Gap Band - You Dropped A Bomb On Me

The GAP Band - You Dropped A Bomb On Me (1982)

Back to the non stop groove action. Funk for you future nuclear winter. As kids of the Cold War in the 70s & 80s we were promised nuclear annihilation on what seemed like a daily basis. That never came to fruition thanks to peacemakers Gorbachev & Reagan. However Joe Biden's administration seems to be recklessly insane and hellbent on chaos. They are supporting and provoking all sorts of conflicts and festivals of human death throughout the world (They gotta keep the military industrial cash-cow flowing right) so a Nuclear Holocaust seems to be a distinct possibility once again. 

As far as the 21st century goes, the American government have got to be hands down the most evil empire on earth. I mean Victoria Australia during lockdowns was an insane breach of human rights along with China's C**** policy not to forget Canadia and their restrictions of freedom and economic sanctions on their own citizens during the truckers protest. America though is a death machine, that's their main business - DEATH. Let us not forget then those other two war mongering presidents, the most vile of war criminals George W Bush & Barack Obama. Oh... Iraq war wise I need to give special mention to allies Tony Blaire and our very own Johnny Howard whose lies led to so much human devastation. So how many dead people is that? How much human suffering have they caused? How many fellow human beings are dead? How many people like you and me, just trying to get through the day without too much hassle, slaughtered

A new report is estimating that the post-9/11 war machine has exterminated 4.5 million human people. Even if that's a 50% overestimate... 

...it's still fucking revolting! 

Anyway this tune is da bomb! Hooks galore. It's like every single musical element here has a hook which makes this totally infectious. Its that heavy duty drone-y synth bass though that is absolute killer like a blanket of wavering bass tone. I guess that was a precursor to the drum'n'bass and tech-step pile-driving style.

Black Mountain Transmitter - Black Goat Of The Woods

(2009)

Sorry to interrupt the blog's non stop groove action but I tripped over this in the cyberspace, clicked on it because I liked the look of it and it turned out to be good fun stuff. Eerie ambient of the highest order. Creepy occult happenings in the woods vibe. 

Black Goat Of The Woods was apparently inspired by the darkest of low budget 70s horror flix, spooky 70s telly, weird electronic OSTs, HP Lovecraft, VHS tapes etc., you know the sorta thing was soo de-rigueur in the 00s to the point of cliche. Luckily the music is much better than that would suggest, in fact it's quite a way ahead of his (now mostly forgotten) contemporaries. The music here is much closer to old school 80s post industrial dark ambient than say a cheap Radiophonic Workshop or Goblin knock off.

The fella behind Black Mountain Transmitter JR Moore originally released this as a cdr on his own diy label Lysergic Earwax in 2009. From what I can gather he picked up a cult following and some critical acclaim maybe. Black Goat In The Woods has since been reissued on cd, cassette and just recently on vinyl by a bunch of different labels. I mean this video's had almost a million views so that's something. Perhaps Black Mountain Transmitter are the next dark ambient haunt-y logic act to join The Caretaker in the crossover zone.

*Oh hang on this wasn't as random as I thought. I have a compilation 2cd from 2013, The Outer Church, that Black Mountain Transmitter contributed to. This cd had other like-minded abstract post industrial dark ambient experimental noise artists such as IX Tab, Hacker Farm, Robin The Fog, Time Attendant, VHS Head etc.

Atlanta Rhythm Section - So Into You

Atlanta Rhythm Section - So Into You (1977)

"When you walked into the room, 

 There was voodoo in the vibes"

This really swings... just right. The Atlanta Rhythm Section will have you hypnotised with this...er...rhythm. Someone once neatly described this tune as like Steely Dan if they were southern rock. Then there's the whole relatable lyric that captures perfectly the intensity of an unrequited lusty obsession. I actually always thought it was about his new girlfriend until I read the lyric sheet today so it still works on that level of being so into your new honey that it's all you can think about.

You don't hear this song on golden oldies radio in Australia which is weird because it was a #27 hit but those stations seem to have set a particular playlist sometime in the 90s and now nobody budges from that oddly picked set of songs. 

Peak 70s radio rock, it really doesn't get better than this. 

PS

This groove is just the greatest. The band are all on it. A twenty minute version of So Into You would be just the ticket.

Dazz Band · Let It Whip

Dazz Band - Let It Whip (1982)

Peak early 80s funk for your disco. I can't be 100% sure this made it to the footy club and Blue Light discos in the Victorian bush in the 80s. It sounds very familiar though and it isn't on any of my old disco-funk-boogie compilations so maybe...I mean you used to hear things at discos that were never on the radio or Countdown. I'd guess tracks such as these were club favourites in Melbourne and Sydney imported straight from America's R&B charts and roller rink playlists that would then filter through to the disco djs in regional towns.

