Breakbeat Tuesday – Love City

So I typed out most of the content from today’s update only to have my application freeze up on me. D’oh. Not feeling it, son. Anyway, I was just saying that I’m gonna try and make sure this site doesn’t veer too far into “Cosmo’s Appreciation for Oldies Website” too much. I mean, that’s where my head is at these days but still, next week I’ll bring it back down to eye level by posting some Philly rap music. Nothing like Tuff Crew to get one ready for WMC (actually, Miami was one of Tuff Crew’s biggest markets outside of Philly, so it might be apropos.)

Happy 67th birthday Sly Stone! Actually it was yesterday but I didn’t get a chance to post up so I figured that today would be a good opportunity to kill 2 birds with 1 Stone, get it? Okay so if you don’t know who this guy is, welcome to Planet Earth. Like in last weeks post about those “elite artists,” if that group were a class Sly would be the genius / class clown. Plus, honestly for the funk is there anyone that’s more influential than this guy other that maybe James? From both a musical and probably a social standpoint, probably not. Plus there really wasn’t anybody that embodied “cool” like this dude. I have fond memories of being a really young kid and my mom playing “Dance to The Music” on the radio while us kids were in the back bopping our heads and moving our bodies like we were in The Muppet Show. But Sly was – is – an incredible artist and visionary. I’ve been planning on doing a Sly related project for a long time now and just never have gotten around to it but I hope to revisit the ideas I have for it real soon. And so today’s first breakbeat from today’s selection comes from a strange, maybe bootleg, record that I’ve had for years comprised of early recordings of him which I think are pre-Family Stone, but still fully up in the San Francisco scene. At first glance you might want to pass this one up but it has some great tunes on it and gives a nice glimpse into Sly’s gospel and soul background. The song with the beat is called “Rock Dirge” (um, okay…) but this record also has “Life Of Fortune And Fame” on it that was used by The Roots for the song “Game Theory” (YOU VIOLATING, SON! Nah, but for real that’s one of my favorite Roots songs of all time. PS – Congrats, Riq!)

Sly Stone “Rock Dirge” (Sculpture, 196?)

Moving on to some later material, I was trying to figure out what song to choose for today. For some reason, even there’s a lot to choose from, ones that might be more “open” I had to choose “Love City” from their 1968 album “Life.” For the record, I consider Sly & The Family Stone’s drummer Greg Errico to be one of the greatest drummers of all time, and he’s so often overlooked that it’s a shame. Dude is NASTY, and I think this song is a great example of how “pocket” dude can be. But the beat is BANANAS. Also, as an aside, the way that Paul C flipped the drums on this (and I still don’t know to this day how he made it sound the way he did) for Super Lover Cee & Cassanova Rud’s “Get’s No Deeper” Remix is both a testament to Greg’s drumming, and Paul’s absolute genius.

Sly & The Family Stone “Love City” (Epic, 1968)

Check them performing “Love City” as their encore at Woodstock. HARD BODY doesn’t even describe it. Man this performance is nuts. This is one of the few performances that really makes me say that I wish I could have seen Woodstock.

One last bonus beat. This is from a reissue 45 that came out a few years ago, a great cover version of Family Affair by The Generation Gap. All I know about the original LP is that they were a studio group that released a record with a bunch of cover songs as well as doing soul / funk versions of popular TV theme songs from the 70s. Worth checking for, but this 45 is great as the Cracker Boys extended the break in the front out, backed with a great edit of the Dee Felice Trio’s cover of James Brown’s “There Was A Time.”

The Generation Gap “There Was A Time (A Cracker Edit)” (Octopus Breaks, 2006)

Before I’m finished here, I can’t leave without posting this video of really early Sly & The Family Stone. In it they’re performing at the Ohio State talent show which must be like 1967 or 1968 (when M’Lady was released as a single.) But from the look of it, and being the fact that they’re performing in a talent show, I would guess this is before the blew up to become the biggest band in America. But you can see all the ill routines that they did over the years, and just bodying the contest. Very ill..

