ALL THESE FINGERS Beat Tape CIRCLES VOL. 1...

"Heavy Chains - A PsychRock Mixtape" by All These Fingers

This hour plus mixtape by ALL THESE FINGERS is an excursion through cosmic, acid-drenched, fuzz-filled psychedelic and prog rock from around the globe. Mind-bending guitar leads and deep breaks give way to drug-addled singers and epic analog synth lines...A never-ending left turn with odd gems around each corner.

In the great tradition of vinyl mystery mixes, song titles and band names are obscured in the hope that each small piece contributes to a unique free form listening experience. There are no tracks, as it should be consumed in whole. Respect to Andy Votel, Dom Thomas, Madlib, Gilles Peterson, Steinski, and Negativland.


(feel free to share, post, reblog, etc)

Re-Discovery!!! (record digging report for 08/16/09)

(click pic to enlarge)

top to bottom, left to right:
Michael Stanley "Friends & Legends", Evelyn "Champagne" King "Smooth Talk", R.B. Greaves "s/t", the Doobie Brothers "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits", Booker T. & the MG's "Doin' Our Thing", Steven Halpern "Spectrum Suite", Charles Earland "Black Talk!", the Stooges "s/t", Kat Mandu "s/t", Pharoah Sanders "Black Unity", Pharoah Sanders "Thembi", Donavon "Open Road"...

(all of these came from the dollar bin...boo yah!)

Treasure Hunt!!! (record digging report for 07/28/09)

(click pic to enlarge)

top to bottom, left to right:
Jupiter "Sunset", the Seventh Seal "Reflections", Annette Peacock "X-Dreams", Johnny Hammond "The Prophet", Amir Cantusio Jr. "The Seven Spheres", Jan Hammer "The First Seven Days", Makoto "s/t", Michael Gregory Jackson "Clarity", Todd Rundgren "Runt"...


(notice how's there's a bunch of references to the number 7? weird!)

Marijuana Lp Smuggling

RECORD DIGGING REPORT OF THE BEMUSED...

the spoils of war...

Gil Evans "Svengali" - Not Bill, but Gil, the guy who arranged the strings for some of the best pre-electric Miles Davis records...At least that's why I recognized his name. Big band jazz composition with plenty of synthesizer weirdness. Takes cues from Zappa's "400 Motels" and the epic Mingus stuff. A perfect record with no wasted time.

The Rascals "Collections" - I gotta thank Wax Poetic for putting me up on a band that has been around informally for my whole life without me being aware of who they are. Straight ahead garage r&b from the mid 60's that sounds like Booker T. playing organ for Mitch Ryder. Rhino reissue for cheap!

The Rascals "Groovin" - Their drummer looks so much like McCartney in the picture on the back of the sleeve. The title track was (is) a Top 40 masterpiece that gets played everyday on the radio still. Here's a secret though...Most of the other songs are even better. Fluteman Hubert Laws even pops up on the B side, in all of his pre-CTI glory.

The Rascals "Once Upon a Dream" - Speaking of Paul, this record is one of many from 60's bands that clearly wanted a piece of the Sgt. Pepper's pie, for better or worse. Some songs work well, but some lyrics and string arrangements just become too calculated and are anticipated. There's some great pop-psych numbers on here though, plus the obligatory Indian raga-esque track. Oh yeah, and King Curtis pops in for a bit too!

The Rascals "Freedom Suite" - They really were always a step behind the Beatles conceptually, doing their version of the White Album here. Like that one, this double LP is very eclectic for the band and finds everybody contributing their own compositions. This is worth buying simply for the side 4 track "Cute" which takes up the whole thing. It's the loosest and most far out you'll hear these guys get, a bit like the MG's on acid, or Deep Purple in Memphis I guess.

Vangelis "l'apocalypse des animaux soundtrack" - I'm learning that this guy has a lot more to offer than Blade Runner or Chariots of Fire, or anything from the 80's for that matter. Awhile back I found an Aphrodite's Child record (his prog rock band from the early 70's) that is fucking nuts, and now this odd trance-inducing film score. It's apparently a brooding artsy nature documentary of some sort, with some very psychedelic leanings. So many keyboards here, no cheese though. Some ambient tracks go on for a long long time with ambient patterns, usually played by strings, synthesizers, and gorgeous Rhodes piano chords. Highly recommended.

