Roy Head - The Same People

Same People (That You Meet Going Up, You Meet Coming Down)


She's About A Mover



ROY HEAD
The Same People
1970

256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Dunhill DS-50080


Not much to add to the reviews below since the truth lies somewhere between the two. The players are pretty much a complete mystery and the fact that the album was produced by the Crazy Cajun, Huey P. Meaux, at Houston's hit factory, Gold Star/Sugar Hill studio, and recorded in May of 1970 doesn't help much at all. Heck, these guys seem to have brokered quite the deal just by getting their first names and pics attached to the product, since most times Meaux paid struggling session musicians a flat fee and sent them on their way after recording was complete. However, Meaux gave his records to the University of Texas at Austin, including detailed lists of payments through that period, so the answer ostensibly sits there awaiting some intrepid soul to sift through the stacks of documents donated.

Head came back into the public view a few years ago when his son, Sundance, was a crowd favourite on American Idol's sixth season. Roy's been soaking up the attention since and has been giving interviews left, right and centre in his outspoken style as well as performing to unlikely crowds at hip events like SXSW a couple years back in addition to golden oldies soul and R&B fests. According to all accounts the attendees are blown away by this soon-to-be septuagenarian's splits, spins and kicks on stage.

An essential side for fans of blue-eyed soul, the history of Texas psych and rock or those that need a reminder on Monday regarding the karma and consequences of climbing the corporate ladder. All tracks were comped in '99 on Edsel's compendium of Head's Crazy Cajun sessions White Texas Soul Shouter but the LP itself has never seen a CD issue.


AMG Review
by Richie Unterberger

Roy Head was one of the best blue-eyed soul singers, and Huey P. Meaux one of the best Texas '60s rock producers. But though Meaux does produce this straightforward blue-eyed soul album, somehow it never catches fire. It's not the fault of Head, who sings well, with the tinge of country (particularly on the ballad "I'm Not a Fool Anymore") that sometimes surfaced in other first-rate blue-eyed soul singers like Lonnie Mack. The production is OK too, embellishing the standard guitar/bass/drums with organ, sax, and trumpet, as well as some female backup vocals.

The shortfall lies mainly in the material, which is somewhat by-the-numbers soul, though with some circa 1969-1970 touches of early funk. In fact, "Let a Woman Be a Woman" is a pretty blatant James Brown takeoff, though it sounds as if Head and his band's heart isn't fully in it. On the whole it seems like some essential ingredients were missing, in keeping with an album in which only the first names are given for all of the musicians save Head.

Ponderosa Stomp Foundation Review

In 1970 he cut his swan song LP for Dunhill, The Same People You Meet Going Up You Meet Coming Down. Produced by Huey P. Meaux, one of the world’s great mysteries is just why this album—replete with great “break beats”—isn’t coveted by the funk/ hip-hop DJ crowd. But don’t ponder, purchase!! It still sells for under ten bucks and is a true cornerstone in any Gulf Coast music collection. For one thing, the backing musicians are completely out of hand: funky drums, out-of-control bass lines, over-the-top fuzz guitars, screeching Ornette-Coleman style saxophone and trumpet and above it all, Roy testifying with every ounce of sweat and soul his body, mind and spirit can muster. Lord, have mercy!!! There’s just no arguing with the best.

The song selection, alas, couldn’t be better. T.K. Hulin’s swamp pop classic “I’m Not A Fool Anymore,” Jimmy Hughes’ “Neighbor, Neighbor,” Jackie Payne’s “Go-Go Train” (masquerading as “Soul Train”) and the BEST version of the Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s About A Mover” ever recorded. Yes, perhaps even better than the original, hardly a fair comparison because Roy strips the proceedings down to their rawest funkified core. And speaking of Sir Doug, Head even fronted the Texas Tornadoes for a tour when Freddy Fender couldn’t make the gig, and if he was any more intense back in the ‘60s then he was a few years ago, well, he certainly hasn’t lived up to the title of one of the songs from that aforementioned album, “Don’t Want To Make It Too Funky.” You won’t be able to take your eyes (or ears) off Head when he’s onstage, but just watch out: this man’s antics with a microphone are akin to an electrified boomerang.

