Maynard Ferguson - Primal Scream

Maynard Ferguson's Primal Scream is the work of a bad M.F.

Maynard Ferguson - Primal Scream
Columbia, 1976

I'll buy anything that has Bob James name on it, and that's how I ended up with this record. I have to say that I feel as if I will never run out of Bob James records to buy. He easily could have been the hardest working musician of the 70s. The only person I can think of that holds a candle to Bob James is Ron Carter. These two men were on every album made in the 70s.

Bob James produced this album. It has that great 70s Bob James feel, and it features the cast of musical characters you would expect to see on an album produced by Bob James.

Eric Gale, Ralph MacDonald, Gary King, Steve Gadd. Chick Corea makes an appearance on a track titled "Cheshire Cat".

A notable track is "Pagliacci" which Ferguson performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.


When I bought this album, my good friend Dale Hamlin was in town for a visit. He pointed out this pretty funny section on the back of the album jacket.

 Now, I believe what is going on here is that Ferguson used his own initials to signify that the instruments were from his own design. However, hilarity ensued when Dale read the section as, "Maynard Ferguson plays a Mutha' Fuckin' Horn Trumpet..." Funny. As. Hell.

I hope there was a bit of intentional double entendre written into the way that was worded.

If you need some music to keep you going, may I suggest my Mixcloud mix, "Big Love" - a mixture of funk, soul, Latin jazz, Brazilian, and a little bit of deep house thrown in for good measure.

Gabor Szabo - Bacchanal

I grabbed Gabor Szabo's Bacchanal because of a Bobby Womack interview.

Gabor Szabo - Bacchanal
Skye, 1968

I've been on a Gabor Szabo kick lately. If I hear him, I really tune in. If I see one of his records, I buy it. It's all because I found out that he did the original recording of "Breezin'" - the song made famous by George Benson.

I learned this in an interview with Bobby Womack (in that same interview Bobby Womack said he wrote "Breezin'", which I didn't know. He also said that he wrote lyrics to the song).

That was enough to make me pay attention to Szabo. Bacchanal is one of three albums he released on the Skye label - which he started with Cal Tjader and Gary McFarland.



The album featured two new songs written by Szabo, and the rest of the songs were covers of pop tunes of the day. The stand out track for me is his version of Donovan's "Three King Fishers". He also covers Donovan's "Sunshine Superman". There are also songs from Burt Bacharach, Lee Hazelwood and others.

Be sure to check out my mix, "Big Love", on Mixcloud.

The Marvelettes - Sophisticated Soul

So I finally got my hands on a copy of the Marvelettes' Sophisticated Soul album.

The Marvelettes - Sophisticated Soul
Tamla, 1968

For years I have wanted this album because I am in love with the song, "You're the One For Me Bobby" (Not to be confused with the song "You're the One" which was also on this album and released as single). It was always just outside my reach.

I never ran across it in record stores. I could never find a copy of it online except for copies overseas. Those overseas copies would run $30, $40, sometimes as much as $60. Which I might have paid but when you add international shipping, it wasn't worth it. There never seemed to be copies for sale in the United States.

I once met a guy who ran a record stand at a flea market in Macon, Georgia. He swore up and down he had a copy of it in a storage unit. I told him I wanted it. He said it would be more than his usual $5. I told him I would pay the $30 he was asking for it. Each week I went back, he never had it. That was as close as I ever got.


This album didn't have a hit on it. Plus, Gladys Horton had left the group (though her voice does appear on the album as a backing vocal on "You're the One"), and Anne Bogan had stepped in to replace her. Even though there was production and writing by Smokey Robinson and Ashford and Simpson, and instuments played by the Funk Brothers, the album didn't produce a big hit. Not to mention Sophisticated Soul came towards the end of the Marvelettes run. This all adds up to there just weren't as many copies of this one as there were some other Marvelettes albums.

The album was such an afterthought of the #Motown catalog that it never made it to CD or mp3. So, I was just screwed. No "You're the One For Me Bobby" for me.

Then one day last week I look up the album - as I would do for time to time - and there are copies everywhere! All over the United States. Just about all of them were $10 and under. It's like a warehouse was found with dead stock cases or something.

So now, I own two copies. And I will probably buy a third one to trade!

Now next on my list of records to get is Kiosk's "Mona Call" (Good luck with that one, right?)

Follow more of my record collecting stories on Instagram.

