things and time will tell.

Stro Elliot – Black & Loud: James Brown Reimagined By Stro Elliot Republic Records – B0033643-01 Vinyl, LP, Album, US, 2022 info Many years ago, I was riding in a car with someone a little older (and a lot cooler) than me. The guy went on to become a pretty successful DJ and producer, so not shockingly, we were talking music. The thing that I always remember about this conversation is this moment when the Godfather of Soul gets mentioned and the guy turns to say to me in his most serious voice "James Brown invented modern music." True enough for me. Remixing absolute legends from decades ago is risky business. Remixing an album's worth of stone classics that form the bedrock of modern music? Not likely to end well. Stro Elliot pulls it off though on his recent album of James Brown reworks.  My last post featured a Jamaican rework of James Brown from many years ago  and I thought it might be fun to follow it up with this new effort. Elliot  has become a lot more visibl...

Brentford All Stars / Dub Specialist – Greedy G / Granny Scratch Scratch Soul Jazz Records – SJR478-12 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, UK, 2021 info It's hard to overstate the importance of Studio One in Jamaican music. The late Coxsone Dodd's record label is easily the most important in the history of reggae and the rhythms from his 1960s and 70s productions are still regularly getting a new shine and re-versioned for the  riddims  of today. Those tunes, revamped for the 1980s dancehall era by the Roots Radics and others, make up some of my favorite musical obsessions. All that said, I'm sharing a Studio One record today, but it's something else altogether. This is a recent 12" single from the UK collecting two Studio One tracks cut that I'm pretty sure were cut in the early to mid 70s. But these aren't the early reggae or rocksteady classics, instead we get two storming funk cuts. On  Greedy G ,  the Brentford All Stars (one of the regular names used for Coxson...

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...