Roy Head - Vocals
Ronald ? - Organ
Billy ? - Sax
Bobby ? - Trumpet
Eddie ? - Bass
Sid ? - Drums
David ? - Lead Guitar


1 Same People (That You Meet Going Up, You Meet Coming Down)
2 Trying To Reach My Goal
3 Driving Wheel
4 I'm Not A Fool Anymore
5 I Was Born A Free Man
6 Mama Mama
7 She's About A Mover
8 Neighbor-Neighbor
9 Don't Want To Make It Too Funky (In The Beginning)
10 Double Your Satisfaction
11 Let A Woman Be A Woman
12 Soul Train


If you want a vinyl copy there are stacks of still-sealed original pressings to be found at all the usual spots for anywhere from $10 to $20. Until you pick one up, you can get yourself some Head from Soundological HERE or HERE.

Paul Baillargeon - Love In A 4 Letter World OST

Cut-Out


PAUL BAILLARGEON
Love In A 4 Letter World OST
1970

69.9 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Gap Records APSE. 1051


Very rare and highly sought-after soundtrack with touches of Moog, psych, fuk, latin and breaks galore. As well as other Canadian TV and indie films throughout the 70s and 80s, Paul Baillargeon would go on to compose the soundtracks for Star Trek Voyager, Enterprise and Deep Space Nine. He was also highly involved in the Québécois music scene in general and has many credits for French artists such as JP Ferland, Ginette Reno and Celine Dion.

There's a good bio on PB ici for those of you who can read French, otherwise Google's translation into English is available here. This album was also released in Québéc with the title Viens, Mon Amour. Psychébélique has a nice write-up on the LP (en Français) with a couple preview tracks - "Harizap" and "Moog-Over" (a.k.a. "Sans Raison") - plus a couple dope mid-70s Baillargeon tracks from 7" 45s as a sweet little bonus.



Popsike cache of eBay sale 2006-12-10 (USD $124) review

I wonder what this movie is like, because the soundtrack is an insane MONSTER! No less than four funk tracks with huge drums and open breaks. Crazy psychy Moog tracks, a lovely soft rock scat vocal number called “Susan’s Ride” and a spot-on bossa nova groover called “Felicia-Nova.” The track “Cut-Out” is a funky killer, with the sharpest, punchiest drum sound ever and a really nice break. This is a beast, and really tough to track down. Apparently, there is another pressing of this on GAP entitled “Viens, Mon Amour” for French-speaking Canadians. The movie came out in Canada as the above mentioned “Love In A Four Letter World” and in the UK as “Sex Isn’t Sin.” The fact that not more people know this baby IS a sin!


Popsike cache of eBay sale 2008-07-20 (USD $79) review

Brilliant funky soundtrack for a Canadian B-movie from 1970. Tracks like “Cago 9” and “Cut-Out” have drum breaks that will tear your head off! There are two great soft rock vocal cuts, and a terrific moog led funky space jam called “Moog-Over.” This is a KILLER funk soundtrack. Don’t believe me? Check out the review at: http://www.italiansoundtracks.com/info/us/canada.html



1 Open Your Heart Now (Vera's Theme)
2 'Cago-9
3 Wake Up Candy
4 Susan's Ride
5 Sam's Theme
6 Harizap
7 Harry's Mission
8 Cut-Out
9 Felicia-Nova
10 Counting Up Dreams Again
11 Moog-Over
12 Vera's Theme


If "free" is one of your favourite 4-letter words then Soundological should be able to make you happy HERE or HERE.

