Thursday, August 10, 2006

Friday Classics #1


I have decided to dedicate Friday posts to Another night on Earth Classics, it may be kinda silly cos i will probably post more of my other favourite tracks from the past on other days too, but it may also force to me to hand over some more new stuff in the week for those of u who need new new new. Today’s three tracks are all good, real good in my opinion, the sorts of things that show their age but remain worthy of repeated listening from time to time, the kind of songs i try not to loose track of in the ever increasing piles of cd's & records that take up so much space in my life. Idris Muhammad's 'Could Heaven Ever Be Like This' was released on CTI in 1977, it shot to no 1 on the Billboard Dance Charts and stayed there for several weeks. Muhammad, a formidable drummer, for those of u who don’t know, has worked with many jazz, soul and funk big names, this particular track comes from his 'Turn This Mother Out' Album which has several top tracks on it, 'Could This Be...' like its name is possibly the nearest thing to greatness. I have not heard many of his other albums so if people out there (the five or six of u who read this blog) know anything or can point me in the right direction please please do. Next up is Larry Heard as MR Fingers (oops i think i titled the mp3 as by Larry Heard), with a track off his '94 'Back to Love' album, one which was hugely popular here in South Africa. I worked in a reputable record store in Hillbrow, Johannesburg and this album walked off the shelves, every time we got stock of it. Anyway I was very into the techno/house scenes of the day, but i was also a big acid jazz fan and though this album doesn’t fall into any of those categories, it and a few other things that came out at the time helped turn me onto more soulful things. 'Love's Guaranteed' is a gem in my mind; sweet, soulful, dynamite backing vocals and Larry's lovely keys and voice. Last up is Benji Candelario as Swing 52 and his 'Why Cant We Live Together' themed song 'Colour of My Skin' sung by Arnold Jarvis and brilliantly remixed by Deep Dish (that drum pattern was big with them back then, along with warm keys and a load of other signature moves they have long since moved on from). Of course if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t put it up.
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