Dios (Malos)


Dios (Malos) used to be called dios. A year or so ago they were contacted by lawyers in the employ of diminutive metal god Ronnie James Dio. Apparently the metal imp thought that the band dios could be easily confused with himself and sued them to stop using the name. They complied by adding (Malos). Their latest album is a self titled affair that picks up where their last one left off. These guys write Californian (they're from Hawthorne, CA) slacker rock in the vein of Grandaddy or Neil Young. They also like to throw in the occasional Beatles reference, and are aces at the stoner rock anthem. Grrrl is pure '70s pop radio gold - a strummy riff, sunny vocals and melodies - it's a short burst of shiny pop perfection. I Want It All is shimmery, sad guy rock. These dudes have a real knack for melody, and this one is no exception. I love the drum sound on it - so big. I also really like the handclappy break halfway through. A lovely, rootsy album full of memorable tunes.

Black Acetate


John Cale turned 63 this year. The Welsh art rocker, former Velvet Underground member and sometime Eno collaborator released one of his hardest hitting records ever to celebrate. Black Acetate jettisons most of the hip electronics that were all over his last LP, Hobosapien (produced by Nick Franglen from Lemon Jelly). This record is all about power trio rock, with a bit of electro embellishment added for occasional effect. It's powerful stuff, loud and aggressive and riff-tastic. Turn The Lights On means business from the get go - big snarling riff, John's booming baritone, that fierce squalling solo. It's heavy stuff for such an old geezer. Hush is more experimental like some of the material from the last album. It's sparse, squlechy art funk - a basic beat, wah wah guitars, lots of vocal interplay and effects. A loud and in my face album that is one of my fave rock records of the year.

Spoon vs. John McEntire


Spoon's latest single is Sister Jack, a track from their recent LP Gimme Fiction. The "b-side" (it is a CD single) has the previously unreleased Sunday Morning Wednesday Night, the video for the title track, and a John McEntire remix of another track from the LP, I Turn My Camera On. In it's original form it's a super sparse slow jam - vaguely funky and minimal. McEntire applies his sonic magic, beefing up the beats, adding watery effects and punching up the vocals. The end result is almost gangsta in it's feel - sounds crazy, eh? Spoon have always had a heavily danceable appeal to their music, so it's cool to hear that played up. Here's I Turn My Camera On (John McEntire Remix).

Sunday Special Request - Doot Doot

NickFRESH just found this old post from October, and commented on how much he needed this tune. I am happy to oblige...



Freur predated Prince in one special way - the use of a glyph as their name. Look at the cover above - the circle with the zig zaggy line coming off it is the band's name. It was a silly gimmick, and one their label knew would make it hard to sell records, so they asked them to change it. Instead, the band then came up with a way to pronounce the glyph - Freur. Freur are also notable because it's the earliest recordings of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who of course went on to become Underworld, the titans of '90s electronica. The music here is a mix of prog rock and synth-pop. It seems like a deadly combination, but somehow on the tune Doot Doot (12" Version) it works for me. The vocals are classic Karl Hyde - the cadence, the way he sings words - it's all there. The song was a minor hit in the British charts, and I've always loved it's oddness. It still sounds pretty good today, although the drums at the end are a bit dodgy in that gated, '80s syn-drummy way. Its a nice bit of psychedelic pop that slowly builds from trippy, cricket chirping mellowness to full on, blip laden proggy pounding. The band failed to have any kind of real success, split up, and Karl and Rick went on the form version 1.0 of Underworld. The rest is history.

Funky Friday's The One For You


I'm short on time today so it's a quickie post. D Train's debut single, 1981's You're The One For Me, is today's funky flashback, a classic slice of electro disco. It features some absolutely fab synth squiggling, booming production and slick arrangements by Hubert Eaves III. Over this big electro-disco track you get the deep gospel voice of James "D Train" Williams. And a catchier than shit chorus. This is the tasty 12" remix - I'm not sure who did this mix as the mp3 wasn't properly tagged. Both François Kevorkian and Paul Hardcastle did remixes, so it could be either - it sounds closer to Hardcastle's style to me. I especially like the breakdown - key solo, vocal riffing, then the track builds up again. James' vocals after the break are great - full of life and funk. A stompingly good tune to send you on your merry weekend way.

