What I like most about this EP (aside from the cover) is that it seems to fundamentally betray the sentiment of the original song, without any hesitation. Crazy times.
Tag Archive for 'dance'
What else can be said about you after your name is repeatedly shouted out in one of the greatest songs ever recorded? Not much, so I’ll let Hamilton Bohannon speak mostly for himself. I have to admit, I’d listened to and loved the Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” for more than a decade before I bothered to figure out who this guy was. He created some of the tightest and funkiest dance music of the 70s, I my opinion, and was no slouch when it came to album covers either.
From the sleeve to Dance Your Ass Off:
PLAY THIS RECORD LOUD
P.S. Dance Your Ass Off is not used in the sense of profanity.
There’s a signed 8×10 of Bohannon in the basement of Union Hall, a bar in my neighborhood, that I think is there mostly to spotlight his hairdo. I covet it.
Bohannon, “Spread the Groove” from the Dance Your Ass Off LP on Brunswick Records (1975)
Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love”:
Great freaky dub from one of the best acts on Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sounds. The New Age Steppers were comprised of former Slits and Pop Group members, members of Aswad, and even Neneh Cherry.
Their earlier albums are a bit on the more experimental side, but they eventually became a pretty serious dub outfit. Frequently collaborating with heavies like Creation Rebel. If you like the sound of that and enjoy this track, I recommend you track down the Massive Hits Vol. 1. CD that was released several years back.
Back in the pre-MP3 player days, I lost my copy of that disc when I set my bag down to tie my shoe one night on Vanderbilt Ave in Brooklyn and forgot to pick it up. I’m sure someone’s enjoying it right now.
The New Age Steppers, “State Assembly” from the New Age Steppers LP on On-U Sounds (1980)
Is this actually the official sound of 1988? I think it might be. This is a great little instrumental moment from a kinda throw-away 12″ I have from Roll Records.
I know almost nothing about the artist, Time Traveler (or do we attribute this to ISH, the producer?), except that his/her name is incredibly accurate. All of the sudden, there I am, in the late 80s, swimming in synthetic cowbells and handclaps. Short and sweet.
The stamp on the sleeve says “Property of Gerald the Whirl.”
Time Traveler, “Compulsion X-TRA Beats” from the Compulsion 12″ on Roll Records (1988)
Trippy, uptempo police-chase jazz-disco on Blue Note. A great beat, but I I kind of get the feeling the only thing that can dance over this is some film credits shooting in from either side of the frame, and then, on a freeze frame on the grille of some 70s American car:
THE FUNKY SNAKEFOOT
©MCMLXXIV
Mouzon is the drummer, if you couldn’t tell from the lead in. There’s a lot going on here, and I really like the delay on the saxophone and the little bass stabs.
Alphonse Mouzon, “Funky Snakefoot” from the Blue Note 45 (1974)
This has to be one of my favorite songs, and it always gets people looking around. I bought this disc from Vinyl Ink before its beloved owner George passed away in 2002. I always made the trip out to Silver Spring when I was in the DC area, and when I moved up to NYC, I was a constant mailorder customer of the store.
I wish I still had the little description sticker he so thoughtfully put on every disc– I’m sure it was full of adjectives and namechecked A Certain Ration or PiL. Anyway, this is another group about which I know next to nothing. Mutant Noise recently posted one of their singles, but details seem to be few and far between. Any details would be appreciated. This track, the opener, is my favorite one on the album, but all are worth a studied listen. I’ll post more Music+Noise releases soon.
C.U.B.S., “We Don’t Need No Carpet Baggers,” from the Maroi Bwana Oi LP on Music+Noise (1983)
I’m always trying to track down cheap 80s reggae & dub 12″ singles, and I think finding this one for 99cents started it all. I got this in the old basement at Bleecker Street Records back when it was actually fun to shop there.
Anyway, this one, on Pickout Records, seems to be from the mid-80s. It’s produced by TT. I’ll be posting more from both TT and Johnny P soon, but I don’t want the island music to dominate this spot.
Johnny P, “Pantle Meet” from the Youth of Today 12″ (198?)
My apologies to those of you who heard this on the original Record Jumble disc I made a couple of years back… I’m using that disc for posts while I’m working out the process of getting this blog up and running. More newer old stuff soon.
Recent Comments