Nuyorican Rotary Redial
Nuyorican Soul featuring Jocelyn Brown & Roy Ayers – I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun / Sweet TearsTalkin' Loud – TLXX 26, Giant Step Records – 574 969-1Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single, UK, Oct 13, 1997
Look, I'm often a mess. That's just par for the course and whatever is stressing me out on any particular day probably isn't dramatically changing my playlist. Sure, there are songs that mostly get a spin when I've got some anger to work out and others that come out when the clouds break and I'm in a lighter mood. But when life actually feels broken, when things are clearly impossible and I just can't will myself into seeing how progress is possible, there are two or three songs that I go back to over and over again. I'm definitely not the most religious person that you know, but I think I'd say those songs give me hope on some kind of spiritual level. Faith? Maybe. It's not completely rational and I gave up trying to self-analyze on this a long time ago. I just know that playing those records is almost guaranteed to give me some space to breathe from whatever depression, panic or defeat has seeped in.
Given the title of one of my go-to songs, The Creator Has A Master Plan by Pharoah Sanders, it's probably easy enough to understand how it might inspire someone to think things might be less out of control than they thought. This cut is less straight forward, at least in my head. But as someone who, when it comes to "feelings," has some bad habits that tend toward avoiding, ignoring, refusing to express in any healthy way and generally being allergic... it's a good example of the mystery that sometimes fuels my music obsession. The song was written decades ago and I only have the vaguest guesses at what its composers were thinking about or intending, but somehow still manages to fill me with emotion, hope and pride.
There are a few people in my life who could use a little hope and healing right now. I wanted to share this one in case any of them can find a drop of the oceanful that they deserve in here.
Anyway...
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This is a drum and bass remix of a 1990s house cover of a song by a psychedelic soul-rock band first released in 1971 that I happen to think is one of the most perfect songs ever recorded. (And for what it's worth, the B side is nothing to sneeze at either.) To help you follow along, here's your cast of characters:
1. Rotary Connection - Starting in 1967, Cadet Concept (affiliated with Chicago's classic blues label Chess records) quickly released 6 albums by this band that were a wild stew of psychedelic rock, soul, jazz and more. The band recorded a mix of cover songs and original tracks in a shockingly diverse mish mash of styles, but is probably best remembered for featuring the great Minnie Riperton on vocals prior to solo career fame (and for providing the material for a few classic hip hop samples). Behind the scenes, the driving force behind this group was legendary Chicago musician and producer Charles Stepney, whose lush arrangements, compositions and experiments shaped not just Rotary Connection and Ripperton's early career, but some of my favorite records by the Dells, Earth Wind & Fire, Terry Callier and more.
Hey, Love from 1971 was Rotary Connection's final album and featured I Am The Black Gold of the Sun, written by Stepney and his regular songwriting partner for the group (and Minnie Riperton's husband), Richard Rudolph. Describing their original recording's mix of folk, string arrangements, soaring vocals, loud guitar, and psychedelic soul sounds like exactly the kind of "throw everything at the wall" eclecticism that almost never works. But it does.
2. Nuyorican Soul - "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (the production duo and NYC house legends better known as Masters At Work) released a string of singles, remixes and one full length album in the mid-'90s under the name Nuyorican Soul. House, Latin jazz, soul and more with conspirators ranging from la India to Roy Ayers to Tito Puente to DJ Jazzy Jeff. It's a wonderful album and easy to find a cheap CD of. (Run if you don't already have it, we can wait.) The album featured their take on Black Gold and pulls off covering a damn near perfect song and actually having something new to say as they took it to the modern dance floor. Not an easy feat.
3. 4Hero - Marc Mac and Dego's records as 4Hero took a British dance music subgenre and, through breakbeats, knit drum and bass together with musical styles from across the Black diaspora. Their own records could be groundbreaking and beautiful, but their remix of this Nuyorican Soul track is one of their masterpieces. If the MAW production had taken a lovely song from another era and made it mesh with modern beats and ears, 4hero launches it into the future for eight and half minutes. The sci-fi jazz breakbeats don't cost the song any of it's timelessness, seriousness, or complexity. I think it's really something special.
I really hope you enjoy this, especially if you've never heard it before. The B side is excellent also, it's just getting overshadowed by my love of that first track. Vibraphone legend Roy Ayers adds vibes and the lead vocals to classic house track that recalls the best of his disco era, dance oriented productions. Great stuff. This song is also on the Nuyorican Soul album, but the version on this single is at least a good minute longer than the album mix.
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