The first show of the 2024 fall semester was a Jam. Listen to the show below!
| Artist | Track | Album | Label | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Kendricks | My People...Hold On | People... Hold On | Tamla | 1972 | Founding member of the Temptations. Relatively successful solo career in the 1970s. People... Hold On is part of prevalent wave of 70s black power music that was very popular to engage in regardless of the artist's typical output. |
| The Counts | Thinking Single | What's Up Front That Counts | Westbound | 1972 | Little known funk group from Detroit. The album is overall pretty fantastic if you're into funk, a real rare nugget. They incorporate a few weird bits in their stuff, the beginning of this track being one of them. |
| Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention | Andy | One Size Fits All | DiscReet | 1975 | What a weird bit of Zappa this is. It lacks that satirical/parodic angle he typically goes for -- not in the lyrics mind you (see: "Andy Devine had thong rind") but the instrumental behind it has a strange sincerity that I wouldn't expect from a Mothers showing. Features George Duke and Napoleon Murphy Brock on vocals. |
| João Bosco | Casa De Marimbondo | Caça à raposa | RCA Victor | 1975 | Brazilian MPB singer-songwriter. As is the case with other MPB artists, Bosco is a conscious and philosophical writer. This track is no different... it declares samba to be a powerful cultural force that should not be belittled or dismissed. Possible political implications. |
| Eero Koivistoinen Music Society | SUITE 19 | Wahoo | RCA Victor | 1973 | Finnish band leader Eero Koivistoinen puts together a group for a bit of jazz fusion in 1973. Reminds me of fusion from the 90s. Ahead of its time in that way. Koivistoinen is decently prolific if you're interested in hearing more. This group is probably his most well known project outside of the world of performance and in the world of recordings. |
| Stray | Time Machine | Stray | Transatlantic | 1970 | Heavy Psych from the UK. Outside of the confines of men 40s+ who collect heavy psych records, this group isn't very well known. Their sound is solid regardless. I found out about them through Peel sessions. |
| Cortex | Troupeau bleu | Troupeau bleu | Espérance | 1975 | Upon first listen, I immediately recognized Cortex as sample music despite not being able to think of any songs that sample them. It's definitely got that air about it. The drums, the vocals, the piano, the sax, the bass, the guitar. Sample-able elements galore. You really don't even have to do anything to it. The musical hooks are everywhere, this song is a prime example. |
| Mahmoud Ahmed | Endenesh gedawo | Mahmoud Ahmed | Kaifa | 1975 | Super warm tizita from Ethiopia. Ahmed released a few albums and many singles before moving to the U.S. He had a revival in the mid-80s and returned to making music, largely because of the album this song comes from. It's a very involved experience, puts you in a trance. |
| Lucio Battisti | Anima latina | Anima latina | Numero Uno | 1974 | Anima latina = Latin soul/inner self. Music by Battisti, lyrics by Mogol -- big duo in 70s Italian artsy pop music. This track is from their most progressive and complex album, featuring grand orchestrations. This album is supremely ahead of its time and shocking to be from 1974. I hear a lot of different things in it, pretty crazy. If you listen to any album from today's set, this is the one. Battisti and Mogol spent months in Brazil making it. Like the rest of album, the title track explores themes of colonialism, cultural resistance, and the impact of consumerism on traditional societies; i.e., Latin America circa mid-20th century. |
