imshakin » soul

Alvin Hemphill-The Jug Pt. 1 (Big C, 196?)

alex larotta — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:34:37 +0000

Hailing from Dallas, TX, Alvin Hemphill and his 7″ single, The Jug, might be some of the best in North Texas’ soul-jazz output. With its tall, walking bass, splashy drums, and funky Hammond organ groove, Alvin released this single on the local Big C label (likely his own custom imprint) and vanished into relative obscurity. As far as I know, this is his only known release, but a mighty fine one at that. Though the Gulf Region has a considerable amount of diverse, cross-cultural sounds, independently produced soul-jazz is considerably unique to Texas’ Great Plains (at the very least, of lesser quantity). With little information to go on, I’ll leave you now with Alvin’s delectable organ swinger.

LISTEN: Alvin Hemphill-The Jug

The Insight/Gilbert and his Blue Notes-Out Of Sight (Cascade/Rosina 196?)

alex larotta — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:26:10 +0000

Welcome to another edition of relatively unknown 7″ singles from Texas. I thought I’d bring it on back home this week and bring some funky soul fury from the southeasterly quarters of Houston, TX. To be precise, The Insight cut their single “Out Of Sight” out of Pasadena, TX at Pasadena Sound Studios, but I tend to lump artists and labels from this area within the Houston circuit because of its proximity to the city limits. That being so, this is the only known documented single from this Texas group, and the only record I know of from this label. It’s as ‘one-off’ as you can get, all told. Though facts of this record are few and far between, I do know that this is one of the first known recordings from Texas’ legendary albino bluesman, Johnny Winter. Johnny Winter was active throughout the Houston and Beaumont area (now known to music historians to be within ‘The Golden Triangle’ in Texas) throughout the 1960s, and subsequently released various singles under an arrangement of groups and recording names. If I was to estimate, I’d put this record somewhere around ‘65 or ‘66 due to its near-matched arrangement qualities shared with James Brown’s “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag”, originally released in 1965. Just as The Beatles inspired a generation of garage rock kids to create rock and roll movements across the world, James Brown’s widely credited introduction of funk and soul rhythm in pop music inspired soulers across the world to ‘do the James Brown’ their own way.

Now, to add to the obscurity of this recording, we have a cover of this single from San Antonio’s Gilbert and his Blue Notes, recorded and distributed out of San Marcos, TX. I personally find it fascinating because of the scale of obscurity and relative unknown original version to then be covered by a chicano soul group out of San Antonio, TX. Gilbert’s rendition of the original has a decidedly rougher recording element to the original version, with a loose horn section and gritty lo-fi guitar and bass arrangement. Overall, the recording lacks the luster of The Insight’s original, but it’s a noteworthy cover, especially for Texas latin soul. Nevertheless, hope these tracks get you through the day, these are some of my favorite recent additions to my collection and I am more than happy to share!

LISTEN: The Insight-Out Of Sight

LISTEN: Gilbert and his Blue Notes-Out of Sight

Ray Barretto- A Deeper Shade of Soul (Fania 1968)

alex larotta — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:25:36 +0000

Greetings! Hello again, hope all is well in your corner of the globe. We are back in full force now with the blog, and returning to our regular posts now that the holiday season is over. As mentioned previously, I was down south in the wondrous capitol of Colombia, Santa Fe de Bogota. Though I didn’t find the time there to update the blog while visiting with family, I was able to dig up some fine Colombian and Latin records in the ferrias (outdoor markets) outlying the swelling hub of the maniacal downtown hustle. I met a few of the vinyl and music merchants during my lustful vinyl escapades, and it was in one of the ferrias that I met Leon, an amicable vinyl dealer with loads of latino boogalos, cumbias, porros, salsas, and even some rare 60s era Andean garage and psych records (and a unique taste for 80s death and black metal). Though a few were out of my wallets stretch, I did come through with an affordable grip of all these genres and more (including an oddball Colombian-label release of Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band’s Electric Coffey LP).

So, I thought it would be incumbent upon me to share some of my flea market found goodies. And today’s post, in particular, is a personal favorite and I was quite ecstatic when I came across this LP in a dusty, busted-up Coca-Cola crate located under a 30 pound load of mid-century medical Encyclopedias (in good shape, considering). Stepping out of the funk and soul outfit, I’d like to introduce some fine NY-styled latin boogaloo by one of the masters of the game, Mr. Ray Barretto, recorded and released on the giant of Latin labels, Fania Records.

Although Fania was a NY-based label, it represented the explosive musical soundscapes of Latino music and culture in the 1960s, post big-band jazz ensembles and orquestras. Started by famed musician Johnny Pacheco and attorney Jerry Musucci, Fania released a host of latino records by some of the biggest names in Salsa, Latin-jazz, and Boogaloo. Ray Barretto, today’s musician of discussion, is considered by many as the ‘Godfather of Latin Jazz’. Born and raised in Spanish Harlem, Ray’s parents moved from Puerto Rico in the 1920s, where he learned and mastered jazz percussion and incorporated aspects of afro-latin rhythms, now considered to be his signature stylings on latin records of his day. A Deeper Shade of Soul, featured on Ray’s landmark 1968 Acid LP, represents the revolutionary sounding of NY-styled latin boogaloo, with fresh fusions of traditional Cuban mambo rhythm and American boogaloo and R&B, amongst a host of other pan-American influences. Without further ado, hope you enjoy today’s selection, and I’ll have to apologize because I don’t have the ability to post up more pictures due to the fact that my camera was stolen during my trip. SO, until I get the means to get another one, which should be soon, I’ll have to use some photos I found online of the record. And I highly recommend PBS’s fantastic Latin music mini-series, Latin Music USA, for more in-depth info on Fania and the NY latin sound (as well as all facets of Latin-American music), which can be found here. And lastly, a big shout out to Larry G. over at The Funky 16 Corners blog, thanks for the nod! And on that note, check out his post on Mr. Barretto’s The Soul Drummers, a fantastic funked-up slice o’ latin boogaloo also found on this gem of an LP, you can check it out here.

