BREAKZ FOR DAYZ

Sheila Crute: Crusing Heavy
From 7″ (Waxola, 1974)

Captain Freak & the Lunacycle Band: Whatever Happened to Superman
From 7″ (Phil L.A. of Soul, 1973)

I’m never NOT going to be a fan of songs-with-breaks. I may not want to pay much for ’em and I wouldn’t suggest copping something purely for a few bars of open drums if the rest of the song is trash but breaks are good. We like breaks.

The Crute not only kicks off with a decent 4 bar break but then the next two bars drops a baseline and then builds in with organ and guitar. Slick opening and as a bonus the drums come back (nice and open) around 2:40. Otherwise, the song’s rather laid back, to the point of being just a touch snoozy.

The Griffith was a gift from Thes One and there’s an additional L.A. hip-hop layer here since Young Einstein of Ugly Duckling flipped the break on “Love Is Just a Word” for “Lay It On Ya.” Overall, I like this whole composition; works as a standalone cut even without the break (but the break is added value, no doubt!)

Lastly, we have the country-meets-funk-meets-novelty tune “Whatever Happened to Superman.” Surprised to see this on Phil L.A. of Soul if only because I didn’t realize they put out novelty songs, let alone one that sounds like it came to east Philly by way of north Texas. Good, thrashy drums to open.

BTW, this post is named after Paul Nice’s Breaks For Days mix which, to me, remains a gold standard for breaks mixes. It’s not super fancy and doesn’t concern itself with having the most obscure breaks possible. It’s all about clean execution and good song selection.