SST - Soft Soul Transition (Transition Records. 1970)

Here's another very rare treat for you. This is some california pop psych / blue eyed soul with some very good song writing. Quite collectible among the private press pop psych collector's. My copy sold for $300.00 but I of course recorded the album for posterity. Strangely, the first 30 seconds of B1, an I'm a believer cover, which is one of the most boring songs on the album luckily, has a pressing defect that makes a lot of noise, otherwise the record was unplayed. So, the one real strong stand out to me is the track Move it on Down. It's almost like a Beck song actually. Great catchy riff and vocals. Oh and I am aware that another blog was hosting this recently, but I dunno how good there vinyl copy was (or if it was cd) and or the recording quality, so I hope I can offer this to those who missed it or need a premium rip. Overall, it's really not a top recommendation of mine, but it's still fun to listen to.

SST - Soft Soul Transition. Transition Records. 1970. From Bay Area.

A little Harold Mckinney action for you...

This is the Harold Mckinney album Voices and rhythms of the creative profile. 1974. Tribe Records. It has been reissued on cd and vinyl, but they're still fairly hard to come by, and before that it was a very rare gem indeed. There are a couple snoozers on here, but the highs make up for the lows, and it works really well as a whole, lovely spiritual jazz in a deep soulful vein, complete with wicked experiementation and classic bop stylings. Staple tribe musicians like marcus belgrave and wendell harrison show up, among others. Also some wicked moog jams. Here is some bio info on the man:
Jazz pianist Harold McKinney was a driving force in Detroit's jazz scene in the '40s on through the new millennium. McKinney was inspired to study classical music as a child by his mother, Bessie Walon McKinney, an organist. He was converted into a jazzman when he walked into an ice cream shop and heard Charlie Parker on the juke box playing bebop on the alto sax. After graduating from Detroit's Northwestern High School, McKinney continued onto Morehouse College in Atlanta. He returned home when he became disenchanted with the college's bias beliefs towards European music. He briefly attended Wayne State University and served in the Army during the early '50s in Germany. The pianist played all sorts of jazz from bop to boogie woogie and worked with many greats including Kenny Burrell, John Coltrane, and Wes Montgomery and toured to cities around the world. Fellow musicians have credited McKinney with helping to keep jazz in Detroit's musical forefront when trends in popular culture threatened its livelihood. The pianist was also a teacher, appearing on instructional videos and giving private lessons and weekly workshops at Detroit's SerNgeti Ballroom. In 1990, McKinney received the Jazz Master award from Arts Midwest for lifetime achievement. In 1995, he toured Africa and the Middle East with his band, the Jazz Masters. In May of 2001, McKinney entered the hospital after a stroke, returning to teach his SerNgeti workshop a week later. Shortly after, he was readmitted to the hospital due to the first in a long series of strokes. McKinney underwent surgery but passed away due to a stroke-induced coma on June 20, 2001. He gave his final performance on June 10 at the semiannual Jam & Bread student showcase for the ballroom workshops. -From all music.

Harold Mckinney - Voices and Rhytms of the Creative Profile. Tribe. 1974.

BEST THROBBING GRISTLE RECORDING EVER?!?!?!

Okay so I noticed my posts are getting more random as far as material but I get really bored with only putting up the same kind of stuff, so here is a delightful treat that is near impossible to come by, outside of the 24 hours of throbbing gristle cd collection, but this is from the original master tape recording of the Throbbing Gristle live concert in Manchester at the Factory, 1979. It predates the 20 jazz funk greats album style and to me is the high point of the second annual report style of throbbing gristle, which I find to be there best studio album, but at times where that album sounds slightly forced or pretentious, though I still think it's incredibly important and extremely well done, this live recording is so natural and raw. Industrial jizm spewing out of the speakers at 200 decibels. Truly, they are a live band if ever there was one. It has a very surreal warmth to its mechanical coldness. Which is a beautiful thing to accomplish. I have not heard all of the IRC live recordings, but so far I like this one the most. Okay, 20 jazz funk greats is lovely and all, but let's be honest... THIS is throbbing gristle, and this is TBs legacy.

Throbbing Gristle - Live at the Factory, Manchester. 1979. IRC:20.

A latin burner for you from me and Little Joe

Here we have a selection from an LP by Little Joe y La Familia - Total. (Buena Suerte 1041.) 1973. I found this record at a flea market and it had a tiny chip in the side, but it was only a buck. I was thinking, hmm, Little Joe stuff that's early is usually pretty sought after for its latin soul/funk flavor. Most commonly the Brown Stuff album and Little Joe and the Latinaires. I've heard them both, and let me tell you, this album, TOTAL, is slllllept on like mad, probably because it only has 1 track thats worth spinning, but damn it's worth spinning. Starts out with some standard jazzy funk tejano horn sounds and stuff, but then, it opens up into a hammond electric piano fuzz guitar horn bongo trap set monster jam. I mean why the hell has no one ever mentioned this track before in all my reading of this kinda stuff. Man! Raw Nasty Fuzz verb latin funk jamming with really impressive instrumentation and playing at a super level. Anyway I'll stop ranting and give you the link. Oh and if you're wandering, the rest of the album sounds nothing like this, it's good, but it's straight tejano/conjunto stuff.

B4: Anna (6:59) [ Little Joe y La Familia - Total. ]

FEATURE ALBUM FROM UPCOMING TOP 200 LIST!!! Veron Wray - Wasted (1972)

This massive bad mofo gem is insanely rare and I have no idea how I even came across this but it is one of the most overlooked and unheard of song writer/country/folk/private/acid/loner style stuff ever. Simply gorgeous song cafting and with minimal production means, like a shack with a 3 track and some dusty old instruments. This is Link Wray's older brother Vernon Wray. Apparently Vernon is to the Wray family/group what Dennis Wilson is to the Beach boys /Wilson's family. Like Pacific Blue, it was Vernon's last opus before dying, and like Dennis, Veronon was a very torturted man. But unlike Dennis Wilson, ALMOST NO ONE has heard this album. I hope to shed some light on this fellow's brief but supremely underrated career. This album might take a few listens to really appreciate, and yes there are a few moments that are "dated" or the lyrical themes are somewhat "cheesey" to some, I disagree but I can see how one might think so, but a few tracks are absolutely breath taking, okay that was kind of a lame cliche but damn it, its good. Of course, Link Wray is featured heavily on guitar, and Doug Wray on Drums. It was recorded in Tucson Arizona at "Wray's Shack Three Track." Recorded and Released in 1972. Only about 400-700 copies were printed, and even less survived.

TRACKLIST *=most referenced songs
1. Facing all the same tomorrows
2. God is color blind
3. Reaching out to touch
4. Lonely Son *
5. Tailpipe *
6. When I start Drinking
7. Faces in the crowd
8. Prologue
9. Sycamore Tree
10. Prison Song

Grab this while it lasts, or vernon will smash whiskey bottles on your face.