Do The Knowledge – Gil Scott-Heron

There’s a certain group of “elite artists,” meaning those that I would consider have a place firmly in the upper echelon of music, that have graced the American sound scape over the past several decades. For the most part these artists are household names, having gained immense fortune and fame, as well as in their very own small way helped sculpt the American psyche through their art and pop culture. And each one of those artists has their place and is fully worthy but over the years there’s one name that I consider to be at the top of the top, who stands alongside the giants but doesn’t get recognized as much as I think he should. That name, and that man, is Gil Scott-Heron.

This may be dating myself, but I first learned about Gil back in about 89 or 90. I was this young kid that would spend time hanging out in West Philly at the house on Osage Avenue where Espo, Ray and the rest of the Groovy Monster dudes lived at. I was like this stray cat that would just come around, showing up out of the blue on your porch, and I WILL read your books, drink your alcohol, listen to your records, and just soak up everything that I was experiencing around me. Those guys were such great dudes and that was a really wonderful time. But Espo knew where I was at when it came to music and basically sat me down one night and forced me to listen to “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” Now this is where it was at. Everything that I was looking for in one song, the funky rhythms laid down by Pretty Purdy and Ron Carter that this young brother who came up listening to hip-hop immediately was in tune with. And of course being an older record it pulled at my sense of romanticism that that kids in my circle were about, a certain “jazziness” of the early 90s rap era in Philadelphia. But, not even mentioning the lyical content of the song, it was that ATTITUDE that struck me the most. Needless to say I devoured any record that I could get my hands on from that point on. Pre-internet days, you made due with what you could find.

Gil Scott-Heron was the secret soundtrack to my teenage years. I fondly remember one night going to see him perform at the old Chestnut Cabaret on 38th Street in Philly. Well, maybe we didn’t actually “see” him in reality. Espo and I had a method (probably because we were broke, and I was a baby) where we would stand by the side of the venue right outside the stage door, and we could hear everything that was going on inside because you were probably closer to the stage than a lot of people in the venue! I “saw” a lot shows that way, standing outside, drinking a 40 and soaking up the music. I finally did get a chance to see him perform at The Arts Bank in 1994 in support of his criminally underrated “Spirits” album. It was getting close to show time and I was standing outside smoking when this cab screeched to a hald right on Broad Street and out stepped Gil. He walked right up to me. He was 50 feet tall. Wearing a denim outfit, cowboy hat and boots. A giant. I whispered “Gil” and he walked right by me as he responded “Say, brother…” and into the side entrance he went.

There’s not much that I can say in words that describes my affinity to this man, this artist. He might be the godfather of rap that people call him but I don’t know if I see him that way. He might be the eternal poet-laureate of New York? The most unabashedly conscious musician of all time? And yes, Gil is a giant but it may also be his humanity that makes the most powerful of all. This man’s been speaking, singing directly to me, for the majority of my life.

He’s got a new album out and it’s really good. People might say “Oh man where’s the claves and the Rhodes and I wanna hear that OLD Gil.” I don’t fall in that camp. I expect to see great artists evolve over time, and as if the things he was doing on “Free Will” were the same things he was doing on “1980.” Plus, all in all it’s just good to see the brother around. Say, Gil… It’s good to see you back on the scene. Why don’t you stick around for a while. I think we may need you now more than ever.

Here’s an interview with Gil that my homeboy Andy Gensler did recently. It’s really good. Also, you should buy Gil Scott-Heron’s “I’m New Here“ because that’s just what you should do. No other reason. Just do it. Finally, here is some music. Cause that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day, right? Gil Scott-Heron: A selection…

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson “It’s Your World” (Arista, 1976)

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson “Willing” (Arista, 1980)

Gil Scott-Heron “A Legend In His Own Mind” (Arista, 1980)

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson “Angola, Louisiana” (Arista, 1980)

Gil Scott-Heron “Did You Hear What They Said?” (Flying Dutchman, 1972)