EXCLUSIVE OFFERINGS FROM NUMERO

Has it really only been 4 1/2 years since Numero landed on the scene with its Capsoul release, the first in the label's canon? Numero has been leading the field in reissues of a multitude of genres - pop, soul, funky gospel, folk - and now they have a special offer with some treats that are unavailable anywhere else than through a special sale on their website

The special releases are:

A limited edition 7" of a funk 45 by Cleveland's Ant Mob if you buy 3 select titles

A copy of the Eccentric Soul Revue show from this past April's show in Chicago (plus the aforementioned 7") if you buy 6 select titles. According to my source at the label, it will have its own packaging and not be just a CD-R. No word at this point of a potential release number to coincide with the rest of its catalog.

A special test pressing, hand-numbered and personalized, from their archives (plus the 7" and live show) if you buy 10 select titles.

This is great if you have some holes to fill in with your Numero collection. If you have been keeping up like a good Numerophile, though, this can be disconcerting as this sale is the only way to get any of these exclusives.

Either way, I can't imagine these special releases to be anything but essential if you love the label, especially if you have seen/heard the Revue in person or through the trailer.

LIVE MUSIC... DIRECT TO YOUR COMPUTER

There have been 2 interesting stories in the news the past couple of weeks regarding live music and how you can consume it:

1. Billboard Live: Billboard, the industry leading magazine/company, will feature various concerts with multiple camera angles and in HD quality on their Live website.

2. Live Nation and Apple have teamed up to bring live content from Live Nation's many venues directly to Apple's iTunes. Live Nation has wired nearly 80 of its venues to record concerts, both video and audio. These shows will then be offered exclusively to iTunes for purchase. Some are already available for purchase including from artists such as Duffy and Ziggy Marley. More shows are soon to come.

HOLY HAVANA!

Los Caneyes: Suspirando por el Chikichaka
From Si Para Usted Vol 2: The Funky Beats Of Revolutionary Cuba (Waxing Deep, 2009)

Cuba has such a rich and proud cultural diversity. As shown on the latest installment of Si Para Usted, there are such varied styles of music. It was interesting to read the liner notes and learning about how the music industry was run by the state. Record sales meant virtually nothing, and there was no rhyme or reason as to music distribution around the country.

Some bands are more well-documented than others. Los Caneyes, a band of which little is known, displays an uncanny ability to mix it up in “Suspirando por el Chikichaka.” What starts out as a nice polyrhythm and a fuzzy guitar coming in and out of the mix stirred in with building horns turns into a bed for a smooth-voiced singer and those two elements fall out completely before being brought back in about 20 seconds later and then dropping out again. It's an exercise in building up tension and then releasing it. Before you know it, that fuzz guitar is back midway through the song and leads into a repetitive chant by the rest of the band exclaming, “Chikichaka!” Meanwhile, the rhythm section is just going to town. And who is that guy on bongos/congas?

Orquesta Cubaan de Musica Moderna turns in a rousing cover of Ides of March's “Vehicle,” flipping it on its head with a Latin arrangement. The vocals are replaced by an organist who is playing like his life depends on it (and who knows, it may have?), and again, we are treated to a nice fuzz guitar solo. At the end, the organist returns, and if you were to start it right at this part, it almost sounds like an episode of Church For Shut-Ins before a hi-hat chimes in and the horn section bops you over the head and exits out of the jam. This is one of the few times that we get to hear a song with American ties; typically, the government repressed such a recording.

Juan Pablo Torres' has a quasi-disco, quasi-jazz record called “Y Aparecio el Trombon” that sounds in part like “Think Twice” by Donald Byrd in the first 45 seconds. The song, believe it or not, appeared on a record that was intended for aerobics classes. If that's what they played at my local YMCA during classes, I'd be tempted to sign up.

For a country that held such tight control of its music industry, the government also gave their musicians a surprising bit of latitude, although it had the final say of what was recorded and released. This compilation is an excellent starting point for the world to catch up on what was going on in Cuba in the '70s. The revolution may not have been televised, but it was certainly captured on wax for the rest of us to listen in.

BATTLE STUDIES: MAKING IT THROUGH LOVE LOST SCARRED BUT BETTER OFF BECAUSE OF IT

John Mayer: Perfectly Lonely
From Battle Studies, (Columbia, 2009)

The first thing to know about this album is that it's not “Continuum Pt. 2.” That album, one of the finest albums of the '00s, was critically praised and won numerous awards in its marriage of pop and blues and crafty songwriting.

