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The Sylvers – The Sylvers
Vinyl rip in high resolution
FLAC | 300 dpi scans | Soul, Funk
1972 Pride Records || 2019 Mr.Bongo
The early seventies were the heyday of “family” bands from The Jackson 5 to The Staples Singers to, um, The Partridge Family. But there many less famous groups like The Stairsteps, and The Sylvers, with their own patriarchal figure helping shape things, and several guys named Leon in the mix. Continue reading
Nat Turner Rebellion – Laugh To Keep From Crying
Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | | Soul, funk
Philly Groove Records, Chrysalis – PGRV101
The Nat Turner Rebellion – the musical act, not the historical event – was a promising group from Philly that imploded before they ever really got off the ground, featuring vocalists Joe Jefferson, Major Harris, Ron Harper and Bill Spratley. With only a pair of singles issued while they were together, their planned debut record got shelved and sat collecting dust among the holdings of label Philly Groove Records before ending up in a stash of donated material at Drexel University, waiting almost half a century to finally be released. Continue reading
Nina Simone – Nina Simone’s Finest Hour
2000 Verve Records (314 543 604-2)
I thought I would make a quick blog post to commemorate International Women’s Day and pay tribute to one of my heroes, the great Nina Simone. Superlatively gifted and inspired as both a pianist and vocalist, courageous and visionary, groundbreaking, tenacious, mercurial — I could keep throwing adjectives at this woman all day and never run out of them. Is this collection her “finest hour”? Continue reading
Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul
Original release 1969 on Enterprise Records
I’ve posted about this album before, in the early days of this blog, and will probably post about it again. It’s just a class act through and through. I had originally wanted to prepare something romantic for Valentine’s Day, even though I don’t personally care about it, and then considered one of Dione Warwick’s albums to commemorate the passing of Bacharach. But bad luck and trouble came knocking again, with yet another school shooting in the U.S., this time at a place that I have a personal connection. So, I don’t especially feel like doing blog posts and the work that goes into them right now. Continue reading
The Manhattans – The Manhattans Sing For You And Yours
Reissue CD on Collectables (COL-CD-5136)
Original release Carnaval Records CLPS 202
The Manhattans were a soul vocal group from New Jersey who stayed true to that format through thick and thin, while incorporating new elements into their sound. Sometimes those elements clashed – for example, some tracks on this collection feature utterly unnecessary congas, played rather poorly. They get props from me for keeping their visuals on point: matching suits, maybe some white gloves (as in this cover photo), coordinated dance moves on stage. They could have easily decked themselves out in paisley and big floppy hats and gotten away with it, but they didn’t. Continue reading
This was the first Fatback Band album after leaving Perception Records for a long stint with Polydor subsidiaries Event and Spring Records. It’s worth having just for the opening track, Mr. Bass Man, which is a funk classic.
