Best Of 2019: Out Of The Past

The flood of music from “out of the past,” representing both reissues and never-released music, is dominated by super-deluxe boxes with lavish packaging and extensive documentation. Some of those are represented below but conspicuous by their absence are certain high-profile fetish objects, such as the Abbey Road 50th anniversary doorstop and various Bowie boxes. In the case of the latter, these are certainly attractive, real shelf candy, but the lo-fi demos will likely only fascinate for one or two listens. As for the Abbey Road set, while there are some nice fly-on-the-wall moments from the outtakes, none of it captivates as much as the similar material on the White Album box. When it comes to Giles Martin’s remix of the album, I compared it to the 2009 CD and my vinyl copy - an original 1969 pressing - I found it added little. The CD still sounds, well, FAB, and even through the crackle, my $1 record sounds warmer and more cohesive - and isn't that what we want from The Beatles?

Press play on this playlist or below to listen along to selections from most of these albums while you read.

Reissue Of The Year

Peter Laughner For decades, he has just been a name to me, credited with writing Life Stinks on Pere Ubu’s debut album, The Modern Dance. I was dimly aware of his important role on the family tree of Cleveland proto-punk and art rock as a founding member of not only Pere Ubu but also Rocket From The Tombs, from which the Dead Boys spawned. Yet this labor-of-love box set reveals the man in full, or as full as possible for someone who died at 24 and never officially released any of his own music. Perhaps most surprising is the discovery that Laughner (pronounced “LOCK-ner, btw) was one of the greatest interpreters of poetic singer-songwriters that ever lived, turning in deep, passionate covers of songs by Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Tom Verlaine, and Van Morrison. He somehow enters the core of the songs, illuminating them from within even though the recordings are rough. He even digs into Robert Johnson with stunning effectiveness, further proof that he was an old soul. Laughner, a true believer in rock & roll as a musical and spiritual pursuit, also wrote some nifty originals and in Cinderella Backstreet came up with one of the best band names of all time. Unfortunately, his immersion in music was only exceeded by his immersion in hard living, leading to the pancreatitis that killed him. The music in this set, crackling with life, along with the lavish hardcover book, which includes his perspicacious music journalism, puts Laughner in my living room in an almost physical way. Invite him in. Note: this set is not on Spotify but you can hear samples here. 

Runners Up

Gene Clark - No Other Deluxe Box Set While it looks like 4AD outdid themselves with the packaging here, it sold out so fast I’ve never seen it in the wild. Demand was high as this is one of the great lost albums of the 70’s, buried by David Geffen after Clark and collaborator Thomas Jefferson Kaye burned through $100K with only eight songs to show for it. While the album as released is a beautiful piece of Americana, with songs, like Silver Raven, that seem to come from the earth itself, we now know where the money went. Clark and Kaye took their sweet time exploring a wide variety of approaches to the songs, probably racking up big studio bills in the process. We also now know that the takes they chose to assemble the final version were not necessarily the best ones, but simply the most accessible ones. Other versions explore a funky and soulful sound that is startlingly contemporary. Check out my playlist, The Other No Other, to hear what could have been. 

Bob Dylan - The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings Though not an official entry into the Bootleg Series, this was the only archival release I wanted from the man in 2019. I’ve been fascinated by the RTR ever since I stole my sister’s copy of Hard Rain and took Sam Shepard’s Rolling Thunder Logbook out of the library, devouring them both and willing myself into those legendary shows. And this is the motherlode, five complete concerts, fascinating rehearsals, and a disc of tantalizing odds and ends. If you already know every note of Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Live 1975 - or were mesmerized by the footage in the Scorcese “documentary” - you must acquire this handsome package. 

Classic Rock Lives - LIVE

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Live At Woodstock It was early in this century before I even knew CCR performed at Woodstock. Then I got a bootleg and was even more confused as they steamrolled through a set that left the crowd screaming for more. Chalk it up to John Fogerty’s legendary perfectionism - I’m glad he finally relented and allowed this storming set to be released. 

