en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal The Last.fm journal for soulfinger. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/22/2f94yw_overlooked_albums_of_genius_%25233_-_second_ring Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:41:48 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/22/2f94yw_overlooked_albums_of_genius_%25233_-_second_ring

Okay, folks break out your meal money for this one. The first two albums in my series of journals weren't classics from start to finish but were worth owning...

THIS album however is a bonafied, genuine, certified classic from the first second to the last note. Canadian funk fusion band Moses Mayes turns out a masterpiece with this one as they expand their sound to include the services of vocalists unlike their 2004 LP Needle to the Groove (another classic).

The album does divide itself into two pretty distinct but highly gelled halves. Either the song is a beautiful excursion into full-blown funk fusion or it delivers a dance floor killer. All the while they include ingenious turn table scratches that add a signature sound to the Moses groove.

On the Lonnie Liston Smith and The Brand New Heavies side of things we have extended gems like Space and Time (Elevate), Remind and Intrafusion. As mentioned earlier, the grooves are always strong but every song has constant shifts in the musical performance that keep things interesting and let you that this is the work of a band and not the work of computerized program. Plus Cause I Just Hav'ta gives you a good ol' 70s party vibe as the band's name is chanted over some pretty bossy horns which then eases on up for some elastic bass lines that would make Larry Graham jealous. Okay, maybe not jealous but he would dig it.

The vocalists are utilised on the outstanding Tell Me, Elevate and Being. The first two of those songs would be massive club/radio hits if there were any justice in the world, but life just ain't fair dammit.

Well, ignorance is no longer an excuse for you dear reader. Get on up and youtube Moses Mayes to find some of their live perforances and check out their free tracks here on last.fm.

Feel the Funk]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/19/2ev77u_overlooked_albums_of_genius_%25232_-_love_to_the_world Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:47:39 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/19/2ev77u_overlooked_albums_of_genius_%25232_-_love_to_the_world

L.T.D.'s Love to the World signaled the arrival of a new soul-funk outfit on the pop music scene and also the smooth and elastic vocal delivery of drummer-turned-singer Jeffrey Osborne. This album, released in 1976, featured the group's first hit, Love Ballad, and managed to rise up to #7 on the R&B albums chart and #52 on the pop album chart.

Love To The World is an unbelievable groove producer and beckons for all to love one another. Not hard to do when you can think of nothing but dancin' your butt off when this track comes on. It rose to #27 on the R&B singles chart but deserved a far higher showing. Nonetheless, a stone cold classic to be sure.

Love Ballad became the group's signature ballad, of course, and is simply put... beautiful. Words fail to do it justice, so I'll stop now and encourage you to listen to it now if you've never done so. BTW, it was a #1 R&B/#20 Pop single.

Get Your It Together is a call for some good ol' fashioned self-improvement. Ain't nobody gonna get you together but you. Seem a bit preachy? Maybe, but when coupled with the feel-good vibe you can't help but take this band's medicine.

The album's other tracks are above-average funk-soul excursions that keep the album afloat between the aforementioned monstrous gems. Time For Pleasure has a herky-jerky beat chock full of clavinet and fantastic bass, Let The Music Keep Playing slows the pace down with a vibe similar to the oh-so popular singer-songwriter craze of the early 70s and The Word rachets up the funk for one final score before a prayerful reprise of "Love to the World" (Love To The World Prayer) closes out the album.

This band would go on to have bigger (Something to Love) and better (the masterful Togetherness) albums but Love to the World deserves a righteous spot in any soul, funk, disco, 70s music enthusiast's collection.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/12/2e4no4_overlooked_albums_of_genius_%25231_-_moving_violation Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:37:11 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/12/2e4no4_overlooked_albums_of_genius_%25231_-_moving_violation NOTE: Since I've some spare time, I've decided to disclose some pretty good albums that seem to have been lost to the dust bins of history...



For the first installment of this series, I bring to the light Moving Violation by The Jackson 5 (Last.fm has the tracks listed under the two-for-one cd Dancing Machine/Moving Violation). The album, upon its release, charted #6 R&B and #36 Pop in 1975.

