In 1994, after a lengthy and fine career, Aretha Franklin was on the decline. Robert Clivillés and David Cole however were at their prime. At the time, dance was hot, soul was not. With hindsight, it seems only logical that the latter would be hired to come to the aid of the former.
Surprisingly, it wasn't a new song that Aretha was to sing, but a cover version of a Clivilles & Cole song that had already had its share of success in 1991, "A Deeper Love". The dance crowd knew it well already, but Aretha's fans probably had no idea that this was an old track being given a second lease of life.
Although the C&C mixes of the two recordings of A Deeper Love are well known (pretty much legendary even) I didn't realise at the time that there was also a CD-single of Morales mixes released after the main ones. Even after having discovering them on the Finest Def Mix blog, I wasn't immediately bowled over.
A year on, it finally dawned on me that the lesser known Morales mixes are at least as worthy of praise as the C&C mixes. It can't be easy trying to breathe new life into the second recording of a track that has already been definitively remixed every which way.
I found a copy of the CD-single on the web, and decided to make my own long version by fusing three mixes together. At the time, I didn't realise exactly how long it would be - over 22 minutes!
I really extended the bonus beats at the beginning (there's isn't even a kick until two minutes in) and there's no trace of Aretha until the four-minute mark. I like the idea of the track starting off like some sort of unidentifiable ambient monster. The main Morales mix was already pretty long, and although the dub that I've added to the end of the vocal mix doesn't have a lot of new things to say, hopefully my extension doesn't get dull. Either way, I think my transitions between mixes are pretty elegant. Check it out for yourself.
Once again, these mixes are utterly unavailable as legal downloads, so I don't feel too bad making my take on the track available.
You can download my 22-minute version of Aretha Franklin's "A Deeper Love" (Deftramental/Bad Yard Club/Bad Yard Dub Fist fusion) (42MB) by clicking the download button on the player above.
There have probably been endless jokes about the prescience of this track's title, coming from a man who ended up being neither black nor white. By the time it came out, Jackson was way past his best, and the message of racial tolerance had nothing new about it, and the track wasn't scared to bludgeon you over the head with it.
Although his fame was waning, the track did well, spawing some C&C remixes that I didn't take any notice of at the time. Only recently did I relisten to them and find that they were actually a lot more palatable (for me) than the original.
Bizarrely, the CD-single is now a little difficult to get hold of (at a decent price at least), but I found one on eBay and as soon it came through, I started on making my own version. In the process I was amazed to find a least six digital clicks on the Underground Club mix, inexcusable for a release by someone this famous. I checked my CD rip against a file found on the web, and both have the same clicks at the same places. It would seem that no-one listened to the track closely enough to hear them. Luckily, with today's technology, I was able to fix everything.
So my mix takes the Tribal Beats (which aren't tribal at all), the Clivillés & Cole House / Club Mix) and the Underground Club Mix, puts them all together, removes the cheesy rap and a bit of redundant repetition, and ends up being a 14-minute rollercoaster of classic C&C-style house (meaning that it's almost cheesy but actually so well programmed and constructed that "it don't matter", as MJ says). The crossover from one mix to another took a bit of tweaking, but I think it flows pretty smoothly.
Have a listen...
You can download my 14-minute version of
Black or White by That Dead Bloke
by clicking the download button on the player above.
Hope you enjoy it.
By the way, if you still miss Michael, perhaps you could buy this cat toy from Etsy.com? It's made with organic catnip and as your cat relentlessly licks MJ's much-operated nose and moonwalks round the room, it will undoubtedly bring back happy memories of dancing to Thriller in your bedroom.
Here's another find from my recent eBay spendarama, and another CD that wasn't on Discogs (now rectified, here). I first heard about these mixes from The Soul Vendor blog, which had lots of interesting stuff on it before dying off last October with no explanation. Perhaps they've moved on to somewhere I don't know about.
Anyway, I came acros the CD promo on eBay for a reasonable price and snapped it up. Not only are there are few very reasonable Freddy Bastone remixes on there, but also two exceptional early Danny Tenaglia mixes. It would seem that they are very hard to find on CD, so I was really pleased! Have a listen...
