Mr. D.C.

"The children crying for hunger and I man a suffer
so you got to see, it's just collie that feeds me...
fifty cents a stick, and a dollar a quarter,
that's what keeps me alive, me and my two kids and wife..."

A lovely plea to a district constable by some poor guy who´s just trying to make a living by selling his harvest of collie - aka herb aka ganja, I´m sure you know what we´re talking about here - somewhere down in Jamaica back in ´77. Complete with an infectious chorus and wonderful horns, this is golden-throated dancehall pioneer Sugar Minott at his finest. Another winner from Studio 1.

"So give me a chance sir, a make me gwan little faster...
so let me pass through, and Jah will bless you...

Whoa-oa-oa D.C.... don´t you take my ishen,

Whoa-oa-oa D.C.... don't you touch my collie..."

Sugar Minott- Oh Mr. D.C. MP3

More Maggots

Thanks to reader Big Steve, here´s yet another version of the Maggot Brain monster. This steaming live take stems from a bonus ep that came with the original vinyl of One Nation Under A Groove. And that´s Eddie Hazel´s successor Mike Hampton pouring it all out on guitar. "It ain´t illegal yet..."

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (live) MP3

And if you want even more, check out a great live video of Funkadelic - featuring both Hazel and Hampton! - playing Maggot Brain in Landover, MD in ´83 here.

Wazmo

Ring-a-ring-a-ring-a-ringa-ring ring... Anyone remember this neurotic gem? Wazmo (real name Larry Grennan) was a singer from Chicago who wore two ties around his neck for some reason. This didn´t stop the mighty Stiff Records from releasing his debut single Tele-tele-telephone in the UK back in ´78. Would make a great ringtone for your mobile...

Wazmo Nariz - Tele-Tele-Telephone MP3

Go On Maggot Brain

"Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time

For y'all have knocked her up...
I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe
I was not offended
For I knew I had to rise above it all
Or drown in my own shit...."

An amazing piece of music. Legend has is the band had taken acid before the recording started, but that´s not all. Funkadelic mastermind George Clinton famously asked guitarist Eddie Hazel to play at first as if he had just heard that his mother had died, and then as if he had heard she was in fact still alive. Hazel obliges with gusto, trying to out-Hendrix our Jimi with a cosmic six string symphony of epic proportions. Mother earth dies screaming, while Hazel´s guitar weeps and weeps.

The moment he realises his mom didn´t perish after all is quite hard to determine, but it could be roughly around the 6.50 mark, when after a quieter spell the pace picks up again and the guitar soon starts soaring anew. And that would be the same moment, in Funkadelic myth, where an ordinary maggot has become a maggot brain, meaning it´s able to rise above all the bullshit in the world...

To start off an album with a track like this, risking to alienate an audience looking for da funk, takes guts.

"Come on Maggot Brain...
Go on Maggot Brain..."

Fear not though, funkateers. Apart from the title track, the Maggot Brain monster (´71) means funk with a big P. Just check out the ultra-catchy Can You Get To That for proof.

And last but not least, there´s an alternate take of Maggot Brain doing the rounds, found as a bonus track on the cd reissue. Clinton mixed the band way low in the mix on the final master, but on this version the band is far more audible, which makes for a much mellower listening experience. Nice, but I´ll take the naked truth any time.

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain MP3

Funkadelic - Can You Get To That MP3

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (alt. mix) MP3

Walking On The Water

"Late last night, I went for a walk,
Down by the river near my home
Couldn´t believe, with my own eyes,
And I swear I´ll never leave my home again..."

With its typical staccato rhythm and dark imagery, the early, lesser-known Creedence track Walking On The Water has always appealed to my imagination. Creepy little song. Makes you wonder who it is he actually sees, walking towards him from across the river, who has him so scared he won´t go out ever again...

"I saw a man walking on the water
Coming right at me from the other side
Calling out my name - do not be afraid
Feet begin to run, pounding in my brain
I don´t want to go... I don´t want to go... Oh no no no..."

Probably not Jesus, who´s known as the prime example of someone braving the briny without the help of a floating object. It is said the disciples in the bible story were admittedly a bit afraid at first, but they soon relaxed when they found out it was their main man performing that impossible feat. The devil then, in a typical trickster act, impersonating his eternal opposite? The grim reaper, or his trusted aide-de-camp the ferryman? This one would explain the other side and the "I don´t want to go" line at the end. Or is it just the protagonist´s alter ego?

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Walking On The Water MP3

If only for completion´s sake, here´s the Fogerty brothers pre-Creedence version of the song. A nice blueprint, with a fun over-the-top guitar solo as icing on the cake.

The Golliwogs - Walking On The Water MP3

The Creedence version may be a treat, but I am even more enamoured of New York proto-punk Richard Hell´s 1977 interpretation of the song. Maybe just because I heard that one first? Or is it Hell´s truly desperate vocal, coupled with Robert Quine´s razorsharp guitar licks? Questions, questions.

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Walking On The Water MP3

Spic And Span

"And I'm tired of you and your woman and your dog too!" Laura Lee has just plain had enough in another great soul scorcher from the mighty Chess label. Her dirty man forgot just one thing while he was doing her wrong all of these years: that she´s a good housekeeper... So Laura simply takes up her broom and sweeps all of the dirt out on the street. Yes sir!

