Melting Pot - Uncovering Bright Moments Across the Musical Spectrum -

May 23, 2010 Radio

Breakdown: May 23rd on KPFK

Yesterday I returned to the KPFK airwaves for my second tryout to potentially host the shift that used to be occupied by Derek Rath’s Cosmic Barrio (Sundays from 4-6pm). Lots of brand new music, including something new from The Black Keys, Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Quantic, Grupo Fantasma, Little Brother and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble plus classic tracks from Sly & the Family Stone, Dr. John and some obscured but amazing music from the Ivory Coast and 1960s “revolutionary” France.

Speaking of amazing and obscured, I featured almost a whole side of a brilliant new mix that uses the Numero groups Eccentric Soul Series (and other releases from the Numero catalog) for samples called “Eccentric Breaks & Beats” look for post on this soon here on Melting Pot.

Audio of the show is below, split into two hours. I’m really hopeful that I’ll find out whether or not I’m going to get the show this week and I’ll definitely let you know if I do.

Playlist: KPFK 5-23-2010

{Opening Theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)

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Sly & the Family Stone – Remember Who You Are – Back On The Right Track (Warner Bros.)

Quadron – Jeans – Quadron (Plug Research)

Ana Tijoux – Problema De 2 – 1977 (Nacional)

Quantic – Dub Y Guaguanco – Dog With A Rope (Tru Thoughts)

Irakere – Sea Mall – Cuba Libre (Far Out)

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Grupo Fantasma – La Conozco – El Existential (National Geographic)

Polar Bear – Want To Believe Everything – Peepers (Leaf)

Flying Lotus – Zodiac Shit – Cosmogramma (Warp)

Murs & 9^th Wonder – Fornever – Fornever (SMC)

Orgone – The Big Escape – Time Tonight 12” (Ubiquity)

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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Say No To Love – 7” (Slumberland)

Dum Dum Girls – Lines Her Eyes – I Will Be (Sub Pop)

New York Dolls – Puss’n’Boots – Too Much Too Soon (Mercury)

Francois Lougah – Pecoussa – Cote D’Ivoire: West African Crossroads (Syllart)

Myron & E with the Soul Investigators – It’s A Shame – 7” (Timmion)

Deep City Band – Masterpiece – Eccentric Soul: The Outskirts of Deep City (Numero)

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Shoes – Eccentric Breaks & Beats Side 1 – Eccentric Breaks & Beats (Numero)

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The Black Keys – To Go Getter – Brothers (Nonesuch)

Dr. John – I Walk On Gilded Splinters – Gris Gris (Atco)

Splinters – Motorcycle – Kick (Double Negative)

Ame Son – Eclosion – The BYG Deal (Finders Keepers)

Little Brother feat. Torae – 24 – Left Back (Hall Of Justus/Traffic Ent.)

Miles Davis – Jabali – Complete On The Corner (Sony Legacy)

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Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Spottie – Heritage EP (Choice Cuts)

Fela Kuti – Colonial Mentality – Opposite Peoplee / Sorrow Tears & Blood (MCA)

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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar (Kemado)

May 20, 2010 Dig Deep

Dig Deep: Rotary Connection – Aladdin – Cadet Concept (1968)

Rotary Connection – Life Could
Rotary Connection – V.I.P.
Rotary Connection – Paper Castle

Still locked in grading mode at the end of the semester, but definitely wanted to share this one. There are so many reasons to dig on Rotary Connection. They featured some truly unique psychedelic sounds along with massive arrangements and production from the genius of Charles Stepney and finally the otherworldly vocals of Minnie Ripperton. I’d always felt like Rotary Connection put out better songs than full length records until I tracked down this concept record, their second release, from 1968. Though the album has a couple of tracks that seem to fit the title, it works better as a critique of mainstream culture in the 1960s.

RotaryFaces — Doesn't the dude on the far right sorta look like Ol' Dirty Bastard?

The best example and best song is “Life Could,” a track I could listen to on repeat all day long. In a nutshell it represents everything that was amazing (or overblown depending on your perspective) about this group, gigantic punchy horns, hard charging drums (and a classic and clean break 3/4 through), bright fuzzy guitars and well matched duet vocals. When the song really gets started it threatens to knock you over with all the elements. Lyrically, the sentiment right now is something that fits me to a T, almost like an anthem (though I’m still not sure I’m hearing the final line of the chorus clearly).

