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By O-Dub 
So…this meme was making the rounds (again) on Facebook in recent weeks and I went back to check what the #1 song was during my birth week in 1972 and it was Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again, Naturally.”
By sheer coincidence, I had just picked up a Spanish-language version of the song from Amoeba the other week (and believe me when I say: I very rarely find much by way of good used records from Amoeba). It’s on a 7″ EP of four songs, from a band that I think is Guatemalan in origin:
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Continue reading OPUS 3: 72 TO 12
By O-Dub 
Sarah Vaughn: Bye Bye
From 7″ (Mercury, 1964)
James Royal: House of Jack
From 7″ (CBS Germany, 1969)
Mark Martin: In the Good Old Topless Time
From 7″ (TWR, 1968)
I previously wrote about “instrumentals-made-into-vocal” covers in 2010, and now have three more to add into the mix.
Sarah Vaughn’s “Bye Bye” obviously riffs on Mancini’s hugely famous “Peter Gunn Theme”. I’m on the fence with this one…you don’t really need to throw vocals on one of the best frickin’ t.v. themes of all time but then again: [...]
Continue reading VOCALIZED COVERS
By O-Dub (As 2011 winds down, I’ve been feeling guilty for the relative sparseness of my record posts (as opposed to other kinds of posts). I’m beginning to realize that while writing is a passion, blogging is a hobby and one that has to compete with other interests (the podcasting for example). But at the end of the day, I feel like I’m missing out on the simple pleasures about writing about a song or an artist (without it having to be a RIP post, of which there’ve been too many of late). So with some holiday breathing time, I’ll probably be [...]
Continue reading ARETHA: OH NO? OH YES!
By O-Dub 
The folks at Cultures of Soul have a new CD/LP out – World’s Funkiest Covers – and obviously, this is of interest to moi! There’s some of my personal favorites on here, including Nostalgia 77′s wicked remake of “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes and, of course, Ray Barretto’s epic “Pastime Paradise” cover.
You can peep some samples off the album below:
World’s Funkiest Covers Preview by Culturesofsoul
(Purchase the comp here).
Two things:
1) COS was nice enough to sponsor a CD giveaway for this new album. To enter, send us an email, subject [...]
Continue reading “WORLD’S FUNKIEST COVERS” CD GIVEAWAY + UPCOMING GIG
By O-Dub
I saw this footage the past weekend at the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, where I had a gig (which I forgot to list, oops) as part of a Tribute Night for Aretha Franklin.
I love this so many different ways, especially the obvious chemistry between Smokey and Aretha. And Don Cornelius is at his deep voiced best too.
BTW, I had a really incredible time. Not only did I get to DJ with MC Lyte(!) but I met some incredible staff at the HOF. To boot: I was on the same flight as Chaka Khan back [...]
Continue reading “WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A DUO”
By O-Dub 
Tyrone Davis: Knock On Wood
Can’t Keep a Good Man Down
Can I Change My Mind
From Can I Change My Mind? (Dakar, 1969)
Late pass. Yeah, I know, I should have posted about this album years ago, especially since its title track is a favorite. But truth be told…I never owned the album; just had the 7″.
And no doubt, the title track is delicious but the LP is no one-tracker. For starters, the version of “Knock On Wood” is a rather radical departure from Eddie Floyd’s original 1 Instead of [...]
Continue reading TYRONE DAVIS: CAN’T KEEP THIS GOOD MAN DOWN
By O-Dub 
One of the upsides to the Rap Purge – abetted by some timely listings – is that I’ve been knocking down some long-time white whale records. If you recall from our previous convo around this, a White Whale™ is a record that has tormented you with its elusiveness.
It’s not enough for a record to merely be high on your want list. A record can only cross into White Whale-ness once it’s eluded you enough times to make you want to curse the day you learned about it (but you can’t let [...]
Continue reading HUNTING DOWN WHITE WHALES
By O-Dub  
I can’t do proper justice to the legacy and accomplishments of the late Nickolas Ashford and Jerry Lieber, two of America’s great songwriters, both of whom passed yesterday. Jay Smooth has a great Ashford tribute post up while Funky 16 Corners hooked one up for Leiber, including a few of the songs I was going to include on my site.
I will say this much: the amount that songwriters contribute to the world is almost never, ever repaid back in the recognition we give them. Singers [...]
Continue reading REMEMBERING ASHFORD AND LEIBER
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