Allman Brothers Band - Live At Fillmore West ‘71 A few months before their iconic recordings at the east coast Fillmore, the ABB put on some smoking hot shows in San Francisco. They developed further by the time they got to NYC, but any chance to hear Duane'n'Dickey at their peak (not to mention Gregg) is one I’m going to embrace. 

The Yardbirds - Live and Rare I felt a little burned when all these tracks showed up on Spotify after I bought this set, but then I watched the DVD was glad I had laid down the cash. The footage is crystal clear, formatted for contemporary TVs with no loss of important information, putting Jimmy Page and his mirrored Telecaster right in your face. It’s a jaw-dropping feast for fans of the band. The discs are well-organized and packaged, too, a further bonus for getting the physical version. Also, while most of this is live material, the remastered mono of Happenings Ten Years Time Ago finally reveals the layers in this remarkable song. It’s like hearing it for the first time - and I’ve had an original copy of the 45 for nearly 40 years. 

Jimi Hendrix - Songs For Groovy Children Awesome to finally have all these sets in one place - the four versions of Machine Gun constitute one of the great American symphonies - even if a little Buddy Miles goes a long way.

Tin Machine - Live at La Cigale Paris, 25 June 1989 I’ve had a bootleg of this blistering show for years - now everyone can revel in Bowie’s art-punk freakout band at their best. It's a sharp cut above the Oy Vey Baby album, which was from a later tour and finds them indulging some regrettable instincts. For more Tin Machine fun, read my thoughts on the 30th anniversary of the debut album in Rock & Roll Globe.

Visionary Vocalists

Tim Buckley - Live at The Electric Theater Co, Chicago 1968 Not since Dream Letter: Live In London came out 30 years ago has there been as revelatory a live release from Buckley - and this one is even better. He is in rare incantatory form here, barely pausing for breath between songs, several of which feel like improvisations in the moment. His voice is at its most stunningly elastic, whether in the falsetto of Hi-Lili Hi Lo or the long notes of Wayfaring Stranger. The recording is quite good, mainly foregrounding Buckley and his 12-string guitar but the throb of the unknown bass player and Carter C.C. Collins's congas is an essential element. The road to Happy Sad definitely leads through this incredible performance. What other treasures remain in the archives?

Scott Walker - Live On Air 1968-1969 These TV recordings have been released before but it's great to see them back in print. Even with the slightly harsh sound, the sense of what it would be like to be in the presence of Walker unleashing that divine baritone on stage is impossible to ignore. With so few live performances over the years, this is something to savor over time, especially his own songs, which are the best here next to those by his beloved Jacques Brel.

Brazilian Gems

Ana Mazzotti - Ninguem Vai Me Segurar God bless Far Out Recordings for the unending flow of sparkling Brazilian music! This 1974 album deserves to be in the front ranks of any collection from that time and place. Mazzotti's languid and lovely voice is brilliantly supported here by most of Azymuth plus her husband, Romilo Santos, on drums and the results are just sublime. Also reissued is her second, and last, album. Her short, rich career deserves wide recognition.

Azymuth - Demos (1973-1975) Vols. 1&2 Speaking of Azymuth, they are in staggering form on these home recordings, all made before their first official album. I actually prefer these to some of their later recordings, which tended towards overproduction. Far Out to the rescue again!

Reggae Rarities

Brown Sugar - I'm In Love With A Dreadlocks: Brown Sugar And The Birth of Lover's Rock, 1977-1980 If that title doesn't already tell you what you need to know, how about the first complete collection of the sweet and sassy British vocal trio that included Caron Wheeler, later of Soul II Soul? How about 13 songs with Dennis Bovell at his best behind the boards, lacing each solidly rhythmic song with glistening guitar hooks and burbling keyboards? YOU will be in love with Brown Sugar.

Cornell Campbell - King Of Collie and I Man A The Stal-A-Watt A few years ago, I scooped up the out-of print-collection, Natty Dread, which featured recordings by Campbell from 1975-83 and introduced me to one of the sweetest, most versatile of all Jamaican singers. These recordings come from 1970-75 and are even more consistently great. The production, mostly by Bunny "Striker" Lee is also top notch - essential roots!