Sussman, Laverne, Moses "Tributaries" - Two guys with keyboards of all sorts and a drummer put down this fusion jazz from the mid 70's, complete with a letter of intent written by the musicians themselves. Spacey, cosmic, funky, definitely a take on the Weather Report/Headhunters thing that was goin round at the time. Check the gear: 2 MiniMoog's, 2 Fender Rhodes, 2 acoustic pianos, Arp Omni, and a Clavinet...Be me and try not to buy this.

Milt Jackson "At the Museum of Modern Art" - The only other Milt record I have is "Olinga" on CTI, which I've sampled twice already, so this couldn't be bad in my mind. This is a live one, much more classic 50/60's sound than the slick 70's stuff. Amazing gatefold sleeve with sort of a pop up picture layout with detailed liner notes in a book form. Great layout and a superb recording, and another example as to why graphic design on albums will always be superior to cd's.

Paul Horn & Nexus "self titled" - Horn gives me mixed feelings. He has a lot of records that I see everywhere, most of which were probably bought by early New Age flakes and hippies who missed the first time around in the 60's. That being said, he recorded some pretty nice flute music that has been sampled by the likes of DJ Krush and others. His best work (like this) features his trademark minimal playing through echoplexed microphones while some percussionists play very quietly, or sometimes not at all. Nothing pretentious or cheesey on this one, just very spaced-out stoner background music of the highest order.

George Duke "Don't Let Go" - George is always coming up in my life, either through magazines, beatmakers, music blogs, Zappa fans, or my buddy Peter (who just bought some more Duke himself). He is one of the keyboard players from the 70's that did everything but doesn't get the proper recognition for it (like Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock). Did crazy shit on the best Zappa albums, did crazy solo records in Germany for MPS, rock, funk, fusion, slick r&b, and of course disco at the end (and back to classic jazz again). You should buy this lp because the oh so sexy killer cut "Dukey Stick" is on it.

Lalo Schifrin "Towering Toccata" - One of my favorite CTI disco records...And I'm not a big fan of disco. But then again, disco was ok for awhile when it was still a subgenre of funk & soul, or when it's sampled for early 80's hip hop. Anyway, this record is by film composer giant Schifrin, so it sounds way more dramatic, lush, and awesome than most dance music of the time. Tons of fuzz, wah wah, Rhodes, synth, drums, percussion, and everything else fun. Everything is bigger and better when you have the guy who wrote the Mission:Impossible theme song at the controls.

Antonio Carlos Jobim - "Wave" - Rounding out the CTI collection again...One of the best I've heard from the Brazilian master. Ron Carter and Urbie Green are in the band on this one, plus the artwork is awesome. That's all, go get it.

Shawn Lee / Clutchy Hopkins - "Clutch of the Tiger" - Conclusive evidence (or so I think) that Shawn is Clutchy, but I could be wrong. This is new music, therefore you can go read a review HERE.

Ratatat - "LP3" - Oh no, more new shit! Just wanted to get ahold of this on vinyl. This is a lot better than "Classics", which never really impressed me after their amazing debut. They're still one of my favorites, but I think their melody formulas are starting to wear a bit thin. I'm sure you hipster kids don't need any heads up on this one.


album of the day:

RECORD DIGGING REPORT...EMPTY NEST WEEKEND...

The house is empty, except for me and a cat. Both my roommates are gone for the weekend, attending the Dunegrass music festival at Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. I was invited but couldn't find enough bands on the bill to interest me for several days. It's ok, too many, ahem, party favors in my arsenal to be bored. Stratosphere baby. The records will be played loudly through night & day for the next few...


the Ab Dabs "Waters' Gate" - This is actually a Pink Floyd bootleg show in Paris circa 1970. There's so many clues on this record that it is indeed Floyd, which is why boots can be so awesome. They used to do all this stuff just so they wouldn't get yanked off the shelves at record stores. For example, this one calls the album "Waters' Gate" (a nod to Roger Waters), the label is "Dark Moon Records", and there's a hazy, but identifiable photo of them on the back. The sound quality is ok. Features some Syd songs and a bunch from Atom Heart Mother.