La Funk Mob - Tribulations Extra Sensorielles + Breaking Boundaries Messing Up Heads

LA FUNK MOB
Tribulations Extra Sensorielles
1994

LA FUNK MOB
Breaking Boundaries Messing Up Heads
1994


Welcome one and all to the 100th post at Soundological Investimigations! This was the week of milestones for SI, as we've received 10,000 hits just prior to wrapping up the first six months since we've kicked off and we'll be welcoming our 5,000th visitor sometime this afternoon! All we can say is... THANK YOU!!! All of you have made this endeavour a distinct pleasure! However, I would like to say a special thanks to a handful of folks in blogopolis for their inspiration, support or just plain awesomeness:

El Reza at Black Classical, Ish at Ile Oxumare and Simon at never enough rhodes for their guidance; Julian for being my first guest-post and letting me be drop my first guest mix at playjazzloud; E-mile at E-mile says songs do the matter for his enthusiasm, dedication and excellent taste; thefunkygoat for being my first "follower" and Wallofsound for being the first to tell me he'd subscribed to the feed.

Kudos especially are due to adam, alex, Andy, avocado kid, B3, Djalma, djandpete, flageolette, Gianni, Gorgon Jr., Hanimex 3000, JazzyPier, Jur, johnv, J Thyme...Kind, Lafayette, Kosta, pretoria, Solomon, the jazzman, Tom and Weekend Hippie for being class acts and consistently contributing to the comments. There's numerous others who took the time to drop a line and you're all appreciated but you folks have dropped numerous lines multiple times and you deserve recognition. You're the wind beneath my wings!


However, as a special thanks to ALL of those enjoying the blog, I've chosen to post the two groundbreaking EPs by French duo La Funk Mob. The Royaltie$ Overdue compilation on Mo' Wax we posted in July is far and away the most popular with 245 downloads compared to the next most popular post, Gato Barbieri's Chapter One which is clocking in at 140 (based on Rapidshare activity). They're followed by Blue Mitchell's Blue Mitchell, Marden Hill's Hijacked and Roy Ayers' All Blues in that order, all with 125 give or take a few. Although it's a great comp all around, it seems the LFM tracks on Royaltie$ stand up best to the test of time so I thought some folks out there would appreciate hearing more. Especially my fave track, 357 Magnum Force, which is rarely seen.

Another reason these were chosen to celebrate this milestone is that the the top two cities visiting us so far are London and Paris. What could better represent that electrosonic solidarity than the seminal sounds produced by French duo Boombass (interview and mix here) and Phillipe Zdar (some more Zdar sounds here) that were released on the incredibly influential UK label Mo' Wax?

BTW, if you're interested in where your fellow readers come from, here's the top ten urban centres ranked by Soundological citizens:

1 London, UK
2 Paris, FR
3 Berlin, DE*
4 Shinjiku, JP
5 Athens, GR
6 New York, US
7 Rome, IT
8 Melbourne, AU
9 Malaga, ES
10 Milan, IT

*Actually, the #3 city is "not set" due to net-savvy anonymous browsing and has been removed from the list.


Boombass and Zdar are using the moniker Cassius these days and have seen some deserved success in this century with their hyper-hiphop-French-touch-house-pop. Not much more to say about these legendary EPs of which these are the '96 reissues, except that Ravers Suck Our Sound And Get Fuck will always be one of my favourite song titles, even if only for nostalgic reasons.


Tribulations Extra Sensorielles
63.7 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Mo' Wax MW017

357 Magnum Force


1 La Doctoresse
2 Motor Bass Get Phunked Up
3 Suspense
4 Ravers Suck Our Sound And Get Fuck
5 357 Magnum Force
6 Blunt Konnection

RS
Sharebee

Breaking Boundaries Messing Up Heads
70 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Mo' Wax MW023

Ravers Suck Our Sound (N.O.W. Mix)


1 Ravers Suck Our Sound
2 Motorbass Get Phunked Up (Electrofunk Remix by Richie Hawtin)
3 Ravers Suck Our Sound (Mystic Mix)
4 Ravers Suck Our Sound (Gangbang Mix)
5 Ravers Suck Our Sound (N.O.W. Mix by Nightmares On Wax)

RS
Sharebee


This one's a freebie for all our visitors but next time there's a milestone, y'all will have to do a bit of work since it'll be all about the comments. Although Royaltie$ Overdue is our most plundered post, it also has one of the worst grab-to-blab (download to comment) ratios going here - only four folks found the time to drop a line. One thing you won't get from Soundological is a guilt-trip on leaving comments because it's the nature of the beast and we only have this to say: we'll go out of our way to please those who do participate so keep in mind how easy it is to leave a comment - it'll count as a vote for more of the same!

