Loose Ends No.3

I first posted this tune about 18 months ago while on my honeymoon. I was so excited to find the record that I couldn't resist ripping it straight to my laptop off the portable player at the shop. And the rip sounded pretty good, but it's bothered me ever since that I never bothered to make another stab at it.

I also posted a label scan which was lifted from Popsike because I didn't have access to to a scanner. That has bothered me too. In fact, it's a big no-no on this blog even though I explained the situation at the time.

Anyway, here's a re-do. New rip [with a bit more bass] and a brand new scan.

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So, is this song in any way related to my last post?

Probably not. There are some very obvious differences, not the least of which are different lyrics and a mile-wide hook on Apple's version that's nowhere in sight on the Pulsar 45.

However, both 45s were recorded in L.A., probably within a few years of each other [Jessie Hill's version is from 1968, I would think Apple's take is more likely from the early '70s].

Just a coincidence, right? Two twisted funk jams using the same repeated phrase. Right?

On the other hand, I do wonder if I'm missing something. Is there a third "Free And Easy" that somehow ties the two songs together? Anyone have a clue?

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

Pretty baby, you don't stand a chance....

The list of New Orleans ex-pats working in Los Angeles by the late sixties is long: Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson, Rene Hall, Harold Battiste, Lee Allen, Mac Rebennack, Mel Lastie, Jessie Hill, Tami Lynn, Alvin Robinson, Shirley Goodman, Ronnie Barron, John Boudreaux.....

I'm sure there are others, but in terms of this record I'm mostly interested in the crew surrounding Harold Battiste at Pulsar, which just so happens to include many of those listed above.

Pulsar was a short-lived subsidiary of Mercury apparently set up as a tax dodge. But Battiste and Co. didn't know that so they happily started pumping out records for the label.....in fact had high hopes of duplicating the artistic freedom they'd enjoyed in New Orleans before the A.F.O. label went under [part of the reason many of these folks had moved on in the first place].

Anyway, soon enough the plug was pulled and Pulsar was no more. Luckily, Harold Battiste is nobody's fool. According to Dan Phillips, Battiste bought all the master tapes and apparently still has them [as is often the case I'm just mentally condensing what I've read at Home Of The Groove].

Those tapes are in fact the source of some of what showed up on the excellent three volume "Gumbo Stew" series of comps.....which are ostensibly a collection of unreleased A.F.O. recordings. Proof of a sort that the spirit of the A.F.O. operation in New Orleans bled over into the situation at Pulsar in L.A.

While the flip-side of this record, "Mardi Gras", tends to get more play, I happen to think this side is at least as good. To my mind, it's Jessie Hill at his chaotic best.

Hope ya'll enjoy.......

I'm on my way....

Just 'cause I can't seem to get past that last tune....here's another Staple Singers recordings from the '50's.

If I were running a non-vinyl, non-45 based blog, I'd follow up with Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was The Night" [partially for those familiar with Ry Cooder's "Paris Texas" soundtrack].....as it is, I'll probably have one of those "and now for something completely different" moments. It happens.

Hope ya'll enjoy........

I'll be home....

Two of the most intense albums I know of are the Staple Singers' "Uncloudy Day" issued in 1959 and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" from 1960 [Wikipedia says it was released in 1969, but that's wrong].

Both are collections of earlier recordings, some dating from the Staples' first session for Vee Jay in November 1955.....when Mavis Staples would have been 16 years old.

A version of "So Soon" was definitely recorded at that 1955 session. Whether it was re-recorded for release on this 45 is unknown to me.

Of course it doesn't really matter if Mavis was 16, 17, or 18 at the time. The recording is extraordinary no matter what. In fact, it's close to unearthly. If there was ever a singer who's voice qualifies as a force of nature, it's Mavis Staples.

If any of ya'll don't own a copy of the Staple Singers Vee Jay recordings, then you should def seek out the 'twofer' of "Uncloudy Day" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". Yep, they come packaged together. To my mind, they're essential albums.

Hope ya'll enjoy......

Loose Ends No.2

The perfect follow-up to the last post?

