Part 2)/Quantic & His Combo Barbaro
3-Jive Samba/Llan Thelwell
4-Fistfight in the Master Bath/Big Pimp Jones
5-The Empire Strikes Back Kenner Collection
6-No Sugar Tonight/The Shirelles
7-Madalena/Tania Maria
8-An Elephant Called Slowly/Howard Blake
9-Roy Rogers Quick Shooter Hat
10-Late Train/Ken Aldin
11-Pass the Pipe/Alliance
12-Rhyme Writer/Pete Rock
13-Fitch Shampoo
14-Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness/Soul Children
15-Latin Illusion/Natural Yogurt Band
16-Let's Get On Down/The Black Aces of Soul & The Eyes of Ebony
17-Paint It Black/Gil Scott Heron
18-Truth Spoken Here/Dorothy Ashby
19-Make the Most of It/Starfire
20-Losing You/Courtial
21-Goodyear's Magnificent Research Laboratory
22-Strip Club/Dudley Moore
23-How Good is Good/Mickey & The Soul Generation
24-Cissy Strut (Outro)/Sacramento Senior High School

Running Time: 55:53

YOUR AUTUMN OF TOMORROW

Truly one of the odder and more obscure 45's from the rich, overwhelming legacy of Northern Soul, The Crow's "Your Autumn of Tomorrow" is a doozy; it's a daring, even somewhat disorienting blend of jazz, soul, funk, rock, and psychedelia. In 2 and a half minutes, it's packed with more ideas than some songs double its length, and, listening to it now, it certainly sounds like a product of the genre-blurring directions of black music in the late 60's. It's raw and gritty, yet has an unmistakable dancefloor heart pumping.

AT THE SOUL IN

Preston Love--the famous alto saxophonist and bandleader from Omaha--once owned a record label with Otis Renwho, alongside his brother Leon, had owned the earliest black independent labels on America's West Coast: Exclusive and Excelsior Records. They later formed Class Records, scoring rock'n'roll hits in the late 50s. Leon's son Googie recorded for Class in the 60s, scoring with tracks like "Chic A Boo" and "Smokey Joe's La La."

In the mid 60s they set up another label, Soul Bag, which saw the release of the classic 45, Count Yates and the Rhythm Crusader's "At The Soul In." Produced by Googie Ren this is now an incredibly hard 45 to track down. Featuring some incredibly funky keyboards and a playful, rowdy atmosphere (not an unusual occurrence considering bands, especially soul and funk acts, actually used to record in the same room together), it's one of my favorite 45's of all time. It just has a great sound all its own.

HOW YOU GONNA GET RESPECT

With his grinding guitars, distorted sound and fervid call-and-response of those and many other recordings made for the King and Federal labels, Hank Ballard helped define the sound of rock and roll. He also ushered forth one of its greatest dance crazes, having written and first recorded “The Twist.” By the early 1960s, he’d charted 22 singles on the R&B charts, including “Work With Me, Annie,” which was the biggest R&B hit of 1954. It sold more than a million copies and spawned more than 20 answer records (including Etta James’ “Roll with Me Henry").

By the late '60's, Ballard was working as a solo act, often with James Brown's revue, and 1968's "How You Gonna Get Respect (If You Haven't Cut Your Process Yet?)" was a minor R&B hit, and is one of the funkiest tunes from his catalog.

EL CAMIENTE SOLITATARIO

La Kabala were a psychedelic funk/rock outfit from Mexico, who seemed to have only released one self-titled album. The LP is mega-rare and has gone for as high as $700 on Ebay.

"El Camiente Solitatario" opens with a single-note staccato piano and drum pattern before the rest of the band kicks in with flute, organ, guitar, bass, and great vocal harmonies. It's a great blend of psychedelia and funk, with a cool arrangement and a distinctive sound.

TEMA RIO 65

Dom Salvador is a renowned Brazilian jazz musician with extensive international experience as accompanist of MPB acts like Elis Regina, Quarteto em Cy, Jorge Ben, Edu Lobo, Rosinha de Valença, Sílvia Telles, and Elza Soares. His Rio 65 Trio had maybe the best Brazilian drummer of all time, Edison Machado, and bassist Sérgio Barroso. They performed around and recorded Rio 65 Trio in the same year.

It's one of the greatest, and naturally, rarest, samba LP's of the 60's (a decent copy will run around $250); a masterpiece of dynamic, adept playing that captured the essence of Brazilian samba and jazz.

FRY CHICKEN IN YOUR HOT PANTS

Here's a good reason why working a day job pays off - Clarence Foster; a Philadelphia born IRS employee with a whole lot of funk in his trunk. Thankfully instead of continuing the theme and having song titles along the same lines, Mr Foster conjured up tributes to some of his favorite things: Frying chicken, hot pants, and basketball.

Just like it's hard to find an old school hip-hop rhyme without references to Superman, it's hard to find funk records that don't reference either Fried Chicken or Hot Pants, two of funk's finest staples. So why not combine them into one? Check the MEGA drum break that begins at :35. Grab it from Freestyle Records!