soul
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New game. I’m posting youtube videos (for the audio) and you guys tell me what hip hop tunes have sampled them. Or, just turn the speakers up and listen to some back-of-the-crate rare grooves. Continue reading
You’ve probably listened to Roy Ayers, even if you don’t realize it. After James Brown and maybe a few others, he’s probably among the most-sampled musicians of all time. 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets and just about every single house producer who ever came long have all used Roy Ayers samples.
You should know who Roy Ayers is.
So who is he? Well Ayers is hugely famous for being one of the greatest-ever players of the vibraphone (which is not the same as a xylophone). According to his biography, he grew up in what is now South Central Los Angeles and got his first pair of vibraphone mallets at the age of five…. as a gift from Lionel Fucking Hampton. Basically, Ayers was born to play music. It was his destiny.
So he started off in jazz and then the 70s came around so he mixed soul music, funk and disco into his sound. The rest is history. Since then he’s played alongside Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti, The Roots, Erykah Badu and probably dozens of electronic dance music producers. He’s ubiquitous and there could be no modern neo-soul music without him. And while he’s still hugely popular around the world and he’s still touring quite a bit, here in his own country I feel like we’ve forgotten about him a little bit. (We have a nasty habit of doing that.)
So here are 10 Roy Ayers songs to enjoy…
“Running Away” (Live)
Roy’s most famous song, this is jazz music that you can let loose to. It’s such fun, fast, alive music. Plus I love the guitar solo at the end, and Roy’s energy on stage is perfect. One of the YouTube commenters said it best: “This is where Jamiroquai got their sound.”
“Searching”
“Everybody Loves the Sunshine”
Underground California soul music with lovely synthesizers and great vocals. A perfect beach song… for people who like to eat a box full of pills before going to the beach.
“Can’t You See Me?”
“Love Will Bring Us Back Together”
A brilliant slab of disco funk with a squiggly little keyboard riff. I love one YouTube commenter’s take on this song: “i know, i know, i’m an old head, but gather round you younguns and let me tell you about a time when THIS kind of music played at house parties…. picture it, 1979 when i was 18, no guns, no gang violence, girls (most of the time) acted like ladies, cars were made of steel, songs spoke of love, (not bangin’ that thang), and people knew how to communicate…now put down that damn x-box, listen to this & learn something….know-it-all-whipper-snappa !”
“Change Up The Groove”
“Battle of the Vibes” (Live)
Here’s a 1988 concert where Roy and his percussionist do a little battle on the vibraphone. This is magic. Makes me wish I paid attention when they had us banging on glockenspiels in the fifth grade. Also, if you ever get invited over to Roy’s House for an impromptu jam session (hey, it could happen), remember to bring a towel. Don’t be sweatin’ on the man’s vibes!
“2000 Blacks Got To Be Free”
In 1980 Roy teamed up with Fela Kuti to give us this little slice of amazing funk. The horns are all Fela’s style but the spoken-word vocals are all Roy.
“Aragon”
This one was on the soundtrack to “Coffy,” with Pam Grier. So basically it can’t get much cooler than this.
“Get On Up, Get On Down”
If you’re like me, there are just some days when you have to throw up your hands and shout, “THAT’S IT, AMERICA. I AM FUCKING DONE WITH YOU.” It’s a tempting emotion.
Here’s my solution: In times like this, I like to remember some of the mind-explodingly awesome shit that America produces. I defy anyone to ride around the streets of any American city in an old Cadillac while blasting these tunes and not feel pretty goddamn good about the U.S.A. Look, I love other countries. I love the French. They make delicious foods with goose livers, and they gave us Zinedine Zidane. But there’s just something special about the soul, funk and R&B music that came out of Memphis, Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis and other depressing/awesome places in the 60s and 70s.
Here are some vintage tunes from my secret stash. I tried to pick stuff that’s a bit more obscure, since by now everyone has heard the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind and Fire. Take a listen.
And OLDY with that great Memphis beat. Every band ever should be forced at gunpoint to have a brass section. Also, the “horse” dance looks a lot like some of the Soul Train Line dances you saw in the 70s. Ahead of their time!
This song appeared in a slightly different version (without the handclaps, I think) on Herbie’s 1976 album “Secrets,” which is fucking amazing by the way. This song spends what feels like half an hour building upward in intensity before breaking into a disco-y, robotic space music with a talk box. Herbie is my hero.
“Don’t Take My Kindness for Weakness” by The Soul Children. The singing on this cut is just so great and full of soul. I love soul songs that come with that edge.
Fuck the cowbell. Hammond organ. Needs more Hammond B3 organ. Also, this song has one of those 70s bass lines that sounds like it wants to stab a baby dolphin in the eye.
“A Possibility Back Home” by Wanda Robinson. Another vicious cut with some nice jazz flute and great Afro-centric poetry spoken over top. You can tell Erykah Badu was down for this joint.
Albert King is really known for being a blues virtuoso but he made a great foray into funk. Also, the relationship between a blues musician and his instrument is fascinating so I love this stomping little love song for his guitar.
Baby Huey, a singer from St. Louis, died after releasing only one album but it was a really great album that is well-remembered by the old school cats. I don’t know what it is about this jam, but his voice just cuts through me like a knife.
The Dramatics were a huge name in the 60s and 70s but for some reason they haven’t stayed on the radar like some other bands have (Earth, Wind and Fire; Kool and the Gang, etc.). This song was used at the very beginning of “Wattstax,” the great concert film.
Some young hippity-hopper named Doctor Dre (or something) sampled this jam from Leon Haywood. When the tempo picks up at the 1:00 mark, and then mellows out again 30 seconds later, you know you’re in for a ride. If Beethoven lived in Memphis in 1972, this is probably the music he would make.