Eloïse Decazes & Eric Chenaux
La Bride
(Three:Four Records, 2017)
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Nick Mazzarella | Tomeka Reid
Signaling
(Nessa Records, 2017)
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FLAC/Hi-Res | 748 MB | LINKS

“High On You” is Sly’s eighth album, and includes only two remaining members of the Family Stone — perennial Sly cheerleader and trumpetist Cynthia Robinson and saxophonist Jerry Martini. No, this record is not as important as “Stand!” or “Riot,” but there is plenty to recommend it. In fact, except for tossed-off instrumental “Green-Eyed Monster Girl,” there really isn’t a bad song in the bunch. The strongest material is front- and back-loaded, kicking off with the fantastic one-two punch of “I Get High on You” (a #3 R&B hit) and “Crossword Puzzle,” the latter unquestionably the best song on the LP. It’s a classic, and certainly the hit that never was. Over a mischievously descending bassline and nursery rhyme keys, Sly’s vocal about an illegitimate child is grittily on point. It sounds like he’s actually singing out the side of his mouth.

Tracklist:

01. I Get High On You
02. Crossword Puzzle
03. That’s Lovin’ You
04. Who Do You Love?
05. Green Eyed Monster Girl
06. Organize
07. Le Lo Li
08. My World
09. So Good to Me
10. Greed

FLAC | 882 MB | LINKS

Tracklist:

01. Alley Oop (02:27)
02. The Twist (02:12)
03. Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool (02:03)
04. It’s Now or Never (02:27)
05. Stuck on You (02:21)
06. Are You Lonesome Tonight (02:39)
07. Theme from a Summer Place (02:03)
08. Cathy’s Clown (02:22)
09. El Paso (02:43)
10. I’m Sorry (02:26)
11. Save the Last Dance for Me (02:12)
12. Teen Angel (02:32)
13. My Heart Has a Mind of It’s Own (03:16)

320 kbps | 101 MB | LINKS

Kent Blazy (born in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American country music songwriter. His credits include several singles for Garth Brooks (including Brooks’ first number one hit, “If Tomorrow Never Comes”), as well as singles by Gary Morris, Diamond Rio, Patty Loveless and Chris Young.

Tracklist:
1. Good Time (3:49)
2. In My Own Skin (4:18)
3. Back In The Day (3:30)
4. Difficult Kind (3:35)
5. Random Acts Of Love (3:21)
6. Sinners & Saints (4:10)
7. Merle (4:25)
8. Two Choices (4:46)
9. I Still Miss You (3:21)
10. Cut From The Same Cloth (3:38)

320 kbps | 108 MB | LINKS

Incremental progress. Monumental setbacks. Small victories. This is the story of American Opera. More than a record, Small Victories is a collection of moments, both devastating and victorious. Ominous nostalgia confronts hopeful reemergence. Sonically, think Manchester Orchestra meets Ryan Adams, Brand New meets Langhorne Slim — polished stones in a bed of gravel and grit. The result is a stunning eleven-song rollercoaster exploring a complete spectrum of emotion and experiences. It is an album of dynamics — a perfect balance of the fragile and explosive. By the end, we’re reminded that sometimes the small victories were all that mattered in the first place — and that the silver linings were not just that after all, but rather small glimpses of a larger hope that can sustain us through even the most miserable of seas.

320 kbps | 101 MB | LINKS

Japanese Breakfast’s ‘Soft Sounds From Another Planet’ is less of a concept album about space exploration so much as it is a mood board come to life. Over the course of 12 tracks, Michelle Zauner explores a sonic landscape of her own design, one that’s big enough to contain her influences. There are songs on this album that recall the pathos of Roy Orbison’s ballads, while others could soundtrack a cinematic drive down one of Blade Runner’s endless skyways. Zauner’s voice is capacious; one moment she’s serenading the past, the next she’s robotically narrating a love story over sleek monochrome, her lyrics more pointed and personal than ever before. While ‘Psychopomp’ was a genre-spanning introduction to Japanese Breakfast, this visionary sophomore album launches the project to new heights.

FLAC/Hi-Res| 852 MB | LINKS

Grammy nominated, multi-platinum selling Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the incomparable kings of swing, are readying the release of an all new album, “Louie, Louie, Louie”—an electrifying celebration of jazz legends Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan and Louis Prima. On their eleventh album and third for iconic label Savoy Jazz, the band is sharper than ever as they pay homage to their jazz heroes. Produced by founder and lead singer Scotty Morris and pianist and arranger Joshua Levy, the album reveals the evolution of swing, jazz and popular music through the songs and personalities of these three giants of American culture.