Various Artists - Do The Moonwalk In honor of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing comes this 20-track collection of pure lunacy - some of the most fun ska and rocksteady you can imagine and a party platter that is out of this world.

Spiritual Soul Explosion

Various Artists - World Spirituality Classics Vol. 2: The Time For Peace Is Now: Gospel Music About Us With the first entry in this series from Luaka Bop focusing on the Ashram-based recordings of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, it was hard to know what they would do for a follow-up. Well, on this spectacular collection, they’re giving us the funkiest, most soulful gospel that you didn’t know you needed by artists you’ve never heard of, a flood of emotionally rich, spiritually nourishing tracks that expand on the message and music of The Staple Singers, Andrea Crouch, and others. As an act of scholarship infused with love, this set will likely never be bettered. 

Stax “Soul Explosion” Series As detailed here, the 50th anniversary of the Stax "Soul Explosion" has led to a tsunami of long lost records from the label’s storied history - get to know them from my playlist and then find your own favorites. 

James Brown - Live At Home With His Bad Self Finally! This is the full concert that the Sex Machine album was based on, free of overdubs and studio tracks. Brown was too angry at his JB’s - who quit over low pay and poor working conditions immediately after the show - to release it at the time. Fifty years later, it sounds as good as you would imagine, with seven performances seeing the light of day for the first time. 

Beverly Glenn-Copland - Primal Prayer Existing at some under-explored intersection of jazz, new age, funk, soul, and art song, Glenn-Copland might get his own Luaka Bop compilation someday. Until then, he’s doing a fine job of reintroducing his albums into the marketplace, including this gorgeous and expansive set from 2004, originally released under the name Phynix. Layers of keyboards are matched by Glenn-Copland’s vocal range, given full flight in inventive counterpoint through double and triple tracking. A trans man who made his first album in 1970, Glenn-Copland has been in the background offering succor to those in the know for decades. Let that exclusive coterie now include you. 

Post-Punk Glories

The Cigarettes - You Were So Young It seems like about every 10 years, some reissue label says, Hey, remember The Cigarettes? In the future they will turn to this collection, every song released by the razor-sharp British quartet from 1978 to their demise in 1981, plus some live sessions for John Peel. When you need some more of that Buzzcocks or Stiff Little Fingers vibe, it’s right here waiting for you. 

Ut - Conviction Angular, dissonant guitars, polyrhythmic drumming, tortured, slightly off-key vocals - it could only be No Wave, the downtown NYC movement birthed partially in reaction the creeping slickness of new wave and synth-pop. And Ut, the trio of Nina Canal, Jacqui Ham, and Sally Young, were one of the best of the lot. Stick a cassette of their debut album in your Walkman and get on line for the Mudd Club. 

Eclectic Ambiance

Ernest Hood - Neighborhoods By the time Hood assembled this one-off album in 1975, he had been incorporating field recordings into performances as a member of Portland, OR’s jazz scene for decades. Blending hyperlocal sounds (kids playing kick-the-can, people watching fireworks) with charming and bittersweet synth melodies puts his neighborhood somewhere between Brian Eno’s and Mr. Rogers’s. It’s a place you’ll want to visit often. 

Laurie Spiegel - Unseen Worlds The decade-plus gap between this and her classic debut, The Expanding Universe,is more of a reflection of the challenges she faced as a pioneer of electronic music - and a woman - than any lack of ideas. But there was no sense of struggle in the final product when it arrived in 1991, just the gleaming darkness of these beautifully polished soundscapes. Yet another reason to celebrate this extraordinary talent. 

Miscellany

Radiohead - Minidiscs [Hacked] I don’t know if I totally believe the back story about how these discs came to light, but I was more than happy to drop $18 (which went to Extinction Rebellion, anyway) for 16 hours of OK Computer demos and live recordings. While there are some incredible concert excerpts here, my favorite stuff is raw, intimate, fly-on-the-wall studio and home demos. Revealed is a group of sonic and emotional seekers of everything music has to offer - and they keep finding it, over and over again. 