Wake up in the morning
Work 5 days a week
Never had much money or fame
The way it’s gonna be

Just a common person
Do you know my name?
Never be important in life
Always be the same (the same 2x)

{Chorus}
But I don’t need your pity (pity)
And I don’t want your money (money)
Because I’m oh so happy (yeah)
I’ll never have much money or fame
Guess i’ll always be the same
Life’s too short to let it slip by
Never stayin’ low, always flyin’ high

That sentiment continues throughout on “V.I.P.” which considers the dreams “little” people have and on “Let Them Talk” which champions staying true to yourself regardless how others see you and closes with “Paper Castle” which is certainly a critique of 60s America, but works surprisingly well for the 21st century too. Musically what’s especially interesting to me about that last track is how the tempo appears to build and build, when it actually doesn’t, it’s because of the changes in the guitarists playing, from longer sustains to very short and increasingly manic notes as the song moves towards resolution, that produce a tension that makes it seem like the song is going faster than it actually is.

I know most feel like “Hey Love” is the best Rotary Connection record (though really that one is basically Minnie Ripperton’s second solo record) or that the debut had the most impact (especially for Hip-Hop with “Memory Band”) but to my ears this one is the best realized and most consistently original of all their records and the one I continue to enjoy the most.

Cheers,

Michael

May 18, 2010 Ephemera

In Heavy Rotation: Irakere – Cuba Libre – Far Out

Irakere – Sea Mall

Far Out has just now issued this very hard to find record from Cuba’s legendary Irakere. This set was originally recorded and released in 1980 out in Japan. Featuring the original line-up including acknowledged masters Chucho Valdes and Arturo Sandoval, and a really nice sound. I don’t normally pick up on jazz/funk records from this period of time, but this is a really solid set. I especially love this track, “Sea Mall” with the real subtle and funky changes in rhythm about mid way through.

May 16, 2010 Dig Deep

Dig Deep: Machito – Machito Goes Memphis – RCA (1968)

Machito – Hold On I’m Comin’
Machito – Green Onions
Machito – Soul American

Been focused on grading at the end of the semester and haven’t had much time to devote to the blog, but thought I’d knock a quick post out at the end of the week. I’ve never been big on “covers” records that focus more on renditions of “the hits” instead of original material, but when I ran into this record at Groove Merchant I couldn’t resist. Machito is one of the founding fathers of Latin jazz and mambo music. This record finds him updating his sound in mostly predictable ways, but in a few cases the results are latin soul perfection, especially the (mostly) spanish version of Sam & Dave’s “Hold On I’m Comin’.”

Cheers,

Michael

May 13, 2010 Ephemera

Pound For Pound: Exile On Main St. vs. Raw Power vs. Teenage Head

This one is connected to a post for KCRW I’ll be putting the finishing touches on next week..Each of these records represent the pinnacle of early 1970s Rock’n’Roll and all of them have gotten the reissue treatment recently. Most record critics regard Exile On Main St. (1972) as the Rolling Stones greatest album, many critics regard Raw Power (1973) as the best pre-cursor of punk and underground classic Teenage Head (1971) is a record so good that Mick Jagger himself supposedly admitted that it was better than the Stones’ own Sticky Fingers, also released in 1971.

But is it better than Exile On Main St.? What about Raw Power? Tough decision if you ask me, Teenage Head is the most consistently enjoyable listen, Exile On Main St. finds the Stones at the height of their considerable powers and Raw Power is truly a raw and powerful elemental force of a record with perhaps the best song in “Search & Destory.” So, the question is, of these three exceptional records, pound for pound, which one is the best? Let me know what you think…

Just in case you need some remindin’…

The Flamin’ Groovies – Teenage Head

Rolling Stones – Rocks Off

Iggy & the Stooges – Search & Destroy

May 10, 2010 Ephemera

In Heavy Rotation: V/A – African Pearls: West African Crossroads – Syllart

Francois Lougah – Pecoussa

Nothing beats hearing music from a part of the world you’d never heard it before and from a collection you haven’t heard yet. French label Syllart has been putting out this series, African Pearls, since 2006, and I’ve been doing some heavy duty sleeping on it. This particular volume features two CDs worth of work from the Ivory Coast, which, aside from Alpha Blondy, I hadn’t ever really paid much attention to. From this it sounds like the 60s and 70s were most definitely swingin’ in Abidjan and else where in this west African nation. This track from Francois Lougah is literally just a taste (though maybe the best of the bunch) from a top-flite collection. Highly necessary!