Says Morris: “We really want people to know about these great men that have so deeply influenced us as, and perhaps help spark a new creative interest in them and their music.”

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy consists of their original line-up which includes Scotty Morris (lead vocals and guitar), Kurt Sodergren (drums), Dirk Shumaker (double bass and vocals), Andy Rowley (baritone saxophone and vocals), Glen “The Kid” Marhevka (trumpet), Karl Hunter (saxophones and clarinet) and Joshua Levy (piano and arranger).

FLAC | 821 MB | LINKS

Hits: Greatest and Others was a 1973 compilation Vanguard put together at the end of Joan Baez’ association with their label. In addition to her hit cover of The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, songs by the Beatles and Kris Kristofferson were also included. Unlike previous compilations, this one skipped over most of Baez’ earlier traditional material almost entirely, in favor of her more recent singer-songwriter material and covers.

Tracks;
A1 The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robbie Robertson)
A2 Dangling Conversation (Paul Simon)
A3 Help Me Make It Through The Night (Kris Kristofferson
A4 Blessed Are (Joan Baez)
A5 Eleanor Rigby (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
A6 Let It Be (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
B1 There But For Fortune (Phil Ochs)
B2 The Brand New Tennessee Waltz (Jesse Winchester)
B3 I Pity The Poor Immigrant Bob Dylan)
B4 Love Is Just A Four Letter Word (Bob Dylan)
B5 Heaven Help Us All (Ronald Miller)

320 kbps | 171 MB | LINKS

The Melvins return with a double album, A Walk With Love and Death, via Ipecac Recordings. The dual albums find the trio of Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and Steve McDonald showcasing two distinct sides to the band’s music: Death, a proper Melvins’ release and Love, the score to the Jesse Nieminen directed, self-produced short also titled A Walk With Love and Death. The albums, which include guests Joey Santiago (The Pixies), Teri Gender Bender (Le Butcherettes/Crystal Fairy) and Anna Waronker (That Dog), were co-produced with engineer Toshi Kosai.

320 kbps | 108 MB | LINKS

Mr. Wheeler is set to release Sand in My Blood, his first proper solo album, on the Little Village Foundation label. Backed by Billy Pitman (Jimmie Vaughn), Jim Pugh, and Kid Andersen, the album showcases both originals and unique, indelible interpretations of relatively obscure songs from the American canon. Exploring the country, folk/traditional, gospel, and soul idioms, Mr. Wheeler demonstrates a storyteller’s love of a good tale and an understanding that there is nothing separating classic American musical forms — it can all be played together, and often in the same song. The tour-de-force vocal performances on Sand in My Blood mark a departure from Mr. Wheeler’s earlier projects and signal an exciting new direction in his musical journey.

320 kbps | 148 MB | LINKS

While Chris Bell is best known for his posthumous classic “I Am The Cosmos,” and as a founding member of the legendary Big Star, his story did not begin there. Looking Forward: The Roots Of Big Star featuring Chris Bell delivers the origins of his incredible, influential and far too short career.
This 22-track collection is the first of its kind to chronicle music made by and with Bell before Big Star’s iconic #1 Record—from bands with imaginative names like Rock City, Christmas Future, Icewater, The Wallabys, and more. It examines Bell’s progress as a writer, performer, and engineer leading up to Big Star in which the sounds and roots of Big Star are completely evident. Coupled with the previously issued Alex Chilton compilation, Free Again: The “1970” Sessions, these two releases provide a look back into the evolution of Big Star.
Featuring 6 previously unissued tracks, Looking Forward’s packaging also contains photos and liners from Grammy®-nominated writer (and set Producer) Alec Palao, as well as quotes from Bell’s bandmates (Jody Stephens, Terry Manning, Tom Eubanks, Steve Rhea) and collaborators (Alan Palmore, Ardent Studio’s John Fry), telling the story of how this true talent came to be, who he was, and what he means to us all. A talent we celebrate to this day.
Chris Bell’s post-Big Star material will continue to unfold and be explored throughout 2017. But, to truly understand the sounds that influenced so many, one only needs to be Looking Forward.