Laura Lee - Dirty Man MP3

Muddy

McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, died on this day in 1983. Known as the father of Chicago blues, he´s famous for his electric output, but I´ve got a personal weakness for his early, acoustic stuff. In 1941 and ´42, Alan Lomax recorded young Muddy for the Library of Congress on the Mississippi plantation where he lived from the age of 3 until he was 28, when he finally took off for the windy city up north. In these recordings, Muddy is still highly influenced by Robert Johnson, although he never heard him play. He was shown the essentials of Johnson´s style by fellow bluesman Son House.

And in case you´re wondering how McKinley´s nickname came about, here´s the man himself: "We had a li´l shack and there was a creek - Deer Creek - come right up to the steps at the back porch. I was always playin´ in the creek and gettin´ dirty and my sisters called me Muddy Waters then." As simple as that.

Muddy Waters - I Be´s Troubled MP3

Muddy Waters - You Got To Take Sick And Die Some Of These Days MP3

Scratch & Sniff

All this talk about the mid to late seventies Cleveland scene - and the great Pere Ubu in particular - on the inspiring Siblingshot on the Bleachers blog made me think of another Ohio scene: the Akron one. Known as the rubber capital of the world, Akron was famous for its local sphere of musical activity for a short while when the mighty Stiff label released a showcase called The Akron Compilation in 1978. The album cover featured a scratch & sniff rubber tyre in the right-hand corner, and believe it or not, three decades later my copy still smells faintly of rubber when I rub a fingernail over it.

None of the featured artists really managed to hit the big time later on, and as far as I know Akron never produced any band of note since. But The Akron Compilation still stands as a worthy testimony of what once was, and definitely deserves a cd release. Just check out the following gems by Rachel Sweet (a great singer), Tin Huey (Ubu-inspired weirdness), Jane Aire & The Belvederes (nice pop, complete with a searching-the-radio-waves intro) and the Waitresses (funky!) for proof.

Rachel Sweet - Truck Stop Queen MP3

Tin Huey - Chinese Circus MP3

Jane Aire & The Belvederes - When I Was Young MP3

The Waitresses - Slide MP3

Pop-Eye

For the best soul instrumentals money can buy, most people turn to Booker T & the MG´s, Junior Walker & the All Stars or the Meters, and with good reason. But have you tried the Mar-Keys yet? They were the famous Stax label´s first house band, featuring such giants as Steve Cropper and Donald ´Duck´ Dunn (who´d later both join the MG´s) and future Memphis Horn Wayne Jackson. Now go do the Pop-Eye Stroll, y´all.

The Mar-Keys - Pop-Eye Stroll MP3

The Mar-Keys - Sack-O-Woe MP3

The Mar-Keys - Philly Dog MP3

Los Rolling

Time for a couple of outtakes from the October ´69 Let It Bleed sessions by Los Rolling, as the Stones are known in Spain for some reason. From a boot called Itchy Fingers, which sports the same cover image as the Spanish version of the official Sticky Fingers album. The Iberian authorities thought the famous Warhol zip cover a tad too obscene. This one´s a lot more tasteful indeed...

These are unfinished working versions of course, and it´s easy too see why they didn´t make the final cut in this form. Which doesn´t mean they´re not fun though. Made me wonder why the Stones haven´t released their own take on a Genuine Bootleg Series/Archives yet. There must be tons of great stuff in the vaults. You can make money that way Mick! Easy money. You know, dinero. Anyone got a clue why this didn´t happen yet? Please leave a comment. I´m just plain curious.

The Rolling Stones - I´m Going Down MP3

The Rolling Stones - I Don´t Know Why MP3

The Rolling Stones - Jiving Sister Fanny MP3

The Rolling Stones - I Don´t Know The Reason Why MP3

In My Hangar

A recent thought-provoking post by Paul over at Setting The Woods On Fire, where he asked himself and his readers what would be the world´s most underrated rock band, immediately made me think of Human Switchboard for some reason. I really don´t know if they´re the correct answer to that impossible but fun question, but over the years I found that hardly anyone remembers that band, which sure is a shame.

The trio from Kent, Ohio debuted with a nice but ramshackle single, which was produced by David Thomas of Pere Ubu fame. Apart from two live recordings, they only released one official studio album, the great Who´s Landing In My Hangar? from ´81. Listening to it, their Velvets fandom is obvious, but the farfisa organ they´re using throughout makes one think alternately of sixties garage and late seventies new wave (think Costello´s Attractions).

So check out the beautiful, intense ballad Refrigerator Door, where they alternate male (Robert Pfeifer) and female (Myrna Marcarian) vocals to great effect, the rather Blondie-ish I Can Walk Alone and the uptempo rocker No Heart and tell me what you think ok? It´s just that I wonder if I´m the only one who thinks that a cd reissue of this gem is way overdue...

Human Switchboard - Refrigerator Door MP3

Human Switchboard - I Can Walk Alone MP3

Human Switchboard - No Heart MP3