Jimmy McGriff - Red Beans

Boomp3.com
Boomp3.com

73.4 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Groove Merchant GM-3314


See yesterday's post for the full 411 on McGriff's 70s period and composer/arranger/conductor Brad Baker. I don't find this one as strong as Mean Machine, probably due to the lack of giants such as Joe Thomas and Cornell Dupree on this effort. The Brecker Brothers and veteran session men Jon Faddis & Alan Rubin try their best on the horn side, but it's still a little shy of Joe's blowing.


Jimmy McGriff - Organ, Acoustic Piano, Clavinet & Electric Piano
Bob Babbitt - Bass
Jerry Friedman - Guitar
Lance Quinn - Guitar
Pat Rebillot - Keyboards
Barry Lazarowitz - Drums
Gary Mure - Drums
Alan Rubin - Trumpet
Jon Faddis - Trumpet
Randy Brecker - Trumpet
Barry Rogers - Trombone
Dave Taylor - Trombone
George Young - Saxophone
Lew Delgatto - Saxophone
Mike Brecker - Saxophone
Jimmy Maelen - Percussion

Viola - Julian Barber, Seymour Berman
Violin - Carol Webb, Harold Kohan, Harry Cykman, Harry Glickman, Harry Lookofsky, John Pintavalle, Norman Carr, Peter Dimitriades, Richard Sortomme, Tony Posk
Cello - Jesse Levy, Kermit Moore
Vocals - David Lasley, Arnold McCullen

Producer - Sonny Lester


1 Red Beans
2 Big Booty Lounge
3 Space Cadet
4 Cakes Alive
5 Sweet Love
6 Love Is My Life


Dusty Groove's review:

Jimmy McGriff picks up a few more keyboards than straight Hammond organ -- but that's ok with us, given the great results of the set! The album's got McGriff working on electric piano and clavinet alongside the organ -- plus supporting arrangements from Brad Baker, in that fuller, Kudu-styled approach to jazz funk that Groove Merchant used strongly in the mid 70s -- a slightly smoother sound than before, but still plenty darn great, and definitely filled with more than enough jazz to keep things real! Pat Rebillot plays some additional keyboards on the album -- in that funky style he used well at the time -- and there's almost a spacey Fantasy Records quality to some of the best numbers here! Titles include the incredible tripped out break cut "Space Cadet", plus "Love Is My Life", "Sweet Love", "Big Booty Bounce", "Red Beans", and "Cakes Alive".


Doug Payne's review:

RED BEANS was the second of Jimmy McGriff's disco productions guided by Groove Merchant house arranger, Brad Baker (whose best work always featured McGriff). McGriff helms most of the six disco tunes here on instruments other than his familiar Hammond B-3. He leads on clavinet for "Red Beans," piano for "Space Cadet" and "Love Is My Life," electric piano for "Cakes Alive" and, finally gets back to the organ for the regrettably titled "Big Booty Bounce." McGriff riffs well, as expected, on the disco rhythms and, surprisingly, distinguishes himself on other keyboards with the same kind of soul and wit that's made him recognizable on the organ. The moodiest tracks ("Space Cadet," "Love Is My Life") are the best features for McGriff and Michael Brecker is also heard soloing on "Red Beans" and "Cakes Alive." All six tracks of this 1976 LP were issued on a 1994 CD that also included four of the six songs from THE MEAN MACHINE.


Going into the hundreds of sessions the brothers did together and individually would be silly. The best thing would be to check their credits on AMG and see how many albums you already own on which they appear. They're best known for their evergreen single "Some Skunk Funk" which appears on countless jazzfunk compilations. If you're interested in more of their output as a team then you might want to check out the following releases as a duo during their first fertile period:

1975 Brecker Bros. (recently reissued)
1975 Back to Back at Proyectos de Futuro
1976 The Bijou Cafe (live) (bootleg) at dexondaz
1977 Don't Stop the Music at mec fais tourner les skeuds
1978 Blue Montreux [live]
1978 Heavy Metal Be-Bop (live) at The Sky Moves Sideways
1980 Detente at Proyectos de Futuro
1980 Straphangin' at Best of...Both Worlds

If you're just lookin' for the money, grab the East River best of from 1997.