Tracklist:

01. Think It’s Time To Say Goodbye 03:55
02. All I See Is You 03:32
03. My Life Is Right 03:05
04. Feeling HIgh 03:21
05. Looking Forward 03:39
06. The Wind Will Cry For Me 03:07
07. Psychedelic Stuff 02:48
08. The Reason 02:33
09. I Lost A Love 03:16
10. A Chance To Live 02:07
11. The Answer 03:34
12. Lovely Lady 03:09
13. Sunshine 01:40
14. Introduction 01:50
15. Sunday Organ 03:16
16. The Preacher 03:41
17. Shine On Me 02:32
18. Try Again 03:37
19. Germany (Backing Track) 03:34
20. Oh My Soul (Backing Track) 03:19
21. All I See Is You (Alternate Backing Track) 03:21
22. Feeling High (Alternate Backing Track) 04:50

320 kbps | 502 MB | LINKS

Disc One

LinnDrum studio jam – 13 October 1982 (16:59)
1. Drive Me Wild (instrumental)
2. Let’s Pretend We’re Married (instrumental)
3. Dirty Mind (instrumental incl. electric guitar solo)

Rehearsal for the First Avenue 1983 Benefit Concert | July-August 1983 (48’03)
4. Little Red Corvette
5. Purple Rain (take #1) incl. “BB King style blues guitar solo”
6. Purple Rain (take #2)
7. D.M.S.R.
8. Bodyheat [James Brown] (take #1; instrumental)
9. “Kinda nasty jam in A minor”
10 Bodyheat [James Brown] (take #2)

Disc Two

Benefit Concert | First Avenue | Minneapolis, MN | USA | 3 August 1983 (68’34)
1. Let’s Go Crazy
2. When You Were Mine
3. A Case Of You [Joni Mitchell]
4. Computer Blue
5. Delirious
6. Electric Intercourse
7. Automatic
8. I Would Die 4 U
9. Baby I’m A Star
10. Little Red Corvette
11. speech by Loyce Houlton (MDT)
12. Purple Rain
13. D.M.S.R.

Disc Three

Benefit Concert | Santa Monica Civic Auditorium | Santa Monica, CA | USA | 25 February 1985 (61’18)
1. Let’s Go Crazy
2. Delirious
3. 1999 incl. Reveille [traditional] (instrumental)
4. Little Red Corvette
5. Take Me With U
6. 4 The Tears In Your Eyes
7. Free
8. Do Me, Baby
9. When Doves Cry
10. Baby I’m A Star
11. Bodyheat [James Brown]
12. Baby I’m A Star (reprise)
13. Purple Rain

Funky Rehearsal Jam, Spring 1985 (25’41)
14. I Don’t Know jam – Part I « Lyrics »
15. I Don’t Know jam – Part II « Solo Eric »

Once you have listened to this week’s excellent new Hip Deep program, “Ring the Alarm: A History of Sound System Culture,” produced by former Beat contributor Dave Katz and Saxon Baird, you must read this BOTB article by reggae collector and historian Michael Turner and his co-author Otavio Rodrigues, published in 2007. It’s the story of what’s been called “the Jurassic Park of reggae,” located in the town of São Luis, in Maranhão, Brazil, a place so obscure that even most Brazilians don’t know about what’s happening there; a place, where for many ardent fans, reggae music and sound system dances have become a way of life, in a mirror image of the Jamaican institution.

In this feature story, “The Maranhão Version: Reggae Time Warp in Brazil,” Michael describes the flip side of the Jamaican sound system culture that thrives in Maranhão, where not only classic reggae music is tremendously popular, but there is also a local recording industry that produces new music in the style of 1970s Jamaica.

As Michael noted to his amazement: “The sound system (radiola) was playing homemade Maranhão hits. Everything sounded vaguely like something played in Jamaica long ago: One tune owed something to Peter Tosh’s ‘Haffi Get A Beating,’ another to Derrick Morgan’s ‘Father Killam.’ Again, all the singers sounded like Eric Donaldson.” The Jamaican favorites ran to cuts by artists such as Junior Byles, Niney the Observer, Max Romeo and Jacob Miller. “Somehow, in an outlying city 3,000 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro, I had come back full circle to the beginnings of my obsession with Jamaican music.”

Above: This is Serralheiro (the Locksmith) mentioned in the article, who used to travel abroad with a tape recorder, “Pardon me sir, do you know where I can buy reggae records”…..he was so jealous of his records he would put them on cassette tape and play his cassettes at the dance.

Mike sent us an update about his activities since this mind-blowing trip, which literally changed his life: “Since traveling to São Luis 10 years ago, I have been back to South America almost every year, always with a box of records. I’ve played out at festas [as the selector Dr. Sapatoo] many times now, mostly in Brazil but also Uruguay and Argentina. Street level tourism is for me the best way to travel, with new musical friends as my guides and companions. I never make money from these gigs, but reggae music has paid me back many times over with great experiences.”
It’s a great read: Enjoy!