Prodigy & Mobb Deep - Shot Down After Albert “Prodigy” Johnson died in 2017, I assembled a 25-song Spotify playlist to go along with an article I wrote for Mass Appeal about his legacy. As of today, there are only 14 songs left, a sign of the disarray his discography is in right now. That’s probably why this mixtape, assembled by DJ Whoo Kid in 2006, sounds so good. This was the controversial Blood Money era, when Mobb Deep signed with 50 Cent’s G-Unit, but the beats are mostly tight and Prodigy and others (even Fitty!) display a relaxed mastery in their flow. Maybe a time will come when Prodigy’s estate clears up any issues and we get the career overview this NYC legend deserves. 

Various Artists - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Quentin Tarantino’s extremely entertaining exercise in manic revisionist nostalgia exists outside the cinema almost as successfully as it does within, as proved by this brilliantly sequenced collection. Putting the radio announcers and ads in there was a stroke of genius, lending an authenticity to a landscape of pop and rock just that much different than what you might associate with 1969. Kudos to Tarantino’s longtime music supervisor, Mary Ramos, who deserves no small part of the credit. Learn more about their process in this compelling podcast from the BBC. 

What old sounds were making your year? There’s a good deal more in this archived playlist - and make sure to follow this one so you know what 2020 brings us from out of the past. 

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Best Of 2018: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2017: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2016: Reissues

Best Of 2017: Out Of The Past

The clattering machinery that delivers new versions of the past, whether via deluxe reissues or previously unreleased material, took a while to get up to speed this year. I was even slightly concerned at mid-year about finding even ten truly great things to properly stock this category. But the aroma of holiday cash has a way of focusing the minds of labels of all sizes, so now that stockings and menorahs are sprouting in every household, it’s clear I needn’t have worried. If you're looking for gift ideas, you’ll find more than enough here to satisfy even the most discerning of your retro-centric family and friends.

Reissue Of The Year

Bob Dylan - Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 (1979-1981) This astoundingly rich deep dive into one of Zimmy’s most controversial periods is one of the highlights of an already extraordinary series, ranking with my favorites, Live 1975 and Tell Tale Signs. When you consider that one of the most celebrated musicians of the century went out on the road with all new, religiously-focused songs it becomes ever clearer that Dylan has always been a true believer - in himself. Another thing that went unmentioned in my verbatim report of its creation is that the Dylan camp’s maximalist approach over the last few sets (Like on last year’s incredible entry, The Cutting Edge, where they included every take of Like A Rolling Stone) makes me wish they would return to the Rolling Thunder Revue and mine more gold from that rich seam. But there’s more than enough here to occupy me until the next set. Ready for the Neverending Nineties?

Lost Masterpieces

Alice Coltrane - World Spirituality Classics Vol 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda This collection of ritual music may never not sound a little strange, with its combination of chanting, percussion, and swooping synths, but it needs to be heard to be believed.

Laraaji - Celestial Vibrations For more uniquely transporting sounds, finding the debut album by Larry Edward Gordon - released on a private press label before the ambient master met Brian Eno - is easy now thanks to wider release by Soul Jazz. 

Ornette Coleman - Ornette At 12/Crisis It’s a sad commentary on the state of our “all music all the time” ecosystem when it takes 40 years for TWO major albums by one of our most significant musicians to appear in a digital format. And even now that Real Gone Music has engineered the reissue of these records, their licensing deal only permitted a release on CD, which seems to be a sunsetting medium. All I can say is, if you no longer have a way to play shiny silver discs, make friends with someone who can because you need this music. 

Both Ornette At 12 and Crisis are live albums, recorded on opposite coasts seven months apart, but the only difference between them and Coleman’s studio work at the time is that there was an audience involved. The quality of the sound is more than acceptable and, on the four tracks that make up Ornette At 12, even extraordinary. Charlie Haden’s bass never sounded better and Coleman’s alto sax is a warm ribbon of golden melody throughout. Dewey Redman’s tenor is the perfect foil as he is more than willing to pursue the overblown noises and extended techniques so often associated with “free jazz.” Ornette does push that envelope a bit when he sallies in on violin, but it still works, as does his one trumpet solo, which is surprisingly beautiful. 