Morning Glory "Two Suns Worth" - Not really a standout record, but it's purty good. Kind of a Jefferson Airplane setup with 2 guitars, girl/guy singers, LSD references, etc. They're definitely a bit more fuzzed out, and a tad stranger. Best song title goes to, "Stone Good Day".

Grant Green "Green is Beautiful" - This is a big one for jazz/funk guys and beat makers, and for good reason. Not exactly rare (on Blue Note) but really really funky for that label...Probably the funkiest GG ever got. The extra percussionists make this record, for me. Original pressing for a buck dude.

Donald Byrd "Blackjack" - Another offering from Blue Note...Pretty straight ahead 60's post-bop before Donald got the smoov funk of the Blackbyrds together. Billy Higgins and Walter Booker just kill the rhythms on this one...Recommended.

Willis Jackson "Blue Gator" - This is another post-bop album, but a little bit more 50's sounding than the Byrd lp. From Prestige, a label that's just as good as Blue Note, Impulse, Pacific, etc if you dig this kind of jazz. Good all around, but I bought it because Brother Jack McDuff plays organ.

Man "Be good to yourself at least once a day" - Heavy psych? Standard mid-70's prog? A bit of both really, all the while a bit pop. Apparently this is some sort of supergroup from the island of Wales, featuring ex-members of Badfinger and the Iveys. Lots of Hammond organ and semi-complex riffs that trade-off, a few good solos, and really accessible lyrics for prog. Not their best album, but still good. The gatefold artwork has a crazy pop-up book island map of Wales and its musical history...Awesome!

Manfred Mann's Earth Band "Nightingales & Bombers" - This is what keyboard player Manfred Mann did after the disbanding of his extremely good 60's band simply titled Manfred Mann. This sounds nothing like that band, but is still worth a listen, especially for samples. Sounds like they were doing a take-off on every synthesizer heavy prog/fusion band from the mid 70's with a friendly influence of Zappa. Once again, the lyrics are really simple, and of course space is mentioned a few times. Never gets too weird.

Jon Lucien "Mind's Eye" - Fucking amazing. It looked like every other electric jazz-funk record I enjoy: smiling guy with afro on the cover, titles that reference mental exspansion and inner peace, Fender Rhodes piano, Arp synth, mad percussion, etc. What I didn't count on was that the guy is obviously from South America, judging from the rhythms and percussion section. The songs are so good, so well-written, and with weird time signatures. Some of the love songs teeter on the edge of being schmaltzy but then pull back into something so honest that you just have to smile. Glad to find this one.

Claudine "self titled" - This is exactly what I thought it looked like in the record bin; a cute French girl pop singer doing sweetened-up cover versions of pop songs & film themes. A bit of Serge G, but for teenage girls, not old guys. Favorite track is her version of "Un Homme Et Une Femme".

Irene Reid "The World Needs What I Need" - Ferociously empowered female Black power funk for AM radio in the mid 70's. A bit Aretha, a bit Roberta Flack, and a bit Millie Jackson. Some songs are boring, mainly due to the pretty traditional string arrangements. But the good ones are really great. The last two songs on the B side are worth buying it twice. I'm currently working with some samples from this one...Don't bite sucka!

the Remains "Diddy Wah Diddy" - I heard the song "Don't Look Back" on some garage rock compilation and was blown away. It's a really tight 2 minute song with electric piano, fuzz guitar, triple harmonized vocals, and great drumming. One of those 60's songs that reminds you why so many bands are still ripping off that decade. The rest of their songs are great too, but can't beat that one, which is included on the B side. And the band looks so fucking cool too...Highly recommended.

Rolling Stones "Aftermath" - Yeah, so I like the early Stones, a lot...Big whoop, wanna fight about it? C'mon, Brian Jones, Keith and Mick were so good together, despite the pathetic versions of themselves that they've become (well, not Brian). No bullshit songs to be found here, but the standouts are obviously "Paint it Black", "Under my Thumb", and "I am Waiting". Original pressing.

Rolling Stones "Now!" - Seriously, don't give me that look. This is the old one that they did at Chess Studios in Chicago, just because they respected that label so much. That's a good way to spend a recording budget. Straight r&b and blues on this one, no Jones weirdness yet. Also original pressing.