If it's Red Beans you're after, Soundological serves 'em up on a PVC platter HERE and HERE

Various Artists - Groovin' High Vol. 1

105 MB
256+ VBR LAME mp3
CD rip from Stepping Stone SI 8506-2
Scans from Discogs.com


Sticking with the Stepping Stone label, here's an early compilation from them, notable for early efforts from a few of today's broken beat and left-field heavy hitters. Some of you will recognise the sample from Tenório Jr.'s "Nebulosa" from his 1964 masterpiece Embalo (also available on Mr. Bongo's Brazilian Beats series) as the source for the first track. Spotters will also easily check the Fela sample ("Everything Scatter") running the Kwaanza Posse's "Wicked Funk."


1 Marden Hill - Hi Jack
2 Ute - In The Meantime
3 A Forest Mighty Black - Fresh In My Mind
4 Kruder & Dorfmeister - Definition
5 Silent Poets featuring Menelik - La Vie
6 Deep Freeze Productions - Sometimes
7 Solar System - Stop It
8 Vibrazioni Productions - Make A Stand
9 Mighty Truth - Heavy Knowledge
10 Kwanzaa Posse - Wicked Funk
11 Nobukazu Takemura - Crescent


Marden Hill's story was covered on yesterday's post, so no need to go into it here. Following them are UTE, who were composed of Ian Dixon, Wayne Eliiott, Joseph (?), Jonathan Lee and Krazy Cool D-Zine. Not a lot of info on these guys, with only Ian Dixon and K.C.D-Z. having credits outside of the group's 2 LPs; the former playing horn on a handful of tracks for acts like Blame and Primal Scream while the latter lent vocals to D*Note's first full-length Babel (more D*Note coming up on Soundological in days to come).

A Forest Mighty Black was the brainchild of Bern Kunz and this track was the B-Side on the first release from a fledgling Compost label. This compilation is the first time their classic track would appear outside of the 12" single format and it has since become a staple of the Acid Jazz/Trip Hop/Broken genres. It also appears on 1998's full-length Mellowdramatic.

Kruder & Dorfmeister should need no intro and this particular song is the lead on their (and their label G-Stone's) debut release G-Stoned (the one with the cover that riffs on Simon & Garfunkle's Bookends).

Japan's prolific Silent Poets enlist the help of French MC Menelik for the title track from their fifth LP Words and Silence. One of the forefathers of a Japanese scene that includes United Future Organization, DJ Krush, Monday Michiru and others, this was one of the first chances for folks in the West to hear them but not the last as SP continues to be a going concern.

Deep Freeze Productions were around for quite a few years but there is a distinct lack of info for the ensemble and songwriting credits on their releases consist of three last names: Sim(m)s/Jones/Belben. The first two names are way too common to dig into and the last one is likely Paul Belben, who had some releases with a similar jazz-heavy style around the same time on Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud label.

Solar System only released one full-length, their self-titled debut on Stepping Stone in '96. Basically a duo composed of Chris Standring and Rodney Lee, most of their recorded output is out under their own names or as session musicians for artists such as Jody Watley, Jedi Knight Tom Middleton and 4Hero among others. Their LP is highly acclaimed and comparisons to the Crusaders, Wes Montgomery, Joe Sample and Steely Dan are well-deserved. Anyone sitting on this LP is urged to share!

Consisting of Federico Di Bonaventura with vocalist Laura Piccinelli, Italian team Vibrazioni Productions were active throughout the latter part of the 90s and this track is from their debut Exspressione Globale on Right Tempo Records subsidiary Roots. Their R&B flavoured jazzy neo-soul is heavily comped and they are among the usual suspects on most collections put out by labels such as Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, Instinct, etc.

