fick soul

flat pocket (twit one & lazy jones) - fick soul (mixtape)

the shady daze

this band emerged as part of the garage/psych-rock scene of '60s chicago. USA records were prolific at this time, and the subsidiary destination records was set up to focus on music in the local area. both labels, headed by jim golden, put out classic after classic of mid-western garage-rock.


the shady daze - i'll make you pay

latin ala lee!

this record features the great peggy lee singing to a latin-styled musical backing. some of the tracks are classics from the great american songbook and broadway shows but peggy makes them her own, and with the latin style there are made even more distinctive. the rhythms, arranged and conducted by jack marhsall, are authentically afro-cuban and rarely watered down.


peggy lee - heart (from 'damn yankees')

the different 'hey joe'

the track below is taken from the legendary 'time and place' by lee moses. lee moses is a kind of mystery figure in soul music relatively unknown to mainstream audiences. he was one of several artists (including the ohio players, hermon hitson, gloria barnes, bobby brown and freddie terrell) to work with johnny brantley (known as a mover and a shaker on the new york soul scene) during the late 60s and early 70s. 'time and place' is by no means just a soul record, however, with a strong presence of heavy funk/psych-guitar throughout the album. despite the bulk of lee moses' work being produced in new york or new jersey, he was originally from atlanta, explaining the roots of the gospel and bluesy aspect to his singing style. his voice has such a natural rawness, a wounded-like quality that pulls your heartstrings. 'hey joe' is certainly a gritty and passionate cover, somehow managing to successfully combine funk/psych/blues into this 6 minute jam.

lee moses - hey joe

ain't nothing gonna change me

currently loving this track from the all female soul quartet the sweet inspirations. members have included cissy houston (whitney houston's mother), dionne warwick, dee dee warwick, and doris troy, all of which have had successful solo careers despite the sweet inspirations being predominantly known as a backing group for 60s rhythm & blues artists. the original group was in high demand by producers, artists, and songwriters for their backing vocals, leading to contributions on records for wilson pickett, solomon burke, and aretha franklin to name but a few. much of their material was originally released on atlantic records with a strong gospel influence coming through their earlier work. their name originated when atlantic records producer jerry wexler turned to cissy and told her he had an inspiration, to which she replied, "oh, sweet!".


the sweet inspirations - ain't nothing gonna change me

come on back

brothers of soul were a trio consisting of fred bridges, richard knight, and bobby eaton. hailing from detroit, their music was characterised by motown-esque harmonies and a rich, funky beat. below you can find one of their gems from what was a short and often overlooked career.


brothers of soul - come on back

today

jefferson airplane were one of the prolific californian psychedelic-rock bands of the 1960's. the acclaimed 'surrealistic pillow' was a defining album to emerge out of the 1960's counterculture movement, fusing folk rock with psychedelia. the 'beat' culture was typified by interest in eastern religion and spirituality, experimentation with drugs, and the rejection of mainstream culture.


listen...



download...

jefferson airplane - today [mediafire]

bobby darin

bobby darin, a grammy award-winning singer and one of america's most popular big band performers, has one of those instantly recognisable voices in music. darin was unfortunately subject to severe health problems throughout his life. it is likely this is responsible for giving him such a strong drive to succeed within the limited lifetime he feared remained. he had a string of hits in the late 50's and early 60's, many of which he composed himself. his renditions of other songs were also executed to the highest quality; it is claimed even frank sinatra called darin's version of the classic 'mack the knife' the definitive version. his music has an almost nostalgic feel when listened to now, and i think to some degree it's a shame popular music of today doesn't draw more of an influence from that era. his music is always satisfying to hear and is the perfect blend of swing jazz and pop.

bobby darin - beyond the sea [mediafire]

bobby darin - beyond the sea [yousendit]