Squeeze my melodica

Nearly two weeks without a post – it’s high time I set the speed to 45 and moved the arm across. In my last post – if you can remember that far back – I was bemoaning a busy workload and looking forward to a long weekend break in Madrid with my wife and a couple of close friends. I can report that Madrid was great. We soaked up the atmosphere, the unbroken sunshine, plenty of wine, good food - and olives! - and seriously chilled out. We’re coming to the conclusion, having enjoyed a similar break in Barcelona last year, that we are not great culture vultures. Quite frankly the weather was just too good to spend wandering around art galleries and museums. Simple souls, we were happy just open top bussing it and walking around appreciating the architecture, and relaxing in the parks people watching.
Made a somewhat fleeting visit to the Rastro flea market on the Sunday. It was a bit disappointing – too many clothes stalls. Even so I could have happily spent more time there myself – especially in a record store – but my companions, unlike me, were definitely not predisposed to rifling through junk. Didn’t buy anything but made a mental note of the haul I could have come away with – a coatstand, a gas mask, some very succulent looking cacti, and a Rick Astley LP! Sense prevailed – the coatstand and the cacti would have been a nightmare to transport on the plane home – and besides, the hot chocolate and churros were calling, so off we went.

I think our abiding memory of Madrid will be the accordion players. They were everywhere. I have never connected Spain with the accordion, France yes, but not Spain. The sound of the accordion at a distance is very pleasant and certainly adds to the atmosphere. It’s not so good though when you’re sat at a pavement café watching the world go by and an accordion player comes and stands right in front of you and starts pumping, and then of course passes his hat around almost demanding money. Sat in the Retiro Park after one such occasion a garbage truck drove by, stopped, and a man jumped out to empty a nearby bin. This bizarre image came to mind that, instead of the rubbish sack, he picked up the dubious musician and threw him complete with squeeze box in the back of the truck - which was full of other accordion players! I think that would make a good comedy sketch! Don’t get me wrong though, a lot of the street music we heard was excellent, and we happily dipped into our pockets for one group of four lads playing two accordions, a clarinet, and a tambourine. I bet they make a good living out of it.

I’ve been racking my brains trying to think of records in my collection that feature the accordion. The only one that came to mind was Elton John’s “Razor Face” from “Madman Across The Water”. A great track from a great album but I feel a bit twitchy about putting that up, and it doesn’t really fit into the soul/funk/jazz/reggae vibe that goes on here.


So let’s have something from the mighty Horace Swaby - aka Augustus Pablo. The melodica sounds a bit like an accordion and his reggae vibe fits well with the chilled out feel of our Madrid weekend. That’ll do.

Augustus Pablo – Power Of The Trinity Dub 1980
Dub
Augustus Pablo – Ras-Menilik Congo 1979

To build an Augustus Pablo collection you could start here.

..and more flowers

The warm weather in the UK (and most of northern Europe) has continued this week. Nature is now wide awake and Spring has well and truly sprung. I’m amazed at the speed at which the trees and shrubs are putting on their summer clothes. Only a couple of weeks ago there was hardly a leaf to be seen. Now the blossom and fresh green of new growth is really brightening up the cycle to work.

A busy time at work has continued this week and left the brain feeling decidedly frazzled by the evening. As a consequence the desire to compose blog entries has been somewhat lacking. A few days in Madrid later next week with my wife and a couple of our close friends should prove to be a timely break. Hopefully then, with batteries recharged, I will be back in the groove.

So with Spring in mind and continuing the theme from my previous post, here, for the bees and things, are some more Flowers – of the Emotions variety.

I wonder, did I really buy this on 7/7/77? The UK release would have been around then, but maybe there was a bit of artistic licence with the date. With 7/7/7 not far off maybe I should have kept this one to post then.

The Emotions – Flowers 1976

You can find this on a best of collection released in 1996.

Just bees and things and flowers

As I hinted previously the posts would likely miss a beat, and they did. All work and no play makes Darcy a dull boy and all that. Now I’m just starting to emerge from that manic period and look! – it’s wall to wall sunshine (in the UK at least). We have to take advantage of such periods here so no time for lots of words today.


To me Roy Ayers is the sound of sunshine. He of course dubbed his band Ubiquity so he should need no introduction from me.


The two tracks here are from his classic 1976 album Everybody Loves The Sunshine.

Can anyone tell me who is providing the female vocals on the People And The World track? I’m digging her.

