The Are & His Records

That is all for now... OH!

Mark The 45 King & Vestax Handytrax

Record Digging 101

Folks, meet BJ. BJ is a friend of mine who, with his wonderful girlfriend Monica, just traveled from our nation's capital (by car) to spend the summer in beautiful San Francisco. And not just anywhere in San Francisco, but in the thick of it all - on the crest betwixt Upper and Lower Haight. What a summer they'll have. Having already visited the city as tourists, the pair have become more than familiar with the Amoebas and Rasputins of the area and I felt that as a local, BJ should get an idea of some of the record havens to be found off the beaten path.
The above photo gives a brief hint at what the basement looks like. Beyond the back-to-back rows of records, hanging guitars and 13-inch deep clearances in which you are expected to stand, 4-crate tall stacks eliminate all chances at a safe escape in the case of an emergency which makes this spot, well.... better than most others. If not more fun to navigate. Never have I felt so nimble as when I hoisted myself over said 4-crate stack to peruse the soul section. Well worth the effort - and risk of bodily harm. And at $5 for ANY record in the place, this is the kind of store that let's you get away with murder when you find that special dig.



And special digs we found. In the above above pictures, you'll note that BJ is test-driving a copy of Joe Simon's GET DOWN. Oh, so lovely. I put him on to that, and in exchange? He gets me into WHO I AM by David Ruffin. Now, sadly, I'm not up on mr. Ruffin like I gathered that I should be. But having gotten through the record twice now, I'm definately on the hunt. "Walk Away From Love" is beautiful and the man has a great knack for performing convincingly. Super.
Perhaps the inspiration for mr. K. West's affinity for mascot outfits, this 1978 Odyssey album, HOLLYWOOD PARTY TONIGHT dons a lion mascot - headless, and the lovely Lopez sisters in formal where. It is, I guess, your standard soul/disco fare. Super dope though. I hadn't heard any Odyssey prior to this, but again, something else that I'm checking for. One of the nicer releases from trios that I picked up this weekend. As dope as it is though, it pales in comparison to the following:
Love Unlimited's IN HEAT came out in the wonderful year of 1974. I was not even a twinkle in my parents' eyes while Barry White was killing mainstream America with his solo career and releasing more potent, soulful material via his femmebot threesome, Love Unlimited. Oh, how they've influenced hip hop in the last 20 years. Nas, Q-Tip, Pras & Mya (yes, THAT one), Masta Ace, Cappadonna, OC, Guru and EPMD have all used L.U.'s sound for some of their bigger hits. IN HEAT, my newest L.U. acquisition is also my favorite. For me to highlight a particular cut would be almost criminal - like a parent naming a favorite child, or my girlfriend picking her favorite Asian dish. So I'll just list the tracklisting and you can make your own pick(s):
1. Move Me No Mountain
2. Share A Little Love In Your Heart
3. Oh I Should Say, It's Such A Beautiful Day
4. I Needed Love - You Were There
5. I Belong To You
6. I Love You So, Never Gonna Let You Go
7. Love's Theme

Seriously, 5 stars. Per song. That's like 35 stars. And two more fore each fingernail longer than 2 inches on the album's cover. So that's like 65 total stars which, by my math, kids, makes it a classic.

Back In The Swing Of Things

So since we last caught up, I've moved apartments, have acquired my Brother's collection, spent the 4th of July digging at two of my favorite spots in the bay area, and acquired a LARGE portion of DJ Derrick B's collection (thank you, brother). I also bought some cool magnetic clips that i can hang my records from on the fridge for their photo shoots... oh, and I have sleeved 1,500 of my soul records for protection. On to the records...

THE ISAAC HAYES MOVEMENT. Isaac Hayes. I've seen it in stores every visit for the last 10+ years. Buying it at 50% off when it's tag reads "$2.95" was the way to do it. Man, it sounded good on mp3, but listening to the album the whole way through? Wahwahweewah. His cover of Harrison's "Something" makes you wonder if Harrison had a good idea but just couldn't come close to pulling it off. I'm convinced that this is how Harrison intended the song to sound. If not.... he should have. Hayes has an obvious mystique about him. Lord of soul, conducter of funk epics, etcetera. But when you wash all that away, the music really stands up. Seriously... check this out. He makes bad good and good better. And as far as my collection is concerned, this is the best peice in it. Perhaps that will change as I own more, but my expectation is that this will remain the crown jewel atop my Isaac Hayes Crown.

MIDNIGHT LOVE AFFAIR. Carol Douglas. First off, kudos to Adam of Lost Role Models for doing the right thing and handing this over to me while we dug on Independence Day. I let you get away with the Jaggerz and appreciate you letting me walk with this. Title track? Bananas. "Headline News"? Super ill type break. And A2 has a drum break that is just bonkers. I grew up despising only two music fields: disco, and the musical works of Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson. Around the age of 18, the epiphany train struck me dead and I managed to see Prince's catalog for the brilliance that it is. It hasn't been until recent years that I've managed to find my way through the weeds that are "YMCA", "I Will Survive" and "Shake Shake Shake" that I've found the flowers of Carol Douglas, and innumerous disco greats. I guess the fact that I'm still discovering much of the genre's works bodes well for me. Hooray for still having plenty to learn.

TOO HOT TO HANDLE. Heatwave. So about that cheesy, weedy disco... "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave has never been among my favorites. Its grown on me a tad in recent years and mixes well with Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" which I believe it may have even inspired. Both songs were written by the legendary Mr. Rod Temperton. He wrote ALL of TOO HOT... and a flurry of hits for MJ in the years to follow.

When I found (doubles of) TOO HOT TO HANDLE in Derrick B's old crates, I was thrilled. Why, you ask? Could it be because it has the full version of "Always And Forever" with the shrieking falsetto finale? It probably could. But it honestly wasn't. It was because of a little ditty called "Ain't No Half Steppin'" which went on to inspire another song a decade later called... you guessed it: "Ain't No Half Steppin'" by Big Daddy Kane. Small world, ain't it? Now you can impress your friends when you play six degrees and want to hop from MJ to "Boogie Nights" in one move. Liner notes are a man's best friend.