“Battle Studies,” which you can still listen to in full at Rhapsody, is more pop than its predecessor. Pop over the last ten to fifteen years has become a bit of a dirty word to music connoisseurs. It's part Fleetwood Mac, especially in the Taylor Swift-assisted “Half Of My Heart,” a song in which Mayer has openly admitted he was looking for the Stevie Nicks to his Tom Petty, in part a reference to his “Free Fallin'” cover from last year's “Where The Light Is” CD/DVD. It's part blues on the Robert Johnson-cum-Eric Clapton cover of “Crossroads” that features a blistering guitar jones, more akin to the Clapton version than the '30s version that Johnson laid down. The album also has shades of '70s rock in “Perfectly Lonely.”

From the stripped sounds of “Who Says”, there's an inherent maturity that continues in his work. The lyrics, while upon first listen may feel a bit immature – especially with the stoned reference, offer a deep but simplistic view into the mind of a man still trying to find himself and where he fits in. The music behind it fits perfectly with an almost folk, or at the very least a lite rock, offering. That mood is continued on the sparse, but effective, iTunes-only bonus track, a cover of Bruce Springsteen's “I'm On Fire.”

Upon first listen I thought it was a step backwards artistically until I realized that my expectations of what it should be versus what it is were ruining the experience. Throughout there are nuances of understated musicianship where less is more and buried deeper in the mix is better than in your face. The album shows that you don't always have to follow the same route to get where you're going. Instead, taking a detour can be a way to meet new friends and find new experiences to write about. You'll still get to your destination, but a change in scenery can make the trip far more enjoyable.

GREAT DEAL ON DIGITAL DAPTONE GOLD RIGHT NOW

UPDATE: This sale is on through Monday, November 23.

Before it makes its official physical debut, Amazon.com has the upcoming Daptone Gold compilation out for an astounding $2.99 NOW, which includes an exclusive bonus track to boot. While I'm not sure how long this special will be going on, at this low price you have no reason to not hop on board.

Check it out. A review is forthcoming here at Record Racks!

SUMMER MAY BE GONE BUT MRAZ BRINGS THE SUNSHINE OUT ANYWAY

Jason Mraz: Sunshine Song
From Beautiful Mess: Live On Earth (Atlantic, 2009)

I've had the pleasure to see Mr. A to the Z in concert three times over the last 6 years. One time was perhaps the worst concert I've ever attended, not so much because he wasn't capable of entertaining but more so because of the material of his mostly forgettable sophomore album that he was supporting. Fortunately, his most recent release “Beautiful Mess” passes over that material and focuses mostly on his latest studio album, “We Sing We Dance We Steal Things.”

Of course “I'm Yours,” which recently set a record for the longest run on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in history, makes its way onto the set. Longtime collaborator Toca Rivera gets the crowd revved up with a small scat before Mraz comes in crooning with his underappreciated vocal performance. He then extends the jam out past radio-length standards with a tongue roll before some ad libs and thanking the Chicago crowd.

It's a set of mostly non-singles, outside of “I'm Yours” and “Lucky,” which Colbie Caillat duets on, and his remix version of “The Remedy.” The latter features a Jamaican riddim backing with a horn section that really shines not only this song but throughout. It's a sound that fits him well, in part because of the Caribbean flavor he brings to many of his songs in live form.

The party continues with his cover of Lionel Richie's “All Night Long.” The musical performance outshines his vocal performance with its spot-on version of a street fiesta. It's still a respectable cover, but a bit more vocal grit would have put the song over the top. The aforementioned horns bring the house down with an outstanding showcase, but it's the understated percussion section that drive this one home.

“Sunshine Song,” a previously unreleased song, sounds like a lost John Denver song content-wise and has a touching tenderness in tone. As he sings about “getting high on heavenly breezes,” it's a bittersweet sermon on life for a half-glass empty person who meets his half-glass full mate and a bit of optimism ends the song as the rain clouds are driven away.

“Beautiful Mess” is the best of his live releases so far. It comes with an accompanying DVD, which I haven't yet gotten a chance to see, but the energy and care for his craft are evident even through the speakers. With Christmas just around the corner, it's a great addition to add to your own wish list or to give as a Secret Santa gift.