Roy Ayers Ubiquity – The Golden Rod 1976
Roy Ayers Ubiquity – People And The World 1976

Parabomb

Thanks to all who left kind words on the Celebrations post. And how do I repay you? By going nearly two weeks without a post! Work has got in the way somewhat – In Germany again without easy access to the Interweb I’m afraid, and it’s likely to be that way on and off for the next few weeks so the posts may miss a few beats.

An English colleague of mine is an excellent host while I’m in Germany. We stay in neighbouring flats, but because he has a permanent base there his is well stocked with music and alcohol (for purely medicinal purposes you understand – ha ha!) and so most evenings last week we retired there “for a nightcap”. In truth there were so many nightcaps the place could have been a milliners! So on a heady cocktail of Weissbier, malt whisky and Calvados we took a spin through his CD collection. Soul is virtually absent but most everything else is present, and a fine mixture it is. “Shangrenade” by Harvey Mandel made me sit up and take notice (I think I may have temporarily slipped off my chair after another Calvados – no, only joking). Like our drinks mix it’s a heady concoction – in this case of jazz/rock/blues/funk. I had to borrow it so I could post up a track. Listening to it sober it may not have quite the same effect so for a perfect marriage open a few bottles of whatever takes your fancy and then do the Fish Walk.

And to do the fish walk you really have to wade in the water and - hey presto! - you can pick up Harvey’s 1968 take on “Wade In The Water” over at Art Decade.

Now it’s time to check on how my wife is getting on the laundry because I’ve got to pack my case again tomorrow!

Harvey Mandel – Fish Walk 1973

Celebrations

Hey ! Feel It is 1 year old today ! I can’t believe it’s a year already. I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep up the pace when I started but I seem to have settled into a groove. At lift off I was intending to mix up the musical styles a bit but it hasn’t turned out that way as my groove is now very much in the soul bag, with splashes of reggae, jazz and funk along the way. I think to wander from this path now might spoil this blogs identity so maybe I’ll start a parallel one to feature all the other musical genres that float my boat, we’ll see.

Thanks to all who have left comments and all who simply stop by from time to time. The visitors seem to have gradually increased over the year so I guess I must be doing something right. I hope you’re feeling what I’m feeling and here’s to year two.

My very first real post here was deliberately timed to coincide with Candi Staton’s birthday. She has to be my favourite singer, her voice is guaranteed to send those shivers down my spine. So once again -Happy Birthday Candi.

There can be no better way to celebrate Feel It’s 1st and Candi’s 64th birthday than with a couple of tracks from a queen of soul. Both are from her eponymous 1972 album: “Darling…” cannot be currently be found on CD as far as I know, and then there is the peerless (Elvis agreed) “In The Ghetto”. That album provided the cover picture for Honest Jon’s extensive compilation of her Fame output, and that is a great place to start if you feel inclined to fill your world with some more of her wonderful voice – you really should you know.

Candi Staton – Darling You’re All That I Had 1972

Candi Staton – In The Ghetto 1972

Proxy music - the end is near

I’m thinking it’s about time the borrowed soul pack is returned to its rightful owner. Before it goes back here are two more from the stack. Both are on labels that were soon to be no more.


South Shore Commission’s “Train Called Freedom” is definitely on the Love Train track, a gorgeous bit of Phillyesque disco soul on the Wand label. Wand started life in 1961 as a sister label to Scepter. After progressing through a number of label designs it finally shut up shop in 1976 and Wand 11294 was the penultimate release.


The Admirations track featured here dates from 1967, although it sounds earlier to me. It has a doo-wop feel to it, and also a great raw edge, which was something of a trademark of George Leaner’s One-derful, and sister Mar-V-Lus and M-Pac labels. Only four more singles made it to release on the One-derful label before it too was confined to history when the whole family of labels went out of business in 1968.

Labels, labels, labels - I said in my last post they are part of the magic of the 45 rpm record. As I’m feeling a little lazy on the wordsmithing front right now I thought I would just leave you with a list of all the labels that appear in this little soul pack I have borrowed (if you collect records I know you love lists):

United, Scorpio, Mar-V-Lus, Sound Plus, Ram-Brock, Jacklyn, People, Brainstorm, Today, EM.T, Roulette, Rain Forest, Revilot, D.C Sound, Soulvation Army, Seventy-Seven, Brunswick, Perception, Toddlin Town, Sock & Soul, Swar, Bale, Kashe, New York Sound Co, Desert Moon, Ludix Productions, Shout, Truth, 12:00, Calla, SSS Intl, Turbo, Steeltown, Segue, Keylock, All Platinum, De-Lite, Little Star, RR, Kudu, Wand, One-derful.