This album is notable because a) it is the last one by the Jackson 5 for Motown and the last before they changed their name to The Jacksons, precipitated by Motown's legal actions against J5 and b) the full on disco-funk explosion that marked their later with Epic and Philly International comes to the fore here augmented by a few ballads to slow the pace a tad.

Cream of the Crop

Forever Came Today kicks the album off right with MJ handling most of the lead vocals with worthy help from Jermaine. The song, originally done by The Supremes, is slightly marred by cheesy, over the top backing vocals chanting "forever and ever" but when they hush up and let the Jacksons handle the vocals and let the bass take control, this song is not to be taken lightly on the dance floor proven by its status as a #1 Disco and #1 Club Play single (backed with "Body Language"). Radio play was harder to come by as it reached a more-than-respectable #6 on the R&B singles chart but only managed a #60 showing on the pop side of things.

Honey Love slows the pace just a tad and is notable for the impressive emphasis on group harmonies as Michael gets nary a second of solo time that isn't augmented by the other group members. The lyrics aren't too thought-provoking as they implore a woman with that sweet sweet honey love to dance.

Body Language (Do The Love Dance), as previously mentioned, was a #1 Club Play hit coupled with "Forever Came Today" and that distinction is darn well worthy. The funkiest track on the album features an excellent breakdown mid-song, a bass line that calls out for some popping and locking, and stellar clavinet work throughout.

All I Do Is Think Of You is the best of the album's slower tracks as the boys describe their high school crush on some vixen who has them thinking all day long about her. A serious nod to Philly Soul (although it lacks the more impressive orchestration in favor of a more minimalist approach). This one only hit #16 R&B but would later be revived by R&B vocal quintet Troop in 1990 for a smash #1 R&B hit. Both versions are worthy seeking out.

As far as filler goes, this is pretty good!
Moving Violation is more mid-tempo dance floor fun, while (You Were Made) Especially for Me could easily have found itself on a contemporary The O'Jays album. Breezy rounds out the more mellow numbers as it takes you an easy ride. It's pleasing while listened to, but easily forgotten afterward. Call Of The Wild and Time Explosion are reminiscent of Undisputed Truth's latter-era funk jams. Not throw aways by any means, but it does seem weird to hear the J5 in a psychedelic-funk workout.

Not the best Jackson 5 album, but it deserves some playing time and not a single track makes you want to hit the skip button since "Time Explosion" is the last track and you can just hit the stop button.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/01/2d8fh3_somethinganything%3F_soulfinger%27s_year_in_music%3A_2008 Thu, 1 Jan 2009 01:44:37 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2009/01/01/2d8fh3_somethinganything%3F_soulfinger%27s_year_in_music%3A_2008 2008 has been rather bad to me financially but that hasn't stopped my quest to amass splendiferous albums! In that spirit here are the best albums I listened to in 2008... most of which aren't from 2008. As a bonus, I'll give what I think are the three best songs from every album. Enjoy and Happy New Year!
The Lexicon of Love – ABC
• The Look of Love (Part 1)
• Tears Are Not Enough
• Poison Arrow

Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) – Aretha Franklin
• Somewhere
• That's the Way I Feel About Cha
• Angel

Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied) – B.T. Express
• That’s What I Want for You Baby
• If It Don’t Turn You On (You Oughta’ Leave it Alone)
• Express

Check Out Your Mind – The Impressions
• Check Out Your Mind
• We Must Be In Love
• Can’t You See

Go All the Way – The Isley brothers
• Go All the Way
• Here We Go Again
• Say You Will

Black Caesar – James Brown
• Mama’s Dead
• The Boss
• Make It Good to Yourself

Taylored in Silk – Johnnie Taylor
• One Thing Wrong With My Woman
• Cheaper to Keep Her
• We’re Getting Careless With Our Love

Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire) – Kinks
• Victoria
• Shangri-La
• Australia

Where We All Belong – the Marshall Tucker band
• 24 Hours At A Time (live)
• This Ol’ Cowboy
• Now She’s Gone

The Way I See It – Raphael Saadiq
• 100 Yard Dash
• Just One Kiss
• Keep Marchin’

Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band
• Fly Like an Eagle
• Mercury Blues
• Serenade

Something/Anything? – Todd Rundgren
• I Saw the Light
• You Left Me Sore
• Hello It’s Me]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2008/03/19/3vdch_100_favorite_albums_%28that_i_own%29 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:27:50 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2008/03/19/3vdch_100_favorite_albums_%28that_i_own%29 In an effort to kill time while I waste away working the graveyard shift, I've decided to list my 100 favorite albums.

