Haul of Records Anniversary Celebration

Can you tell I've been a busy little bee lately?

Blog content has been posted since last year and it's all been leading up to this moment. 

All of this brings us to one of my most sacred times of the year where my blog is concerned. I'm celebrating my 18th anniversary of blogging online.

Over the last 18 years, I have changed radio stations, time slots, DJ name, show names and blog names but it has always been me.

Believe it or not, I have had a history of planning my anniversary show playlists months in advance. My main goal was to surprise the listeners while I did the radio show.  I stopped doing radio broadcasts in 2023 and started blogging again in 2026 after years of inactivity. 

By all means, check out the Haul of Records blog to find out how I celebrated years of broadcasting on Concordia University's radio station, CKUT, DJing & cratedigging as whole.

The blog’s Anniversary Celebration time is upon us!   

The blog originally began in August 2006 as a means for me to promote my radio show and revisit my love for writing. 

As of now, my blog has had over 400,000 hits!

Not too long ago, I wondered how and if I would ever see this day. I was frustrated at not making enough of what I thought was an impact here. It looks like I don't need to worry about that anymore. The fact that people have indeed been visiting my space on the blogosphere is reassuring and a blessing.

I have everyone who has visited, visits and will visit my blog to thank.

Keep an eye out for the Anniversary Celebration all through the month of August.

Click here to download other podcasts.

Grand Funk Railroad

I never knew what rock song was sampled on Master Ace’s Music Man but wanted to.  

From the moment I learned it was Grand Funk Railroad, I opened my eyes and ears to the band. 

I have picked up many of the Grand Funk Railroad records that crossed my path in the hopes of finding the sample. 



The album cover at the top of the post represents one of my favorite classic rock album covers of all-time.

I was pretty happy to have found the On Time album at a Puces Pop Record Fair years ago. 

Local musical mentor Dubny told me about their Phoenix album one night while we were at Death of Vinyl record store when the subject of the group came up in discussion. It was rare or not easy to come by. In an incredible twist of fate, or diggers’ destiny, I found that Phoenix album in New York during my day trip for the Afrika Bambaataa Record Exhibit.  

Tha Alkaholiks

Like The Pharcyde and Souls of Mischief, Tha Alkaholiks sounded so East Coast that I was slightly disappointed I couldn’t claim them as my own.

The first album is fantastic but the second one not so much. I remember being in New York in the summer that Likwidation was to drop. 

The group appeared on Funkmaster Flex’s radio show and the nearly the whole album was played on air that night. 

I was going to buy it for Hip Hop Drunkies alone but their track All Night had be impatient to get to the store.

Fitz and The Tantrums

 

 

I was listening to one of Mark Ronson's Authentic Shit podcasts one day and tripped off the first song played.

I did some quick detective work and discovered the song was recorded by Fitz & The Tantrums.

It sounded like Daptone Records, The Rumble Strips or something Mark Ronson would have produced.

I can identify with the message of the song while I groove my ass off!



I like the blue eyed soul angle of the song too. I especially love the video and the way Fitz dances. There's a funkier Robert Palmer thing going on in his moves.   For as much as I Love the song and played it many times on my show, I've never had as many technical problems while playing a song like I did for Breaking the Chains of Love. I almost thought the song was cursed. I could count nearly 5 times I played it and something would go wrong! I take pride in being the first to play their music at Concordia University's radio station. I look forward to hearing further Fitz. 
 

 

Santana ‎– Santana (1969)

 

Santana’s blending of Latin rhythms and rock music may not have interested me in the past while I was listening to hip hop.  

Within the last 11 years of hosting my radio show, rock music from 1964-1975 has been a primary focus for me.  

The first Santana album lays down the foundation for what we are to expect from the group.  What an introduction!  

On the subject of introductions, hip hop was in its infancy in the early 1970s.  

It is impossible to think the late Jimmy Castor and crew were not influenced by the sounds and work of West Coast wonder Carlos Santana.

Kelis

I’ll always have a place in my heart and music collection for Kelis.



Who knew the multi-colored haired young woman screaming at men like me a decade ago would be so near and dear to me?




She exploded on to the scene with Milkshake and I couldn’t resist her Tasty album.

That forced me to revisit Kaleidoscope and seek out Wanderland.

There is a possibilty that people don't know how great a song Acapella is.



Like Erykah Badu, I respect her creativity & eccentricities and check for her anytime she has something new.

The Suite Delight new time slot is Tuesday morning 2-3am EST on www.ckut.ca & 90.3 FM.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

Below is a podcast to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download it and more.