May 7, 2010 Ephemera

Under Review: Polar Bear – Peepers – Leaf

Polar Bear – Peepers
Polar Bear – All Here

I’m in the middle of grading in the last two weeks of the semester, so this one is more brief that perhaps the record deserves. This record has been out for the better part of two months, but I only just received it a week ago. Polar Bear is a UK collective of musicians, which I think represents the best in truly “modern” jazz, though it’s very easy to hesitate calling them a jazz band at all. They don’t have a single sound, sometimes they are funky (as on “Happy For You,” “Bap Bap Bap,” and the title track), sometimes a bit dissonant (“Drunken Pharoah”), sometimes wholly dissonant (“Scream” which I wish was a bit longer than just 30 seconds), but always interesting.

Though they are from the UK, drummer and leader Sebastian Rochford clearly has a little bit of New Orleans in him, with his very expressive style in drumming and always with a healthy amount of soul. That is definitely on display in the title track “Peepers” which begins with a drum pattern that has “Honky Tonk Women,” written all over it, before launching into a mid-tempo vamp with some nice sputtering horn work and some interesting tempo changes.

However, it’s the closer “All Here” that is truly a revelation for me. The slower tempo should bring a sense of melancholy, but it doesn’t, at least not for my ears. Perhaps it’s in the bright and airy notes from the saxophone solos, but it feels more like coming home after a long day to the one you love and all the warmth and comfort that you share. Just a marvelous experience to close out a thoroughly enjoyable record. Here’s to hoping that the gents in Polar Bear make their way out to the States at some point in the near future.

May 5, 2010 Dig Deep

Dig Deep: 45 Edition, Vol. 2…in Tribute to Records L.A.

I’ve mentioned a couple times here how much I appreciate the most recent addition to Los Angeles area diggin’ scene, the aptly titled, Records LA. Since I haven’t done a 45 edition of Dig Deep in a while, it made good sense to feature a few 7”’s I’ve picked up at the store. While there are loads of quality LPs in many genres (that Cactus record was a recent pick-up), it’s the 45s that really set this store above the rest (that and the seemingly regular Saturday BBQ, Beer, Blunts and Breaks extravaganzas that go on here).

Scott, the owner of Records LA, used to be a DJ in the Detroit area and he knows his records. But thankfully his store is not designed solely for deep pocketed collectors, it’s really for everyman DJs, who love a choice funky side. Not all of the 45s will be in tip-top condition, but even some of the very rare ones will be at affordable prices. I’ve picked up several 45s that I know generally go for $75-100 or more for $10, $15 or far less. You’ll find many classics for incredibly reasonable prices, I’ve already mentioned finally tracking down “A Lover Was Born,” I also picked up a decent copy of “Different Strokes” from Syl Johnson for just $2. So, here are a couple of things I’ve dug up there in this special all 45 edition of Dig Deep.

Billy Love - Getcho Mind Right - Funk Night Records

From a conversation with Scott, this is basically the first project put out by his former mates in Detroit. Nice crisp retro-funk style with a nice heavy break at the start and what appear to be mostly improvised lyrics that still ring righteous and true. The flipside is a nice instrumental by Will Sessions, currently the mastermind behind Detroit’s legendary Funk Night. Very limited press on this, highly recommended you getcho copy sooner as opposed to later.

As best I can gather, Bennie Sharp was a musician out of St. Louis, with strong connections to Chicago, as evidenced by Oliver Sain producing this single, and perhaps Syl Johnson co-writing it. This track has a nice clean break at the top (on both sides, which explains the $10 price tag, still way more affordable than other places I’d get it at), and a Sly Stone meets Funkadelic kind of groove to it. Part I & Part 2 are almost identical, Part 1 has a different vocal approach, but much of the same feel as represented in the flipside above.

Here we have a track with a definite Syl Johnson connection. The Deacons were his backing band for a time, even featuring his brother Jimmy. This is more or less a Syl-less version of Johnson’s “Come On And Sock It To Me,” the A-side features a wild atmosphere and vocals from the Sequins, the B-side which is here is the instrumental proper with tasty organ and some soul claps which I can’t resist, especially not for $2.

Bobby Powell was a singer out of Baton Rouge, mostly obscured, but he does have a CD collection of music he recorded from 1966-1971 on the Whit and Jewel record labels. I originally picked this up (also for just $2, though not in the greatest condition) because of the cover of Sly Stone’s “Into My Own Thing,” but actually am much more fond of this side with it’s mid tempo groove and some pretty macktastic lyrics.