Rolling Stones "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)" - My record dealer friend threw this one in on account of me buying the other two. It's a really early greatest hits compilation with a really cool gatefold picture book of them in various studios, and one of Brian Jones looking at the camera, sticking his tongue out in disgust, stoned and exhausted. Glad "Play with Fire" is on it.









(home alone! and drunk!!)

HARD TIMES MEANS SMALLER RECORDS...VINYL DIGGING REPORT...

Spending too much on everything lately...Does this stop me from record shopping? Not at all. The beauty of vinyl is that it comes in all sizes, hence the '45 Sunday Hunt'. Assuming that it's not something super rare (that the dealer knows about at least), a 45rpm is usually at least half the price of a good 12-inch album. Boo yah, more bang for your music buck.

Diggin in them cakes and pulled out:

Count Five 'Psychotic Reaction / They're Gonna Get You' - classic songs, drove Lester Bangs to write a lengthy essay that's a great read. classic mid 60's garage fuzztone blues, with heavy harmonica, doubletime freakout, and a big nod to the Yardbirds. Essential.

HB Barnum 'Hallelujah / Lost Love' - this guy used to play piano & organ and eventually started co-writing with David Axelrod during his best period at the end of the 60's. This one sounds earlier, it's instrumental soul dance music that's heavy on the Hammond and Spector percussion.

Donald Austin 'Crazy Legs / Nan-Zee' - Holy jeez, this one's a killer...Bought it based on the title and the private press-styled label and couldn't be more glad. Gutbucket hard funk with choppy horns and awesome drums. Sounds like something that should be reissued. Put out by Woody Records.

Cal Green 'Revolution Rap (parts 1 & 2)' - I don't know if this guy is related to Grant Green, the jazz guitar player, but he sounds a lot like him. Good funky, late 60's Blue Note sounding jazz. Two variations on the same tune.

Paul Humphrey 'Cool Aid / Detroit' - this one is another heavy bit of funk, except i can't say that it's an original find by me. saw this on the Brainfreeze dvd by Shadhow and Cut Chemist. 'Detroit' is the B side with amazing drum breakdowns. Got it at the bottom of grocery bag for a buck.

Laura Lee 'If I'm Good Enough to Love / If You Can Beat Me Rockin' - On the Hot Wax label, which was a branch of Buddha, the mega-pop machine of the late 60's that could produce some fairly boring shit. Their stuff often looks psychedelic or soulful and will sometimes disappoint, big time. This one is good though, female-fronted fuzz bass soul with clean production and heavy drums.

Latimore 'Ain't Nobody Gonna Make Me Change My Mind / Let's Straighten It Out' - slick Fender Rhodes jazz funk from Florida, probably from around 72-75. Amazing tunes, great label sticker (Glades Records), sounds like Roy Ayers.

Jimmy 'Bo' Horne 'Gimme Some (parts 1 & 2)' - like the best that James Brown ever recorded, with a dash of the J5...from the Alston label in 1975, 'Bo' put out this classic song complete with dance instrumental. The beat is straight four to the floor and could get a crowd to go nuts today i bet. Good, so good.

Betty Wright 'Clean Up Woman / I'll Love You Forever' - Also from Alston Records, this was written by Little Beaver so you know it's gots to be funky. This was a pretty big song in Miami apparently when it came out in 1972, for good reason.

The Flaming Ember '1200 Miles / Sunshine' - slight touches of the heavy make this band sound a little like Earth Wind and Fire on acid, but nowhere near somebody like P Funk, who goes all the way. Real well recorded, was probably a major label offshoot that never made it. Not bad, not bad.

Fabulous Counts 'Lunar Funk / Get Down People' - Super funk from the Moira label, which looks like an independent, but was distributed by Cotillion (a big guy)...weird. anyway, the music is dirty heavy funk with electric organ (sounds like a Vox). 'Lunar Funk' is my favorite due to them running the organ thru an echoplex to get a great spacey sound that oscillates to the beat. highly recommended!

James Brown 'The Payback I & II' - already have a copy, but you should always buy this record if you see one for less than $5...Trust me, you'll wear it out quickly. Don't know this one? Then you ain't down with Mr. Brown. A good place to start.