Crisis features Don Cherry on trumpet (and flute) so Coleman leaves those duties to him. As you might expect from the original cover art, which features a burning Bill Of Rights, these five tracks tend toward the political, in the same way Jimi Hendrix’s Machine Gun is political: a purely sonic response to the world's chaos. So Space Jungle and Trouble in the East are uncommonly aggressive and cacophonous, almost sounding like a different band on the latter track thanks to the combination of Coleman's violin and Cherry's doubled flutes or recorders. Haden's composition Song For Ché, a hymn-like creation, is also featured in likely its definitive performance.

I can't say enough how important it is to have these crucial albums back in circulation. Hopefully someone will do the same for the latter-day Coleman albums that are still out of print, like Of Human Feelings, his sassy take on pop-jazz from 1982. Also of interest to Ornette fans is the long-awaited release of both his final performance at a star-studded tribute concert in Prospect Park and the music from his memorial concert.

Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo Vice Versa - Viajando Com o Som The subtitle informs us that this album by the man Miles Davis called "the most impressive musician in the world" consists of the "Lost '76 Vice-Versa Studio Sessions." Recorded over two days in a white heat following a concert which combined his usual rhythm section with a trio of young-gun sax players, two of four tracks find O Bruxo (the Sorcerer or Wizard), as he is known, pursuing a more collective improvisational approach than his usual highly composed work. The second of these is Casinha Pequinina, a 26-minute odyssey that shows how powerfully Pascoal had absorbed his experience playing with Davis on the recordings originally released as Live-Evil. The title of album loosely translates as "Traveling with the Sound" and Casinha is indeed a trip and a half, moving from deeply reflective moods to almost comic exuberance. There doesn't seem to be any great explanation as to why the record was never released, except that Pascoal was just moving to fast to prepare it for release. Nothing has changed in that regard, as the 81-year-old legend has put out two new albums this year, one with a big band and one with a smaller group. Start catching up!

Thelonious Monk - Les Liasons Dangereuses 1960 In 1959, Monk entered a New York studio to record performances for the soundtrack of Roger Vadim's adaptation of the Choderlos de Laclos infidelity classic. Mostly remakes of Monk tunes with his tight ensemble of the time, the music was never used and never released - until now. It's of much more than just historical interest as everyone was in fine form and Monk never really played the same thing twice. The one song I could have used more of was By And By, which is (I think) the only studio recording he made of the classic hymn. A nice present for the 100th birthday of this American master.

More Brazil Classics

There seems to be no end to wonderful old records from Brazil, partially due to the efforts of Far Out Recordings, who are responsible for the Pascoal album. One of their best reissues this year was Piri's Vocês Querem Mate?, a blissful collection of psychdelic tropicalia from 1970. Tenorio Jr.'s Embalo, the sole album this piano genius made as a leader, was also put back into print this year and it is full of delights beyond the ever-popular Nebulosa.

Love Them Live

David Bowie -  Cracked Actor: Live Los Angeles '74 If only all my favorite bootlegs were spiffed up by Tony Visconti. While this will never replace David Live, which I still (perhaps unreasonably) adore, this is another invaluable document of the Diamond Dogs tour. 

The Replacements - For Sale: Live At Maxwell's 1986 The legend about The Replacements is that they delivered shows that were either focused or entertainingly shambolic. The truth is that most shows were a bit of both, which is what we get here in a fantastic multi-track recording of a concert at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. The band starts off with a furious rendition of Heyday that isn’t even half over before Paul Westerberg starts inserting the word “murder” into the lyrics almost at random, which also happens elsewhere in the show. But such ad libs never stop the train, which only really breaks down once, during a sloppy take of Sweet’s Fox On The Run. Other than that, they execute pretty much every song you would want with passion and headlong excitement, making for an essential addition to the ‘Mats catalog, featuring the original lineup in all its ridiculous and heartfelt glory. Note that if you opt for the vinyl, Rhino does not provide a download card.

