Friday, April 24, 2009

Rare Soul!!! The Sweet Sounds of Muscle Shoals




Taking a break from my mixtapes, I thought I'd post up some long out of print soul this week. In 1996, the Overture label put out a 4 volume collection of really great 1960s Southern soul from the Quinvy and South Camp labels featuring less well known performers like Don Varner, Bill Brandon, Eddie Bradford, Brenda Varner, and even Percy Sledge Jr. (though his one contribution is just kind of a novelty track). I picked up volumes 1 and 2 at a record store a long while back and then I think I got volume 3 in an ebay auction. Unfortunately, the fourth one has eluded me. Since it might be a long time coming before I can find it, here are volumes 1-3. (My personal fave song - Bill Brandon's "Self Preservation" on Volume 2)




1. Tear Stained Face - Don Varner
2. Push Mr Pride Aside - Eddie Bradford
3. Mojo Mama - Don Varner
4. Hand Shaking - Jimmy Braswell
5. Little Bit of Love - Eddie Bradford
6. When It's Over - Don Varner
7. You Made Your Bed - Eddie Bradford
8. Sugar Makes Everything Sweeter - Percy Sledge Jr.
9. Meet Me in Church - Don Varner
10. Home For the Summer - Jimmy Braswell
11. Don't Give up on Me - Brenda Varner
12. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - Bill Brandon
13. Down in Texas - Don Varner
14. Let Me Be a Woman - Brenda Varner


1. Polly Wally Doodle - Tony Borders
2. Promise to Myself - Tony Borders
3. Can You Handle It - Eddie Bradford
4. Full Grown Lovin' Man - Bill Brandon
5. What Kind of Spell - Tony Borders
6. You Left the Water Running - Don Varner
7. Mix and Mingle - Tony Borders
8. One Minute Woman - Bill Brandon
9. Power of Love - Don Varner
10. Self Preservation - Bill Brandon
11. A Nice Place to Visit - Tony Borders
12. Little by Little - Bill Brandon
13. One Woman Man - Don Varner
14. She Knows What to Do For Me - Bill Brandon


1. You Better Believe It - Tony Borders
2. I Think I'd Do It - Z.Z. Hill
3. Since I Fell For You - Bill Brandon
4. High on the Hog - Tony Borders
5. He Kept on Talking - Don Varner
6. Faithful and True - Z.Z. Hill
7. Corn Bread Woman - Tony Borders
8. You've Lost That Lovin Feeling - Bill Brandon
9. When You Get What You Want - Bill Brandon
10. Cheaters Never Win - Tony Borders
11. Until It's Time For Me to Go - Tony Borders
12. Lonely Weekend - Tony Borders
13. Strangest Feeling - Bill Brandon
14. I'm Still in Love With You - Don Varner

Friday, April 17, 2009

Guest Blog Compilation! Guest Blog Compilation! (Hint: It's Los Lobos)


Yes, it's true - less than three months in to this blogging enterprise and I'm already farming the work out to friends. Hope the boss doesn't find out. I did, however, listen to it and I can assure you it lives up to the high standards of this blog. So here is a compilation of Los Lobos covers put together by my friend Kevin. Or as he puts it,

"How many other bands can do Buddy Holly, Louis Prima, James Brown and Johnny Thunders equally well? Here, then, is a collection of Los Lobos cover tunes pulled together from studio albums, tribute albums, soundtracks, guest appearances, hits collections etc. Hopefully it makes the case that Los Lobos aren't just a Mexican-American band – they’re American, period."


Alone In A Crowd
Georgia Slop
Tomorrow Never Knows (Live)
Down Where the Drunkards Roll
Bertha (Live)
And It Didn't Even Bring Me Down
Johnny 99
I Got Loaded
I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)
Lonely Avenue
Wicked Rain/Across 110th Street (w/Bobby Womack)
Politician (Live)
Midnight Shift
Lonesome Tears In My Eyes (with Paul Burlison)
Try Me
Route 90
What's Going On (Live)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Color Me Impressed

Okay, it's more 80s music, but uh, ..... it's the Replacements and Pretenders!!! Need I say more?

Update: I didn't think these mixes were that great. Plus, the sound quality on some of the Pretenders songs was a little substandard. So here are the revised mixtapes.


Color Me Impressed The Replacements
Pack It Up The Pretenders
Otto The Replacements
Customer The Replacements
Middle Of The Road The Pretenders
Seen Your Video The Replacements
Louie Louie The Pretenders
Fools Must Die The Pretenders
You Lose The Replacements
Jealous Dogs The Pretenders
Shooting Dirty Pool The Replacements
I Hurt You The Pretenders
We'll Inherit the Earth The Replacements
Red Red Wine The Replacements
Mystery Achievement Pretenders


The Wait Pretenders
Favorite Thing The Replacements
We're Coming Out The Replacements
Tattooed Love Boys Pretenders
Hayday The Replacements
Thumbelina The Pretenders
Don't Get Me Wrong The Pretenders
I Don't Know The Replacements
In the Sticks The Pretenders
Hangin Downtown The Replacements
Precious Pretenders
Kids Don't Follow The Replacements
Darlin' One The Replacements
Bad Boys Get Spanked The Pretenders
Swingin' Party The Replacements

Friday, April 3, 2009

Request for Neko Case's My '63

I'm putting together a Neko Case odds and sods collection (i.e. stuff not on her albums). I think I've got pretty much everything, but I don't have her My '63 (it was on a 1998 split 45 with Whiskeytown on the other side). And since I don't feel like spending $75 for a copy, I was wondering if anyone has an mp3 they could send me. I'd be much obliged.
(Late update: I found it and you can find it on the comp here.)

All the Mod Cons

One thing you should know about me is that I like soundtracks. Well, not all soundtracks, but I've always thought soundtracks got an unfair rap as generally crappy collections designed to cash in on a movie's popularity; relying on one hit to entice people to buy essentially an album otherwise full of (your choice of words) filler/dross. So here's three soundtracks (Absolute Beginners, The Harder They Come, and Scandal) with a minimum of filler (though the duplication of a couple of songs on The Harder They Come is a bit annoying, not to mention odd.) Even though there's precious little dross, I like the way the musical styles blend together so I've taken songs from all three and interspersed them into two mixtapes.
(P.S. Don't ask why I used this picture. It just seemed to fit.)


That's Motivation David Bowie
Johnny Too Bad The Slickers
007 (Shanty Town) Desmond Dekker
Japanese Girl Lloyd Clarke
Having It All Eighth Wonder - Featuring Patsy Kensit
Rodrigo Bay Working Week
Scandal Don Drummond
Judge Not Bob Marley
Sweet and Dandy The Maytals
The Harder They Come Jimmy Cliff
Killer Blow Sade
Christine Keeler Roland Alphonso
Get on the Ball Basil Gabbidon
Riot City Jerry Dammers
Exodus Ernest Ranglin
Many Rivers to Cross Jimmy Cliff


Honour Your Mother & Father Desmond Dekker
Absolute Beginners David Bowie
You Can Get It If You Really Want Jimmy Cliff
Draw Your Breaks Scotty
Mr. Kruschev Skitter
Russian Roulette King Edwards
Rivers of Babylon The Melodians
Girls Rush Lloyd Clarke
Have You Ever Had It Blue? The Style Council
Quiet Life Ray Davies
Miss Jamaica Jimmy Cliff
Love Me Baby Laurel Aitken
Va Va Voom Gil Evans
Sitting in Limbo Jimmy Cliff
Selling Out Slim Gaillard