James Brown 'Funky President / Coldblooded' - Same as above...Both of these are heavily sampled tracks that have graced some classic hip hop records, so you won't find anything new here, but the songs are still amazing. 'Funky President' is one of my favorite JB songs period...Bassline is just ridiculous.

Rufus Thomas 'Do the Funky Penguin (parts 1 & 2)' - by now you've probably seen the pattern with good funk 45's...put the radio cut on the A side and the instrumental dance cut on the B side. Love it, not unlike hip hop 12's. Another classic, as far as sampling breaks go, but still just a great one to have for listening/mixing/gettin-the-fuck-down.

Eric Donaldson 'the Price / More Love' - who is this guy?! sounds like late 60's dub reggae from King Tubby's studio. Nope, it was recorded in 76 by Chin-Clive in New York City, Brooklyn acutally. Chin-Clive were the guys who ran the Impact! label in Jamaica in the late 60's, putting out classic Augustus Pablo sides. Refreshingly, there's no update on the sound quality or instrumentation compared to their older productions on this one...Classic dubwise riddims.

Vanity Fare 'Man Child / Hitchin a Ride' - eerie Hammond organ and Mellotron pads out this strange pop-psych single from the late 60's. the lyrics to 'Man Child' are all about things the singer used to do as a kid, that he of course has now lost the ability to do since he's old. sad and weird. 'Hitchin a Ride' is ok, but rips off Manfred Mann way too much with the Mellotron flute intro.

Billy Paul 'War of the Gods' - this was my only cheat on buying a 12-inch album. looks like psyched out soul-funk, but is actually pretty tame. however, the title track is a slickly produced 10 minute epic with crazy synths and electric piano. Plus, i'm almost positive that there's a DJ Shadow sample on here too ('The time has come...' vocal bit).



album of the day:

RECORD DIGGING REPORT FOR SUNDAY JULY 06...I DO IT FOR AMERICA...

Hit some regular spots (and some secret ones) after a late/hearty breakfast of French Toast, bacon, & lots of coffee.

The nice weather brought out all the parking lot vendors up at Dixieland, most of whom have no idea what to charge you for albums. A lot of garbage and fucked up records, but there are gems to be found.

Made out well today...

Brick "s/t" - Squeaky clean production on this late 70's funk outfit. heavy drums with great little keyboard parts. Ohio Players minus all the sex. Edges a bit close to disco-funk at times, but still chock full of good samples.

Autosalvage "s/t" - A very typical, but awesome, record from 1968. 4 guys, long hair, Sgt.Pepper mustaches, fuzz-tone guitar, backwards sounds, drug lyrics etc. Best song title goes to "The Great Brain Robbery".

Bootsy's Rubber Band "Bootsy? Player of the Year" - Hopefully you know this guy...the funkiest bass player James Brown had and the low end for all the classic P-Funk albums. One of the best funk records of the time (mid to late 70's) and probably Bootsy's best solo LP. Originally came with cardboard cutout star sunglasses so you could look like Bootsy!

Aphrodite's Child "666" - Bought this simply because Vertigo put it out in 1970, a notoriusly bizarre time for that label. Turns out that this is the band that composer Vangelis used to play keys for. Weird art/prog rock about the end of the world with full orchestra, strange lyrics, and great production. Maybe for the Magma fans...

Travis Biggs "Challenge" - the crown jewel of today...obviously a private press, self-distributed, Detroit funk record from the mid 70's. Rhodes, ARP, Moog, electric violin, heavy drums, and goofy narration over a dance song ("do the doo-doo walk!") makes this one amazing. Come to find out, it was reissued by Soul Jazz UK, has a track on Dusty Fingers 6, and has subsequently been sampled! Also found out that the one I have in my hands is one of the original 500 copies...I do like living in Michigan sometimes.

the Kinks "Percy soundtrack" - Ray Davies wrote these songs for some film in 1970, reissued by Pye. You can definitely hear them running out of steam as a band, but this is still really good (i love the Kinks though). I will admit that some of the wit and sarcasm from the early stuff is absent here.

