... or "the record store man took all my money."
First of all, Polydor has re-issued and repackaged on CD most of the
classic James Brown records. I grabbed James Brown "Funk Power"
[Polydor 31453 1684-2] which is a repackaging -- according to the
liner notes, it collects tracks from the sessions of the original
J.B.s, the band he toured with in 1970 and 1971, which included
Bootsy Collins, Bobby Byrd, Catfish Collins and Jabo Starks.
Cuts include "Get Up I feel Like Being a Sex Machine", "Super Bad",
"Talkin Loud and Saying Nothing."
Why should IDM'er buy it? 1) It is Super Bad. Play it loud, MF, and
bathe in the greatness. 2) Find out where all those guys stole loops.
Also, JB is one of the originators of the Track Aesthetic -- if the groove
is sweaty enough, loop it all night long.
In the used bin, Kraftwerk "Trans-Europe Express" (say no more).
This is out of print -- the rights have passed from hand to hand
(Virgin/Caroline brought it out at one point.) I found the
Capitol release [CDP 0777 7 46423 2 8], Snatch up on sight.
"Electro Funk Volume Two" [Priority Records P2 53115] collects "Clear"
by Cybotron, "Message II" by Melle Mel and the Furious Five,
"Egypt Egypt" by Egyptian Lover, and a slug of others.
It's sequenced as a continuous mix record, and despite a few cheesy
cuts is a blast of Electro Fun from beginning to end.
"Clear" is always cited as being one of those 'roots of
techno' cuts, but a lot of latecomers (including me) have never heard it.
It's showing up on compilations and Fantasy even re-released it on
12" vinyl, and it's up to the minute electro techno even today. Believe it.
Paul Johnson "Second Coming." -- last year brought "Bump Talking", which
was the melodic side of PJ. "Second Coming" is PJ the track master.
These are hard minimal tracks, but the man is a total master of the minimal
house form. This record kicks major ass -- I believe it's out on 2x12 as
well, and should be in your crate if you spin house. PJ's minimal tracks
make a big PA come alive.
A lot of IDM'er probably hate minimal house -- I used to be that way, but
this and the Glenn Underground record have converted me. The tracks on
"Second Coming" are continuously morphing and changing, building and
breaking down. This stuff is in some respects the flowering of what
Stockhausen started in the 40's, but you can dance to it. ;-)
By the way -- if you ever drive cross country on I80, stop in
Iowa City. I've been to Chicago, New York, LA, London, and we have
better record stores here -- 6 of them in a 3 block radius. That's
why I'm always broke!
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"I read Keyboard, but it's like staring at a book with pictures
of simple looking but expensive machines." -- Michael Lazarev
NEW CD Comp Electronic Music Project
http://soli.inav.net/~kent/emp.html
Kent Williams kent@inav.net
CADSI 2651 Crosspark Road Coralville IA 52241
(319) 338 6053 (home)
(319) 626 6700 x 219 (work)
(319) 626 3489 (fax)