And now let’s get on with the show, as they say.

South Shore Commission – Train Called Freedom 1976

Admirations – Wait Til I Get To Know You 1967

Proxy music

I remember when any number of record dealers used to sell soul packs – batches of anything from 10 to 100 singles. You didn’t know what you were getting you just paid your money and took a chance. The idea always appealed, but at the same time my naturally cautious nature always told me that, as there were plenty of records I KNEW I wanted, I ought to spend my limited funds on those and not take a shot in the dark on a soul pack that maybe full of duds. So I never bought one. Recently, as my passion for vinyl, and soul in particular, has come roaring back I have often wished that I had taken a punt on some of those packs. Why? Here are some reasons:

1. The feeling of anticipation (you know - THAT feeling) as you flick through the records for the first time. Will any of those must haves on the wants list be there? Will an original on the Shrine label be hiding in the middle of the stack (or something that, to your ears, is not irresistible but is mega rare and sought after so you will be able to part with it and run off into the sunset with the cash).

2. The company sleeves - if you’re lucky – or if no company sleeves then an original plain brown sleeve will do. (BTW I have never seen a Fame company sleeve - does one exist?).

3. All those fabulous labels: the obscurities, the only ever release, the now heralded but then unknown names buried in the credits, the colours and designs, the odd misspelling.

4. These records for the most part look mint you think, only a few have drill holes, the labels are pristine. You wonder where they have been for all these years – were they once loved and then discarded? Did they ever get as far as a record shop? Have they ever been played? How many warehouses, back rooms, garages have they sat in unloved and unplayed? in how many States of America?, and counties of Great Britain? Isn’t it weird the journey they have taken to finally arrive on your turntable? How many of the people involved in the making of the record are still alive? This one is on a local label, would they think it strange that after all these years their record has finally found a loving home not in the American city where it was made but in another country?

5. Oh yes, of course, these beautiful pieces of vinyl (or styrene) have grooves on them that contain music to be listened to – it gets better! So then the question: do you play them straight from the stack as they were packed or do you sort them into some sort of order of play. For those you are unfamiliar with maybe some instinct tells you some could be better than others so do you play these first or attempt to leave the best until last? Some you may already have, some you don’t but are already familiar with, so leave those ‘til last maybe?

6. You’re sat there with your feet up and a cigarette (or a cup of coffee if like me you don’t smoke), you’ve played them all. Some knocked you out straight away, you played them twice, three times straight off. Some you thought thanks but no thanks, some will grow on you but you don’t know it yet.

7. What now? Oh God! You had better feed the cats and do the washing up! Then you revisit points 2 and 3 above.

8. You wonder what fresh mysteries may lurk in the dead wax: pressing plant stamps mastering comments, maybe this one is a pressing, maybe they all are? No these are originals, you are sure.

9. Now it’s time for more music, so you play all the B sides. Some it’s difficult to tell which is the A and which is the B. No matter there are a few great B sides too.

10. Then you just have to go to bed, knowing you will start at 2 and relive those experiences all over again at your first opportunity.

But how do I know this if I’ve never bought one you say? Well, recently I have moved desks in my place of work so have new office neighbours. A few of us got talking about music and I revealed my rekindled passion for soul music and vinyl. It turns out one of my colleagues used to be into the scooter scene back in the early 80s. Together with a friend they bought a soul pack of 100 records from a dealer, somewhere in Essex he seems to remember, and split them 50 50. This would have been about 1984. He played them a few times liked some, but then gradually they were forgotten. For the last 15 years or so they have sat in a singles case pretty much untouched. Would I like to see them he asked?
Er, yes please! So now I am temporary charge of it. A soul pack by proxy!

Even though the pack isn’t mine I have certainly run through points 1 to 10 above and with pretty much an undimmed intensity of feelings. There are some great records in there and some not so good. But as described above I have realised that even if what’s in the grooves is no great shakes there is plenty of pleasure to be gained from the object as a whole – I love looking at the labels in particular (my colleague had put all the records into cardboard sleeves so the thrill of the occasional company sleeve is missing but you can’t have everything). According to popsike there is one single in the batch that has consistently fetched more than £100 whenever it has appeared on ebay, and there are a few other £20+ records in there I think, but that’s all incidental really and is just a small part of the overall pleasure this soul pack has brought my colleague, and now me, if only by proxy.

Kim Weston – Danger, Heartbreak Ahead 1970

Lovemasters – Pushin’ And Pullin’ 1968

Sharpees – Tired Of Being Lonely 1966