Cheers,

Michael

May 3, 2010 Ephemera

In Heavy Rotation: The Strange Boys – Be Brave – In The Red

The Strange Boys – Laugh At Sex, Not Her

This record’s been out for a long minute, but I’ve only recently become addicted to the off-kilter garage sounds of this Austin, Texas group. Actually, the sound of the group is quite polished, it’s Ryan Sambol who gives the group an odd sound, all because of his vocals. It’s hard to describe the appeal of them, he sounds like a cross between Bob Dylan and Pat from Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s, but appealing they are. That’s especially so in this track as Sambol considers some deep thoughts while his friends are having sex in next room, including this gem, “I smile and think, sex is like laughter, you do it differently with different people and sometimes you feel sick after.”

May 2, 2010 Radio

Breakdown: May 2nd on KPFK

Today I was on the KPFK airwaves from 4-6pm, filling in during the slot that used to house Cosmic Barrio. It’s possible this could become my regular shift, but we’ll see how things go from here. For long-time listeners, you’ll recognize some favorites, but quite a few new releases in the mix as well, new music from Orgone, Holly Golightly, UK Jazz-funk collective Polar Bear, Chilean MC Ana Tijoux, M.I.A. and many more.

If you’re in Chicago Friday, May 7th, there’s a special tribute show for Phil Cohran that will feature his sons in Hypnotic Brass Ensemble performing at the DuSable Museum of African American History. More info at the website.

Audio for the show is below, split into hour 1 & 2. The quality is not super, this is from my backup recorder from Itunes, so it sounds a bit like being on AM radio, also for some reason my mic is super hot (as in too loud) so occasionally there is a little distorion, but overall very fine time indeed. Let me know what you thought of the show here or on facebook and as soon as I know more about the potential for moving to KPFK, I’ll let you know here.

Playlist: KPFK 5-2-2010

{Opening Theme} Booker T. & The MG’s – Melting Pot – Melting Pot

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Rotary Connection – Life Could – Aladdin
Quantic Soul Orchestra feat. Noelle Scaggs – Lead Us To The End – Tropidelico
Breakestra feat. Chali 2na and DJ Dusk – Posed To Be – Dusk Til Dawn
Dungen – Sol Och Regn – Stadsvandringar

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Orgone – Time Tonight – 12”
Tunji Oyelana & the Benders – Iwo Ko La Dami – Nigeria Special Volume 2
Ana Tijoux – 1977 – 1977
Flying Lotus – Galaxy In Janaki – Cosmogramma
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Ballicki Bone – Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

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M.I.A. – Born Free – Single
Gonjasufi – Kowboyz & Indians – A Sufi & A Killer
Cumbia En Moog – Cumbia De Sal – The Afro-Sound of Colombia
DJ Lengua – Cumbia Squares – DJ Lengua 12”
Los Bullets – Viva Tirado – Single

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Bob & Earl – Harlem Shuffle – 7”
The Hawk feat. Little Hannah Collins – Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover – 7”
Polar Bear – Peepers – Peepers
The Like – Release me – Release Me
Fabienne Del Sol – Le Roi Des Fourmis – Between You And Me
Erlon Chaves – Funky Street – Pra Nao Dizer Que Nao Falei de Sucessos

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Control – Por Las Viejas Calles – Absolute Belter
Willie West & the High Society Brothers – The Devil Gives Me Everything (Except What I Need) – 7”
Sharon Jones – Give It Back – I Learned The Hard Way
Little Brother – The Revenge – Left Back
James Brown – The Payback – The Payback

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Holly Golightly – Forget It – Medicine County
Black Keys – Everywhere I Go – Thickfreakness
The Strange Boys – Between Us – Be Brave
Magic Sam – My Love Will Never Die – West Side Soul

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{Closing Theme} Canned Heat – Marie Laveau – Boogie With Canned Heat

April 30, 2010 Ephemera

What Does It All Mean?: The Minutemen – “Maybe Partying Will Help”

I’ve been listening a lot to Double Nickels On The Dime, one of my favorite records and in my opinion perhaps the best American punk album ever produced. D. Boon & Mike Watt were known for writing whimsical and esoteric lyrics, but this particular song has stuck in my mind lately. It’s so short that this is one of the few times where I can actually take a look at every single line of a song without writing a dissertation.

Musically, the song is mostly upbeat and funky, which makes the lyrical passages more arresting, beginning with this opener.

