things and time will tell.

Afrika Bambaataa & The Godfather Of Soul James Brown ‎– Unity Tommy Boy ‎– TB 847 Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, US, 1984 info 25 minutes of James Brown diving head first into hip hop ala 1984, brought to the party by his greatest NYC disciple, Afrika Bambaataa. They rap against cold war greed and violence and the virtues of funk over live breakbeats supplied by some of my favorite musicians. It's a shame this record isn't more remembered, it's a gem. The '80s weren't packed with new highlights in the James Brown discography, but hanging out with the Universal Zulu Nation brought something out in him and the Godfather of Soul gives a great performance on Unity . Maybe he enjoyed hearing his music being kept fresh. Maybe he was moved by Bambaataa's obvious joy at getting to record with his hero. Or maybe he was just feeling inspired to preach that day on the power of funk, the dangers of nuclear war, the importance of education and the gospel of " peace, uni...

Bobbi Humphrey ‎– Chicago, Damn Blue Note ‎– BN-XW395-W Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, US, 1973 info I think I've mentioned this before, but there aren't really enough quality flute-led funk songs in my life. Here's a favorite by flautist Bobbi Humphrey, served up on a 45 from Blue Note in 1973 in the midst of their soul jazz years. You can usually sign me up for the extended, 8 minute plus disco mix of a song I love, but I do really enjoy the shortened single edits of these two tracks from Humphrey's excellent Blacks And Blues  LP. Each has been chopped to less than half the length of their full album version, but, especially on the A side, it really does highlight the song's funk strengths. Chicago, Damn  is a classic in my book (and not just because it has one of the greatest song titles of all time). The song is written and produced by the great Larry Mizell and I'm pretty sure it features his brother Fonce on the Clavinet. Great synth and percussion, but of course...

Linval Thompson / U Brown ‎– Train To Zion Label: Socialist Roots (no cat. number) Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Jamaica, 1976 info This "disco 45" came out in 1976 on the short lived record label of the Socialist Roots Hi Fi sound system in Kingston, during a period of growing political violence that was shaking the city. Despite the sound's affiliation with the then-increasingly leftwing People's National Party, Socialist Roots released this peace song calling on the armed factions of both the PNP and their rival JLP to put down the guns and ride the Train To Zion  (or at least come work it out in the dance). The great Linval Thompson stars here, in his days as a roots singer before hitting it even bigger as a producer in the '80s dancehall era. In Jamaican "discomix" style, Thompson's Train To Zion mixes straight into a deejay version by U Brown (which was also released as a standalone 7" under the title Black Star Liner ). Excellent performance...

Donny Hathaway And June Conquest ‎– I Thank You / Just Another Reason Curtom ‎– CR 1971 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, US, 1972 Info Just a quick one. The great Donny Hathaway in two duets with the less well known June Conquest on this 1972 single. (How someone can remain obscure with a name as brilliant as June Conquest is beyond me.) Curtis Mayfield wrote the excellent A side and released this on his Curtom record label. I could be wrong, but I think the track was actually cut and first released as Hathaway's first single a few years earlier ('69?), but credited to just "Donny & June." Curtom presumably reissued it a couple years later to take advantage of the success he was finding with his first singles and LP on ATCO. Honestly, my 45 here sounds pretty awful. I'm pretty sure I was given it for free by someone who had it sitting in her basement for the previous 20 years. I loved it and I Thank You once saw regular play when I had a chance to DJ a soul set in a p...

Working Week ‎– Inner City Blues Virgin ‎– VSX 1273 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Canada, 1985 Info I would have felt clever if I'd gotten my act together to post a Working Week record for May Day. International Workers' Day and Mothers' Day just came and I wasn't able to keep up here, but better late than never... I hope they were good for everyone. Today: The 12" single of Working Week's 1985 take on a Marvin Gaye classic. The band had it's roots in Weekend, a group fronted by singer Alison Statton after her time in Young Marble Giants. Some of YMG's quirky, minimalist, indie pop snuck through to the earliest Weekend recordings, but Weekend's lounge and jazz leanings took the lead during their brief 1981-83 run. By the time of their last record, they were joined by pianist Keith Tippett for a live album recorded at the famous London jazz club Ronnie Scott's. Weekend called it quits in 1983, but guitarist Simon Booth and saxophonist Larry Stabbins d...