COME NOW AGAIN

Natural Yogurt Band: Chit Chat
From Away With Melancholy, (Now Again, 2009)

About eight years ago, if you saw a release for Stones Throw sister label Now Again, you could put your last dollar up in a bet that it was a soul or funk compilation. In the last two years, though, they have been delightfully mixing it up with a smorgasbord of musical treats.

On the North American 1,000-piece limited edition (in both vinyl and CD) repress of the Natural Yogurt Band's variety of part jazz, part funk, part psychedelic, and even part Gregorian chant, the sounds of a “genre” known as library music breathes with the drone of chants and a dose of breakbeat drums serving notice that it's a head nodder in “Chit Chat.” It will have you checking the card catalog for the band's other releases.

Top Drawer: Song Of A Sinner
From Forge Your Own Chains: Heavy Psychedelic Ballads And Dirges 1968-1974, (Now Again, 2009)

Continuing along the psychedelic front is Top Drawer's “Song Of A Sinner” that in its intro, and vocally even through the tracks' end, sounds very folkish. But then two minutes in, a guitar solo cuts in and through your soul and nearly bleeds you dry during its (three minute!) epic presence. It's not quite Eddie Hazel in “Maggot Brain” or Hendrix in “Voodoo Chile,” but it's not far off and is a total a face melter. It's torturous and wrenching throughout, and you feel as though YOU should go to confessional after hearing it. “Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned,” would be an appropriate watermark in the song.

IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS... OR DOES IT?

General Elektriks: Raid The Radio
From Good City For Dreamers (Quannum, 2009)

Categorization can be such a bitch. Some artists just don't fit any particular mold. Not that I'm complaining or that it's a bad thing, but for those who like some semblance of organization, I'll just call this one Alternative. Not alternative in the sense of Nirvana or Green Day, but alternative in the sense of it's not quite any one thing in particular. Your local FYE calls it Dance. The press release says he toys between hip hop and pop, and I guess that's true to some extent. True to the site's mission, though, good music is good music, and we're here to present it to you.

The video for the second single from the recently released “Good City For Dreamers” has some '80s synths that lay a nice bed for the verses to fall into. The hook is quite catchy in both its lyrics and melody but also with that whistle. The nod to The Meters “Handclapping Song” leading up to the hook is unmistakable, and the whole thing is tinged slightly with a funky feel.

The album is filled with the aforementioned synths and also with abounding moods. There's a creepy loneliness that permeates in “Cottons Of Inertia” that is aided by the quivering vocals and the teaming of the piano and strings. The only thing that is missing is the sound of creaky floorboards and a dripping faucet. “David Lynch Moments” sounds like a cross between “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics updated to the '00s and a clubby, industrial back rhythm.

On “You Don't Listen,” you can just picture GE playing an air-synth as he uses effects to freak it into a screaming rock guitar. Then there's the oddly-placed opening timpani (that work much better when incorporated later in the song as a complement) on “Helicopter” that also use synths that sound like guitars before letting the children take over with their ode to whirlybirds - “I fly like a helicopter.”

Like a helicopter, the album soars high and the songs are the blades that make you dizzy with joy while they keep spinning.

A GIFTED GAB GROWS HIS SOUND

Gift Of Gab: Dreamin (featuring Del and Brother Ali)
From Escape 2 Mars (Cornerstone RAS, 2009)

In his latest effort alluding to interstellar travel, Gift Of Gab brings his seasoned flow back to end the naughts. To keep it Cali, Gab enlists the help of DNAEBEATS as well as Del The Funky Homosapien, Brother Ali, and some of his Quannum cohorts.

From the bouncy “In Las Vegas” to the soulful “Dreamin” to the eclectic “Electric Waterfalls,” the album covers a lot of ground sonically. “Dreamin” has a nice muted trumpet behind layers of piano, strings, and handclap snares with a haunting vocal sample that then leads into live vocals to finish the hook, a trick you don't often hear pulled off, especially so successfully.

The latin percussion of “El Gifto Magnifico” brings added life to an already vivacious Gab. A club friendly hook keeps the party going on the track before yielding to a guitar-led and more subdued vocal approach on “Lightyears.”

Although the album falls flat in the middle, it rebounds nicely with his spitfire flow over a skitterish beat on “Rhyme Travel.” Clearly, as an MC his skills have not diminished. While it's hard to fault him for trying to grow his sound from past albums with Chief Xcel as the duo Blackalicious, it's the production as a whole that keeps “Escape 2 Mars” grounded on Earth.

