LES DEMERLE - SPECTRUM (1968)

And as described in the previous post, I'm currently working on a few nice gems that my dad passed on to me. My pops recently acquired this one online, so no need for me to email other DJs or collectors anymore: we now had a copy 'in the family'. Now the regular output of Les DeMerle is not really my cup of tea, but he made a few fantastic -of course hard to find- albums. 'Spectrum' and 'Transfusion' (posted on Orgy in Rhythm a while back) are two good examples. 'Spectrum' was released on CD in Japan in 2004 and is now out of print. The most attractive thing about Spectrum, of course, is the frantic drumming of Les himself. The breaks he kicks throughout the album are just slamming. So if you're into jazz, big band material and drumming, then this is one to look out for. The cut for DJs and beat diggers here is of course the cover version of "A Day In The Life" from The Beatles. The OC sampled the intro for "Time's Up". But there's more and therefore I'd suggest to listen to the whole thing from A to Z. With tracks like "Underground", "Dio Dati" and "A Taste Of Honey" you know you can play a few nice floor fillers for the jazz dancers. The two long ass cuts to pay attention to are "Fusion Pro & Con" and "Deflections 1, 2, 3 & 4", since they have a lot of interesting breaks. "Aquarius" from Hair has a great drum break and continues with "Let The Sun Shine In", even though it's not mentioned on the cover. Some of the session musicians in the line-up are very well known: Joe Beck and Sam Brown on guitar, Norman Simmons on piano, Frank Foster, Chris Woods and Howard LeShaw on sax, flute and clarinet and we see Steve Furtado amongst the trumpeters. That's to name but a few. All in all, a superb jazz album and I compared my own rip to the two I downed from other blogs in the past and without blowing my own horn too much: the audio quality is excellent! Nicely done at 320Kbps, so enjoy folks! May the replies be with us!

Also a big welcome to all the new names I've spotted in the reply field in the last couple of days!

ROGER & THE HUMAN BODY - INTRODUCING ROGER (1976)

Well, folks, it's a good thing to know that my old man loves to share some of his collection with us every now and then. A month or two ago he borrowed about five crates of CDs from yours truly, so he could rip whatever I had on CD to his own HDD. Last week, he passed a few items from his own stack to me, so we have a couple of nice gems coming up and today's special appears courtesy of my dad. The history of this album is probably the reason why original vinyls now change owners for unbelievable prices on internet. Since there's extensive information available online, I'll break it down to the fact that this LP was once released on the Troutman Brothers' own label: 'Troutman Bros. Records' in a run of less than a thousand pressings. However, in 1993 the album was re-released on CD but under a different band name and title. Now I don't have that CD and neither does my old man, so that's why we have a nice rip from his vinyl here today. I'm pretty sure that the vinyl he has, is not an original pressing from that one batch from 1976, even though the label, front- and back cover look real. Anyway, all eight songs are there and I think it's about time for us all to enjoy the material presented. Of course the greatest cut of the whole LP is the first one: "Freedom". A fat piece of funk with nice hand clapping on the eighth notes and of course Roger's talk box. Keep in mind that the first and second part are divided by a fade out and fade in. The same goes for "Bearings Straight". Track two, "Truth Be Known" is a wild and loud party track and the third cut, "Brother Lester" is what seems to be a live jam that starts out as a drum solo and then continues into a kind of cluttered, but nice and funky song. The last four cuts are more on the soulful tip and the final of those four, "Take A Break" has a laid back jazzy feel with some great acoustic guitar playing. Funk lovers and beat/break diggers will enjoy this one, nicely ripped at 320Kbps! Let's see those replies, folks!

AQUARIAN DREAM - NORMAN CONNORS PRESENTS AQUARIAN DREAM (1976)