The Harlem Globetrotters and STOMP Make Sweet Music Together

When I was little, my mom would always take me to see the Harlem Globetrotters whenever they came to town. I am talking about the days of Curly Neal, Sweet Lou Dunbar, and Meadowlark Lemon.

It was an incredible spectacle. They did things with a basket ball that was just mesmerizing for me as a kid. The dribbling, the far out shots, the crazy passes, the pranks. It was almost too much for a kid like me to handle.

And then there was the music. The Globetrotters would run out on the floor and do their warm up to "Sweet Georgia Brown". I was in heaven. Here they were passing the ball back and forth in ways that would make your mouth just hang open, the whole while to the beat of this song with a crazy whistle to it.

That song was lodged in my head as a kid (still is). Whenever I heard it, I thought about the Harlem Globetrotters (still do). The marketer in me can't

help but acknowledge what an effective piece of branding that was. I remember going to see them one time, and my mom bought me a 7" record of the song from the souvenir stand. I played it constantly, the whole while trying to recreate the moves I had seen them doing. I could never get it right, but I had fun trying.

Now there is a whole new generation of Globetrotters, and a whole new generation of fans. And the magic is still there. I catch them on TV every now and then and they are still just as fun to watch as it was when I was just a kid.

And then I ran across this video of the Globetrobbers with the percussion performers from STOMP, it was such a spot on win. It falls right in line with what I think of musically when I think of the Harlem Globetrotters. And the video is a one shot take. Big bucket of win for whoever came up with this idea. Enjoy!

Whiz Kid - He's Got The Beat (12" Single)

Whiz Kid - He's Got the Beat (12" Single)
Tommy Boy, 1985

I'm going to be honest with you. I have never played this. I don't know the song. 

However, I love this cover. It is the epitome of what I loved fashion-wise in the '80s. It is so old school!

The tracksuit - stylin'. That belt buckle - I loved mine when I was a kid, and would wear one today in a heartbeat. Stylin'. The fat laces with the design - stylin'. The gold chains - stylin'. The green, blue, and white color scheme - fresh to death. ON YOUR KID??!! Come on! Super Stylin'!

Read the rest of this entry at RogerRiddle.com: http://rogerriddle.com/2015/08/whiz-kid-hes-got-the-beat-12-single/

You can also read more of my ramblings about my record collection over at my Instagram account: @occupyyouripod

Lootpack - Weededed Remix (12" Single)

Lootpack -Lootpack-Weededed-Stones-Throw-Madlib Weededed Remix b/w Loopdigga
Feat. Rasco, Oh No, and Medaphoar
Record Label: Stones Throw, 2000

My introduction to Madlib came through Lootpack's "Weededed". I was instantly in love and it led me on an incredible wild ride trying to find all the music that I could that was connected in any sort of way. So began my love of Stones Throw.

This song is so much fun to play when I am DJing. The bassline does it for me. Madlib's production is showing the early signs of greatness that we will grow to love. Wildchild is straight spitting. Is it too soon to consider this one a hip hop classic?

Read the rest of this article at RogerRiddle.com: http://rogerriddle.com/2015/08/lootpack-weededed-12-single/

Read the Instagram entry at: @OccupyYourIpod

Record Collecting: Hank Crawford - Wildflower

Hank Crawford - Wildflower
Kudu, 1973
Produced by Creed Taylor
Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder
Arranged and Conducted by Bob James
Features Bob Cranshaw, Idris Muhammad, Joe Beck, and Ralph MacDonald.

I learned early on in my record collecting to buy anything with Creed Taylor's signature on it. I was thinking today about the magnitude of the role Taylor played in music. I wonder if there is a book on him. I wish Gilles Peterson would do a show dedicated to his music.

This album is some straight up cool 70s shit. It makes you want to start saying stuff like, "What's happening, slick?" and "My man! Everything is copacetic." You gotta walk with some rhythm when music like this is playing.

It opens with an instrumental cover of "Corazon", my favorite Carole King song. (Continuing my habit of reviewing other albums inside of the reviews I am writing: Carole King's album, Fantasy, is incredible and often overlooked. It features Harvey Mason and Tom Scott.) The album keeps getting better from there. The B-side starts with a 9 minute + cover of Stevie Wonder's "You've Got It Bad Girl". Totally worth picking up if you run across it.