DISCLAIMERS
1) The list was made only out of albums I own
2) These are MY FAVORITE albums, not the best ever
3) Some artists were allowed only 2 or 3 albums so as to give the list more variety. Sorry Isleys and Zep.
4) It's in alphabetical order. It was hard enough to get 100, let alone rank them.


A

3 + 3 (1973) - The Isley Brothers
A Love Supreme (1964) - John Coltrane
A New World Record (1976) - Electric Light Orchestra
Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! (1977) - Bootsy's Rubber Band
Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It (1975) - Graham Central Station
Aja (1977) - Steely Dan
All 'n All (1977) - Earth, Wind & Fire
American Woman (1970) - The Guess Who
Are You Experienced? (1967) - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Ask Rufus (1977) - Rufus
AWB (1975) - Average White Band

B

Barabajagal (1969) - Donovan
Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969) - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Bo Diddley (1957) - Bo Diddley
Breakfast in America (1979) - Supertramp
Buffalo Springfield Again (1967) - Buffalo Springfield

C

The Captain and Me (1973) - The Doobie Brothers
Call Me (1973) - Al Green
Caught in the Act (1975) - Commodores
C'est Chic (1978) - Chic
Chain Reaction (1975) - The Crusaders
Child Is Father to the Man (1968) - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Chuck Berry Is On Top (1959) - Chuck Berry
Collections (1967) - The Rascals
Continuum (2006) - John Mayer
Cosmo's Factory (1970) - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Curtis (1970) - Curtis Mayfield

D - F

The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) - Pink Floyd
Daydream (1966) - The Lovin' Spoonful
Diana Ross (1970) - Diana Ross
Don't Sweat the Technique (1992) - Eric B. & Rakim
Extension of a Man (1973) - Donny Hathaway
Fire (1975) - Ohio Players
Fragile (1972) - Yes
Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome (1977) - Parliament

G

Gap Band Iii (1981) - The Gap Band
Go For Your Guns (1977) - The Isley Brothers
Goin' Places (1977) - Michael Henderson

H

Head Hunters (1973) - Herbie Hancock
Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1 (1992) - The Brand New Heavies
Hip Hug-Her (1967) - Booker T. & The MG's
Honey (1975) - Ohio Players

I

I'm In Love (1980) - Evelyn "Champagne" King
I'm Still in Love With You (1972) - Al Green
Innervisions (1973) - Stevie Wonder
Irons in the Fire (1980) - Teena Marie
It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah (1995) - Black Grape

K-L

Kc and the Sunshine Band (1975) - KC & the Sunshine Band
Led Zeppelin (1969) - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II (1969) - Led Zeppelin
Let the Music Play (1976) - Barry White
Live at the Apollo, Vol. II (1968) - James Brown
Live It Up (1974) - The Isley Brothers
London Calling (1979) - The Clash

M

Maggot Brain (1971) - Funkadelic
Maiden Voyage (1965) - Herbie Hancock
Make It Happen (1967) - The Miracles
Malo (1972) - Malo
The Marshall Tucker Band (1973) - The Marshall Tucker Band
Meddle (1971) - Pink Floyd
More Hits by the Supremes (1965) - The Supremes
Morrison Hotel (1970) - The Doors

N-P

Needle to the Groove (2004) - Moses Mayes
Off the Wall (1979) - Michael Jackson
One Nation Under a Groove (1978) - Funkadelic
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1966) - Otis Redding
Pet Sounds (1966) - The Beach Boys
Posh (1980) - Patrice Rushen

Just for fun, number of albums by decade...
1950s: 2 / 1960s: 23 / 1970s: 56
1980s: 6 / 1990s: 5 / 2000s: 6

There was clearly a drop in musical quality between 1982 - 1989 and 1996 - 2004 since I have no albums from those two periods.


