the AWESOME SOUND program - October 25, 2009...

(the AWESOME SOUND program broadcasts live on WXOU.ORG sunday nights 9:30pm - midnight.)

DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S EPISODE OF AWESOME SOUND - PART 1

and...

DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S EPISODE OF AWESOME SOUND - PART 2

the break was so loud that it hushed the crowd...

the AWESOME SOUND program - October 11, 2009...

(the AWESOME SOUND program broadcasts live on WXOU.ORG sunday nights 9:30pm - midnight.)

DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S EPISODE OF AWESOME SOUND - PART 1

and...

DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S EPISODE OF AWESOME SOUND - PART 2

Great shot kid, that was one in a million...

vinyl show & tell vol. 13 - Eric Donaldson "More Love / The Price" (1976)

I really buy the general sincerity of most Jamaican reggae singers. It's probably a combination of things (love of Jah, copious amounts of ganja, etc) but I just get really happy hearing guys like Eric sing away. The A-side "More Love" is a pretty standard dubwise song about Jah's love and the need for it to "rain down on the human race". It's really sweet and has one of those Mittoo organ lines that the Clash went gaga over. The B-side "The Price" shifts down into a moodier groove with similar vocal style being put forth by Donaldson in his romantic plea. Both songs are clean pop productions with little of the drugged-out effects of heavy instrumental dub, but you can bet that these tunes were reworked into one at some point.

The label at work is Jaguar, one of many from the legendary "Randy" Chin, a dude responsible for making tons of records, careers, and legends in the world of Jamaican music over the decades. Rest in Peace.


this gets a 7 out of 10 on the good collie herb scale...

vinyl show & tell vol. 12 - the PACKERS "Go Head On / Hole in the Wall" (1965)

("Go Head On" plays first...)



You better believe shit was really poppin off in 1965. Soul and rock were on an inevitable crash course fueled by a blues-obsessed teenage pop market, giving opportunity to amazing combos from nearly everywhere in the world. Ray Charles was one of the first, but Stax really did it better than anybody at that time by creating a back catalog of r&b/soul that deserves to be in the Smithsonian (and probably is). We all know Booker T. and the MG's were the mighty house band for all those great records but we often don't know how many bands took their style as gospel...Like this affable bunch of West coast musicians.

"Hole in the Wall" shows credit to the B-boys although one name is suspiciously (or erroneously) listed as "Crooper" not "Cropper". The sound is heavier than Stax here, more like a late 60's Joel Dorn Atlantic side or something, doubling piano and organ, Telecaster, congas, handclaps, and some well-placed shouts. Wish it went on longer. "Go Head On" seems to be an original tune that heats up a bit more than the cover. The Hammond organ on this cut just screams out in a special way, the way that provokes women to shout "Ooh Lord!". Drums couldn't sound any better, but those breakdowns should be longer. This type of song never really goes anywhere except the one riff, but honestly, why should it?

Just like the label says, "PURE SOUL MUSIC".


awarded a 7 out of 10 on the "C'mon Now, Let's Go!" scale...

Hermeto! You crazy, get outta that river!