Record Collecting: Donald Byrd - Step High

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Donald Byrd - Step High
UpFront, 1976 (?)
Producer unknown

Features Bunky Green, Winton Kelly, Johnny Coles, Duke Pearson, Waler Perkins, and Bob Cranshaw

Not a whole lot of information on this album. I was confused by the fact that most of the info I could find said the album was released in 1976 but it sounded like Hard Bop era Byrd. What gives? By '76 he had already released Black Byrd, Street Lady, Stepping Into Tomorrow, and Places and Spaces, which all had his trademarked funky fusion sound. How did this album exist during that time sounding like something he would have done from the early 60s?

Well from what I could gather when Vee-Jay records filed for bankruptcy in 1966 they began licensing the rights to some of their masters. Springboard International bought some and released this material under a subsidiary label, UpFront. Think about it. Byrd had released four hit albums with this new sound he created. Black Byrd is Blue Note's biggest selling album of all time. Springboard International had some masters that featured Donald Byrd - probably hired as a side man for the session (the last song on the album is a piano solo. Byrd doesn't even play.) - so they slap his name on it and release an album during his peak. I bet many of the people who bought this were disappointed. But I like it. I happen to like both the bop and the fusion Donald Byrd.

Record Collecting: Gil Scott-Heron - Real Eyes

Gil Scott-Heron - Real Eyes
Arista, 1980
Produced by Gil Scott-Heron and Malcom Cecil

Went crate digging recently and this was the first record I ran across. I have never seen a copy of this one before, so while I wasn't happy that the first record I wanted had a $20 price tag, I didn't let that stop me.

I have been looking for this album for years now because of two songs. "The Klan", which was sampled by Little Brother for their track, "Make Me Hot", which was given a great re-edit by Yam-Who?, and "Your Daddy Loves You (For Gia Louise)". He re-recorded "Your Daddy Loves You..." as a live track, and then that live track was re-mixed by DJ Asparagus and Wipe The Needle. I've been playing that re-edit and the remix in mixes for years, but I had never heard the originals until I got this album home.

It was so worth the wait. I am blown away by how subtle, yet beautiful, the playing is on "Your Daddy Loves You...". "The Klan" was everything I expected it to be. The rest of the album is sold Gil Scott-Heron.

Record Collecting: Elton John - Friends

Elton John - Friends (Original Soundtrack)
Paramount Records, 1971
Produced by Gus Dudgeon

Technically this could be considered Sir Elton John's 4th album though a lot of times you won't find it on a discography list because it is a soundtrack. This album was released between Tumbleweed Connection, 1970, and Madman Across the Water, 1971 (That's if you aren't counting his live album 17-11-70, which was released in 1971 and before Madman.) So, if you think about it, this project came along before Elton John and Bernie Taupin became full blown superstars. 

There is nothing super exciting about the songs here. The title track was a minor hit reaching #34 on the Pop Chart. Personally, I really like "Can I Put You On" but as Elton John songs go, there are many better songs in his discography. There is not a thing wrong with any of the tracks on this album. It's just that you are comparing little known songs written to go along with a movie - that turned out to be a flop - to the well known rest of the career of a bona-fide superstar.

However, it is an interesting look at Elton John before the fame was fully realized. Also, this one can be found for pretty cheap. As you can see I paid $5 for mine. And on top of everything else you get some great album art to display!

Record Collecting: Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur - Southern Winds
Warner Brothers, 1978
Produced and arranged by Christopher Bond
Features Les Dudek on slide guitar

I was first introduced to Maria Muldaur's music through my Instagram buddy @minglewoodblues. She posted a picture of Geoff and Maria Muldaur's album Sweet Potatoes. Since my favorite dessert happens to be sweet potato pie, and I was getting ready to bake my first sweet potato pie of the season, I decided to listen to it. After telling @minglewoodblues that I really enjoyed it, she suggested I take a listen to this Maria Muldaur solo album.

She mentioned a track titled "I'll Keep My Light In My Window". I recognized the song from Quantic and Alice Russell's album, Look Around The Corner.I thought that Muldaur's version might be the original version of the song, however when I got my hands on this copy of the album I noticed the song writing credits went to Leonard Caston and Terri McFadden, names I recognized from Motown.Turns out the original was done by the little known Motown duo, Caston & Majors. Now my hunt continues to find that version.

But back to Maria Muldaur. Along with the Caston & Majors song, she covers a few songs by Leon Russell, and JJ Cale's "Cajun Moon". Her singing is strong, yet sultry, and still leaves room for a touch of playfulness. Her backing band is solid. This one is a treat that you can pick up at a cheap price.