R

Ray Ray (2004) - Raphael Saadiq
Red Clay (1970) - Freddie Hubbard
Right On Time (1977) - Brothers Johnson
Rubber Soul (1965) - The Beatles
Rufusized (1974) – Rufus

S

Sex Packets (1990) - Digital Underground
Shaft (1971) - Isaac Hayes
Ship Ahoy (1973) - The O'Jays
Shotgun (1965) - Junior Walker & the All-Stars
Soul Searching (1977) - Average White Band
Sound of Silver (2007) - LCD Soundsystem
The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion (1992) - The Black Crowes
Spinners (1972)- The Spinners
Spirit (1976) - Earth, Wind & Fire
Stand! (1969) - Sly & the Family Stone
Street Songs (1981) - Rick James

T


The Temptin' Temptations (1965) - The Temptations
The Time Has Come (1967) - The Chambers Brothers
Think! (1968) - Lonnie Smith
Thriller (1982) - Michael Jackson
To Be True (1975) - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
Trilogy (1972) - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

U - Z

Under The Influence of Giants (2006) - Under the Influence of Giants
Van Hunt (2004) - Van Hunt
What's Going On (1971) - Marvin Gaye
Wild and Peaceful (1973) - Kool & the Gang
Wired (1976) - Jeff Beck
The World Is A Ghetto (1972) - War
The Yes Album (1971) - Yes
Young, Gifted and Black (1971) - Aretha Franklin]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2008/01/26/3vcq7_ain%27t_it_funky_now%21%3A_da_funk_returns..._again%21 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 04:18:24 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2008/01/26/3vcq7_ain%27t_it_funky_now%21%3A_da_funk_returns..._again%21 The 3rd season of Ain't it Funky Now! begins tomorrow (Jan. 26) at 2pm eastern time, so I've decided to give a wee bit of a prelude to the show and then to finish this journal after the show...


Some of the artists that will be played include The Velvelettes, Johnnie Taylor, The Kinks, De La Soul, The Turtles, The Rolling Stones, The Five Stairsteps, Buddy Holly and Tyrone Davis. If you just can't get enough of the show's funky stuff, you can always listen to my playlist, which features only songs played on the show.

Hope y'all tune in: http://wvau.ods.org/listen.pls


UPDATE!

And the show went off without a hitch. Me and co-host Nathan were unusually funny. Anyhoo, the music is the real star of the show and here it is...

Clarence Carter - Strokin'
Dr. John - Right Place, Wrong Time
Bell & James - Livin' it Up (Friday Night)
Peter Brown - Dance with Me
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - Let the Beat Hit 'Em
The Five Stairsteps - Don't Change Your Love
The Rolling Stones - Let's Spend the Night Together
Joe Tex - Men Are Getting Scarce

The Moments - My Thing
Ike & Tina Turner - Baby - Get it On
CCR - Sweet Hitch-Hiker
The Dramatics - Get Up and Get Down
The Velvelettes - Lonely Lonely Girl Am I

The Isley Brothers - Seek and You Shall Find
Johnnie Taylor - Take Care of Your Homework
The Dells - Run for Cover
Luther Ingram - (If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right
Tyrone Davis - Get on Up (Disco)

Al Wilson - Show and Tell
Gladys Knight & the Pips - Daddy Could Swear, I Declare
The Kinks - Victoria
Tommy James & the Shondells - Mony Mony
The Turtles - Can I get to Know You Better
Donovan - Riki Tiki Tavi
Elvis Presley - All Shook Up
Bobby "Blue" Bland - That's the Way Love Is

Roy Orbison - I'm Hurtin'
Buddy Holly - I'm Looking For Someone to Love
Fats Domino - Wait and See
Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly
De la Soul - 4 More]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2007/12/31/3vclk_what%27s_happening%3F%21%3F%21_soulfinger%27s_year_in_music%3A_2007 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:54:16 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2007/12/31/3vclk_what%27s_happening%3F%21%3F%21_soulfinger%27s_year_in_music%3A_2007 Another year, another batch of artists added to my ever-expanding library. And just like last year, I'm up to the challenge of ranking the importance that each artist had on my year in music.