I don't think Tail-Gate 1003 has ever been comped. Sir Shambling's site looks to be the source of all previous internet postings of "Understanding", including those now on you tube [last year I posted a copy taken from there as well].

Beyond that, Mr. Finewine has def got himself a copy, has played both sides of the 45 on his radio show at one time or another, but I see absolutely nothing else online that leads me back to a comp or even another vinyl rip.

Ya'll can check out what Sir Shambling has to say, here, although I should point out that Jackie Avery actually has three 45s to his name. The third being, "I'm A Believer/Have A Little Faith", issued on Redwal 14/15....a label directly related to Avery's boss at Capricorn, Phil Walden.

Yeah, it's a bit strange to be sending ya'll off to another site where you can also hear "Understanding", but Sir Shambling writes much better than I, and well.....this is the second most expensive 45 I own....the only thing that could possibly stop me from posting it is if the world suddenly came to an end.

It's also not every day you get to hear two cuts from rare 45s, sung independently by a married couple, played back-to-back. In the end, I just couldn't resist the temptation [nor could I think of a better way to phrase it].

Hope ya'll enjoy......

[Not that it will matter to most, but I forgot to mention that this 45 has a tell-tale 'Cos' signature in the dead wax area. That means Cos Matassa hand-cut the master.]

I love him...

Ella Brown's "Love Don't Love Nobody" continues to be one of the most heavily viewed postings on this site. I don't exactly know why that is, but I hope it means there are a lot of Ella Brown fans about.

Here's another gorgeous tune by that fine lady. Much much rarer than "Love Don't Love Nobody", in fact, this is the only copy of the 45 I've ever seen in the "flesh". It definitely would've made my 'white whale' list last year, but I felt I could only choose one of Brown's two releases on Adams.

Many thanks to the Ebay Guru for taking care of business. Down to the last minute I was still dreaming about getting the record for $20 because the silly thing has been sitting for days at $10. The Guru was like, "don't be an idiot".

And sure enough, exactly as he predicted, the price jumped considerably in the last five seconds of the auction. If I had followed his suggestion, we would have won with less than $2 to spare. As it was, I made him throw in an extra $10, just to make sure.

Hope ya'll enjoy......

We had a love like paradise...

This cut was released twice on the Neb's label, each with different flip-sides, and then again a couple of years later on Capcity. Oddly enough it's listed as the b-side on the first pressing. The a-side, "I Can't Do It", is nothing short of terrific, but ya still gotta wonder what Never Duncan [the label owner] was thinking.

Anyway, he must have reconsidered 'cause the tune shows up as the a-side on both later releases.

And apparently that's not all Duncan reconsidered.

To my ears there's a quick bit of fade added to the end of the second issue, and even more to the Capcity pressing. Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but ya see, the original version is fairly shocking in that it comes to a full-on dead stop. No fade at all.

Funny how small changes can make such a difference. Listening to the faded versions, I don't recall ever thinking the ending was particularly outrageous. But it is. Hit the button and hear for yourself.

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

Loose Ends No.1

Speaking of redundancy.....

There are a few records I'd like to re-post because, on the whole, I just wasn't happy with the way I presented them the first time 'round. All will [hopefully] include better rips, in some cases taken from 45s in better condition.

Others, such as this offering, were posted last December as part of my "white whales" list, which means I didn't actually own the records at the time.

Almost everything on the Tou-Sea label is scarce, but this 45 took me four years of concerted effort to find and cost a fair amount when I did. It's also a very beautiful song. Damn right I'm gonna post my own rip.

Whether you prefer it over what you may already have is your call. If you check 'Zilla Mayes' in the sidebar you'll find the superb flip-side.

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

She had to left town.....

Given that this 45 has been sitting in my 'to post' pile for months, I thought I should put it out there before a certain 'about to be posted' comp makes it redundant. The actual 45 is a tough-ish find.

I could be wrong but I think this is Sonny Boy Williamson's only release on Ace.

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

So tell me mama....

I'm completely brain-dead today. I meant to post another tune entirely, but when it came time to write up some of my usual nonsense, I went blank.

