Lyman Woodard - Creative Musicians

I have never dedicated myself to playing an instrument, yet many of my close friends have always been musicians. I learned that musicians get to communicate to each other via the instruments that they play. I could never convey the sounds in my head via an F flt or a G sharp (or whatever the terminology is) or through a complex jazz chord. I did however, harvest and dedicate myself to exposing obscure music. So, record collecting, aka digging, became the way in which I could communicate to my musician friends. I had a running dialog with some of my musician friends, one in particular was my close childhood friend Bart Davenport. At the time he was shaping his newest musical voyage 'The Supernaturals" (which became "The Kinetics") and was eager to hear what I had to say. What I had to communicate to him was the likes of Eugene McDaniels, Ellen McIlwiane, American Gypsy, and Lyman Woodard. These, and many others were treasures and discoveries that I cherished. But, I cherished and enjoyed even further seeing the Kinetics play their cover of Lyman Woodards' "Creative Musicians". Seeing that band, and hearing tones and echoes of Shuggie Otis and Mark Murphy was a sign that I could truly communicate vibes and feelings to musician friends.
How I came about Lyman Woodard was through a local Oakland record store. Rick Ballards Imports aka The Groove Yard was less than a block from my house. No more than a sobering stumble and only enough time to losely gather and tame 'partied too hard' and 'last nite rock star' hair. I think often I was rubbing crust from my sleepy eyes right into the record bins. But, I saw alot in that little shop. Japanese cats searching for 'out' jazz, deejays hunting for 'breaks' and local kids looking for 'funk'. Man, seriously... A LOT of great records passed through there. Rick had a staple of tasty stuff that he exclusively distributed. I pulled goodie after goodie from that spot. Sealed copies of Shamek Farrah and many others on Strata-East, countless records on the "Black Jazz" label, Hal Singer, Smoke on MPS, and a few sealed copies of this gem of a rare groove lp. Lyman Woodard has since been re-released by the wax poetics folks. Big ups, and thanks to them for putting out this Lp and Lyman's other two Lp's "Dedicacion" and "Don't Stop the Groove". Support Groove Yard, Lyman Woodard, Wax Poetics, and last but never the least, my homie Bart Davenport.

This song while short and quite lacking in recording quality has always been, in my mind, nothing short of pure genius. n-joy!



Lyman Woodard - Creative Musicians

Hummingbird - You Can't Hide Love

The other night I went for a cruise. I stopped by the ocean and watched the sunset. Then went downtown under the bridge and chatted with some hooker. Then I went a few blocks, got out of my car, walked in front of another car and pulled them out of their car, and stole their ride. Later I got kinda bored, so I crashed my car into a police car and had a shoot out with the police. It took a few minutes, but I stole another car and got away. Then this came on the radio..Hummingbird - "You Can't Hide Love". Oh, wow.... THAT tune! Fuckin' amazing. When I first heard that tune I wasn't as impressed. Again, I had my head way too deep into HARD funk, and the soft stuff just didn't move me as much. NOW, more recently...that's my shit. I'm not sure about carbon footprints, moral values, or what the real purpose is for drive/steal/kill video games (other than to just pass some time). But, I'll tell you they have definately figured out how to expose music. I remember hearing Oliver Cheatham's "Get Down Saturday Night" and being like 'wow, yes! THAT jam...so glad that's on here' (when I heard it) on an earlier version of Grand Theft Auto. They made me want to play that tune out again. Same with this Hummingbird track. A definate jewel of an unknown soul song, by a long lost group. Can you believe even FELA KUTI is on Grand Theft. That's amazing. I gotta say to the video game kids, nice work. burn rubber bitches.

Hummingbird - You Can't Hide Love

American Gypsy

American Gypsy were a funk jazz outfit with deep mutating grooves and were slightly progressive and experimental. I was first hip to them in my endless quest for samples, and as usual stumbled on their drum sounds. And, as usual I was turned onto a richer sound that drew me into the entire LP and eventually a whole 'nuther style of music. Throaty big and lush vocals, much like Gil Scot-Heron, and tracks that totaled a vast array of influences. American Gypsy were in fact, American, but spent much time abroad. They spent a great deal of time in the Netherlands and released two Lp's there, one in the mid 70's and another in the early 80's. Sandwiched between the two is this excellent American release on the chess label. "Inside Out" starts as a classical music prelude number, and erupts into one the sickest drum and bass breaks I've ever put my ears on. The song changes yet again into a slower misty eyed groove, amazing! "Stuck on you" is a little more common fare disco style, but still a good indication of how capable American Gypsy were at transcending scenes. One could say they were well ahead of their time. They were indeed quite popular among other US musicians and had quite a period of notoriety for their live gigs. I suppose they found more appreciation overseas, but now they are well loved and appreciated here as well.