The Suite Delight - April 15, 2014 Playlist:

1. Valique – Taking Your Seat
2. Pleaser - Bateria Virtual (DJ Enredo Remix)
3. Greenwood Rhythm Coalition – Rise Up
4. Tim “Elder” Lee – Disco Insert
5. Mr. Scruff – Get A Move On
6. William Onyeabor – Better Change Your Mind
7. The Souljazz Orchestra – Ya Basta
8. Ikebe Shakedown – Tame The Beats
9. Kelis – Glow feat. Raphael Saadiq
10. The Clonious – Emora
11. The Boombap Cats – Interlude (Dilla Tribute)
12. Tall Black Guy – Mon Amie De’Troit

The Suite Delight - March 4, 2014 Playlist:

1. Kokolo - Soul Power (Lack Of Afro Remix)
2. Kelis - Trick Me
3. Nickodemus – 2 Sips & Magic (Second Sky & Thomas Blondet Remix)
4. The Souljazz Orchestra - Celestial Blues
5. Fabolous - So Into You feat Tamia
6. DJ Honda - When You Hot, You Hot feat. No I.D. & Dug Infinite
7. Fashawn - LIfe As a Shorty
8. Oh No - Beware feat. Cali Agents
9. Brand Nubian - Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down (Remix) Featuring Diamond D
10. Souls of Mischief - Good Feeling
11. De La Soul - Afro Connections At A Hi 5
12. Moka Only & Chief - Crickets
13. Grand Analog - Take It Slow (Spaces & Places)

Etta James - Tell Mama

Etta James' Tell Mama album, back by the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, ironically and unfortunately placed her somewhat in direct competition with Aretha Franklin.



Although James' bluesy vocals were raw and powerful enough to put her on par with Franklin, Franklin was already anointed Queen of Soul from as early as 1967 when she recorded for Atlantic Records.

I remember seeing brief footage of her funeral on the news. I'm thankful that due to her surge of popular culture media exposure, her talent and legend did not go unnoticed.

KRS-One

KRS-One’s 1994 Montreal concert is the greatest concert experience of my life.



With the slight exception of The Roots or Femi Kuti, no concert, hip-hop or otherwise, has managed to dethrone KRS' impact on me.

To see the icon performing live in front of you is worth the cost of admission.

KRS is such a seasoned performer. Few MCs have the charisma and stage presence of KRS. I know that, the audience knows that, and most importantly, he knows that.

Depending on who you ask that was present during Montreal's hip hop scene in the 1990s, some would say the 1993 De La Soul/A Tribe Called Quest/Souls of Mischief show is the greatest hip hop show this city has ever had.  

I unfortunately did not get to see the 1993 show mentioned above.  I did however have the privilege of attending the greatest hip hop concert of my life and KRS-One was a major factor for that night being so memorable.

One thing is undeniable. KRS has what it takes to make any performance memorable.

Thanks for '94 as well as the H.E.A.L & Stop The Violence Movements Kris.

D-Nice was also an important member of Boogie Down Productions. 

Boogie Down Productions pioneer Ms. Melodie passed away in 2012.

RIP Scott LaRock & Ms. Melodie.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com

Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

 

Most artists could only wish to do with their albums like what Lauryn Hill did with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

I'll admit to being slightly disappointed with that album because she did not rhyme as much as I would have liked or needed. I was in desperate need of a classic hip hop album at that time and would have accepted one from anyone who stepped into the arena for the quest.

I knew she could have done it. I had high hopes for her, like a handful of others, and knew that if she dropped a HIP HOP album, it would have rocked the world as I knew it and cracked the earth in half for good measure. Miseducation is a classic in its own right even if she didn’t drop sweet 16s all over the album like I would have wanted.

The XX

The Matthew Dear remix of VCR by The XX is the best song I've heard from the group.

The XX were as popular as Phoenix when I became Concordia University radio station RPM Director and I was curious to catch one of their Montreal shows.

I only knew Matthew Dear because of the 2010 release Black City.

Curiosity made me explore his other work and I discovered his wonderful VCR remix.



During an Aux 33 Tours record sale, my DJ friend and I were in agreement the remix was nuts and even inquired about whether or not it was pressed to vinyl.

Thankfully we can hear the remix anytime we want, as should you.

Cypress Hill

I remember being blown away by their debut CD. 

I was in high school and the album was near flawless to me then as it is now. 

B-Real’s voice was unique, humorous and underground at the same time. 

The production is incredible. Similar to my surprise in learning GZA was The Genius, I couldn’t believe The 7A3’s DJ Muggs resurfaced to make those phunky beats. It took me a long time and distance to find my CD copy of their debut. I took an excursion-like trip to the West Island of Montreal to visit a record store and was pleasantly surprised to see it waiting for me. I’m on a quest to get all of De La Soul’s 12" singles. I could see myself doing the same for Cypress Hill’s releases.

King Curtis

Whoopi Goldberg received the Academy Award for playing the psychic medium through which Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore’s characters communicate. I dreamed of receiving an Oscar for years. If I do receive an award as prestige as the Oscar or the gold statuette itself, I will remember to thank Curtis Ousley in my acceptance speech.

