The long overdue posts covering 2019 continue here with the top 5 45s* I dug up last year, LPs coming tomorrow…Peace and Bright Moments y’all
First off, technically this isn’t a “45” as it plays at 33 1/3 rpms, but it’s a 7″ and this post is really about the tiny records and I’m no purist. Got this at the very first day of Hector Waluyo’s new store in Long Beach Twelves. There’s a bit of an irony picking up a 7″ at a place called Twelves, but I had never seen or heard of Phase III before seeing it at Hector’s store, and this EP, described as a “A 33 RPM Long Play Mini Album” (as there are 5 total songs on the disc) was too nice to pass up. Because I know so little about the record, I’m actually not even sure if it should be listed under “Phase III” as I’ve done or under “Richard Ryder & The Eight Wonder,” but either way, the sounds are dope, especially on this title cut and definitely some of the best I dug up last year. You’ll hear more from this in the near future, guaranteed.
Ofo The Black Company – Allah Wakbarr
Picked this one up at the Mr. Bongo X Rappcats pop-up at the tail end of the year. It’s rare for me to get my hands on clean vinyl out of Africa, and so when a psych funk monster like this from Nigeria’s Ofo The Black Company comes my way, best believe I’m copping it. The Bongo Boys ran into a grip of dead stoke copies so there were more than a few there and not even too too expensive. From the first wash of distorted guitar you know you’re in for something special and then once the chanting starts (which is basically just the muslim call to prayer of “God Is Great”) the vibe just gets pushed up and up until things get taken way up over 11 when the full beat hits in total break your neck ferocity. Soooooooooooooooooo heavy.
The Masterplan – Only You Can Touch This Heart Of Mine
This one actually came to me via my Soul Brother from another Mother Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com. Oliver was putting some things up for sale and this immediately caught my attention from the distinctive label to the brief preview O-Dub gave. In those glorious pre-lockdown days, Oliver actually came over to my place to seal the deal and to listen to a whole bunch of music neither of us had heard from each other’s collection. Hadn’t heard of The Masterplan, but Fos-Glo is a Cali label, likely featuring all Bay Area artists, and a Soul Boulder like this is always goona remind me of Matthew Africa and the good times in his company, so of course I had to add it to my collection.
Copped this at one of Joel from Tropicalia In Furs pop-ups at Rappcats. I’ve long championed the Brazilian novela soundtrack game as being an exceptional place to find gems. I’ve only recently been noticing how many of these soundtracks are also issued on 7″ (again, this one is a bit of a cheat since the record is actually not at 45), which would include this Trilha Sonora Da Peça Xandu Quaresma from I believe 1984. “Tema De Lampiao” just has such a fantastic vibe to it, but as far as I can tell, this is the only place you can find it. So, as I’ve said many times before, don’t sleep on the novela soundtracks y’all! Especially when they are a bit smaller than the usual LPs.
The Royal Five – Gonna Keep Lovin’ You
Without a doubt, the best thing I picked up in 2019, even if this press might be a little warped, and it’s a late 70s bootleg and not an OG. When I heard Egon play this at one of his pop-ups at Rappcats, time literally stopped. The song was so good, I couldn’t even move. I figured that someone would have grabbed it right then and there, but perhaps the others passed because it was a bootie and not an original press. But the OG is a $300+ record IF you can even find a copy and this one was only $30. While I have a lot of Sweet Soul/Funk tunes that I truly adore, the sound of this one is just so special that it might be an all-time favorite, despite not hearing until roughly a year ago. As I mentioned to some friends online at the time, “this thing is so sweet, I’d buy a totally busted copy that was left out in the Sun all day and still love every second of it…” Not a single thing has changed since then in terms of how I feel about this record. Absolutely, one of my all-time favorite 45s.