As I look over this beautiful land I can’t help but realize, that I am alone.

It would make sense to me that this was written on the road, given how much touring the Minutemen did. What’s interesting about the line is that with such a close relationship with his bandmates, particularly Mike Watt, that Boon still felt lonely, I’m guessing in his romantic life. It’s a definite truism that when you see a beautiful thing but can share it with someone you love, it only intensifies the loneliest that many times throughout your day you never really feel. It’s often in the best moments that actually miss someone.

Why am I able to waste my energy,
and all this life being so beautiful,
Maybe partying will help.

After the opening, there are a couple ways of looking at this. Perhaps the “waste” of energy is related to feelings of depression, or the reprecussions of those feelings. Perhaps the “waste” is related to the drudgery of everyday life, or an everyday life that feels like it doesn’t have much meaning. In either case, it’s clear from Boon’s tone that partying isn’t really going to help.

What of the people who don’t have what I ain’t got?
Are they victims of my leisure?

This has always struck me as one of the most perplexing lines I’ve ever heard. For years I thought it must have been a strange misread on Boon’s part. It would seem like the line should be “What about the people who don’t have what I got?”, that makes all the logical sense in the world, but I think it was intentionally sung this way. Boon and his bandmates were never well off, never saw themselves as achieving major rock’n’roll stardom and thus lived the “econo” life, happily. But living in the US, even if you’re not privy to a privileged life, you are still aware of it. So perhaps the line is in reference to that, with Boon thinking about people who are significantly more unfortunate than him. Perhaps also he’s wondering, as most earnest leftists musicians likely would, if he’s doing the right thing. Maybe singing songs about rebellion and liberation are just “leisure” compared to the hard work of directly organizing for social change.

To fail is to be a victim,
To be a victim by choice,
Maybe partying will help.

These lines also are interesting to me on a personal level. Here Boon seems to ascribing to a kind of existentialist perspective, where life is what you make it. I’ve always thought that failure isn’t about a momentary success or setback, it’s about what you do next. When you fall on your face, do you stay down or do you get up and get back on the path. I’ve always felt that the only time you truly fail something is when you give up. Giving up on something is a choice that has to made, just the same way you hav eto make a choice to continue fighting for whatever it is that you love. It’s only when you make that choice to not fight on, to try one more time that you truly fail.

That line of “maybe partying will help,” once again offers no real comfort. It’s almost like, “well…these issues are too heavy to deal with, I don’t want to tackle them now…maybe partying will help me forget or at least allow me to escape.”

But then we have the music to contend with as well, which as soon as the lyrics are done, gets right back to the funky, along with a trademark blistering solo from D. Boon. Hard to tell what to ultimately take away from this one…what do you think?

The Minutemen – “Maybe Partying Will Help” – from Double Nickels On The Dime (1984)

As I look over this beautiful land I can’t help but realize, that I am alone.

Why am I able to waste my energy,
and all this life being so beautiful,
Maybe partying will help.

What of the people who don’t have what I ain’t got?
Are they victims of my leisure?

To fail is to be a victim,
To be a victim by choice,
Maybe partying will help.

April 30, 2010 Radio

Breakdown: April 28th on KCRW (Possibly Last Show On KCRW)

Might seem a bit sudden, but I have decided to give up my midnight shift at KCRW. The reason is really very simple, doing a midnight to 3am show during the middle of the week, especially on a day that I teach back-to-back-to-back classes, has just become to difficult to maintain. I’ll have more to say later today on my facebook page, but it is what it is. So, this might be my last show, because of some other developments (more on that later as well), or I might be moving back to “The Lab” Sundays from 3am-6am. This week’s show started the only way it possible could, with Public Enemy’s “By The Time I Get To Arizona” and Molotov’s “Frijolero,” a minor protest of Arizona’s recent immigration law. From there it’s the usual rundown of new music and classics, including M.I.A., Caribou, The New Pornographers, Paul Weller, Flying Lotus and closing with a song that I always used to close out when I moved to a new shift way back in the day at Album 88 and KALX, Tom Wait’s “Anywhere I Lay My Head.” This one is likely to stick around a little while, unless I do leave KCRW and they decide to take down my page…the future remains unwritten, but I’ll update when I know anything more certain.