Honorable Mentions: Bobby "Blue" Bland, The Allman Brothers Band, The Box Tops, Buffalo Springfield, Buddy Holly, The Delfonics, The Kinks, Malo, The Turtles

*WARNING: This list is heavily weighted towards the 60s*


10) Michael Henderson
A bass viruoso, he played with well-known asshole and trumpet player Miles Davis before making some fine funk and soul music of his own. And I recommend listening to "Wide Receiver" about 30 times so that you can hear all of his hilarious witticisms laced throughout the song's 8 minutes.

9) Moses Mayes
This fantastic band from Winnipeg specializes in groovalicious music. Truly refreshing to hear an actual funk band these days. Luckily for y'all many of their songs are downloadable from last.fm!

8) Three Dog Night
So I was at a barbershop getting my hair cut, when somehow my barber gets to talkin' about Three Dog Night. His synopsis of the group? "Man, them was some harmonizin' crackers!" 'Nuff said, though I don't approve of the saltine vernacular.

7) The Guess Who
Another band from Winnipeg! Their fusion of blues, rock and ,quite often, jazz made for an always interesting listen. We all know "American Woman" and "These Eyes" but "Undun" and "When Friends Fall Out" are my Guess Who jams. Plus they begat BTO. Now that's takin' care of business.

6) The Association
Furthering the impression that I was in a sunshine pop mode this past year, I became addicted to "Never My Love" and "Everything that Touches You". Could it be that I've grown soft? Yep, cuz the next artist is...

5) The 5th Dimension
I became addicted to their rendition of "Never My Love" as well. I was at least able to salvage some bad assness by boogieing down to the second half of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In".

4) The Black Crowes
I got my mojo back now. These boys could kick some hard-rockin' ass. They arguably outdid Otis Redding on "Hard to Handle", no easy feat, and even got some soul sisters to take care of back up vocal business on such gems as "Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye".

3) Tommy James & The Shondells
My mojo restoration continues with the delightful garage rock of "Mony Mony" and "Hanky Panky". Were the Shondells limited to such repetitive rockers? Nope. "She", "Crimson & Clover" and other mellow classics provided a nice change of pace but a listen to "Cellophane Symphony" shows that these guys were not at their best in the psychedelic mold.

2) Creedence Clearwater Revival
An artist I've known about for quite some time, I finally got around to getting all their albums and Cosmo's Factory would easily make a top 50 album list if I ever found the time to do so. "Ramble Tamble" rumbles and tumbles magnificiently, justifying its 7-minute length. Same goes for the 11-minute interpretation of "I Heard it Through the Grapevine".

1) The Byrds
The most important discovery of the past year. I purchased a box set of theirs almost exactly a year ago, as of this writing, and how could anyone not love the jingly jangly guitar or the harmonies? And for the record, "Chestnut Mare" has to be one of the dumbest songs ever written, but that don't mean it ain't good!


So there you have it. My year was filled with lots of sunshine 60s pop harmonies and crunching southern rock with just a pinch of funk.

Happy New Year!]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2007/11/28/3vcca_it%27s_that_time_again%21_%28deletion_of_music_charts%29 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:46:22 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2007/11/28/3vcca_it%27s_that_time_again%21_%28deletion_of_music_charts%29 It's been close to a year since I purged my charts and I got a hankerin' to do it again. My music tastes have changed, yet many of the new artists I listen to are buried deep in the bowels of last.fm charts. So, for the sake of The Association, The Box Tops, Three Dog Night, Buffalo Springfield and others, I'm deleting my stats, but not before posting the top 50 for posterity!