Mighty Truth only put out one LP, 1996's From The City To The Sea on Tongue & Groove. Their tracks are credited to Julian Bates (samples), Alex Gray (keys - UFO, Baby Fox, Dubtribe, King Britt), Willy Wondera (vocals) and Isabel Dunne (cello - Ravi Shankar, Brand New Heavies, Roots Manuva, MJ Cole, Zutons) but they also counted Mike Bennett (drums - Birdhouse, Johnny Blas), Steve Walters (bass - James Taylor Quartet, Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, Beverly Knight) and Dave Priseman (trumpet, flugel horn - Quiet Boys, Vibraphonic, Mr. Electric Triangle, Akasha) among their numbers.

Kwanzaa Posse, who were comprised of Funk Master Sweat and Keyb Tortora, only released 3 singles on the Flying Records from '91 to '93 and Wicked Funk was their first. Not only the first for them, it was the first Fela-sampled track to get recognition and was released a couple years before Aicd Jazz/Trip Hop took off, so this track was highly influential on the scene. Outside of those singles they've done loads of remix work over the years for a wide variety of artists but moreso for Les Negresses Vertes than others.

Another forefather of the Japanese scene (so "fore" that he's sometimes credited with bringing Hip Hop to Japan due to his DJ efforts in the mid-80s) was Nobukazu Takemura, who went by the monikers Child's View and DJ Takemura for quite a few years but has returned to using his full name. He has appeared continuously on truckloads of electronica compilations for 15+ years (including Royaltie$ Overdue posted recently on Soundological) and is still going strong. He's branched out to include noise/art rock elements in his sound (starting most noticeably with Scope in '99) which has seen him release much of his later catalogue on indie labels Thrill Jockey and Bubblecore as well as his own imprint, Childisc. He still keeps a hand in the selector business, and was responsibe for 2005's outstanding jazz comp Shibuya Jazz Classics: The Nobukazu Takemura Collection.

Pick up this essential piece of electronic jazz/funk/soul history HERE or in two parts HERE (1) (2).

Marden Hill - Hijacked + Extras

HIJACK
163 MB
320 CBR LAME mp3
CD rip from Stepping Stone 71202
Scans from Discogs.com





EXTRAS
93.5 MB
192+ CBR /256+ VBR LAME mp3
CD & vinyl rips from various sources
Hijacked video from YouTube


Chris Bemand - Producer, Mixing
Mark Daniels - Producer, Mixing
Pete Moss - Producer, Mixing
Ashley Beedle - Producer, Remixing


Bob Boykin - Guitar
Colin Smith - Piano (Electric)
Scott Garland - Saxophone
Simon George - Flute
Matt Lipsey - Flute, Saxophone
Charlie Phillips - Flute, Saxophone
Tony Walter - Trumpet, Saxophone
Gary Hammond - Percussion
Michael McDermott - Bass, Vocals (bckgr)
JC-001 & D-Zire - Vocals
Tony McDermott - Vocals (bckgr)
Andrea Oliver - Vocals
Kevin Saunders - Vocals (Hijack, Get Some In, Uptown Theme)
Vivian Stanshall - Vocals (Bombed On Heavy)


Another seminal acid jazz/trip hop treat from the vaults of Soundological and again with a heavy Ashley Beedle relation. This time we're checkin' Marden Hill and if some of the tracks look familiar on their 1996 debut Hijacked, it's because they had been floating around for years as singles and in the case of "Blacker" showed up on the Ballistic Brothers vs Eccentric Afros Vol 2 as the "Sweet Green Jam Mix." You'll also note the track "Come On" shares a few chord progs with a song by the same name on the Ballistics' first full-length. The connection doesn't quite end there as Chris Bemand, the main thrust behind Marden Hill, contributes bass and keyboards to Rude System and is a member of Black Jazz Chronicles with Beedle and Marc Woolford (you can hear a wicked mix of Beedle tunes covering all of these projects over at Play Jazz Loud).