The Yardbirds - Yardbirds ‘68 When I was in high school I fell hard for The Yardbirds, fascinated by their trajectory from blues-wailing live act to studio experimentalists who incorporated everything from harpsichord to Gregorian chant as they helped forge “rock” from the embers of “rock & roll.” This passion took commitment to pursue, as all of the records depicted on the back of my brother’s copy of Greatest Hits were out of print. Eventually I acquired them all, but I still needed more. So, when I spotted a copy of Live Yardbirds featuring Jimmy Page on the wall of my favorite shop (Venus on 8th Street, if you must know) for the princely sum of $35, I told them to hold it for me while I scraped up the cash. 

Eventually, I got the disc (which may or not be counterfeit, as I found out later) onto my turntable and got to hear how The Yardbirds story ended on the stage of the Anderson Theater. Or very nearly so, as Epic Reords had seen fit to bury the performance under a blanket of artificial chatter and even clinking glassware. Still it was thrilling to hear a nascent version of Page’s approach to Jake Holmes’s Dazed And Confused - he even whipped out his violin bow - not to mention singer Keith Relf’s clear tenor improvising on I’m A Man in a way that pointed forward to his brief turn in Medieval-flavored Brit-folk band Renaissance. 

Now Page, having run out of Led Zeppelin catalog items to remaster and repackage, has turned his attention to his time in The Yardbirds and worked his magic on the Anderson Theater show, which is something for all fans of the man and the band to celebrate. Besides stripping away the fake audience noises, he has polished up the mix, making everything sound as good as possible and giving his guitar an almost physical presence throughout. While this was undoubtedly a transitional period for all involved, there’s enough here to thrill any lover of both the blues and psych which make up The Yardbirds brand, even of this wasn’t their greatest period. 

I’m also not sure this was necessarily their greatest concert of the era. Page points out in the liner notes that they were doing two sets a night at the Anderson, which slowed their roll a bit, leading to an occasionally perfunctory quality to the performance. As contemporaneous bootlegs from The Shrine in L.A. show, when given a chance to stretch out they were able to get into a lengthy version of Smokestack Lightning, which was a spectacular showcase for Relf’s harp, something he excelled at more than singing, as well as storming versions of Happenings Ten Years Time Ago and The Velvet Underground’s I’m Waiting For My Man. 

Also, as much of a gentleman as Page is about the talents of Relf, bass-player Chris Dreja and drummer Jim McCarty, there was no way they could follow him where he needed to go, which was Led Zeppelin. This is also evident on the second disc, Studio Sketches, a brief collection of unfinished recordings they made around the same time as the final concerts. Even with those limitations, there are riches to be heard here, including an early version of Tangerine, so evocative even in rough form, and Spanish Blood, which features diamond-sharp acoustic playing from Page and a pulpy spoken word segment from McCarty that almost makes it sound almost like a song by The Clientele. It should be noted that, as good as everything sounds, Page made some questionable choices by eliminating Relf's vocal on the Tangerine demo and part of McCarty's on Spanish Blood. Complete versions of those songs are on the the now out of print Cumular Limit album. So, Yardbirds '68 is a mixed bag, then, but a very good one. 

They Came From The Nineties

Radiohead - OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2007 Trust me, if I could afford the super-deluxe version of this, it would be proudly displayed next to my Ming vase. Instead, I’ll just enjoy the three unearthed songs on Spotify and hold on to my two-disc version from 2007. 

Helium - Ends With And If this compilation of rarities by Mary Timoney’s band gets more people listening to them again, that would be a very good thing. I would still recommend beginning with debut album The Dirt Of Luck, which has never gone away but was reissued on vinyl this year along with sophomore album The Magic City. However you get their sweet crunch in your life, just do it!

Reggae Roots & Branches

Every year, a small army of reissue labels fills in more reggae history, a seemingly bottomless well of goodness. In case the forest is obscuring the trees, here are a few from 2017 with real staying power. 