Oh and just for fun: the first song of the new era was Pink Floyd - Echoes

1 The Isley Brothers 448
2 The Beach Boys 438
2 The Supremes 438
4 The Beatles 375
5 The Byrds 348
6 The Temptations 282
7 James Brown 265
8 Stevie Wonder 260
9 Barry White 246
10 Earth, Wind & Fire 240
11 Yes 239
12 Funkadelic 224
12 Donovan 224
14 Creedence Clearwater Revival 222
15 The Four Tops 221
16 Al Green 219
17 The Jackson 5 206
17 Booker T. & The MG's 206
19 Led Zeppelin 204
20 The 5th Dimension 202
21 The Clash 198
22 Michael Henderson 196
23 Sly & The Family Stone 194
24 The Lovin' Spoonful 190
25 The Rascals 189
26 Aretha Franklin 179
27 Kool & the Gang 177
27 Parliament 177
29 Blood, Sweat & Tears 175
30 Wilson Pickett 173
31 Marvin Gaye 171
32 The Delfonics 170
33 The Guess Who 168
34 Electric Light Orchestra 161
35 Steely Dan 157
35 Rufus 157
37 Gladys Knight & The Pips 153
37 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble 153
39 Isaac Hayes 152
39 Donna Summer 152
39 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas 152
42 The Spinners 149
43 Pink Floyd 146
44 The Rolling Stones 145
44 Jimmy Smith 145
46 The Doors 143
47 Chuck Berry 142
48 Jackie Wilson 138
49 The Dells 137
49 Bobby "Blue" Bland 137]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2007/10/17/3vc7h_isley_brothers%3A_ten_essential_albums Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:36:21 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2007/10/17/3vc7h_isley_brothers%3A_ten_essential_albums The longest-running group in pop music history, The Isley Brothers have, unsurprisingly, quite a voluminous catalogue to sift through. Luckily for you, dear reader, I've decided to knock out the fat and present to you the 10 essential Isley Brothers albums to own. And as a note, I've excluded compilations and this list is very heavy on the 3+3 years.

#10 Harvest for the World: Released in 1976, this album saw the Isleys make a return to their hybrid of hard funk, soul and soft rock from the early 70's. The big single, at the time, was Who Loves You Better which features a soaring Ernie guitar solo and rose to #3 R&B. However, the two most endearing songs to come from this album is the socially conscious title track and (At Your Best) You Are Love. The only dud on this album is the dreary and quite weary Let Me Down Easy.

#9 Eternal: I'm not gonna lie. This album is by far the weakest here, but it's also the strongest album that the Isleys have put out over the past quarter century. And very much unlike the other albums over the last 25 years, Ernie is allowed to cut loose (Ernie's Jam and Secret Lover). Guest stars and production aplenty: Raphael Saadiq's Move Your Body, R.Kelly's (as per usual) melodramatic Contagious and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis's Think.

#8 The Heat Is On: The funky brothers first #1 album, and well deserved. The first side of the album is uptempo nasty funk-rock and the second is filled with sultry (at times a little languid) ballads. This album would serve as the template for the others up until Between the Sheets.

#7 Showdown: Hard to find, but worth the search. This 1978 gem hasn't a single weak song and all are outstanding, but it doesn't have any truly bona fide classics, except for Groove With You.

#6 This Old Heart Of Mine & Soul On The Rocks: ok, so I lied about the compilations, but since their two Motown albums were thrown onto one CD, why not? Aside from the H-D-H penned This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You), none of the songs were hits. However, it's good fun to hear the Isleys do their take on songs like Nowhere to Run, Baby Don't You Do It, and I Hear a Symphony.

#5 Brother, Brother, Brother: The last album before the 3+3 years, this album was the pinnacle of their folk/acoustic rock years. Featuring three big singles (Work to Do, Lay-away and Pop That Thang) and solid album tracks galore (Love Put Me On The Corner, which showcased Chris Jasper's piano skills) there's little wonder this is the album that got the brother's back on track after struggling to follow up the massive success of "It's Your Thing".

#4 Live It Up: An often overlooked classic, Live it Up features what I think is the most frantic guitar solo Ernie ever had (Need A Little Taste Of Love) and Ronald's best vocal performance (Ain't I Been Good To You).

#3 Between the Sheets: The last hurrah for the 3+3 years, and it was well executed. Chris Jasper layers on some interesting synth work and the backing vocals from Rudolph and O'Kelly are as lively as they'd been in years (Choosey Lover). Aside from the ridiculously good title track, there's the electo-funk of Way Out Love and ode to Vietnam vets Ballad for the Fallen Soldier. Also, the last track (Rock You Good) is an instrumental, the only one I can recall from the Isleys.

#2 Go For Your Guns: Incredibly short, but incredibly good. This is THE hardest rocking Isley Brothers album. The only respite from the funk & roll is Voyage To Atlantis and even that song's groove is just too damn funky. Go for your wallet and buy this one now.