Thus, ya'll get to hear this record because that lovely man, Sir Shambling, has already done most of the work, here.

Yep, 'Sailor Boy' is actually Alex Spearman.

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

Shucks girl....

This 45 has seen better days, but then I doubt there's a single copy anywhere that sounds clear and sharp. It's just not that kind of record.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

p.s. Wanna hear the tune, click on the divshare player. Need more? Follow the dots.

I call my baby sweet thing...

I think there are only two 45s by Albert Scott.....but I'm hoping that's wrong because I'd sure like to hear more than just the four sides.

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

No hair pulling....

At first glance this may look like an odd match, but actually these records are close enough to be cousins. In fact, cousins which are just enough alike that there's a constant battle between the two. Both are tough as nails. Neither will accept defeat.

Anna King has the advantage because she made the first move....and there's also the little matter of a certain Mr. James Brown who oversees the production. But she's definitely got serious competition in Ruby Johnson. That girl's got real power in those lungs...and since when is it a bad thing to have Isaac Hayes and David Porter in your corner?

Ruby obviously follows Anna's lead on this one, but watch out for that ending! Ruby never settles for anything less than a draw.

If Somebody Told You

When My Love Comes Down

I still love him....

From a short biography of Irma Thomas which appears on site after site after site:

"....Thomas accused Ronn of withholding royalties and after one more effort for the label, "A Good Man," she briefly landed with the Bandy label, releasing 1961's "Look Up" before relocating to Minit."

Looks innocuous enough, but that one line is wrong on so many levels that it would be boorish of me to go into the details.

Suffice it to say, there was no landing "with the Bandy label" "before relocating to Minit". The Bandy 45 was issued sometime after Joe Banashak ['Bandy' to his friends] sold Minit to Lew Chudd of Imperial Records in 1963. Irma's contract was part of the deal. Afterwards, Banashak had several unreleased tracks....so he pressed them up.

This is Irma's third single, her first record for Minit as well as her first with Mr. Toussaint. It was recorded in 1960. All other Minit/Bandy [and Bumba ?] releases were recorded in 1961.

As much as I love the two earlier singles on Ron [not Ronn], it's the work with Mr. Toussaint that kills me. In fact, I'm not sure I would've ever developed a taste for the deeper stuff if Irma hadn't hooked me early-on.

I realize almost everyone who visits this blog has their own copy of this song, but I thought you might like to hear an original 45 in superb condition. Hope ya'll enjoy...

Get on back....

I've been trying to get my hands on a copy of this 45 for something like four years....and then two copies turned up on Ebay, as well as another, locally, all in the same week. I bought the local copy [bird in hand], even though it had the same label on both sides. A friend won one of the Ebay copies.

In the end, we swapped copies because I really hate mislabeled records and he was pissed off that this copy had more water damage than expected [which made it a bitch to clean as tiny bits of the label along with printers ink had dried in the grooves].

Anyway, I don't know squat about Elmer Parker except that he has three 45s to his name, each several times harder to find than the last. This being the second hardest [I think]. It's certainly not the easiest or the cheapest to cop.

Beyond that, I only know of one other issue on the Rare Bird label [the release numbers hint at more]. The other is credited to Brenda Parker, who shows up on side two of this record, and may well be the same Brenda Parker who recorded a single for the Black Falcon label.

Brenda and Elmer were a couple? Your guess is as good as mine.

Music-wise this 45 falls into that very sweet spot where blues, jazz, and funk come together exactly as they should, ie, naturally. More naturally than on any other record I can think of. I wish there were a hundred 45s like this, but there aren't.

"Got To Get Back To Louisiana" [incorrectly listed as both parts 1&2] has been comped a couple of times on fairly obscure catch-all type collections. But still, it's not a record that pops up every day. Even I, who has been doggedly searching for this damn thing, didn't have an mp3 of part 1 until I ripped the 45.

Going To Louisiana [Part 1.]

Got To Get Back To Louisiana [Part 2.]

Nobody knows....