LISTEN: Ray Barretto- A Deeper Shade of Soul

The Superlatives- I Don’t Know How (To Say I Love You) Don’t Walk Away (Westbound 1969)

alex larotta — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:45:17 +0000

I picked today’s choice out of my need to expose a song that seems to have lodged itself permanently within the confines of my psyche’s collective jukebox. The Superlatives’ “I Don’t Know How (To Say I Love You) Don’t Walk Away” breathes and talks to me on a regular basis, it’s superb soul sensation at it’s prime. It’s fun, sweet, and playful, and features some kick ass drums and topnotch Motown style harmonization a la Temptations or Four Tops to boot. I could go on about the subtleties of the recording itself too, the warm smudge of reverb on the backup vocals or about the lush vibes rolling in the background, but I’ll let the band do the talking on that end.

Their seems to be limited information concerning The Superlatives of Detroit, Michigan, other than the copy I have is a 2nd issue from Westbound who picked up this sweet lil 45 for regional distribution. It seems The Superlatives originally cut their records on the local Dynamics label, a small time Motor City label with little means of wide circulation. If you’re ever interested in reading up on some more detailing of the Motor City 60’s soul underground, check out Soulful Detroit’s music form, there’s a wealth of information and related ephemera, including the photo included below. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado…The Superlatives.

LISTEN: The Superlatives-I Don’t Know How (To Say I Love You) Don’t Walk Away

Loyce Cotton-Try It, You’ll Like It (Aquarius 1972)

alex larotta — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:08:35 +0000

I tried it, I liked it, a lot. I pulled this weeks 45 last weekend at the Austin Record Convention, considerably up there on my want lists and paid a fairly reasonable price for it, thanks to Pete for his flavorful 45 stacks. And I’ll apologize for not having too much detailed information for this weeks post so I’ll have to keep this short and sweet, much like this song. Loyce Cotton’s Try It You’ll Like It was released on the Houston-based Aquarius label and produced by Pope, another small time Bayou City label with wider distributive capacity. It seems that Aquarius released a slew of 45 singles throughout their activity in the 60’s and 70’s and even touching on some boogie and modern soul in the late 70’s, one release being a particular favorite of mine, Doin’ It by Houston bluesman Clarence Green, which I’ll definitely post sometime soon in the near future. I couldn’t find much, or anything really, on Ms. Cotton’s career or that of her recordings in my thorough detective interneting. I did find that France’s Motown President and funk and soul connoisseur, Gilles Petard, released this song on the first series of his illustrious Absolute Funk compilations. If you don’t know, now you know…

As far as I know, Ms. Cotton released only one other 45 on another Houston-based label (Jetstream) but it doesn’t seem that her records made it further past the local radio circuit. It’s a shame, considering her potential for national radio play as a strong female soul vocalist. Nevertheless, Try It You’ll Like It is simple and straightforward funky soul with some nice wah wah on the guitar, a punchy bass line and a groove-filled organ solo right around the middle, tendering a persuasive message about the niceties of receiving love and kisses. Clocking in at a mere two minutes, this mid-tempo workout is a fine piece of the ever impressive catalog of Houston soul music.

LISTEN: Loyce Cotton-Try It You’ll Like It

Carol Jones- Don’t Destroy Me (Mutt 1968)

alex larotta — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:59:11 +0000

Drums and horns. Heavy, raw, and mixed upfront and drenched in distortive compression, it’s true lo-fi gritty soul at it’s best! Carol Jones’s “Don’t Destroy Me” is a marvelous piece of the ever-impressive catalog of Motor City soul. Released on Mutt Records, a small, independent soul and pop label located in the western suburban banks of Detroit (in the back of the owner’s bail bond business to be exact), Don’t Destroy Me stands seemingly defiant of the popularized Motown signature, especially for a Detroit soul recording. And seeing how Mutt didn’t have any viable avenues for national distribution (or international for that matter), Carol Jones likely lived out her short-lived career on the Detroit club circuit.

And interesting side note, arranger Aaron Neal and producer Scott Bray did in fact release various versions of this sweet funk-tinged soul shaker, one of which is a model of the string-heavy and more melodic Detroit soul sound. Apparently that version is a bit more rare than this particular one, featuring Ms. Jones’ searing vocals mixed in the front and de-emphasis of the backbeat and horn section. According to some Internet gossip, there had been some interest in reissuing the Mutt catalog, but as reported by the son of the label owner, all of the master tapes had been destroyed in a devastating studio fire.

Though I couldn’t find much on Ms. Jones and her should’ve-been career, it is interesting to note that Mutt did have a wide array of repertoire and genre throughout their short-lived activity. Label-mates Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers issued their instrumental deep funk burner “Searching For Soul” on Mutt, check out Flea Market Funk’s great post on that here. And there were quite a few soulers, funkers, and rockers that released a slew of singles, but as far as I can tell, no full lengths of any sort.

Without further ado, hope you enjoy this weeks’ savory portion of raw soul, this one makes my heart flutter.

LISTEN: Carol Jones-Don’t Destroy Me