However, that wasn't really the impetus behind throwing this up. It was actually the result of a great post over at avocado kid's blog 'Lectric Diaspora where he covered some history on one of my favourite acid jazz outfits Corduroy. He wrote they were "the first band that I’m aware of to do the "retro soundtrack to a fake kitschy blaxsploitation/spy movie" thing" which is very true. However, it just further highlights how Marden Hill got lost in the shuffle since the UK combo were critically acclaimed for their preternatural take on the subject much earlier. They were on alternative indie pop imprint Él records (who shared aesthetic similarities with Creation and other boutique labels of the genre) and counted ur-emo artist Momus among their labelmates. As the AMG review says of Cadaquéz (reissued a couple years ago by Universal):

Imagine a wild assortment of '60s incidental soundtrack music thrown into a stew, then played back again on somewhat more modern equipment. That's what Marden Hill did on their 1988 album Cadaquez, several years ahead of when such lounge/jazz/Morricone/surf blends started to come back into fashion.

You can hear a sample of this era over at the Dirk Wears White Sox blog. Although this stuff is more on the late-50s to mid-60s tip, soon the Carnaby Street/Mod/KPM/DeWolfe sound would creep in, which would lead to the 70s soundtrack styles. As the blurb on their record co.'s website says without hyperbole, "in the wake of Marden Hill followed the James Taylor Quartet, Combustible Edison, Air and ultimately Austin Powers for whose films they really really should have written the soundtrack." Right about the time Cadaquéz was put out, Acid House hit the UK and it seems Bemand got with the times, ditched the orchestra chamber pop set-up, took up with a bunch of acid jazz/house DJs/pioneers and then moved into a more electronic production style.

Corduroy come from the same lineage and neighbourhood. They weren't big trailblazers, they just got out there in the public eye earlier with their take on the movement. If you ask me their biggest contribution was being the first of the scene to really give props to Paul Weller and bring back the energy of latter day The Jam and early Style Council sides. That alone is worth oceans of respect and, mixed with their talent and good songwriting, I think that's what propelled them to the next level and a huge reason why I still check them as one of the fathers of the 90s jazz and funk revival.

All of this to illustrate the fact Bemand has a purebred pedigree going way beyond a few singles which found their way onto almost every comp series in the day. It also a reason why this LP might sound dated - most of the songs reach back to 3 years or so earlier. In fact, a good portion of these tracks appeared on a full-length Japanese-only realease called Sixty Minute Man in 1993 and their LP on Delancey Street from the previous year, Blown Away!, is the same assortment of tracks lacking a few from Hijack but with the addition of "Uptown Theme." That track is included in the Extras file, along with a couple remixes and B-sides plus the tracks I had handy credited to his other alias Beamish of Beamish & Fly (Kevin Saunders).

This one definitely stands the test of time. No scans because I donated it last fall to my mate, master Andy Williams who's been putting it to "good" use, having played Harlem River Drive on The Goods Radio a few weeks ago. If you've enjoyed the Ballastic Brothers or Mo' Wax material we've posted previously, Soundological highly recommends you avail yourself of these classic sounds.


Hijack
1 Come On (Ashley Beedle Remix)
2 Hijack
3 Shag
4 Honey Dipped
5 Bombed On Heavy
6 Harlem River Drive
7 Theolonius (Ashley Beedle Remix)
8 Get Some In
9 Evolution
10 Into The Future
11 Up In Smoke
12 Melt On
13 Blacker
14 The End

Sharebee 1 Sharebee 2
RS


Extras
9 Lazy 9 - Train (Marden Hill Remix)
Beamish & Fly - Dozy Fuckers
Beamish & Fly - NY Shakedown
Beamish & Fly - Spin On It (Spun Out Mix)
Beamish & Fly - Stoaked
Brand New Heavies - Spend Some Time (Sweeny Club Mix)
Marden Hill - Bardot
Marden Hill - Dub Melt
Marden Hill - Sugarplums
Marden Hill - Uptown Theme (Michael McDermott Remix)

Sharebee
RS

Video for "Hijack"

Various Artists - Headz 2

174MB / 176MB / 166MB / 181MB
320 CBR LAME mp3
CD rip from MW061CD2 & MW062CD


By popular demand, Soundological brings you the complete Mo' Wax Headz 2 compilation from 1996. If you ask me, this time enthusiasm got the better of quality control as 4 discs is waaaay too much map for the territory covered here and this should have been pared down by half at least. When this came out, it played like practically every other voluminous left-field electronic compilation ubiquitous at the time and started sounding the death knell for a label renown for offering something groundbreaking or at least different.