The Abyssinians - Satta Dub (Deluxe Expanded Edition) A big helping of classic, rootsy dub made bigger and better with more tracks, including dubs of dubs!

Lloyd Parks - Time A Go Dread Crucial collection from a soulful yet tough singer that deserves more attention. 

Lee Perry - Back On The Controls: The Session Reels Five stunning singles in stunningly remastered sound. Originally released in 2015 as a box set of vinyl 45s, this killer collection is now available to stream and download. Will we ever get enough?

African-American Power

Isaac Hayes - The Spirit Of Memphis (1962-1976) After proving himself, in collaboration with David Porter, to be one of the greatest songwriters of the soul era, Ike branched out into a solo career that was at least as spectacular. Albums like Hot Buttered Soul, To Be Continued, and Black Moses were essentially perfect - and essentially impossible to anthologize due to the length of the tracks. This new four disc set gamely tries to cover all facets of Hayes’s career (until 1976, that is, when he signed with Polydor), starting off with a generous helping of his songwriting and production for the likes of Sam & Dave, moving through his tentative first steps on his own (Sir Isaac & The Do-Dads, anyone?), and then sampling from the solo albums in a fairly effective manner, although with a few too many edits for my taste. 

Most importantly to this longtime listener, however, are the rarer goodies, like the 33-minute uncut version of Do Your Thing from Shaft that shades into Bitches Brew territory, or a live set from from a PUSH event in Chicago that features a performance of His Eye Is On The Sparrow that is staggering in its vulnerability and mastery of the gospel form. In the end, while one could quibble with some of the selections, the mere fact of the existence of The Spirit Of Memphis is a great thing, giving some proper due to the legacy of Isaac Hayes, which is so often reduced to a song or two. Get the spirit!

Various Artists - Soul of a Nation: Afro-Centric Visions in the Age of Black Power: Underground Jazz, Street Funk, and the Roots of Rap 1968-79 If you read that long title and assumed that the first cut was The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron, you would be correct. But I doubt anyone other than a specialist could predict what else Soul Jazz has unearthed and included on this essential compilation. 

Sounds From The Bush, by the Mandingo Griot Society with Don Cherry is one of a few tracks combining notable jazz players with African-influenced sounds, with Horace Tapscott, Joe Henderson also appearing. But most of the names are unfamiliar, such as Sarah Webster Fabio, David McKnight, Oneness Of Juju and Doug Carn. Fabio’s entrant is a funk vamp with some spoken word and a lengthy band introduction, complete with horoscope signs (it’s fabulous) while the Oneness cut, simply called African Rhythms, has the distinct flavor of a PBS special, especially when the narrator says, “These are African rhythms, passed down to us from the ancient spirits. Feel the spirits, a unifying force!” In short, it’s a little kitschy, but only because we’ve come so far in understanding (or at least hearing) music from all parts of the African continent, not due to any lack of sincerity on the part of the musicians. 

There’s a ton a variety here, too, and almost nothing overstays its welcome (Is It Too Late? by Duke Edwards & The Young Ones is a little tedious), with many paths for further investigation promised. For example, Carlos Garnett, the sax player whose Mother Of The Future closes the set, is someone I'm looking forward to listening to more. I’m also sure that Soul Jazz has done a terrific job with the booklet, so I’m looking forward to picking up the physical release and learning more about these fascinating, funky, and in many cases forgotten acts.

Beatles For Sale

Giles Martin's radical remix of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, part of a 50th Anniversary deluxe reissue sheds new light on something you may think you have heard enough times. The in-progress bonus tracks, featuring plenty of studio chatter, are pure catnip for Fabs fans. The same can be said of the nifty (if overpriced) box of fan club Christmas singles - except most serious fans have heard them many times. However, if you haven't you really should, and if you insist on doing so legally, here's your chance!

You can hear tracks from most of these here and below. Ornette Coleman and The Yardbirds are on CD or vinyl only and while the Monk is also not on any streaming service, it can be downloaded. Many more reissues are tracked in an archived playlist.



Coming up next: Best of 2017: The Top 20!

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