Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
Even my 10-year-old daughter knows you can't qualify the adjective "unique." Like "pregnant" or "on fire," you either are or aren't. There's no partial credit given. So how about the term "free-form"? Looking over the selections in this week's all-over-the-map Motherlode, I'm apt to call it one of the most free-form ever. But how can there be degrees of free-form? (Can you tell I'm an out-of-work copy editor?) Either there is some semblance of "form" present or there isn't.
Before you gag over this little semantic exercise, let me just point out one more unmodifiable word, "free," as in the following sentence: "You can download each of the five highly enjoyable records on display below for free."
Word up...
Satisfaction Unlimited ~ "Think of the Children"
(Blog: Tonton Decibel Music Unlimited)
Do It Till You're Satisfied
"This is one of the rarer releases on the Hot Wax label helmed by Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier. Satisfaction Unlimited‘s solitary album is yet another signature in the book of lost opportunities. But if I could only be remembered for one LP, I would definitely hope it was something nearly this good. Still with the one foot in the golden era of Motown, this has its good foot firmly planted in the '70s with a treasure trove of tuneful delights. Bypass at your peril, me hearties!!" (Nikos, at Funk My Soul)
Leon Morris ~ "Walkin' Home to Pittsburgh"
(Blog: Bill's Blog)
What's Wrong with the Bus?
"Leon Morris, originally from Canada, was an early bluegrass artist in the Washington DC area. He performed as a guitarist, singer sideman on a number of early studio projects -- including some early solo recordings by Frank Wakefield (along with Winnie Winston and David Grisman on the silver belle label). By the early 1960s, Leon had partnered with Buzz Busby, and their band released a string of 45 rpm singles until Buzz wound up back in jail for substance abuse problems. In the the 1970s and 1980s Leon led his own band, "Leon Morris & Associates," based out of Northern Virginia. The band released at least one album on the Old Homestead label, and toured extensively in the United States and Canada." (From DC Bluegrass Union)
Eugène Mona ~ "Eugene Mona"
(Blog: Black Star Liners)
"The Barefoot Singer"
"In the 1980s, popular music became once more the middle ground that engaged Martinicans of all backgrounds and offered them new ways to experience and redefine their Martinican identity. It was precisely a corpus of songs and instrumental pieces created by a popular musician called Eugène Mona in the mid-1970s that emerged as a symbol of Martinican-ness. According to European standards, Mona was an autodidact who never received serious musical training." (Dominique Cyrille, "Imagining an Afro-Creole Nation: Eugène Mona's Music in Martinique of the 1980s, Latin American Music Review, Volume 27, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2006)
[Listen to Your Ears has another gorgeous Mona LP here.]
George Barnes ~ "The George Barnes Octet"
(Blog: Western & Bop)
Favorite Song Title: "Intricacies of a Thresing Machine"
"George Barnes was one of the most underrated of the jazz guitarists that came up during the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's. He was easily recognized for the duets he made with Carl Kress, but sometimes overlooked as one of the great jazz stylists and innovators." (From Classic Jazz Guitar)
Sons of Sun ~ "Kaizoku Kid No Boken"
(Blog: Japanese Old Prog/Psych Rock)
The Sons Also Rises
"This perfect album was release in 1972 with Hiro Yanagida on keyboard. Other musicians are not well known. As I know some of them were session musicians in different times and that the lyrics for this album were written by Takashi Matsumoto (from Apryl Fool and Happy End). You will not find here a prog or psych. This is a quite interesting album. The mood of this album is so positive that seems it was written for kids or all musicians here remembered their childhood :) But nevertheless it's a brilliant album which is fun to listen to." (Dirk Friesland, at Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll)
[Read my memorial post for beloved blogger Dirk Friesland here. Another (way better) Hiro Yanagida record is posted here.]
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Link is dead George Barnes ~ "The George Barnes Octet" will not connect
Posted by: Sister Hairy Hymen | April 16, 2011 at 08:09 AM