I have a natural wariness for white boys doing reggae, even if it's reggae mixed as house (and that goes for white girls too), but I have to say that this song is insanely catchy, and I'm really pleased to be able to share it with everyone.
Of course, it isn't available as a legal download anywhere, so you can grab your copy of the promo CD in 256kbps AAC (66MB) here. Enjoy!
I've had a bit of eBay spree recently. It means taking time to trawl through things (many of which are deeply disinteresting), but there are still some finds to be had, like this one: a promo CD with Steve 'Silk' Hurley mixes of a song by The Pointer Sisters.
I had a hard time believing it was real to start off with. It wasn't on Discogs. It hadn't been posted anywhere on the web that I could find. A genuine find perhaps? You'd have thought that by now every single CD ever made would be available somewhere on the web, but that's not true. There are still quite a few things that are genuinely difficult to get your hands on.
As a diligent music lover (and sharer, for the better good of mankind), I decided to create an entry for it on Discogs, which turned out to be not as difficult as I had thought, even if you do need to concentrate. You can consult it here.
So what's the story behind this release? Well, in 1990 The Pointer Sisters' massive 80s hits were behind them, and they had become more or less old news. Signed to Motown, "Right Rhythm" the album from which Insanity is taken seems to have been their last. Getting Steve 'Silk' Hurley to remix the track was undoubtedly a good idea, but it couldn't save the song from disappearing into oblivion. Nonetheless, his versions were pretty damn good, perhaps even very good! Have a listen to the club mix. Pretty catchy, and surprisingly fresh, considering that it's twenty years old. Insanity indeed...
As it's rare, I thought you might like to download a copy of the CD. I've left off the album and single versions and just left the Hurley remixes, all in 256kbps AAC (indistinguishable from CD quality). You can get them here (41MB).
The Pointer Sisters are still going by the way. They look mightily facelifted and/or photoshopped on their official site, which is fair enough: Bonnie Pointer is 60 now, Anita Pointer is 62 and Ruth Pointer is 64. Good for them.
Sometimes, the links between music and films are completely mystifying. I've never seen The Specialist, but from what I've found on YouTube, I haven't missed anything. This poorly scripted/acted/filmed piece of nonsense seems to have been aimed at teenage boys who like explosions and the promise of seeing Sharon Stone in a nightie. The trailer is truly to be cringed at.
James Wood hamming it up even more than Sylvester Stallone? Incredible.
Strangely though, the film had a John Barry score that wasn't terrible (even if it sounded very much like James Bond) and someone had the odd but inspired idea to bring out, er, a CD of dance remixes linked to the film. Very odd indeed, but with surprising results: David Morales, E-Smoove, Ralphi Rosario... and Johnny Vicious. Not the most subtle of remixes, but a good line-up to be sure.
I was a big fan of Johnny Vicious' remixes of the time, but strangely his mix of Miami Sound Machine left me slightly cold, and I soon forgot it. Over the years however it's aged surprisingly well, with a certain blunt charm - congas and rave stabs - that I'm now quite pleased to listen to again. Funny how some tracks age well like that.
It was only when trawling through Discogs that I realised that the CD-single had a different mix of his from the album. Both are along the same lines, but with interesting differences, and the Original mix is not as easy to find as the Alternative mix that was on the CD album. So here it is! Press play to liste or click the download button to keep a copy.
Needless to say, neither is now available as a legal download (although you can still get the Barry score if you want).
Fancy seeing some more of the film? This scene brings cliché to a whole new level...
Pride 'n Politix were one of many bands of the time that looked like they had potential but were very quickly to sink without a trace. With the requisite number of white/not white band members, some reasonable singer/songwriter talent and a knack for aping the soul/acid jazz sound that was big at the time, they seemed poised for success in the 'States, but actually just released one single, one album and then broke up.
So what went wrong?
1. Uninspiring band name. What did "politix" have to do with their brand of slightly limp R&B? Was it something to do with the attention that apartheid was getting at the time? And "pride"? Presumable not gay pride. In any case, it was a terrible, terrible, awful name.
