I found this on one of my dad’s Stax compilations when I was about 16 and it blew my mind. To think there was a whole world of Soul music beyond Motown was an exhilarating discovery for me.
It remains probably my favourite soul track not named Move On Up.
/RjK
*Artist #786
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*Artist #783
I stumbled across this track by 70’s icon Patti Smith while listening to Lou Reed all day yesterday. I had somehow forgotten how great it is. It was written with Bruce Springsteen (I didn’t know this) and is taken from the 1978 album Easter.
Patti Smith:
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R.I.P. Lou Reed…
While this is a little bit of a cliched track to post, it remains my favourite of his. It is taken from his classic 1972 album Transformer, which was his second solo album after quitting the seminal Velvet Underground in 1970.
Lou Reed:
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I came across this track by Nigerian artist Opotopo, who also seems to go by Easy Kabaka Brown, a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it’s fresh, upbeat sound and the mix of African and Latin influences.
Opotopo:
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*Artist #755
I was talking about growing up in the 90’s recently and Take That came up and I mentioned how inferior I thought their cover of the Bee Gees classic How Deep Is Your Love was. I mean, it’s tough to match a band as gloriously talented as the brothers Gibb.
However, I think The Reverend Al Green just about manages it here. He dials up the smoothness to a level that I find rather hard to resist. The original version is okay but I probably prefer their more up tempo tunes.
Al Green:
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I heard the classic track Town Called Malice played in a bar last night. It has perhaps one of my all time favourite song openings.
This made me think that I had posted criminally few tracks by The Jam, who were one of the best British bands of the 70’s. This is taken from 1979’s Setting Sons. Also, how amazing is this video! The amazing Paul Weller (a big hero of mine) looks almost unbelievably young.
The Jam:
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I heard this track on the radio earlier in the week. I know Elton is rather naff but it’s so damn catchy I couldn’t get it out of my head…
70’s Elton:
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I first discovered the late, great Donny Hathaway (great voice, sad story) when I heard his great cover of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy (which I posted a couple of years ago). This is taken from the same album, Live, which was released in 1972.
This makes for a nice, smooth start to the week, which is always welcome.
Donny Hathaway:
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