Deep Tracks 71 - Rasta Revolution

1. I Want Justice – Delroy Wilson & the Wailers
2. A Lonely Walk – Albert Malawi
3. Make A Joyful Noise – Singers & Players
4. Don’t Go – Gregory Isaacs
5. A So – The Willows
6. So Long Rastafari Calling – Count Ossie
7. Hey Mama – Justin Hinds
8. Dreadlocks Time – Natural Vibes
9. Freedom Fighters – Half Pint
10. Every Man Ought to Know – Max Romeo
11. Fight Too Much-Justin Hinds
12. Fear Not-Winston Jarrett
13. That Ain't Right-Rita Marley and the Wailers
14. Rude Boy-Bob Marley
15. My Country-Cornell Cambell
16. If You Don't Love Jah-Al Campbell
17. Fire Fire-Lloyd Robinson
18. Learn To Read-Charlie Chaplin
19. African Thing-Jah Thomas
20. Questions Of Life-Monyaka
21. Reggae Docious-Barrington Spence
22. I'm Not Afraid-Donovan Francis
23. Crab Race-The Morwells
24. Owe Me No Pay Me-The Ethiopians

http://rapidshare.com/files/283760616/Deep_Tracks_71_Pt._1.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/283760615/Deep_Tracks_71_Pt._2.zip

I definitely get a sense of accomplishment from putting together these largely roots mixes. Reggae can be so uneven in terms of quality, production, musicianship, mastering etc. One is never sure whether so much herb contributes to the positive vibes or bland redux of the same riddim. Hopefully, this mix which again focuses on material pre-1985 generally sticks to the right side of the equation.

Some special treats: I Want Justice is a tuff Rock Steady number featuring Delroy Wilson's immaculate voice. He was probably a teenager when this was recorded.

Singers and Players was one of Adrian Sherwood's vehicles on the U-Sound label. Considered vanguard to say the least Sherwood's production ranged from roots to dubbed out industrial madness. This Bim Sherman vocal rides high over an incredible rhythm track - a truly joyful noise.

Justin Hinds appears twice on this mix and deservedly so. He was one of the most under-recorded and beautiful singers. I only wish there was a bit more of him around.

Reggaedocious is one of those absurd tracks that only the Jamaicans could pull off. I wonder if Disney authorized this blazing ripoff. Regardless of the tip of the hat to Mary Poppins it made the cut. Charlie Chaplin was another early 80's dancehall phenomenon and one of the rare toasters I really like, mainly because the riddims were so good.

Deep Tracks 70

1. She Breaks – Booker T. & the MG’s
2. Lonesome Road Blues – Earl Taylor & The Stoney Mtn Boys
3. Maze – Tabuley Rochereau
4. Trouble, You Can’t Fool Me – Ry Cooder
5. Will I Ever Learn? – Eddie Bo
6. Tighten Up – The Bamboos
7. Hambone Boogie – Al Perkins
8. Whitehouse Blues – The Stanley Brothers
9. Northbound – Time Easton
10. Everybody Loves the Sunshine – Roy Ayers & The Soul Society
11. Listen Here – Ben Sidran
12. What Kind of World – King James Version
13. The Bear – John Mayall
14. Momma Jive – Charles Kynard
15. Funk Shack East – Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez
16. You Got It – Etta James
17. Wouri – Manu Dibango
18. The Demon Pt. 2 – Catalyst
19. Blues in the Night – Little Milton
20. My Lord Keeps A Record – Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mtn. Boys

http://rapidshare.com/files/277877939/Deep_Tracks_70.zip

She Breaks is from Booker T. Jones's most recent album. Shows the man can still compose a tune after more than a decade away from the the recording studio.

The Whitehouse Blues is just a killer traditional tune here played at almost light speed by the Stanley Brothers in a display of jaw dropping virtuosity. This was recorded live at the New River Ranch in 1955.

Charles Kynard was another jazz funk hero, at least for a few records during the late sixties and early seventies. You could always count on there being at least a couple of great grooves on these albums.

Deep Tracks 69

1. Orange Blossoms – MOFRO
2. Whatever It Takes – Ruby Andrews
3. I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink – Merle Haggard
4. Cream Puff – Reuben Wilson
5. Conjunction Mars – Melvin Sparks
6. Descarga Caliente – Ruben Blades
7. We’re Gonna Make It – Little Milton
8. You’re A Sweet, Sweet Man – Aretha Franklin
9. Restless – Carl Perkins
10. Ihe Oma Adighi Onye Oso- The Oriental Brothers
11. Rock Steady – Frank Owens
12. Head Start – Joe Pass
13. Stone Love – Ruthie Foster
14. I’m Your Pimp – The Skullsnaps
15. Gentlemen – Fela Kuti

http://rapidshare.com/files/277873833/Deep_Tracks_69.zip

JJ Grey, the soulful lead singer of MOFRO, has created a new southern sound that is rooted in the traditions and vibe of his North Florida youth. Great imagery and poetry in this music and one of the very few contemporary artists I really respect.

Not sure what I was thinking with the back to back soul jazz bombs Cream Puff and Conjunction Mars. Rueben Wilson and Melvin Sparks were both key figures as jazz integrated funk and soul into the palette when the 60's ended and the 70's began. Groove masters at their peak who continue to perform today more than 30 years later.