2. Image. OK, it was nearly twenty years ago, but Robin Smith - the guy on the right - looks like he's more likely to ask you to serve afternoon tea and dismiss the nanny than deliver a decent song.
3. The lyrics. Good grief. House/garage almost always has ridiculous lyrics, but Hold On was particularly nonsense. It's about love - obviously - and "the chains that bind us", with singer Nick Romillie telling his girl "Your touch is warm and exciting" ... "I want you so much / I can feel your spirit move me", which is probably the most convoluted euphemism for getting an erection I've ever heard in a song. Actually, the line "We've got to hold on to my love" could also be misinterpreted by someone with a filthy mind. Like me.
4. Brilliant club mixes... that sounded nothing like the album. Whoever got Morales to work on this track was a visionary. It's one of his earlier solo efforts, and there's a bit of dodgy editing and mixing in there, but you can tell he's destined for great things, with subtle live percussion and a great feel. Unfortunately, anyone digging the single was going to be disappointed by the album, which was very much more sedate, sultry, syrupy, sloppy (etc.)
Anyway, I had completely forgotten about the track, and it was only whilst going through my old vinyl that I was inspired to look on eBay to see if it was available on CD. To my surprise, I found a promo CD in Turkey (!) with the extended Morales mix that was on the CD-single, as well as the Bonus mix that was never released digitally (rare!). So I snapped it up, and did my own fusion of the two mixes, making an 11-minute track whose length feels completely natural. It's one of the edits that I'm the most proud of, especially as it required quite a lot of work. Have a listen...
Even with its bonkers bad lyrics, you have to admit the track is rather catchy, devilishly catchy in fact. Now that I've put the extended almost Red Zone-style dub section into the middle, it's pretty palatable stuff. Result!
And where are they now? Well, Nick Romillie is still in the business, having quite a bit of success having reinvented himself as broken beat singer Colonel Red. And Robin Smith's website humbly says that he is "one of the most versatile and successful musicians in the world", which even if it were true would be hugely pretentious as an introduction. No doubt he would rather forget the crash 'n burn of Pride 'n Politix now that he's doing string arrangements for Enrique Iglesias. In fact he's so versatile and successful that he hasn't had time to update his site in the last five years, poor thing. Success is a cruel mistress indeed.
You can download my edit of
Pride 'n' Politix - Hold On
(Extended / Bonus mix Fist fusion)
(11'28" - 26MB)
by clicking the download button on the player above. Enjoy!
P.S. Do you think the label EastWest has the track available for legal download? Or the album? Once again, no. Pfff.
1989! This track is over 20 years old, which - I suppose - is like living in the era of the Beach Boys and listening to the Charleston. Whatever.
Wop Bop Torledo were Maryanne Morgan and Gary Stoner and they didn't last very long (a couple of singles and one failure of an album apparently). However, the mixes of Jungle Fever were from Morales & Knuckles, back in the day when they did all their mixes together. With John Poppo et Peter "Ski" Schwartz helping out, it's one of their lesser known classics, so props to the visionary (but cursed) project manager who shelled out his budget for the mixes.
The lyrics are absolute nonsense, and there's a rubbish sultry rap part way through, but for such an early production it's got a hell of a lot of class, and still sound fresh today. A big shout out to the Finest Def Mix blog (now a little dormant) for bringing it to my attention.
As the vocal version was a little short (just over 5 minutes) and a dub followed, I obviously couldn't resist putting them together to make a 12-minute mash-up. Can't say it was very difficult, but I like the result. The track has a great ambience to it, replete with jungle animal noises! Have a listen below, and click the download button if you want to keep it.
And where are Maryanne Morgan and Gary Stoner today? Well, Morgan seems to be doing occasional backing vocals and has written a few songs for, er, Liberty X and Stoner may or may not be an actor now, recently seen playing "Haggis" in Emmerdale Farm. Oh dear. Update: it's not him. Lord knows where he is now.
And needless to say, none of their catalogue (none of the singles, not even the album) is available for legal download. Thanks to Virgin Records. Again.
