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Leci Brandão – Antes Que Eu Volte A Ser Nada (1975) (1980 Japan Polydor / Marcus Pereira WLP)

Leci Brandão – Antes Que Eu Volte A Ser Nada
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans |Samba, MPB, Brazil
1975 Marcus Pereira || 1980 Polydor Japan

 

A classic debut album from one of the best artists to emerge from the 1970’s roots samba revival in Brazil, Leci Brandão is unique in that not only was she a tremendous singer but she also composed — on this album, there’s not a song she didn’t write!  Leci Brandão – Antes Que Eu Volte A Ser Nada (1975) (1980 Japan Polydor / Marcus Pereira WLP)

Slapp Happy – Acnalbasac Noom (1980) (2020 Our Swimmer)

Slapp Happy – Acnalbasac Noom
2020 Our Swimmer – WELLE102 for Record Store Day
Original release 1980

Recorded with members of Faust at that band’s Wümme studio in 1973, this album was originally scrapped and then rerecorded (without Faust) and released as Casablanca Moon. This version finally surfaced in 1980, with the original title spelled backward.   I’ve seen it described as “more raw” than the rerecorded album, but don’t be fooled — these aren’t demos, this is a finished album, recorded and mixed immaculately. I love it to pieces, and although gets both the “prog” and “psychedelia” tags, there is a strong vibe of jangly folk-rock here too. In fact it is so tuneful and melodic that it is hard to believe this is the same band that would merge with Henry Cow a few years later. From Dagmar Krause’s double-tracked vocals to Peter Blegvad’s impeccably-crafted guitar work, this record is a pleasure from start to finish.Slapp Happy – Acnalbasac Noom (1980) (2020 Our Swimmer)

Eddie Harris – Bad Luck Is All I Have (1975)

Eddie Harris – Bad Luck Is All I Have
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | 300 dpi scans | Jazz, Jazz-funk
1975 Atlantic Records SD 1675, Presswell

This is an under-the-radar album, never released on CD, from the eclectic Eddie Harris, who gets help from Willi Bobo and Bradley Bobo in the rhythm section (as well as Calvin Barnes, who only has a few sessions to his name). Strangely, for a jazz-funk album from the middle 1970’s, there is almost no trap kit drumming on this, instead relying on timbales and other percussion for most of the groove. Some fun trumpet work from Oscar Brashear on this too.  It’s an essential album by any means, but the eclectic Eddie Harris was always worth a listen.  Eddie Harris – Bad Luck Is All I Have (1975)

Willie Colón & Rubén Blades – Siembra (1978) (2021 Craft) Day 12 of 12 of FV’s 12 Days of Xmas

 

Willie Colón & Rubén Blades – Siembra
1978 Fania Records (original)
2021 Craft Recordings / Concord (reissue)

If you are only going to have one salsa album in your collection, you could do much worse than a copy of Siembra.  For fans of the music, I’ve heard many stories about the opening track, Plástico, that are typically along the lines of “I remember when I first heard that song and it blew my mind.  Singer and lyricist Rubén Blades had only broken out of working in Fania’s mail room a few years prior — his first recording, if I’m not mistaken, was on Ray Barretto’s 1975 album, Barretto.  And he seemed determined to do what activist Felipe Luciano, then of the Young Lords,was entreating young salsa musicians to do in this cool documentary of the period: create music that moved away from commercialism (and by the late 70’s Fania had perfect a “formula” for hit records, and was sticking to it…) and instead spoke to the lived experience of the struggling communities who embraced the music, both in New York and throughout Latin America.

So don’t be taken aback by the opening bars of disco that great your ears in the opening bars of Plástico: it’s not an experiment in musical hyrbids (which, if you frequent this blog, you know I’ll defend ’till the end of time), since it doesn’t recur anywhere else throughout the albums 43 minutes.  Instead it is a musical meta-commentary on the lyrics about materialism and conformity, lyrics which conclude with a hopeful and exultant call to resist the crushing sameness. And the best news is:the rest of the album is equally good as this opening cut.

On this last day of this 12 Days of Christmas series, I’m trying to do my small part to take back January 6 for what it has traditionally been throughout Latin America (and not just the Spanish-speaking parts of it) — Three Kings’ Day – instead of the shitshow that date currently symbolizes in the U.S.

Willie Colón & Rubén Blades – Siembra (1978) (2021 Craft) Day 12 of 12 of FV’s 12 Days of Xmas

Barbara and Ernie – Prelude To… (1971) Day 11 of FV’s 12 Days of Xmas

Barbara & Ernie – Prelude To…
Original release 1971 Atlantic
Reissue, 2013 Real Gone Music

I almost headed off to bed without posting Day 11 of this 12 Days of Xmas thing.  It’s only the fifth day of the year and I’m already exhausted with stress.  Too tired and strapped for time to give this album a proper tip of the hat.  This record pushes all my buttons in all the right places.  It’s a shame that Barbara Massey was relegated to background vocals for most of her career.  Ernie Calabria had done lots of session work with the likes of Harry Belafonte and others.  With Deodato doing the arranging, this is a treasure of soulful-psychedelic-folk-rock. #autoharpBarbara and Ernie – Prelude To… (1971) Day 11 of FV’s 12 Days of Xmas