American Gypsy - Inside Out

American Gypsy - Stuck On You

Sylvia - Sho 'nuff Boogie

Sylvia, aka Sylvia Robinson and this joint "Sho 'nuff Boogie" is one of my secret weapons. Just the kinda shit you wanna drop late at nite. It's late as hell now, as I'm writing this. This is smoothed out sexy soul that borders so close on the sleaze factor that it's almost scary. This is the same Sylvia that recorded 'Pillow Talk' and even farther back recorded 'Love Is Strange' as Mickey And Sylvia. She's been in the game a long time. Her 'Pillow Talk' LP has, what I believe to be, a not-so flattering picture of her. As does all of her early LP's. Often clad in lingerie or silk nighties. But, we often judge women artists on looks, before the talent is really on the table. And, Sylvia has loads of talent, charm, and musical savvy. She had her hands in so many projects both with producing and/or writing.
Many people don't know that in addition to having great contributions with labels like Stang, Vibration and All Platinum, she was one of the founders of the Sugar Hill label. Additionally, she's credited for having masterminded the all time monster hits "The Message" and "Rapper's Delight". She's one of those rare individuals that behind the curtain, out of the lime lite, and unknown to most, she's left a legacy.
The male vocals here feature The Moments who at several times were Sylvia's label mates. They recorded "The Next Time I See You" with her as well.
'Sho 'nuff Boogie' appears to only have been released on 45. However, I'm including this LP picture from a very rare issue LP of hers. Not even too sure of whether its a legit release. It may be a re-issue, using a pic from a rare 45 picture sleeve. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. But, the cover is a winner. And, so is the song. I found this LP after a long starving for it, after having only seen it on British want lists and Japanese rare groove guides. Also, here's Sylvia performing "Sweet Stuff" on 'Soul Train' from Daily Motion.

Sylvia - Sho 'nuff Boogie

Sylvia Robinson.Sweet Stuff [SoulTrain.1976]
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Flashback 45's - Deep Funk Favorites

Although this isn't the first post of the year, it is my Happy New Years post. So, here's to you and an amazing New Year. While we look into the future and start a new decade, I'd like to take a look back. This isn't much of a diversion if you've been following our blog. We usually only highlight older recordings, or at least never anything recorded recently.

More like a vinyl graveyard if you will. This is more of a personal retrospective for me. These are three cuts that represent a sample of the sound that I tried to emulate when I used to DJ. My love of deep funk or heavy funk lasted many, many years, probably upwards of close to twenty years actually. So, here's my New Years present for you, three undisputed, heavy weight, 45 only, funk tracks. Straight from my library. The Barons, Bobby Franklin, and Eddie Bo. All highly aggressive, mean and dirty funk tunes. A real representation of what I played before I became obsessed with italo, cosmic, boogie, modern and disco. As usual, I say to you: enjoy.


The Barons - Making It Better
Bobby Franklin's Insanity - Bring It On Down
Eddie Bo & Inez Cheatham - Lover And A Friend

Willie Mitchell Tribute!

Willie was behind so many of our beloved Al Green classics, as well as joints by Ann Peebles, Otis Clay, and Syl Johnson. His passing makes me have a stronger urge to see Al Green live in concert. I think we need to support our musical heros while we can. I've included a few Willie tracks to pay our respects. "Bum Daddy" is classic Barkays type stuff. "That Driving Beat" is a mod floor filler in a complete Jr Walker style. Willie was a super great unsung hero, a behind the curtain champion of the southern soul sound. We will greatly miss you! P.S. I highly recommend "The Gospel According To Al Green" very, very friggin' awesome. Many incredible and intimate moments with Al and Willie.




Willie Mitchell - Bum Daddy
Willie Mitchell - That Driving Beat

Amadeo - Real Magic

I can't seem to budge from my current obscession with 'cosmic'. So, here's yet another tasty track. Have we asseessed that the majority of these 'cosmic' tunes are completely crazy yet? This is on the french label "Disques Ibach", yet from the looks of him Amadeo could be from Turkey, Tibet, or the Phillipines. I have a strong affinity for records with odd accents. Like, for example one of my favorite bands, The Shocking blue. Or, perhaps the prince of italo boogie Ago, with the lp "For You". All of those have a special edge to the vocals. It's that slight imperfection in the accent that I love. I suppose the accent isn't that strong in the entire song, but Amadeo appears to be, in this song at least, the definitive weirdo.
For me, this track walks the fine line somewhere in between Clockwork Orange and Logan's Run. Perhaps with a little Rollerball thrown in for good measure. Or, a song straight out of "The Apple"

Amadeo - Real Magic