READ OR DOWNLOAD PDF: Beat26#1Maranhao

ABOUT “BEST OF THE BEAT ON AFROPOP”

This is the first new record from Los Wembler’s de Iquitos in 25 long years of relative obscurity beyond their home country of Peru. About 10 years ago, Barbès Records–the record label based around the Brooklyn venue of the same name–re-released music from Los Wembler’s as part of a double-disc compilation, The Roots of Chicha. That album revived the psychedelic Peruvian cumbia style known as chicha and put it in the ears of the world at large—from a music previously  heard only in the Amazon and parts of Lima to a wildly popular dance sound much loved by listeners across the globe. The music blends surf rock, Colombian cumbia, Amazonian melodies and ‘70s psychedelia into this magic, technicolor stew that’s seen as a forgotten yet significant part of South America’s pop history.

Los Wembler’s de Iquitos, formed in 1968 by five brothers and their father Solomon Sanchez, was at the heart of Peru’s chicha life, crafting what became known as cumbia amazonica—Amazonian cumbia—and churning out enduring hits like “Sonido Amazonico” and “Danza del Petrolero.” From the very beginning to the present, the five brothers have lived in Iquitos, Peru, a large but remarkably physically isolated city in the heart of the Amazon, where the easiest access to the world beyond was through radio, which played popular sounds from across South America and psychedelic rock from the U.S. They picked up electric guitars and wah-wah pedals, gave themselves an exotic, English-sounding name and steadily rose to fame throughout the Amazon region. Now, almost half a century later, they’ve kicked into a higher gear, performing far beyond Peru: They made an appearance in 2015 at Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works, their first in the U.S.

In the wake of this rebirth, Los Wembler’s wanted to record something new. This EP, Ikaro del Amor, is the result. Los Wembler’s are in fine form on this four-song recording, staying true to their signature style. The EP kicks off with the title track, “Ikaro del Amor,” a sizzling track that begins with a vamp sounding like hyped-up surf rock with bits of country & western and Latin percussion. The title of the song is drawn from a Quechua word for the supernatural powers Amazonian healers employ to conjure spirits during ayahuasca ceremonies. In this song, Los Wembler’s take that magic-embodying word, ikaro and use it to sing about love—here’s some of the lyrics, translated into English: “Ikarame, ikarame [Put me under your spell]/Cure me of this heartache/And make my baby come back.” It’s one of the more upbeat songs of heartache and yearning that I’ve heard. Tacked on to the EP are two remixes—of “Ikaro del Amor” and “Dos Amores”—produced by the Meridian Brothers of Colombia. They’re strange little experiments, stripping the songs down and situating them in minimalist, computerized habitats. They’re fun to hear next to the originals but not strongly compelling on their own.

One of the group’s old hits makes a reprise on this EP: “Sonido Amazónico.” It’s still hot, it still has that waviness and fuzz and it still has those excellent birdcalls and monkey hoots that the Sanchez brothers make to evoke the real sounds of the Amazon. However, there’s something about these recordings that doesn’t fully capture the group’s vibrant, psychedelic sound from their original tracks and live performance. Perhaps it’s nostalgia for an aesthetic of old-school, lower-fidelity guitar twang and fuzz, but they are not quite as richly vivacious as were the tracks from the early days, where you could almost hear the dense humidity of the Amazon in the quality of the sound. That said, the EP is still classic Wembler’s chicha and, even after nearly five decades, the brothers are still going strong. If Amazonian cumbia has been a love in your life for many decades or just one, you should head on over to Barbès Records for this EP, Ikaro del Amor, from the one and only Los Wembler’s de Iquitos.

320 kbps | 74 MB | LINKS

Toronto-based Whitehorse lends itself to flowery adjectives such as “retro psychedelic pop,” “pop neo-noir,” “psychedelic Spaghetti Western” and, perhaps most vaguely but intriguingly, “space cowboy duo.” Once you spin this third studio full length you’ll probably add more of your own. Married multi-instrumentalists/singer/songwriters Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland have been traveling an impossible-to-pigeonhole style since their 2011 debut EP. Each release brought a mysterious, swampy, reverb-laden sound, gradually adding elusive, subtle elements of hip-hop and blues (their previous 2016 release was an often radical interpretation of classic blues gems) that expanded their boundaries while staying true to core roots values of creatively reworked/reimagined country, folk and rock.