If it’s not already obvious, I’m big on playlists. While preparing to fill in for The Goods, I was conscious of the fact a handful of artists would repeat from the August 2010 visit. If I decided to take a firm stand, Wilson Pickett, The Shocking Blue, James Brown (via Marva Whitney), Ramsey Lewis and King Curtis would not have made it onto the March 2012 playlist.

Curtis in particular, not only made the shortlist of apparently vital artists I must play on The Goods radio show but was played twice. In 2010, James Brown had the honor of being doubly played. I was aware he was taking two spots on the pluralist but allowed for it anyway. The couple of King Curtis choices were too good to pass up.

I have Death of Vinyl to thank for putting me on the path to Sweet Inspiration. I heard the song’s opening bars, realized what I was hearing and was in wonder of the uncommon talent of King Curtis. Do you think I left that vinyl behind when I came across it during my CMJ 2011 trip? Upon my first time coming across the Sweet Soul album after knowing what was on it, I copped it with sweet delight for The Suite Delight. Aside from the song being an original sample, Sweet Inspiration is a beautiful song that makes it painfully clear the world lost a major musician in King Curtis.

On the subject of samples, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth fans owe King Curtis a debt of gratitude for creating a hip hop classic.

I believe what kick-started my King Curtis quest was discovering he did a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love from a compilation. It was destiny for me to discover that track because at the time I was dabbling in late 1960s/early 1970s rock, soul, jazz, funk and world music. For the soul jazz musician to cover the heavy Led Zeppelin cut peaked my curiosity.

King Curtis was the equivalent of Ray Charles being talented enough and capable to record various genres of music. King Curtis has recorded traditional jazz, soul, soul-jazz, funk and rock in his unique style. It is safe to believe he was also the equivalent of Motown’s Funk Brothers by playing on many Atlantic singles and albums. I’m sure delving into the Atlantic Records discography for his name among credits will be dizzying.

My father had The Best of King Curtis album in the house but it would take me to be almost as old as he was when he bought the album for me to understand the magnitude of his music. I learned he was shot in New York. It is either a coincidence or fate that I end up blogging about buying and playing the records of the guy on my father’s record. Regardless of the case, King Curtis' music is indeed a family affair where I'm concerned. 

As I was leaving Death of Vinyl on Record Store Day 2013, a customer approached me with three albums in his hands.  

Two of them were of King Curtis.

He asked me which of them was of prime importance and if I could chime in about them. 

Upon seeing the live King Curtis album, I pointed to it.

As mentioned on The Goods podcast, I heard the live version of Them Changes on The Deep End with Nick Michaels and was blown away.

The other King Curtis album was a release of Sam Cooke covers. 

I explained that King Curtis on Atlantic/ATCO is my main concern.  I was already on the road to collecting King Curtis records since 2010 so it would be no surprise I would add nearly any Atlantic Records King Curtis I would find. 

In addition to the Instant Groove and Sweet Soul, I added King Curtis Live at the Fillmore West on vinyl and CD. 

The store had some of his other Atlantic albums that I already owned and told him what treasures each one held.  

Stéphane Moraille

I saved copies of Montreal Mirror magazines to review them later.

As the host of a radio show, I want to learn more about the bands, genres and music that are a bit foreign to me and catch up on what I didn’t know musically.

One day while going through them, an article and photo about a powerhouse vocalist from Montreal came to my attention. The article was promoting a concert performance that I immediately regretted missing. I decided I was going to get familiar with her music any chance I got since I didn’t see her perform live like I would have wished.  

 

One day I was shopping at one of my favorite record stores, Death of Vinyl, and the owner showed me a box of 12” singles. He was aware of my preference for strong female vocalists and told me to take my pick. The box was filled with dance music classics and among them, a bunch of Shauna Davis songs popped up. I remembered the name from the Mirror article and realized I just found more Stéphane Moraille music. I took them all and was especially blown away by her delivery on Into You.




















I remember the day I was in my apartment and listened to the Florida Water CD from start to finish. I kept rewinding Honey most of all.
 
I still find it amazing that from the day I read the article about her, to the two copies of Florida Water, the Shauna Davis 12” singles at the store, the Glee CD brought to my old radio station on the show after mine, to the phone call with the artist herself, I was destined to be surrounded by Stéphane’s music this year.





















One of my highlights was that I talked to Stéphane Moraille over the phone. I’m one of the most star struck people I know so that moment was bliss. 
 



















For some reason during the conversation, I started thinking about the future. I imagined her being the province’s Aretha Franklin, Shirley Bassey, or simply the Grande Dame of Montreal music in years to come. 

Stéphane Moraille is gifted enough to be Montreal music royalty one day. I’ll continue to check for her music whenever I can and follow her musical evolution.