Public Image Ltd. "album" - Johhny Rotten's post-Pistols band...Not their best album though. Steve Vai is on here shredding his goddamn head off, just like the Zappa tracks he's on from that time. There are some really strong tracks on here ("Round") despite the bad ones. The dub reggae influence was gone by this record too...

Francois de Roubaix "Zita soundtrack" - From a French film I've never seen...Morricone-inspired composition for what sounds like a romantic story with some swinging settings (funky organ, harpsichord, driving drums, electric bass, female voice etc). Not unlike Piero Piccioni, Lalo Schifrin, and Ennio. Great!

Peter Brown "A Fantasy Love Affair" - This would get me looks at a party because it can sound really cheesy if you're not patient. But, there's mad drums and great synthesizer hooks if you're looking for samples. I can't tell since there's no picture of him, but it sounds like whiteboy-synth-late 70's-coked out-sex-easy listening funk.

the Doors "s/t" - uh, yeah, these guys. I really love the Doors and don't own this on vinyl so...and it was ultra cheap, couldn't pass it by.

Rick James "Street Songs" - Same as the Doors album...But seriously, how can you not like this record??

the Emperors "Karate" 45 - A Motown-inspired loose soul group with great Hammond organ. Instructional dance song. I would enjoy seeing somebody do the "Karate".

the Winstons "Amen, Brother" 45 - Finally found a copy that was cheap and in good condition! Probably the most recognizable drum break ever, seriously, go do a websearch on "the Amen break". Great song too.

? and the Mysterians "8 Teen / I Need Somebody" 45 - One of the original punk bands...from 1963. Good cheesy organ sounds, snarling vocals, echo-chamber drums, razor sharp guitar stabs, and sexual anxiety abound here.

the Five Blobs "The Blob" 45 - Not a real band, but session guys assembled to record this promotional record for the horror movie "The Blob". Campy early 60's beat rock with cantina trumpets and goofy voice overs. B-side is "Saturday Night in Tiajuana".

Nese Karabocek "Eyvan" 45 - Turkish popular female singer. Sounds like she wanted to be Nancy Sinatra a bit.

Bora Ayanoglu "Fabrika Kizi" 45 - Turkish folk singer trying to be kinda psych with some fuzz guitar and backbeat drums. Still pretty tradtional sounding though.

Cem Karaca "Aysem" 4-song 45 - Turkish popular male singer with orchestra and a backing band that sounds like the Ventures in the middle east...Interesting.

Erol Evgin "Birde Bana Sor" 45 - Looks like some sort of male sex symbol, judging from the photo. Smooth funk production almost, with Moog and crisp drums. The melodies sound traditional though. From Pakistan.

alright son...light it and pass that shit over here.

(can anybody explain David Lynch's Inland Empire to me??)

RECORD DIGGING REPORT FOR SUNDAY MAY 25, 2008...

Foiled once again, I forgot that the Sal's aren't open on Sundays. Instead, we hit the regular spot which is beloved Dixieland, to see Chris & Paul...

Seriously, good finds today, for serious:

- Ronnie Laws "Fever"

- David Axelrod "Songs of Experience"

- Temptations "A Song for You"

- Temptations "With a Lot O' Soul"

- Charles Mingus "Town Hall Concert"

- Pink Floyd "A Nice Pair"

- Steve Miller Band "Sailor"

- the Packers "hole in the wall" 45

- the Wanted "here to stay" 45

- MC5 "Kick Out the Jams" 45

- Staple Singers "After Sex" 45

- Crazy Elephant "dark part of my mind" 45

- Lonnie Mack "down in the dumps" 45

- Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood "some velvet morning" 45

- Attila Atasoy 45 (Turkish soul)

- Fikret Kizilok "Yumma Gozun" 45 (Turkish psychedelic folk)

- Ajda "Gozunaydin" 45 (disco from Istanbul!!!)

- Ajda "Capkin" 45

- Bilgen "Soyle Kimdi O" 45 (Greek synthpop)

- Sheila "Bang Bang" 45 (Greek girl vocalist covering Nancy Sinatra's classic, rad.)

- Nesrin Sipahi "Yagmur..." 45 (Istanbul folk)

- Annie Philippe "Pour Qui, Pour Quoi" 45 (sounds like French teen-girl-beat-pop)