Sparks – No. 1 In Heaven
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC | 300 dpi scans | Synth-pop, Electronic, Disco
1.35 GB (24/192) + 806 MB (24/96)
1979 Elektra 6E-186
This is Sparks’ world and we’re all just living in it. Their catalog is an embarrassment of riches. A group that continually reinvents itself but always remains unmistakably Sparks. Continue reading
McFadden & Whitehead – Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now b/w I Got The Love
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC & mp3 | 300 dpi scans | Disco funk
515 MB (24/192) + 280 MB (24/96) + 87 MB (16/44.1) 34 MB (320 kbs)
1979 Philadelphia International Records – 2Z8 3675
It’s a Wednesday and everyone can use a little help to power through the rest of the week, so I thought I’d make a very short post here. Featured here is a solid slab of funk-driven disco, a dance floor anthem, and a smash hit for McFadden & Whitehead. It overflows with positivity and joy. This extended mix brings an additional 3 minutes to its already prodigious length. The B side, “I Got The Love”, seems to be the same mix as the album version. This tune owes a lot to Otis Redding, in particular the chord changes of ‘Hard To Handle’ in the chorus. It’s also a great tune, but “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” is what you came for. A good friend of mine called it a perfect song the other day, and I’m inclined to agree.
Label/Cat#: Philadelphia International Records – 2Z8 3675
Country: US
Year: 1979
Genre: Funk, Soul
Style: Soul, Disco
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Tracklist
A – Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now (10:45)
B – I Got The Love (03:32)
Total length: 14:17
More information: https://www.discogs.com/release/363828-McFadden-Whitehead-Aint-No-Stoppin-Us-Now
Transfer lineage: Record cleaned on Music Hall WCS-3 machine with custom fluid; vinyl 1979 Philadelphia International 2ZB 3675; Pro-Ject RM-5SE with Audio Tecnica Signet TK7E cartridge; Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 preamp with Philips NOS ECC83 tubes powered by Accu-box battery PSU; Audioquest Black Mamba and Pangea Premier interconnect cables; RME Babyface Pro interface ; Adobe Audition at 32-bit float 192khz; Click Repair with output monitored in real time; further clicks and pops removed manually with Adobe Audition 3.0; resampled, dithered, converted to FLAC using iZotope RX Advanced. Tags done with Foobar 2000 and Tag and Rename.
Johnny Hammond – Gears
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | Art scans | Jazz-funk
2022 Craft Recordings “Jazz Dispensary” Ltd Ed. of 2000 copies || Orig.rel. 1975 Milestone
Like its predecessor Gambler’s Life, this Mizell Brothers production stands out from Hammond’s catalog for being very different from the soul-jazz / blues organ tradition that Hammond usually worked in. The Mizells wrote all but one of the compositions here, and its definitely of a piece with the other (heavy-handed?) production work of the Mizells on contemporaneous efforts by Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Bobbi Humphrey and others. Continue reading
Willie Colon with Hector Lavoe & Yomo Toro – Asalto Navideño Vol.II
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC | Art scans | Folk, Holiday, Salsa
2023 Craft Recordings || Orig.rel. 1973 Fania
I wanted to get this post up before the holiday season passed, and I just *barely* made it — Jan. 6 is the end of the Xmas season in Latin America, with the holiday of Three Kings Day / Feast of the Epiphany closing things out. If you don’t know Willie Colon and the late, great Hector Lavoe, this may not be the place to start. Not because it isn’t good, but it’s not typical of the lean, street-wise salsa sound they helped craft in the formative period of the genre during the late 60s through the 70s.
John Fahey – Popular Songs Of Christmas & New Year’s: Guitar Instrumentals
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz || Folk, Holiday
1983 Varrick || Includes insert from Rounder
Less hauntingly beautiful as his initial Christmas LP, this is still plenty enjoyable. Heck, by 1983, Fahey had released enough Xmas records that I quite literally can’t keep track, especially since at least one (or possibly two) got repackaged with different covers. Anyway, check this out if you liked any of the others. Continue reading
Azymuth – Telecommunications
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | Brazilian Jazz
Distributed as FLAC (24/192, 24/96) and mp3 (320kbs)
1982 Milestone || 2022 Jazz Dispensary (Craft) || Ltd. ed
Hey, remember when this blog featured Brazilian music? Me neither! Well, the relative inutility of music blogs in 2023 notwithstanding, I’m going to make a New Year’s resolution to start visiting Brazil more often, sonically at least, in 2024. Why not start early with this classic recording from Brazilian jazz outfit Azymuth, recorded in Brazil but not released there, this was originally issued by Milestone. It is presented as part of the Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf series by Craft Records in a limited run. Continue reading