A quick search reveals this choice piece of Motown wax only got to #97 on the Australian charts and yes it was an American R&B chart topper. 

Anyway, loving this right now. All the right vibes: New wave synth funk with strong 80s R&B flavour. A hell of a squelchy synth bass line amongst mucho 80s goodness and hooks galore. The sorta tune that would perfectly slide in next to GAP Band, Cameo, Prince or Zapp on your dj's turntables Good times.

KOO DE TAH - Too Young For Promises

Koo De Tah - Too Young For Promises (1985)

Totally forgot this top 10 smash existed. If you're from the Antipodes you know. Actually I'm surprised it wasn't a hit in Canada. It was big in South Africa though. An 80s Sydney band consisting of Leon Berger a Russian bloke and a lady from New Zealand Tina Cross. She was a sex symbol for a moment. Anyway this is some 80s synth pop lost treasure. It still sounds good to me...teenage nostalgia, maybe, I don't care. Peak hair in your eyes, gotta love that.  

Herbie Hancock Jamz

Doin' It - Herbie Hancock (1976)

Once you get past the fact that these tracks ain't gonna be no 60s jazz or 70s jazz-funk-fusion you can free your mind to enjoy this handful of sweet delights that Hancock recorded amongst some absolute dross in the second half of the 70s and early 80s.

On Doin' It look out as this is one hell of an insidious groove. At the start you may think "Oh this is just ok" but by the end you will be in a funky trance that you won't want to end. As far as intergalactic disco-funk jamz go it doesn't get better. Infectious.

I Thought It Was You - Herbie Hancock (1978)

Vocoderized vocals over mellow grooves progress to driving funk then into a robotic vocal workout on this futuristic toe tapper. It was either Kraftwerk or Herbie who were the first to use Sennheiser VSM 201 treated vocals on recordings in 1978 but Man Machine was released before Sunlight, I think.

Stars In Your Eyes - Herbie Hancock (1980) 

Oh boy the magic happens on this one. For a start the glorious groove is laid down by legends Freddie Washington and Alphonse Mouzon amongst a bed of exquisite Hancock keys. The strings are just splendid, then Ray Parker Jr's sublime guitar hook enters at 2:22 and you know greatness is upon you. Not to mention the wonderful vocal from Gavin Christopher. Impeccable from all angles. Undeniable stone cold R&B classic. 11 minutes just isn't quite enough.

Satisfied With Love - Herbie Hancock (1981)

Another top slow jam with Gavin Christopher on vocals. Washington & Mouzon lay down the groove once again, I mean that is some funky shit emanating from the fingertips of Freddie Washington innit. Deluxe. 

Roy Ayers - Wanna Touch You Baby

Roy Ayers - Wanna Touch You Baby (1978)

Obsessed with this track this year. The fact that Carla Vaughn's vocals don't infuriate me is a testament to the restrained approach on the production of this record. Producers Ayers & Vaughn reign this shit in to a flawless degree.

That synth/guitar/whatever break at 2:54 is in that perfect controlled zone, what could have gone berserk is reeled in, just. Again this tune is all about balance.

Years ago (pre-youtube/streaming) I decided to investigate the Roy Ayers oeuvre but I entered his catalogue in an incorrect place and got the wrong end of the stick. So I thought he was not for me but ten years ago I discovered this sweet spot which is the You Send Me LP from 1978. It wasn't a consensus record back then but it might be a bit more on people's radar today. You Send Me might not be the 60s jazzers or early 70s jazz-funkateers choice but these grooves are just fine by me. The soul jazz is heading further toward what would become known as R&B. Smooth, sensuous and melodically spacious, it's got the subtle luxurious vibes. 

KENNY LOGGINS * Keep The Fire

Kenny Loggins - Keep The Fire (1979)

Was this the inspiration for Spirit Of Radio by Rush? I feel like I can hear bits of it in here. Both songs were recorded around the same time so...who knows? Anyhow this is peak Loggins. Peak FM pop really. You either love it or hate it

Kenny is a surprisingly interesting cat. He was in a 60s garage group, The Second Helping, who were later included on Greg Shaw's seminal compilation series Highs In The Mid 60s. Kenny was even in The Electric Prunes for like a minute prior to forming a duo with Jim Messina of Buffalo Springfield and Poco fame. Loggins & Messina had a very successful run of six LPs from 1971 to 1976, selling over sixteen million records. 

Anyway fast forward to 1979 and the release of his third solo LP of which Keep The Fire is the title track. Amazingly this single only just cracked the top US top 40 reaching number 36. 

