Haul of Records

Waxpoetics

I’ve treasured it from the moment I realized it was the only real music magazine I have left to buy since The Source, Rap Pages & Vibe Magazines’ early–mid 1990s prime.

It is truly a valuable source of musical information.

The latest Waxpoetics issue on the shelves is happening in my life and I rejoice inside a little until the novelty wears off.

I’m even happier to pick up back issues like I did at the WFMU Record Fairs and Dreambeat Conventions, the bi-annual record conventions in Montreal.

One of my most significant memories linked to Waxpoetics magazine happened on Record Store Day 2013.

I looked forward to a 30-minute DJ set at Montreal's Death of Vinyl record store to commemorate the crate-digging celebration day but had to make stops at other stores just to make sure I didn't miss out on anything.

As I packed my record bag, I made a last minute decision to bring a compilation of rock breaks.

When I arrived at the first store and starting browsing through the racks, a couple standing beside me asked about a group with Rotary in the name.

I asked if they were referring to Rotary Connection. The lady said yes and we briefly spoke about Minnie Riperton’s former band. I explained that I was not a fan of the band’s brand of music but acknowledged the songs I did enjoy. The man with her said he loved their orchestral and eclectic vibe.

I reached into my record bag and showed them the compilation containing a Rotary Connection cut called Life Could and told them they should seek it out when possible.

As I prepared for my DJ set at Death of Vinyl record store, I felt it would be ideal to play Life Could at my earliest convenience. A young man approached the turntables apparently enjoying the tune. I asked him if he knew what he was listening to and he stated he hadn’t. I showed him the compilation and told him the band name.

He replied that he remembered the name from Waxpoetics Magazine. When I told him whose vocals were gracing the song, he had a moment of total recall. I can only imagine what he was writing into his phone was a gentle reminder to reach for Rotary Connection.

YouTube doesn't allow me to add a video with Life Could on the blog but allowed me to view vintage footage of my songstress early in her career.

Waxpoetics allows us to read more beyond into the stories behind the albums, songs, and videos that we have access to. I couldn't be happier that we have access to Waxpoetics.

Montreal crate diggers and music connoisseurs were dealt a blow when it was announced that the downtown Chapters bookstore is closing. That unfortunately means there will be one less venue to get Waxpoetics in the city. I'm pretty resourceful and will inquire as to whether the Indigo store blocks away will now carry the magazine.

John Holt

I was looking online for inspiration for one of my Suite Delight playlists only to find disappointing news.

Through some browsing a blog I visit primarily for hip hop I discovered that Jamaican music legend John Holt died a few days before.

I bought a 2LP reggae compilation called Reggae Going International from the Pop Montreal record fair weeks ago which included Holt's Stick by Me.

Two of my go-to compilations, Paul Weller's Under the Influence and the iconic Norman & Joey Jay Good Times, have Ali Baba on them. The fact that the compilers are from the United Kingdom doesn't escape me.

The fact that John Holt covered The Bee Gees' Morning of My Life proves to me that the respect was mutual. Funny enough I was convinced Morning of My Life was Holt's composition until I checked the song writing credits. Holt's version was the only one I had heard until my Bee Gees blitz of recent years.

Speaking of checking song writing credits, Blondie's The Tide Is High was written and performed by John Holt in the 1960s. No wonder parents and family friends loved that song so much!

On the Friday before his death, I unsealed the Reggae Going International compilation (earlier than I originally planned) and played Stick by Me during the weekly mix down session at Montreal’s Death of Vinyl record store. That was the first song I ever played from the package and unknown to me it was somewhat in memoriam to the man.

RIP John Holt and thank you for the timeless music that crossed generational lines.

Mavis Staples

I was listening to a local university radio station one afternoon and the show playing two songs featuring Mavis Staples inspired me to write about her.

The first song I heard was The Weight. As I heard the song for the first time, I was unsure if it was Mavis covering The Band’s legendary song solo or a Staples Singers song. The host stated it was a family affair.

I'll Take You There is easily the most important Staples Singers song where hip hop is concerned.

Let's Do It Again is also prime Staples Singers. However, If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) is unforgettable for me for sentimental reasons.

There is an incredible cover version of Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth by The Staples Singers. To my knowledge, it was recorded before they were signed to Stax/Volt.

I have yet to listen to any of her early solo albums. They have not crossed my music purchasing path either. I would buy them even without having heard a song from either of them because I know I would be hearing tracks upon tracks featuring one of soul's music's legends.