My '80s Remastered - Touch


Earlier in the week I did a Eurythmics post that covered their debut LP Sweet Dreams. I also picked up a copy of it's follow up, Touch. it's another album full of gorgeous hits like Here Comes The Rain Again and Who's That Girl?. It's got it's quirks - the calypso funk of Right By Your Side, and it has it's emotionally big moments too - No Fear, No Hate, No Pain. While I love this record, I don't think it has aged as well sonically as Sweet Dreams - there are a few of those more dated sounding productions, although the remastering goes some way towards fixing that. There are seven extra tracks on this, including the previously unreleased take on the David Bowie/John Lennon nugget Fame. While it's not exactly a classic take, it's still interesting to hear. I like the burbly rhythms, and the rest of it is really all about Annie's voice. Another recommended remaster.

The Roots Home Grown!


Philly crew The Roots have been dropping knowledge on the masses for over a decade now, combining the awesomeness of the live, band driven groove with the thought provoking raps of Black Thought. Their records have had their classic moments, and their live show is the stuff of hip hop legend. Last week saw the release of Home Grown! The Beginners Guide To Understanding The Roots. Curated by drummer extraordinaire Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, there are two seperate CDs (Vols. 1 & 2). The material comes from ?uestlove's archives, and features exclusive remixes, never before released tracks and lots of liner notes from the mighty stick man. It's a heady brew of beats and pieces from this experienced crew, and I still haven't fully digested it all. I love these guys - have all the records, seen 'em live. These two discs are a lot of fun. Today I give you one of my all time favorite Roots tunes, taken from Vol.1, and one that features the fabulous vibes playing of the legendary Roy Ayers - Hometro/Proceed 2 (Featuring Roy Ayers). It's one hell of a fat ass groove - tight drums, big thick bass lines, and those velvety smooth vibes slay me every time. This version was originally on the Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool compilation from 1994, and is a remake of a track that appeared on 1993's Do You Want More?!!!??!. Classic smokin' grooves.

Brasilian Post Punk '82-'88


As Mercenarias came to my attention earlier this year when several of their tracks appeared on a couple of cool compilations I had picked up - Nao Wave & The Sexual Life Of The Savages. Both featured Brasilian bands from the early to late '80s who took the post punk blueprint laid out by the Brits and Americans and added the flavor of Brazil - the language and the rhythms. As Mercenarias are an all girl group, playing punk-funk. Yes, they are still together after 25 years. Their music is tight, edgy, and danceable. It's everything that I could ask for in a post punk record. And their sounds fits in with today's scene very nicely. Soul Jazz records has released a compilation of the band's finest moments entitled Brasilian Post Punk 1982-88 - O Começo Do Fim Do Mundo. If you buy the vinyl you get a cool 7" of demos. The album kicks off with the springy, scratchy groove of Me Perco, and the later years are represented by the mellow-ish Lembranças with it's lovely guitars. Rumor has it that they will be touring Europe at the end of the year with a new lineup featuring two of the original girls plus a couple of new guys. Sounds like a pretty great show.

My '80s Remastered - Sweet Dreams


Last week saw RCA release the Eurythmics back catalogue in expanded remastered format. Dave Stewart helmed the remasters. They are available as single discs, or all bundled together in a box. Each album has extra tracks - b-sides, remixes, live recordings and previoulsy unreleased songs. Thee remasters are, as I've grown fond of saying, "the shit". I picked up the first 2 albums, Sweet Dreams and Touch, and plan on getting a few more as well. Sweet Dreams has really benefitted from the remastering - it sounds so much beefier, and the details are more pronounced. This was their big breakthrough album, and it covers a lot of ground. It's been a real blast rediscovering this record over the last week. I was afraid that it might sound a bit dated, but to my surprise it has aged pretty well. The thing with this duo is that they aren't jusy synthpop, although synthpop is a big part of the equation. There is Euro flavor, horns, a touch of art rock, and a hefty dose of experimentation. And that voice. Unique, and with such range, capable of going from angelic, operatic heights to down and dirty gruffness in a blink of an eye. I am still amazed at how beautiful her voice is. Combined with the quirky instrumentation of Dave Stewart, it all added up to something very cool and different, and it's still that way. From the opening salvo of Love Is A Stranger to album closer This City Never Sleeps there isn't a dud on it. It's class from start to finish. Instead of the big hits I'm sharing a personal fave track, This Is The House. It's got a persistent beat, a hugely funky bass riff, horns, lyrics in Spanish, blippy synths and scratchy guitars. Basically, a little bit of everything, perfectly balanced - it's all good. The bonus material is interesting - a couple of b-sides, a Giorgio Moroder remix of Love Is A Stranger, a Coldcut remix of Sweet Dreams, and a previously unreleased version of Lou Reed's Satellite Of Love. It's fascinating stuff, and if you are a fan you will really dig these!

Sweet 7"s of the '80s - Shake Shake!