In contrast to the earlier Royaltie$ Overdue (and to a lesser extent the first Headz comp) it's not even much of an historical document since the bulk of the material was kinda dated upon its release. Electronic music was keeping pace with Moore's Law and moving at breakneck speed in the first half of the 90s with sub- and sub-sub-genres popping up then dying out in the wink of an eye. Much of this collection was good but stale when it hit the streets and its price tag left a sour taste in the mouths of some who felt the bang for their buck just wasn't there. Having said that, still quite a few gems to be found in this pile of broken church-window glass and it's fairly safe to say everyone who enjoys electronica (particularly drum 'n' bass and broken beat) will find at least a few tracks they'll enjoy. No scans since I ripped it before I sold it to an acquaintance last fall.


2a CD 1
01 Nightmares On Wax - Nights Interlude
02 The Prunes - Cantona Style
03 Peshay - The Real Thing (90 BPM Version)
04 AIR - Modular (Modular Mix Produced By Solid)
05 The Dust Brothers - Searchin'
06 RPM - Flow
07 DJ Wally - My Bloody Valentine (Nitty Mix)
08 UNKLE - Garage Piano Featuring - KUDO Keyboards - Money Mark
09 DJ Krush - Kemuri ('94 Part II)
10 Sam Sever And The Raiders Of The Lost Art - Do You Understand? Featuring - Pablo Calogero
11 Stereo MC's - What Is Soul? (Instrumental)
12 Urban Tribe - Covert Action (Carl Craig Mix)
13 Lo-Fi Sensibilities - Cabin Fever
14 Midnight Funk Association - Code

2a CD 2
01 DJ Food - Concentric Circle
02 Cool Breeze - 27 Years Of Solitude
03 Stasis - Discotron
04 Scott Free & Cybil Ant - Mango Maracatu
05 Tortoise - The Source Of Uncertainty
06 Massive Attack - Karmacoma (UNKLE Situation Mix - Instrumental)
07 Beastie Boys - Bodhisattva Vow (Instrumental)
08 The Folk Implosion - Simean Groove
09 Olde Scottish - Martian Economics
10 Urban Tribe - Eastward (Forme Remix)
11 Lunar Funk - Spacewalk
12 Forme - New Element
13 DJ Solo - Pressure II
14 Innervisions - Organized Crime


2b CD 1
01 Luminis - Spectral Arc
02 Luke Vibert - Sharp A2
03 Money Mark - World Lesson Part II
04 Twig Bud - Swiss Air
05 UNKLE - The Time Has Come (Portishead Plays UNKLE Mix)
06 Grantby - It's Coming
07 Donut Productions - Wirecutter
08 The Dust Brothers - The Groomsman
09 Skull - Crash
10 Beastie Boys - Flute Loop (Instrumental)
11 DJ Krush - Maze
12 Attica Blues - Sketch
13 Jungle Brothers - Ultimatum Ultra Mix (Jungle Beats/Jungle Bass)
14 Danny Breaks - Science Fu Beats
15 The Force - Future Tense

2b CD2
01 Palm Skin Productions - The Beast (System Remix)
02 Peshay - The Real Thing
03 Dillinja - In The Mood
04 DJ Krust & Roni Size - Tribetoon
05 Source Direct - The Silent Witness
06 As One - The Counterpoint
07 Innerzone Orchestra - Bug In The Bassbin (Street Mix)
08 Black Dog Productions - Object Orient
09 Special Forces - Trilogy
10 Max 404 - Quiddity (Last Visit)
11 Zimbabwe Legit - Doin' Damage In My Native Language (Shadow’s Legitimate Mix)