Side Note: Over at his official site's store, you can also find the track “El Gifto Magnifico” free for download and can also sample through the rest of the album. The full intro can be heard in this web commercial promoting the album, where at the end you'll find another little gift.

OF TRUTH AND SOUL

Ghetto Brothers: The Ghetto Brothers Power
From The Ghetto Brothers Power/I Saw A Tear 7” (Truth And Soul, 2009)

Truth And Soul has put out its fair share of excellent releases already this year. A couple of them have paid homage to yesteryear's stars (Isaac Hayes and the Wu-Tang Clan) and others have been just as soulful in their own right such as the recent Lee Fields album, “My World.”

Sometimes, though, things come in smaller doses just to give you that quick fix. The Ghetto Brothers 45 shows 2 sides of the band – a tender, if somewhat uninspired ballad in “I Saw A Tear,” with the hook sounding a bit like Stevie's “I Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer” – and an uptempo, unabashed street party that was somehow written into wax grooves.

Right from the start, you get that early '70s guitar workout just before the bassist gets in on the act. Where the B-side relies too much on the technical ability to sing, the A-side uses a mean set of congas with the aforementioned bass riff to build a foundation upon which the singers can complement with an energetic performance that doesn't try to be more than what it is or needs.

Michael Leonhart And The Avramina 7: Gold Fever
From Scopolomine/Gold Fever 7” (Truth And Soul, 2009)

Michael Leonhart and the Avramina 7 have come together after various band members have been involved in numerous other projects in the soul and groove revival guild such as El Michels Affair, Antibalas, The Dap Kings, and the Phenomenal Handclap Band.

On this 45, the b-side features an afro-funk styled jam called “Gold Fever.” The only words are the hook in its chant of which I can't fully understand all the words outside of the title and “thousand eyes watching you.” During the rest of the song, they let their playing do the talking, and there's no mistaking what they're saying: Get off your ass and jam!

DISCO FUNK

Alice Russell: Living The Life Of A Dreamer (Mr. Scruff Remix)
From Pot Of Gold Remixes Vol. 1 (Six Degrees, 2009)

Recently I heard this tasty little gem by UK chanteuse Alice Russell, who has garnered all sorts of comparisons to other blue-eyed soulsters. The beat itself was constructed by her fellow British comrade Mr. Scruff and is featured on one of the remix suites to last year's Pot Of Gold album. The new remix suites are available now digitally or on December 15th in 2-CD physical format.

With its groove-heavy disco funk that replaces the original's jittery backbeat, Russell sings with an impassioned urgency. The track spins for a lengthy 8 minutes with long breaks that extend throughout in multiple spots. It's sure to find its way into your local club DJ's sets with a groove like this that is so hard to deny.

HE'S STILL A BAD MUTHA (JUST NOW IN REMASTERED CLARITY)

Isaac Hayes: Early Sunday Morning
From Shaft (Stax, 1971/2009)

Almost 30 years after it was originally released, the legendary Shaft soundtrack has been reissued in remastered form. It was a landmark album due to it being the first soul soundtrack to a major movie release while garnering major awards and accolades. More importantly, it was a remarkable musical accomplishment, in its breadth of styles.

Sure, nearly everyone knows the iconic title song. However, the rest of the album, most of which is instrumental, has mostly been forgotten, not because it's not memorable – but because the market for popular instrumental music has dried up throughout the years. It's a lost artform in this age of marketable catchy hooks and ringtone fodder.

One of the more laidback mood pieces on the album is “Early Sunday Morning.” With its breezy jazz-soul stylings, you're taken away from your troubles. Its underpinning strings lift it to celestial heights while the cool horns are the sunrise's aural backdrop.

On the flipside you have the more popped-collar funkiness in “Do Your Thing,” which was most likely inspired by fellow composer Tom McIntosh who consulted with Hayes on the movie when he told Isaac to “do your thing” and not worry about making varied stylings incorporate into the album. It has a fuzzed-out guitar that borders on psychedelic soul.

In addition to the original tracklisting, you also get a bonus 2009 mix of the title song. For the life of me, though, I can't quite hear much of a difference aside from the countoff in the intro. While this alone may not make it a must purchase for those who already own the soundtrack, the reissue reminds us of the mastermind that Hayes was in his compositional prowess.

Right on!