And we're back with another guest post including a nice bonus, folks! Again it's our friend Killpop that delivers another hard to find classic that was once released on CD but has gone out of print. The LP featured here today is from Aquarian Dream, a soul/funk formation that began in 1976. It's been said that, even though Norman Connors was behind the band, Aquarian Dream never scored a hit, but as a DJ I have to disagree with that statement. The very first track of this debut record is "Phoenix": a superb floorfiller, a brilliant and incredibly funky disco slammer that still gets everyone on their dancing feet. I have added the original twelve inch version to Killpop's rip, so make sure to pick this one up. Anyway, the band only recorded three albums because of a lack of success and on this debut album we find the following band members in the line-up: Gloria Jones (vocals), Claude Bartee Junior (sax; he also recorded with Pucho and Grant Green), Pete Bartee (guitar), Jacques Burvick (keys), Mike Fowler (percussion) and Jimmy Morrison (drums). The band delivers a great album with a great variety in tracks, some funky, some very soulful and of course some disco. The tracks to pay attention to are the aforementioned fabulous disco cut "Phoenix" and "I'll Always Love You T" (another disco gem) then we have the funky "Treat Me Like The One", with a superb drum break for all beat diggers at 2'36", the funky "East 6th Street", including a superb sax solo by Claude Bartee. Last but not least we have the fat 'n' funky "Guitar Talk" and Incognito-ish "Look Ahead" (listen past 0'33", where the fun begins). The softer soul ballads are also very, very enjoyable, so give them a listen as well. And as I said earlier, I added the original twelve inch extended of "Phoenix" to the album rip as a collector's and DJ's bonus. Now, Killpop ripped his original vinyl at 320Kbps/48kHz and my rip of the twelve inch was made in variable bitrate this time as a test for myself. There's some audible wear and tear, but not to the extend where it becomes annoying. On the other hand, the twelve inch rip is pristine, so the DJs can't complaint. The CD is out of print, but not forgotten, so enjoy folks! And let's see those replies!


Note: thanks to the remarks of Ish and Smooth, I've learned that the LP in fact once was released on CD, so I changed the text of my article accordingly.

Good News For Those That Missed Live At PJ's

This is a quick one for the visitors that go by the names Vunzmstr, Tswift98 and Sebastian: the Kool and the Gang - "Live at PJ's" is back up again. This time I re-upped the whole file to R@pidSh@re, so you guys should all be fine now.

Sorry I forgot that freakin' DivSh@re link that was in the body text. You can either scroll down to the particular post or take the short cut to Kool and the Gang - Live at PJ's. Make sure to scroll through the article and click on the highlighted words that say 'taken care of'...

Let me know if it's all a-ok now, guys!

NOTE: the same goes for the Side Effect rip of "Going Bananas", which suffered from that same DivSh@re link. I'm re-upping that one to R@pidSh@re as well and will be up and running any second now.

AMERICAN GYPSY - AMERICAN GYPSY (1975)

The good thing about contributions is that it saves me the effort to rip a certain album and at the same time it gives us all more to enjoy! Thanks to contributor Killpop I can give you this great album by American Gypsy from 1975. The way American Gypsy got their record deal is interesting. The band started in the sixties, changed band names and musicians like underwear and took a lot of session assignments to make a living. In 1972, based on their lack of success in the USA, the guys decided to try their luck in The Netherlands. In the south of the province of Limburg, they met producer Hans van Hemert who got the band signed to the Philips label. The arrangements here are from Van Hemert's friend Piet Souer. There is some confusion about the album featured here today, though. In 1974 American Gypsy recorded their debut album "Angel Eyes", but the 1975 release "American Gypsy" has the exact same track listing. A lot of people have mistaken the 1975 release for their second album, but it is not. It is just a repacked version of "Angel Eyes". The pressing that Killpop gives us here is the U.S. version of "American Gypsy" on the famous Chess label. So once you have this one, you don't have to look for "Angel Eyes" anymore. Anyway, personnel on this album is: Joe Skeete (bass, mellotron, vocals), Michael Hamane (vocals, guitars), Ricardo James (drums, percussion), Dale Harrel Jr (guitars, vocals) and Steve Clisby (keys, alto sax, lead vocals). The album showcases a lot of styles, from funk to smooth soul to fm rock to r&b to disco funk. A lot of variation and the killer cuts to pay attention to are the brilliant (and heavily sampled) "Inside Out", the fabulously funky "While It's Cold Outside" (a real floor filler) and the instrumental "Tribute To American Gypsy" (but only for the break with organ solo at 1'26"). The other tracks are all fine and give a nice example of how different Steve Clisby can sound. Sometimes it's almost as if you're listening to Isaac Hayes. The album is still not available on CD as far as I know, so it's good to know that Killpop hooked us up with a nice 320Kbps/48kHz rip of the original Chess LP. Let's see those replies, people!

Note 1: There's no relation with the band called 'Gypsy'. They recorded a psych rock double album in 1970 and titled it 'American Gypsy'.

Note 2: The link was taken offline, so I re-upped it again.