My current interest in Mavis Staples comes at a convenient time.

July marks her birthday month and I learned of a new album featuring a cover of Funkadelic's classic Can You Get To That. Check it out as well as her early recordings.

Minnie Riperton

I remember hearing Loving You on the radio while I was young. I would know the singer hitting the highest notes I had ever heard as Minnie Riperton and hold on to those nuggets of information from childhood. Aside from those details, I also knew she died young. It would be years before I broaden that scope of knowledge.

I have BBE’s Strange Games & Things compilation to thank for making me take more notice of Minnie Riperton. The CD introduced me to Riperton’s Reasons when the only ones that concerned me were those of Earth, Wind & Fire. The rock grooves backing Riperton intrigued me because it was a far cry from her legendary love ballad. Ironically both songs are on the same album, Perfect Angel, which I was happy to have copped from a CMJ trip in 2009.

I love mid/late 1960s to early 1970s music regardless of the genre but have had something of a hard time with her former group Rotary Connection. I don’t know how to place Rotary Connection. The difficulties I’ve had in finding a danceable groove from the group have not made me study their music any further nor have the desire to do so.

I Am The Black Gold of the Sun is the only stand-out song from the group’s discography because of big wig producers and compilers like Gilles Peterson reaching for it. I felt that her Come To My Garden would be a regurgitation of Rotary Connection records. Les Fleurs could easily have been a Rotary cut but because it is a solo song, I see it as where her style blooms. And as always when she hit those high notes take my breath away.

I had heard some of her later 1970s Minnie material but was not moved much. It is quite possible Angel & Adventures In Paradise are her best albums.

Perfect Angel is my favorite Riperton record for sentimental reasons. However, I anticipate owning and listening to Adventures in Paradise one day to see if it will sway my vote. Earlier in April, I was listening to the first side of my Perfect Angel vinyl and was surprised she hits the high notes on so many songs in succession.

Micheal Jackson has a song called Gone Too Soon. I believe that applies to Minnie Riperton. She was a rare and special talent that the world would not hear more from. As sad as it is she is no longer with us, we can at least rejoice in the fact that her music still is.

Lastly, I came to the realization that I renamed my show The Suite Delight after Minnie Riperton’s Reasons made such an impact on me.

Please make yourself familiar with the playlist and link below.

Click here to download.

Playlist:

1. Robert Glasper Experiment - Perservere feat. Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco & Luke James
2. Outkast - Prototype
3. Shad - He Say She Say
4. A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebaum
5. Keith Murray - Get Lifted (Erick Sermon Remix)
6. Theophilus London - Life of a Lover (Remix) feat. Blu & Jesse Boykins III
7. Edo G - Righteous Way
8. Donovan - Get Thy Bearings
9. Rare Earth - Born To Wander
10. Minnie Riperton - Reasons
11. Clarence Carter - Patches
12. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - The Memory
13. Easy Star All Stars - Time (Groove Corporation Remix)
14. Elaquent - The Official
15. J Dilla - Last Donut of the Night

The Mighty Sparrow

Sparrowmania! is the second consecutive Mighty Sparrow compilation I'm aware of in roughly the last 3 years.

I discovered Dr. Bird was released and got news of the Sparrowmania! compilation not too long afterwards.

Unlike the sprawling Dr. Bird, which covers The Mighty Sparrow's vast career, the focus of Sparrowmania! is apparently from 1962-1974 where hot-button issues of the time are addressed by the legendary Calypso recording artist.

There is never a bad time for The Mighty Sparrow and with this latest anthology, the good times will continue to roll.

Fans of Wyclef Jean's classic debut The Carnival might remember the snippet from the tune below.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory (1970)

I have always been a greatest hits, best of and definitive collection type of guy when it comes to artists because I don’t always have the patience or money to buy the individual albums.

Hits collections are more bang for the buck and are designed to provide listening enjoyment anytime you play them.

Individual albums are not always guaranteed to be great.

I took it on faith that the combined 40 singles on their Chronicle CDs was all of the Creedence Clearwater Revival I needed.

However, after some recent research I realzie that my personal favorite of the band's albums is Cosmo's Factory.

I was lucky to have found a vinyl copy for cheap sometime in 2013.

One of Hanna-Barbera’s cartoon shows used Lookin' At My Back Door for a montage featuring characters Huckleberry Hound and Top Cat among others. As an adult, I embed the classic footage on my blog for all to see.

Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest

With most breakups of my favorite bands, I am sad to hear the news. The breakup of A Tribe Called Quest was possibly the equivalent of The Beatles breaking up for me.

The Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest documentary presents the history of the group from their introduction to the hip hop scene, the recording of their back-to-back-to-back classic albums until the group's demise.

As soon as I learned of AMC screening the documentary, I went to see it at my earliest convenience. Although I knew I would eventually buy the DVD if the opportunity presented itself, there was no way I was going to wait to buy the DVD to see the documentary. If that were the case, this post would not exist now.

As expected, the movie theatre screening Beats Rhymes & Life was not full. Those there surrounding me were there for the same purpose.

I have known Michael Rapaport to be a hip hop head ever since I learned of him as an actor. It was no surprise, but yet was still surprising to learn, that he was at the helm of the A Tribe Called Quest documentary helping to answer and explain what happened to hip hop's wonder group.

I watched how and why the A Tribe Called Quest music of my teens came to be.

At some point the nostalgia of the prime A Tribe Called Quest era got to me. The Native Tongues posse footage especially made me remember how much I loved hip hop and how it is inconceivable for those glory days to return. It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

As much as it would have been nice to see the documentary twice in one year, I made no effort to see the screening during CMJ 2011. However, I would have loved to have attended the CMJ party thrown in its honor and featuring The Roots' Questlove. Unfortunately I learned of the party too late and most like me who wanted to go had already done what they could to pack the place.

The Beats Rhymes & Life documentary is a must-see for anyone who likes or loves the group. It is an educational tool for those that want to know what people refer to as the good old days of hip hop. It is informative as it is successful in provoking thought and emotion. One only wonders what could have been but at least the group's legacy is captured on film. I'm thankful to Michael Rapaport and producers for the documentary even if the truth is hard to take.

Please make yourself familiar with the playlist and link below.

Click here to download.

Hanna-Barbera

If I haven't said it before, I will now. Thank goodness for blogs!

This blog entry was years in the making and I finally got down to business. I'm a fan of animation. I always have been when I think about it. I loved reading comic strips in the Montreal Gazette. Scholastic deliveries of books like Heathcliff and Marmaduke to my elementary school were near Christmas status and always well-received.

Like most kids, I loved cartoons after school and on weekends. I also loved the holiday cartoons like Charlie Brown Christmas and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I remember the odd prime-time Garfield cartoon that would air at night.

The pioneering cartoons like Disney, Merrie Melodies and Terrytoons must get their respect but I have a personal fondness for Hanna-Barbera's work. There is something in the quality of their animation that draws me in. If I had to describe it, there is a humanity that they applied to their drawings that is very tangible and the closest to their style is Looney Tunes. In my opinion, Looney Tunes was not as accurate. Take a look at how they drew Johnny Quest. I didn't care too much for Johnny Quest but I always respected the quality of the art.

Who didn't love all the Scooby-Doo shows and its variations? Flintstones was a staple on CFCF-12 here in Montreal for most of my life.

It would play at noon and I can imagine most children growing up after me watching it while eating lunch. Jetsons was not one of my favorites. It was probably too adult-oriented for my taste.

When I made trips to New York to see my family, I discovered that Hanna-Barbera made MANY more cartoons than Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and Top Cat. For some reason, Canadian television gave us a very limited choice of their work. I learned about Dastardley & Muttley, Space Ghost and Birdman later on in my life. Unbelievable! Hanna-Barbera were the ones who drew Sealab 2020, the predecessor to Sealab 2021.

I learned they drew Tom & Jerry a few years ago. Actually, I came to remember they drew them when I bought a couple VHS collections of their cartoons. I remember as a child the Tom & Jerry Show would start off the WPTZ weekday afternoon schedule that ended with Welcome Back, Kotter. I remember a number of Tom & Jerry cartoons, especially the Jasper one.

I want to take this moment to pay tribute to Hanna-Barbera. Thank you for the decades of animation we have grown up with. I'd love to expose my children to their work to help keep the legacy alive for generations to come.

Rakim

Rakim returned to Montreal's Le Belmont on March 21 for Hip Hop Week.

When I saw Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T and Rakim perform in Montreal decades after their legendary visits to James Lyng High School, I was trying to turn back the hands of time. I was attempting to reconcile the void in my life after having not seen them in those prime years.

I can now boast and literally blog about having not one but two Rakim concert experiences in my fair city.

Expectedly, anticipation for Rakim to reach the Belmont stage was high. I was conveniently, strategically and fortunately near the door leading him to the stage and relieved that moment for a second time.