Big Sam is the artist possibly better known as Big Sambo, real name James Young, who worked for a number of years in the Port Arthur/Beaumont area. He had a good sized hit with his recording of "The Rains Came" [which is one of the cuts you most often hear, the flip-side "At The Party" being the other].

Actually, I should point out that anyone who draws a hard line between Southwestern Louisiana and Southeast Texas has obviously never been to either. Geographically, culturally, they are the same. Ya know, like some imaginary political demarcation makes any difference at all? It takes about an hour to drive from Lake Charles, Louisiana to either Beaumont or Port Arthur, Texas. For some, that's just a daily commute.

Anyway, this is an odd pressing. The original is on Huey Meaux's Tribe label, but apparently Meaux had some kind of arrangement with Major Tom/Jim/Bill Smith [I forget which] in Fort Worth, Texas. Running Bear was owned by the Major, but the Indian head design is lifted straight off of Meaux's Tribe label. As to what was going on here, your guess is as good as mine.

Hope ya'll enjoy....if this isn't a sweet tune, then I don't know what is.

C'mon, lets do this little dance...

Another sought-after record on Michelle. Actually, I didn't know how sought-after until I started looking around for info. Except for the drill hole, this copy's as clean as they come. I guess it deserves a protective plastic sleeve, huh?

I also never noticed that the release number is only one digit off the Lee Tillman 45 I posted yesterday. So, maybe it's the same musicians playing on both records? Certainly sounds like a possibility to me.

Hard to imagine that such a great tune never saw a release on a major label. Joe Tex had to have been under contract with Dial at the time. But then he wasn't such hot property until 1967, so maybe no one cared too much if he moonlighted?

While I don't know that anyone has a firm release date for this record, there was a period in 1963 when it looks like he may have taken a short hiatus from Dial and releases were issued on Checker, Ace, Soul Sound, and possibly Michelle.

The odd thing is, this 45 sounds to me as if it was made in 1965 or '66. If the vaguely psychedelic flip-side, "Next Time She's Mine" was recorded in 1963 then it's clearly one of the strangest recordings of it's day by any R&B artist. More than anything, it reminds me of something Eric Burden & The Animals would do several years later.

Obviously, I can't find a trustworthy Joe Tex discography, or for that matter, one for Michelle/Montel releases. If anyone has solid info, I'd love to see it.

Hope ya'll enjoy.....

I'm not tight with any girls I know....

A friend up by Austin sent me his rip of Lee Tillman's version of "Fortune Teller". Seems he just bought it. Thanks for saving me the trouble hon. Your copy even sounds better than mine [but mines prettier, sot].

The Michelle/Montel label was owned by S.J. Montalbano and operated out of Baton Rouge. He had a little studio for cutting demos in his fathers food distribution warehouse, which if I'm not mistaken is still listed as the address for Montel Records.

Truthfully, I'm not sure I don't like this version better than Benny Spellman's original. Whoever arranged those horns deserves a kiss.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

Sometimes I have to cry....

Baby Lloyd was a member of the Famous Flames, which of course means he worked with James Brown.

There are two 45's credited to Lloyd [last name Stallworth], one of which carries a James Brown production credit, and this one, which tends to get short-changed because it doesn't carry the same tell-tale tag.

But I gotta tell ya, if James Brown wasn't involved in the making of this record, then I seriously need to get my ears checked.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

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This has absolutely nothing to with the rest of this post, or even the usual subject of this blog. I just wanted to say that "Dessine Toi" is the most beautiful film I've seen in a long time. Young children from around the world are asked to draw a self-portrait on a sheet of glass while they're filmed [which of course refers to this famous footage shot of Picasso in 1949] . And that's basically it. Simple and very very sweet.

Earlier today, in New Orleans, the first children from the U.S. were included in the project.

All the little girls sigh...[believe it]

While I agree that this is a minor effort, it's still a far cooler record than it has any right to be.

Major points of interest:

1. Richard Berry!!! [the man could sing the alphabet and still sound dead sexy]

2. Possibly the most insistent, minimal, take on the "Louie Louie" riff ever recorded.

3. [see the above]

Hope ya'll enjoy....