TOUGH BREAKS: Chapter II

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TOUGH BREAKS: YOUR FAVORITE SAMPLES

AN ODE TO THE ART OF SAMPLING. DOWNLOAD HERE

RADIOPHONIC ODDITIES: FALL 2011

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ROOTS & GROOVES

Tune in every Thursday from 2-6 PM (PST) at KMHD

"DUSTY NUGGETS PRESENTS THE WORD! VOLUME IV"

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After the last volume of The Word! in 2009, I thought for sure that the the series had reached its inevitable conclusion. Not only was the process of collecting the material itself exhausting, the crates had also run dry--there was no more gold left to mine. It had been a good run.

Yet, here we are again, two years after the the release of Volume III--and now, hundreds of LP's and 45's later, Dusty Nuggets is once again happy to present the fourth volume. Culled from largely out-of-print/ rare LP's and obscure 45's, Volume IV, as you've come to expect, digs deep--spotlighting eclectic, genre-bending, mind-blowing cover songs and reminding us that the Beatles' music is simply unrivaled in pop music for its adaptability. With that in mind, Volume IV brings together perhaps the most diverse group of artists and variety of musical treatments in the whole series.

To start, The Alan Copeland singers juxtapose the lyrics of "Norwegian Wood" over the distinctive 5/4 cadence of Lalo Schifrin's "Mission: Impossible" score. While it sounds awful on paper, Copeland's version is simply too much fun not to include. Bit-A-Sweet's cover of George Harrison's "If I Needed Someone" is a prog/psych rarity, notable for a big, chunky drum break at the top the song. Ghanian-born singer Charlotte Dada delivers a soulful, warm take on "Don't Let Me Down." The swinging version of "Paperback Writer" comes from the London Jazz Four, who also made an appearance on Volume I.

Lowell Fulsom's blues-rock cover of "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" is a scorching, gritty effort. The Ventures, also known as the best-selling instrumental band of all time, deliver a spacey, economic version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" without sacrificing any of the original's psychedelic luster. Bobby Bryant brings us a dramatic, dynamic arrangement of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," while Living Jazz give us an energetic version of "Eleanor Rigby" with a huge drum break. Bill Deal and the Rhondells speed up "Hey Bulldog" a bit, and give the song a different urgency, whereas Fats Domino takes "Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and Monkey)" a few clicks down in BPM--its relaxed and effortless, and it sure sounds like Fats was having some fun.

The Gentle Rain's LP Moody (1973) sold poorly, but has since become a cult favorite for its dazzling instrumental arrangements; witness what they do with "Across the Universe." British pop/library composer Keith Mansfield brings a soaring, uplifting "All You Need Is Love." Organist Zygmunt Jankowski takes "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (from 1972's Hammond Pop Party) and sprinkles some funky Hammond work throughout--saving the song from camp territory. Also making good use of the organ are the Rob Franken Organization, their lone 1969 LP featuring the brief, funky version of "Fool on the Hill."

"Lady Madonna" comes from a 1968 LP called The Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra Presents, and it's a frenzied, brass-heavy arrangement. Reggie Milner's "And I Love Her" is a soulful archive from Stax; the psychedelic sitar strains of "A Day in the Life" come from a bizarre Dutch album called Okko Sitar & Electronics. The Bo Street Runners, an English R&B act, give us a rollicking version of "Drive My Car," and Ramsey Lewis makes his third appearance on The Word series with his stunning treatment of "Dear Prudence."

I almost excluded Ike & Tina Turner's "Come Together" from the final set--I wasn't sure listeners would want yet another version. Yet Tina sings the everloving hell out of it, and the band sounds in top form. Fred Van Zegveld's "Hammond Organ Dynamite" (1969) is where the 6-minute barnstormer "I Wanna Be Your Man" comes from, and Petula Clark does a fantastic version of "Rain." Brooklyn's Budos Band reimagine "Reppirt Yad" (read the title backwards) as a dark, menacing Afrobeat dirge. Closing out the set, the British band Amen Corner cover "Get Back" from their 1969 LP Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven.

So...is this the end of the series? Maybe. Maybe not. I've got a few ideas kicking around should ever a Volume V come to fruition. Thanks to everyone who has emailed, shared, and supported this series. But for now, we'll conclude by simply saying, Thanks, and I hope we passed the audition.

"Say the word and you'll be free."

"RADIOPHONIC ODDITIES RETURNS: FEBRUARY 2011"

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PS: Please remember to sort by ALBUM in iTunes, otherwise it will play the tracks alphabetically, and thus out of sequence.

"LET'S MAKE CHRISTMAS MEAN SOMETHING! (VOLUME III)"

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Happy Holidays!!

"DUSTY NUGGETS PRESENTS: HALLOWEEN"

Because there's only so much of "Monster Mash" and "Thriller" you can take, Dusty Nuggets ventures into Halloween territory with a devilishly delightful soundtrack for your costumed adventures.

(As always, remember to sort by "Album" in iTunes...or just burn a CD.)

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"EGG ROLL"

Originally released in 1970 on Montreal’s Trans-World label, Strawberry Soul is a rare and amazing instrumental deep funk album released by African-American ex-pat trumpeter Billy Martin. Martin also released an album called I Turn You On via Onion Records where his hit “Funky Feelin” also appeared. He was a local star on the Canadian R&B scene for a while, but disappeared without a trace after this amazing release. (Courtesy Music Direct.)