 

The Second Helping - Let Me In (1966)

Before becoming yacht rock royalty and the king of Hollywood in the 70s and 80s Kenny was in The Second Helping. They released three singles. Let Me In is ramshackle diy garage pop, that's almost proto-indie, with girl/boy vocals. Wait for psych lead break at 1:55. Good fun 60s stuff. 

James Brown - Make It Funky Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4

(1971)

When you hear this you immediately think of hip-hop from the late 80s/early 90s. That's how ubiquitous James Brown samples were then. This tune was famously sampled by Ice-T and Marley Marl along with literally hundreds of others.

Anyway who cares right because this tune is better than anything it was sampled in. I can't stand how the only way to discuss legendary artists is through who they influenced. 

This is another jam that was only ever released on one of those three great James Brown Polydor comps from 1996: Make It Funky (The Big Payback: 1971-1975).

I don't recall anything much about the way JB approached his music in this peak period but I assume it's similar to the way Miles Davis and Can operated. Doing long jams then editing them later. Parts 1, 2 and 3 of Make It Funky were all edited down to singles. Parts 3 & 4 were included on the classic double LP Get On The Good Foot (1972). I gather this raw twelve minute jam is where all the material for the Make It Funky releases comes from. However I don't think he was so much into the splicing or overdubs in the way Teo Macero and Holger Czukay were, I may be wrong... 

The exalted musicianship makes me smile and laugh out loud at the sheer ease of their audacity. In particular the bit where everything turns on a dime at 1:48 and Fred Thomas's world famous bass line drops. Glorious.

It makes me think these jams are somewhat composed if not completely...

 

James Brown begins a list of soul food at 2:49.

Fred Wesley barges in with his trombone at 8:33 for a bit of dick joke banter. They continue with Brown getting Wesley to imitate what he's doing vocally on his trombone which is just brilliant. All the while Jabo Starks and Fred Thomas are holding down a mother of a fucking groove, that is a stone cold hard funk rhythm like no other. 

At 11:16 Brown yells out to guitarist Robert Coleman to give him a bit of BB King and he proceeds to lay down some blues licks.  

Down and dirty and base this all is.

The JBs line-up for this session on July 13, 1971, Rodel Studios, Washington, D.C. was

Organ, Arrangement - James Brown

Alto Saxophone, Vocals - Jimmy Parker

Bass, Vocals - Fred Thomas
Drums, Vocals - Jabo Starks
Guitar, Vocals - Cheese Martin

Guitar, Vocals - Robert Coleman
Tenor Saxophone, Vocals – St Claire Pickney
Trombone, Vocals - Fred Wesley
Trumpet, Vocals - Jasaan Sanford

Trumpet, Vocals - Russel Crimes
Vocals - Bobby Byrd 

Vocals - Danny Ray 

Vocals - Martha Harvin  

Vocals - Vicki Anderson 

*So we've got the aforementioned Robert Lee Coleman on guitar here. He was a fellow Georgian who put in a good couple of seasons for The JBs in 1970 and & 1971. He'd previously done a six year stint with Percy Sledge. He played on and possibly co-wrote Hot Pants (1971) and played on Think (About It) (1972) by Lyn Collins...er that makes you a legend.

Michael Henderson - Solid

Michael Henderson - Solid (1976)

Wow!

Some minimal cosmic funk right here and it's glorious. A bass masterclass. It makes me wish I knew all about the musician-y stuff so I could appreciate what is going on here even more. That groove, oh my. All of the musicality moves...yes sir!

When you hear stuff like this it's hard not to think the perceived achievements by rock critics of things like Remain In Light or My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts as dubious and way overrated. 

Also that guitar is just outrageously splendid. It could be Michael but it's probably one of these two legendary guitarists who have a credit on the LP: Bruce Nazarian or Ralphe Armstrong.

I really should just go through Miles Davis's 70s bands and make sure I've checked out each members other projects and solo releases to make sure I've not missed more great stuff like Solid. All I knew for 30 years was that Michael Henderson was a fucking cool bass player because he was on all those amazing 70s Miles albums. When I say that I mean he played wicked bass on ten of the best LPs ever made! I think I had some years where pretty much all I listened to was Big Fun, In Concert, Live-Evil, Get Up With It, Agharta, Dark Magus etc. So Michael's bass has been rolling around in my head for eternity but my awareness of Solid is brand new. 

This cover. Yes.

All of it. 

That font. Recently a restaurant nearby took down its old signage which was in this exact font and from the same era, that was a depressing day.

...but wait also check out those glasses. He's giving his old mate Miles, on the cover of Get Up With It, a run for his money.

Insane jazz/funk/fusion eyewear is probably a much under-explored subject. Then again there might just be an entire website devoted to it.