It felt good to see Rakim live and direct again. The crowd enthusiastically shouted the legendary lyrics when prompted. It was even impressive to hear a young lady behind me recite Mahogany verbatim.

The city will get a taste of hip hop history whenever Rakim takes the stage once again.

Inspectah Deck

When the Wu-Tang Clan’s classic debut album dropped in 1993, I knew none of the near dozen MCs in the group but it would not take long before the world knew who they were.

I believe it was after watching the C.R.E.A.M. video a few times that I noticed Inspectah Deck. Somehow his verse on the song gripped me the most and I started paying more attention to his lyrics on the rest of the album.

Inspectah Deck not too long afterwards became among my 3 favorites of the Wu-Tang Clan. I found myself looking forward to his verses and feeling never disappointed. I wanted patiently for a debut solo CD of his called Uncontrolled Substance to drop. His sophomore album has not yet crossed my music purchasing path.

If there was anything that I consider to be disappointing, it was that his verse on Tupac’s Got My Mind Made Up never made it the All Eyez on Me 2CD release.

My head was above the clouds when I learned that my go-to Wu-Tang MC would rhyme with the late Guru, who was my favorite MC at that time. That partnership of Gang Starr and Deck could not have been more ideal for me.

The late Big Pun chose Inspectah Deck as well for a track on his classic Capital Punishment.

With the exception of Ghostface’s verse on Impossible, which in turn made me start paying closer attention to him, Deck’s verse on Triumph is the most memorable for me of the Wu-Tang Forever package.

With all of that hip hop history related to Inspectah Deck, I have been asking myself would I ever catch a live performance from the lyricist. I got my answer in mid-July 2012 when he arrived at Le Belmont.

Most of his verses referenced earlier were performed one after another making it a pleasant, nostalgic trip down memory lane for me. I hadn’t thought or heard about many of those classic Wu-Tang songs or his verses on them in a long time. He made time to pay tribute to the late ODB by performing up to three of his classics.

Although Inspectah Deck’s verses are most often in the context of a posse or Clan cut, hearing them one after another that night made me realize I was in the presence of one of hip hop’s best lyricists. The only way I could have enjoyed those Deck verses more that night was if the MCs preceding or following him jumped on stage to honor the songs.

So me being the fan that I am, I was able to briefly talk to Deck after the show and he said an album is in the works.

I thank the organizers and venue for providing the city a chance to witness Inspectah Deck perform live.

The Band

We had to bid a fond farewell to Levon Helm not too long ago.

While growing up, I knew of a band called The Band and specifically remember Up On Cripple Creek.

With most of the 1960s & 1970s rock I had bought, I was getting the music I remembered from childhood. The chance to buy The Best of The Band CD came my way and I graciously made room for it in my collection.

Among the great songs on the CD are Twilight and The Shape I'm In.

The Band covered a Motown classic in their own way and I will miss Levon Helm for the song below.

R.I.P. Levon Helm

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 are some playlists of podcasts to bring you up to speed. Click here to download them and more.

DJ Solespin - The Goods (April 2014) Playlist:

1. Aries: Planetary Motivations
2. Black Heat - Love The Life You Live
3. The Ohio Players - Walt's First Trip
4. African Music Machine - Black Water Gold
5. Dyke & The Blazers - Let A Woman Be A Woman
6. All The People - Cramp Your Style
7. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Fire Weaver
8. The Blackbyrds - Blackbyrds Theme
9. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Try Me
10. Paul Simon - Mother & Child Reunion
11. Greyhound - Black & White
12. Jackie Mittoo - Toronto Express
13. Ken Boothe - Look What You've Done To Me
14. Delroy Wilson - Ain't That Peculiar
15. Eric Donaldson - Cherry Oh Baby
16. Desmond Dekker & The Aces - Israelites
17. Tomorrow's Children - Sister Big Stuff
18. The Bar-Kays - In The Hole
19. Wilson Pickett - Hey Jude
20. The 5 Stairsteps - Dear Prudence
21. The Band - Up On Cripple Creek
22. Al Green - I'm Glad You're Mine
23. Gene Chandler - Groovy Situation
24. Q65 - Get Out of My Life Woman
25. Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm - Gettin' Nasty
26. Clarence Reid - Masterpiece (Kenny Dope Edit)
27. Bo Diddley - Hit Or Miss
28. The Headhunters - God Made Me Funky
29. Richie Havens - Handouts In The Rain
30. Bill Withers - Kissing My Love
31. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - I Second That Emotion