#1 3+3: Pound for pound not the best Isley album (hello, Go for Your Guns!), but it includes everything you expect from the Isley Brothers: nasty funk-rock (That Lady), covers that best the originals Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight), Ernie's maniacal guitar solos Summer Breeze), Rudolph and O'Kelly's doo-wop influenced backing vocals (If You Were There), Marvin's THUMPIN' bass (Sunshine (Go Away Today)), Chris's funky keyboards (Listen to the Music) and Ronald's pleading lead (Highways of My Life). And the best song on the album (What It Comes Down To) combines all of those into one nice little package.


So, after having read all that, if you want to know what the Isley Brothers are all about, just go out and get the song "What it Comes Down To".]]> http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2006/12/31/3vbx3_yes%21_soulfinger%27s_year_in_music%3A_2006 Sun, 31 Dec 2006 13:30:29 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/soulfinger/journal/2006/12/31/3vbx3_yes%21_soulfinger%27s_year_in_music%3A_2006 That was a nice play on words in the title, as will soon be revealed. This fantastic journal will reveal the ten artists that blew my mind in 2006. So without further adieu...

10. Chuck Berry - now I've always known of the Chuckster and had a shabby greatest hits collection that consisted of his 11 best... scratch that, most well-known songs. Fortunately, I've been able to hear such gems as "Havana Moon", "No Money Down", and "Nadine (Is It You?)".

9. The Rascals - the term blue-eyed soul sells this band short. These boys can straight up rock, jam and sing! I advise everyone to look beyond their drug commercial hits (thank you Lipitor) and get into their jammin' workouts like "Mickey's Monkey/Love Lights" and "Good Lovin'" and their more soulful and mellow numbers, "It's Wonderful" and "A Girl Like You".

8. Black Grape - this one came out of left field and is all to last.fm's credit. I heard their "Kelly's Heroes" on the recommendation radio and I've been hooked on these Brits who seemelessly fuse rock, funk, hip-hop and dance music.

7. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - while bored on a trip to my aunt's home over the summer, I stummbled upon her three Stevie Ray Vaughan CDs, "Texas Flood", "Couldn't Stand the Weather" and "Soul to Soul". Blues never sounded so good. Well maybe it has, but Stevie Ray's from Texas too, so I'll give him the homestate love.

6. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - similar to my experience with Chuck Berry, I've always known about "Heat Wave" and "Dancing In the Street", but only this year did I really listen to perhaps the most soulful female voice Motown had to offer. "In My Lonely Room", "I Can't Dance to the Music You're Playin'", "Quicksand", the hits go on and on...

And for my money, "Nowhere to Run" is the best dance song by Motown.

5. Blood, Sweat & Tears - THE original jazz-rock group and their gimmick worked like a charm. Their first album, "Child is the Father to Man", has pure psychedelia tripiness ("House In The Country") and is a true musical marvel. Their later albums, sans Al Kooper, weren't as adventerous and became increasingly formulaic, but BS&T were pioneers in their field so they get a pass.

4. New Birth - now THIS group, backed by the Nite-Liters, produced some nasty funk and some sweet soul. Their take on Bobby Womack's "I Can Understand It" is worthy of the Godfather himself, who they invoke throughout the song with chants of "get on the good foot."

3. The Lovin' Spoonful - my first taste of folk rock and it was delicious. They could work out some classic rock jams, "Summer In The City" which is actually quite funky too, or they could be unabashedly folk,"Nashville Cats." Gotta love the way they hum :^)

2. The Supremes - same story as with Chuck and the Vandellas, but one listen to the musical wonder that is Holland-Dozier-Holland's "Back In My Arms Again" will blow your mind too. And to my surprise their post-Diana years had some musical worthiness, exemplified by the stunning single "Up the Ladder to the Roof" and lesser known songs like "Floy Joy" and "Bad Weather".

1Yes - their songs are overly long, meander and have no discernible point, but dammit, I still love them. "Fragile" and "The Yes Album" are two of the best albums I've ever heard. Oh, and this was the oh so cool play on words I had in my titl... oh whatever, I thought it was clever.


And I forgot The Beach Boys, but I'm tired of typing. "God Only Knows" is pretty good.


Happy New Year!]]>