Little Milton is one of the great vocalists in blues and soul. His sixties and seventies recordings are vastly under appreciated and he makes a number of appearances on my comps. Rough and yet smooth, he voice and guitar playing were perfectly matched and he always had solid arrangements.

A couple of African gems on this one. First from the Oriental Brothers, a dynamic head bobbing highlife group and then a blistering hunk of afro-funk from the master Fela Kuti. Gentlemen might be one of his best tracks with its haunting rhodes piano work and gigantic orchestral jam down. And as usual his disdain for the politics of Nigeria and colonial Africa comes through strong.

The Skullsnaps were a one off funk band releasing one album that has become something of a holy grail in funk geekdom. Copies of this record sell for ridiculous sums of money. I'm your pimp is a blaxploitation opus that cuts very heavy.

Deep Tracks 68

1. Why Don’t You Do Your Thing – Jackie Wilson
2. Mo’Do – Mongo Santamaria
3. Rocky Top – The Osborne Brothers
4. Groove Drops – Jimmy Smith
5. Fe Cega – Milton Nascimento
6. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window – Joe Cocker
7. Aunt Lovey – Calvin Keys
8. You Done Got Older – Billy Preston
9. Mississippi – Mofro
10. If You’re Ready Come Go With Me – Jimmy McGriff
11. Give Me Some Courage – Howard Tate
12. Hnic – Blue Mitchell
13. Life is Like That – Little Milton
14. Getting’ Down - Brand New Rhythm
15. I’m Just A Prisoner – Candi Staton
16. There Ain’t No Man Can’t Be Caught – Jimmy Lewis
17. Somebody Touched Me – Carl Story
18. Who’s Gonna Help A Brother – Lee Dorsey
19. Tobacco Road – Lou Rawls
20. Ain’t Gonna Tell No More – Stoned Soul Pinic
21. Can’t You See – The Marshall Tucker Band

http://rapidshare.com/files/277877937/Deep_Tracks_68_Pt.1.zip

This is a really solid comp in my humble and uninformed opinion. A lot of interesting tracks and artists on this one. Jackie Wilson had one of the great voices of all time and like Sam Cooke he operated perhaps less than comfortably at the intersection between white pop and black R&B. He had too much appeal for the young white women to have total credibility as a pop star but he was also way too black for mainstream acceptance.

Rocky Top is a great American bluegrass classic, drinkin', lovin', and dying. The Osborne Brothers are singers and players of the first tier and had many country hits over the years.

Jimmy Smith was working hard as the 70's dawned to stay relevant in the post-James Brown world of Black Music. Groove Drops was one of his 70's albums in this mode. More complex arrangements and instrumentation combined with a his dazzling b-3 skills made for some interesting output. Not for the classicists that's for sure.

Calvin Key's Aunt Lovey is another funky jazz number from the great lost Black Jazz label out of Oakland. Founded by pianist Gene Russell this label took West Coast artists and sensibilities and created a distinct and very funky sound.

I think that a lot like Jackie Wilson, Howard Tate had one of the great voices of all time. Unrecorded for sure but still great as this track evidences.

Deep Tracks 67

1. Precious Lord – Mike Farris

2. Trouble In Mind – Merle Haggard

3. Stocking Cap – Sir Edward

4. A Lonely Walk – Albert Malawi

5. Justin Townes Earle – Halfway to Jackson

6. Function at the Junction – Shorty Long

7. Frequency Response – Messengers Incorporated

8. Feelin’ Alright - Junior Walker

9. The Captain and Me – The Doobie Brothers

10. One Night Affair – Seldon Powell

11. Song For Everyman – The Rotary Connection

12. The Golden Road – Phil Lesh & Friends

13. Holding On – The Isley Brothers

14. Honky Tonk Nighttime Man – Merle Haggard

15. You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones

16. I’ve Been Lonely For So Long – Fredrick Knight

17. Old Time Religion – Golden

18. Lying on the Truth - Rance Allen Group

http://rapidshare.com/files/269945718/Deep_Tracks_67.zip

Merle Haggard is so good he actually appears twice on this one. I think these tracks are taken from his outstanding tribute to Jimmie Rogers. Both men were great American songwriters and characters. Rogers was close to a number of blues men near his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi including Muddy Waters who grew up in a small house about a mile from Rogers. The influence of the blues on country is evident and it is apparent that there were many commonalities in the lives of poor rural blacks and whites. As these tracks makes manifest, Haggard had embraced these blues too and I suspect that growing up in Bakersfield in the 40's and 50's poor was much like living in the South at that time.

Sir Edward was a one off band on Bernard Purdie's Encounter Records led by tenor player Harold Vick. I thought this was an interesting jam and while Vick is clearly not comfortable with all of the dynamics offered by the electric sax, it still sounds cool.

Jr. Walker and the Allstars were a great band that thrived at the edges of pop, soul, and Motown. This is a great version of the oft covered Traffic classic Feelin' Alright.

I don't think the Isley Brothers have ever released a shitty record. Even doing over produced disco they sounded good. Of course, I prefer the harder stuff and they offer it in spades.

Fredrick Knight was a stax producer and A&R man who could also bang out an insanely good falsetto. This track is from the legendary Wattstax concert in South Central LA celebrating Soul Power. Ten of thousands of people packed the LA Coliseum to see among others WAR, Albert King, The Staple Singers, Willie Bobo, Richard Pryor, Issac Hayes, and others. Wow.