Stones Throw just announced they're releasing an album of music by Tony Cook, who was responsible for my favorite track from BBE's American Boogie Down compilation and this proto-house classic:
Tony Cook: "On the Floor (Rock-It)" (Full Moon, 1984)
I knew Cook had produced a handful of dance records in the 1980s but had no idea he had also been a drummer with James Brown during the late 1970s and 1980s. Apparently Stones Throw has access to multi-tracks with lots of unreleased mixes and songs. Hopefully, some of them are stronger than the lead single.
I don't generally spend much time listening to other DJs' mixes or radio shows because they cut into the time I have to seek out new music. When I make exceptions, they're for stuff friends have done or mixes which I think can turn me on to something I want to know.
Chairman Mao's monthly radio shows for Spine Magazine, the Spine Blowing Decisions series, are both. In case his reputation doesn't precede him, Mao is a longtime NYC DJ and rap writer whose knowledge is as deep as his taste is good. His shows focus on obscure soul, funk and disco and usually have a theme or style (e.g., disco raps, Halloween music, tortured ballads). They always include at least a handful of things I wish I knew or had forgotten about and am delighted to be reminded of. His dry, occasional voiceovers are a nice touch, too.
This week I finally got around to listening to Mao's December show and it really knocked me out. The episode centers on late 70s/early 80s sounds: disco, modern soul, boogie, funk and the selections are uniformly great. There were songs I hadn't heard in too long, songs I'd never heard before but instantly wanted to hear again and even some songs I'd been saving to build mixes of my own around (damn you, Mao!). It's the best collection of soul sounds I've listened to in a long time.
There's no track listing per se, but Mao scatters some clues throughout the mix and also his blog features scans of some of the songs he included, like the following:
(One track that's not pictured is the Gospel Soul Revivals' awesome Slave knockoff, "If Jesus Came Today". The track is featured on the Numero Group's new and wonderful Good God! Born Again Funk, which came out Tuesday and which I can't recommend highly enough.)
But uh, back to the lecture at hand. Spine Magazine doesn't host older shows and the episode of Spine Blowing Decisions is no longer available from Spine's site, so with Mao's permission, I've uploaded the show:
If people ever get tired of reenacting the "Thriller" video, there's this
I don't make much time for youtube videos, but sometimes the stuff that's available there blows my mind.
Midnight Express: "Danger Zone" (Tri-Fire, 1983)
This is a music video for a genuinely obscure boogie record that was recently reissued by Peoples Potential Unlimited, who've unearthed a bunch of other cool stuff recently.
The 12" reissue features an extended remix and an instrumental that are not on the original 7" issue. I copped mine at Turntable Lab, but you can also get it direct.
Aurra was a side project of Steve Washington of Slave. This was from the last record Aurra cut before he split with the singers, Curt Jones & Starleana Young, and they took off with the name.