Public Enemy – By The Time I Get To Arizona – Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Back
Molotov – Frijolero – Dance and Dense Denso
The Minutemen – Corona – Double Nickels On The Dime
Dum Dum Girls – Lines Her Eyes – I Will Be
Bikini Kill – Reject All American – Reject All American
Gaslamp Killer – Turk Mex – My Troubled Mind

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M.I.A. – Born Free – Single
Suicide – Rocket USA – Suicide
Gonjasufi – Kobwebz – A Sufi & A Killer
Baby Grandmothers – Somebody’s Calling My Name – Forge Your Own Chains

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Paul Weller – Up The Dosage – Wake Up The Nation
Love Is All – Less Than Thrilled – Two Thousand And Ten Injuries
Local Natives – Sun Hands – Gorilla Manor
Broken Social Scene – All To All – Forgiveness Rock Record
Four Tet – Circling – There Is Love In You

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Caribou – Leave Home – Swim
Ozomatli – Love Comes Down (Anthony Valadez Remix) – Ozomatli Vs. KCRW Soundclash
Jose James – Black Magic – Live on Morning Becomes Eclectic

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The New Pornographers – Up In The Dark – Together
The Like – Wishing He Was Dead – Release Me
The Strange Boys – Be Brave – Be Brave
Duane Eddy – The Trembler – Twang Thang
Holly Miranda – High Tide – The Magician’s Private Library

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Caetano Veloso – A Base De Guyatanamo – Zii E Zie
Clutchy Hopkins – Laughing Jockey – Story Teller
Quantic – Ciudad Del Swing – Death Of The Revolution
Mercury Dance Band – Envy No Good – Afro-Rock: Volume 1
Karl Hector & The Malcouns – Toure Samar – Black Man’s Cry

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Muddy Waters – Tom Cat – Electric Mud
Frankie Seay & The Soul Riders – Blackjack – 7”
Rusty Bryant – The Fire Eater – The Fire Eater
James Brown – You Mother You – Sho’ Is Funky Down Here
Les Baxter – Hogin’ Machine – Hell’s Belles
Mrr/Adm feat. Malcolm Catto – 013 – Untitled 10”

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Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – If You Call – I Learned The Hard Way
Arthur Verocai – Caboclo – Timeless: Arthur Verocai
Bonobo – Kiara – Black Sands

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Flying Lotus – Table Tennis – Cosmogramma
The National – Afraid OF Everyone – High Violet
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Mercy Seat – Tender Prey
Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar

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Tom Waits – Anywhere I Lay My Head – Rain Dogs

April 29, 2010 Dig Deep

Dig Deep: Cactus – Cactus – Atco (1970)

Cactus – You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover
Cactus – Let Me Swim
Cactus – Feel So Good

Recently saw this at Records LA and just had to pick up for old times sake. For a very long time I had searched for a song for this record, without knowing what it was. Back in high school I used to make tapes of favorite radio programs, one of them, WREK’s Stonehenge, focused on obscure 1960s/70s psychedelic rock and played this song, but my tape ran out before I was able to find out who was playing a monster of a cut towards the end. I knew from the sound the group had to be from between 1968 and 1974, and the lyrics seemed like it was a version of a Willie Dixon song, but other than that I drew blanks for years. No one I played it for, and I must have played that tape for 10 real knowledgeable DJs in Atlanta and Berkeley, could tell what it was.

Eventually through checking Allmusic.com, Billboard and a few other resources I was able to narrow it down to a couple records, including this one. When I originally tracked it down at the Record Man, I had a feeling this would be the one and indeed it was, the monster version of “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover” that is included here. All the while I had that first copy I was so addicted to that one song, I barely listened to the rest. It’s only in owning this record a second time that I really appreciate what a big-time rocker it is.

Cactus was supposed to have been a massive super group, featuring the rhythm section from Vanilla Fudge plus Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart. Things didn’t work out that way, but they got some very able replacements, Rusty Day from the Amboy Dukes and Jim McCarty from Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. McCarty must have felt like he needed to prove himself, stepping into Beck’s shoes in a group that hadn’t even recorded and buddy just goes off on this record. You need no further testament to that than “Let Me Swim,” on this severely overlooked gem of an American rock record. My tunnel-vision for “Can’t Judge A Book” kept me from noticing the rather nice drum solo and multiple breaks on “Feel So Good,” things get a little too bass drum rockin’, but when Appice brings it back with some Krupa inspired work, it does indeed feel so good. Goes to show you that it always pays to not be so focused on one track from what is supposed to be a one track record, sometimes you just need to let it rock.

Cheers,

Michael