Occasionally I am willing to take a special request. Kenny asked if I would repost some tracks that I originally wrote about in March of this year (under the title "An '80s Obscurity"). I've never come across anybody who has ever heard of Shake Shake!, and since the mp3s were still on my computer, here you go!

Shake Shake! were pretty much a one off. As far as I can tell they put out only one single, 1981's Shake Shake!, released on Tot Taylor's ultra hip early '80s indie label The Compact Organization - home to swanky looking and sounding popsters like Mari Wilson. Google has very little info to offer on them. A group of musicians and studio engineers who previously had worked on Swedish singer Virna Lindt's Attention Stockholm single, they included multi-instrumentalists Jo Dworniak and Duncan Bridgeman. There is a lot more info available on these two as they have continued to be involved in music over the years. Their next project was I-Level, a Britfunk trio (who will be the subject of tomorrow's Funky Friday post), and they also worked as session musicians - they appear on John Foxx's The Garden LP. Duncan continues to record, most recently under the name 1 Giant Leap, who in 2001 released an LP of world music mixed with electronica and lot's of high profile guest vocalists - folks like Michael Stipe, Babaa Maal, Asha Bhosle, Neneh Cherry and Michael Franti. But I digress - the two songs recorded as Shake Shake! are B-52's inspired, sorta funky new wave - the sleeve touts the music as "new songs for a new route" and also informs us that "Shake Shake! play funktional music for every function". Shake Shake! is gloriously herky-jerky in it's rhythms, and features fun female-male vocal interplay spouting lyrics about getting down to the beat. I love the sparseness - drums, bass, keys and the vocals all nicely balanced. Flip it over to the B-side and you get Yellow Ditty, a lurching post-punk dub thing. This track actually kind of reminds me of the music of M (Pop Muzik) - slightly wacky, definitely danceable oddball new wave.

Funky Friday's '80s Triple Play

I'm closing out "sweet 7's" week with some eighties soul stuff...

Gwen Guthrie - Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The RentThis is a tough as nails single from 1986. Take a fab disco diva voice, let NYC disco legend Larry Levan handle the production, and voila! - a stone cold classic with lyrics that cut against the grain. No "I love my man" shit here - it's realist vibe says "no romance without finance". Gwen is fierce on this electro disco classic 7" - "you've got to have a J.O.B. if you want to be with me". To which I say "yes, m'aam!"

Dennis Edwards - Don't Look Any FurtherThis 1984 single from this former Temptations singer features some great co-vocals from '80s r'n'b singer Siedah Garrett, as well as a very memorable groove. Samples of this song have been used by a bunch of folks, including Eric B & Rakim and Tupac. The bass line is classic, the key riff is ultra catchy, and the result is a smooth as butter slice of '80s soul that still sounds great to my ears today. Sweet.

Evelyn King - I'm In LoveThe title track from her 1981 LP, this album saw the disco diva hook up with one time member of B.T. Express, Kashif. He wrote and produced this tasty tune, which rides a giant electro bass line. It's a very groovy, midtempo disco track with that balances electro and organic instruments and combines it all with Evelyn's distinctive, husky voice. Kashif's thick, funky electro grooves that you hear were sought out by all kinds of musicians of the era, and he would go on to cut records with Aretha, Whitney, George Benson, Al Jarreau and Melba Moore among others.

Sweet 7"s of the '80s - Listen To The Radio


Tom Robinson began his career in the '70s s part of the acoustic trio Café Society. Their debut album was produced by Ray Davies from the Kinks. According to Tom's bio it only sold about 600 copies. He was also an openly gay man - not a common thing at the time - and his experiences living in London's gay community informed his music. Inspired by having seen the Sex Pistols, he left Café Society and formed the Tom Robinson Band. They were homo-political pub-slash-proto-punk rockers, and they scored an early hit with the tune 2-4-6-8 Motorway. However, it was a tune from it's follow-up EP that gave him his most notorious moment - the live version of the song Glad To Be Gay was banned by the BBC. The ensuing album was big but the TRB fell apart. In the early '80s Tom moved on to front the hotly hyped Sector 27. They recorded one critically lauded album with Steve Lillywhite and then they too fell apart. In 1983 he returned to the British charts with a mellow ballad called War Baby - a great tune with a smokin' sax solo. I thought about posting that one, but instead decided to share the follow-up, a song that he co-wrote with Peter Gabriel called Listen To The Radio (Atmospherics). A moderately funky slow jam, it rides a chunky groove, features soulful back ups and lots of great horn parts (love the Guy Barker trumpet solo) as well as Tom's gruff, melancholic voice. A nice little piece of '80s obscurity.