"INSIDIEUSEMENT LES ELFES"

Originally released in 1970 on Montreal’s Trans-World label, Strawberry Soul is a rare and amazing instrumental deep funk album released by African-American ex-pat trumpeter Billy Martin. Martin also released an album called I Turn You On via Onion Records where his hit “Funky Feelin” also appeared. He was a local star on the Canadian R&B scene for a while, but disappeared without a trace after this amazing release. (Courtesy Music Direct)

"YAMASUKI"

This pseudo-Japanese concept album was the brainchild of prolific French production duo Jean Kluger and Daniel Vangarde. Based on a dance named the "Yamasuki", it was originally released in very small quantities on the independent label Biram in 1972, inadvertently becoming a useful educational tool for French students keen to learn Japanese. "Yamasuki" is a collection of beautiful pop songs, sung by a Japanese choir, offset to pounding drum patterns, vibes and fuzz guitar work-outs. The hip-hop-esque beats of ‘Yama Yama’ and ‘Kono Samuri’ have made the original LP a highly sought after relic for break collectors, the hip-hop market and beatmakers.

The amazing crew at Finders Keepers Records reissued this gem, and to them: big thanks.

"BLIND ALLEY"

The Emotions are an American all female soul, disco, and R&B singing group. The group was formed in their current hometown of Chicago, Illinois in 1968, and originally consisted of the three Hutchinson sisters, all the children of Joseph and Lillian Hutchinson.

Their 1971 Stax LP, Untouched, features the classic break "Blind Alley," sampled hundreds of time, perhaps to best effect by Big Daddy Kane in "Ain't No Half Steppin."

We had this in the bins at Hall of Records for a whole ten minutes before a lucky customer snatched it up.

IT'S GO TIME.

A few months back, you might remember we teased you with a quick post about Hall of Records. After many months of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, we are happy to announce that we'll be open on THURSDAY AUGUST 19th, from 4:30-midnight. Our address is 3342 SE Belmont, Portland, OR.

If you enjoy the music featured on here, we hope you'll come by and say hello. You can also read the Hall of Records saga at our blog.

Our grand opening is scheduled for SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 18TH.

Punch it, Chewie.

"ONE FOR THE ROAD"

Greg Perry was one of major staff writers for Invictus/Hot Wax and co wrote most of the hits of Chairmen of the Board, Freda Payne etc. His first solo album, originally released on Casablanca in 1975, was called One for the Road. It is now regarded as one the best soul albums of all time.

"TALK"

Two true masters of French jazz - Michel Colombier and Ivan Jullien - teamed up in 1970 with other well known musicians from the French scene to record this excellent album at the famous Barclay Studios in Paris. The music was composed and played by Colombier and Jullien together with an allstar ensemble of finest studio players. Famous drummer Andre Arpino can be heard aswell as hammond master Eddy Louiss, Maurice Vander on piano, and Raymond Gimenez on electric guitar. Riviera Sound No.1 stands out as one of the perfect moments in French jazz funk, never reissued before and remaining on top of collector`s lists since years. There are not many facts to be found about this vinyl artifact, although nearly everybody of the featured musicians earned himself an excellent worldwide reputation.

The ten piece horn section delivers a great funky big band style from start to finish; wicked jazz funk is mixed with soundtrack or drama library sounds, like "Opening", that was also released on an impossible to find 45 single in the same year. "Crescendo" tears up every dancefloor, while "Talk" provides a monster open drum break at the beginning. Softer titles like "Edith" or "The Looser" draw their inspiration from cool jazz, modern jazz or pop music of the time. "I Remember Otis" is a soul and funk infused tribute to Otis Redding in a delicate Majestics or Mohawks style and the perfect groover "Wake The Monster" was re-recorded by Ivan Jullien later on for the always in demand Italian mod beat band "I Pyranas".

Ivan Jullien studied architecture and worked as a memorial inspector before he was sent to the Indochina war between 1952 and 1954. Back in Paris, trumpet playing became his main profession within the Paris jazz and variety scene of the time. He was soon playing in famous orchestras before accompanying big names like Johnny Griffin, Lester Young, Benny Bailey, Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon or Maynard Ferguson in the orchestra of the famous Olympia. In 1964 he was playing, arranging and recording for the likes of Johnny Hallyday, Francoise Hardy, Sacha Distel, Claude Nougaro, Charles Aznavour or Charles Trenet. All in all he did write thousands of arrangements for countless well known names from France and also started to compose and arrange big soundtracks like Claude Lelouche`s Un homme et une femme.

"Big Jullien" also started to lecture music analysis and music arrangement in 1983 and organized several big bands between 1965 and 1983. In 1993 he arranged "Carmen Jazz" featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater for the Vienna Festival, followed by special jazz arrangements of French chansons for Michel Leeb, finally performed by the Count Basie Orchestra in 2001. He received the "Prix Django Reinhardt" in 1971 and was also awarded with the "Prix Boris Vian" for his jazz adaption of "Porgy & Bess" together with Eddy Louiss. In 2003 he also received a "Victoires de la Musique" for his lifetime work. Moreover the man is "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres", still working strong and arranging for his own big band today.

Michel Colombier learned to play the piano at the age of six, discovered jazz by eleven and soon performed or wrote for small combos and big bands. Later on he was playing and conducting the widest range of sounds from chamber orchestra to jazz band before being hired as artistic director for Barclay Records. The man stands out as one of the most important French music personalities of the 20th century. He not only composed music for more than 100 movies but also arranged some of the well known sounds by Prince or the first English album by Charles Aznavour, produced by Quincy Jones for release in the US. On the jazz scene he did write for many big names like Branford Marsalis. His classical works include titles for the Kronos Quartet aswell as various ballet musics. Michel Colombier passed away 2004 in Los Angeles.