Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 39 (MP3s)

October 28, 2009

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 39 (MP3s)

Give the Drummer Some's
6 Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

All treats and no tricks from the Miner this week: If you could count all the great "out" vibes records on one hand, this one—from Philly's Khan Jamal—would be the thumb. Magma founder Christian Vander plays drums here under the pseudonym Hassan Rashid. ••• Beijing Opera–trained singer Grace Chang (Ge Lan) made more yuan as an actress than as a chanteuse. She appeared in over 30 films in career spanning just over a decade. Occasionally she landed a role where she got do her singing on camera. Check this freaky Youtube vid of her in 1959's Air Hostess. ••• Refer-reeking garages of 1960s Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina were overflowing with mop-head maestros mashing en Inglés, but Spain's Cheyenes croon exclusively en Español. ••• Though "Ice Cream Man" was his biggest seller, Chicago bluesman John Brim ran a dry cleaners when he wasn't on the road. When he was touring, he took his wife with him. She was his drummer. ••• This "Indian"-themed blues compilation includes the one and only tune ever recorded (in 1929) by a mysterious performer billed as "Freezone." (MP3 provided, below.) Nobody seems to know who the hell this guy is! ••• At 13, Junior Reid cut his first record with the great Hugh Mundell. (For an extra treat, go here.) At 17, Reid, now calling himself Junior Progress (with the backing band Voice of Progress), had a regional hit with "Mini Bus Driver." At 18, Reid was a passenger in a car with Mundell when Mundell was shot and killed.

Go Phillies!
Khan Jamal ~ "Give the Vibes Some"
(Blog: The Growing Bin)
From the album: Pure Energy (mp3)

Star of '50s Hong Kong Cinema
Grace Chang ~ "Pathe 100, Vol. 15"
(Blog: What's in My iPod)

If the Kinks and Pretty Things Had a Baby. In Spain.
Los Cheyenes ~ "Sus Singles y EPs en RCA"
(Blog: Garage Music)
From the album: Eres Como un Sueño (mp3)

The Original Ice Cream Man
John Brim ~ "1950-1953"
(Blog: Oldies But Goodies)