Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul Of Black Peru (1970s & 80s)

I don't normally post compilations, but this short record of Afro-Peruvian folk and pop is just awesome and worth posting. I'm pretty much completely ignorant of Peruvian music in general besides Rossy War, so I don't know if I can say anything particularly enlightening about the artists or culture at work, but the bright, lighthearted rhythms and sing-alongs certainly get my gears going in the best of ways. There's also a super-silly "Lando" cover by David Byrne, of all people. Enjoy!

Tracklist:
1. Maria Lando - Susana Baca (1982)
2.¿Yo No Soy Jaqui? - Manuel Donayre (1984)
3. Canterurias - Cecilia Barraza (1992)
4. Samba Malato - Lucila Campos (1974)
5. Enciendete Candela - Roberto Rivas & El Conjunto Gente Morena (1971)
6. Azuca de Caña - Eva Ayllón (1985)
7.Prendeme la Vela - Abelardo Vasquez & Cumanana (1973)
8. Landó - Chabuca Granda (1978)
9. Toro Mata - Lucila Campos (1973)
10. Son de los diablos - Peru Negro (1973)
11. No Me Cumben - Nicomedes Santa Cruz (1973)
12. Una Larga Noche - Chabuca Granda (1978)
13. Lando - Peru Negro (1974)
14. Maria Lando - David Byrne (1981)
15. Zapateo en menor (Instrumental) - Vincente Vasquez D. (1971)

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A-Alikes - Live or Die (2004)

I was pleasantly surprised by this record, which I bought in a thrift shop for 50 cents. I recognized the dead prez I-Ching symbol on the record cover, and since dp are one of the only "socially conscious" groups I really ever like to bump, I figured it couldn't hurt to find something like-minded. Though slightly poppier, the record is at times serious, at times fun, but always tight with production done mostly by Baby J.

Maybe I deserve a late pass, but I can't believe that the A-Alikes haven't entered the late 90s/early 00s canon which is so broadly well received by today's hip hop listeners, gangsta and backpacker alike. Enjoy!

Tracklist:
1. Nigga Love
2. 2 Sides
3. We Got Room (feat. dead prez)
4. It's Like That
5. Get Out of Jail
6. So Good
7. Gunpoint
8. Drought Time (feat. N.I.M.R.O.D.)
9. Wintertime
10. Trust (feat. dead prez)
11. Stand Up
12. F.T.P.
13. Stop the Madness
14. Guerilla Nation (feat. I.G.)
15. Bonus Track

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Roberta Flack - First Take

"It's a good thing that I'd found a seat before she took her place at the piano and sang her first note, because my knees would never have made it standing. Her voice touched, tapped, trapped and kicked over every emotion I've ever known. I laughed, cried and screamed for more. And more came - and more- and more - and more!"

Pianist Les McCann recounts seeing Roberta in the summer of 1968. A year later, she would release her first album on Atlantic. On First Take, Roberta really runs the gamut of emotions. The pessimistic "Compared To What", penned by Eugene McDaniels, is packed with punchy horn hits. I find it very much in McDaniels style, sounding very similar to songs like "Lovin' Man", from his 1971 release, Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse. She does a beautiful Leonard Cohen cover with "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye", but does anyone else think the drums are mixed strangely in this song? My favorite track on First Take is her own arrangement of "I Told Jesus" - the piece builds slowly before climaxing in a powerful vocal performance that is just raw spirituality. Roberta's voice is one of the best and her piano playing is lovely as well. The backing band includes jazz veteran Ron Carter on bass and John Pizzarelli on guitar (I'm assuming it's the senior Pizzarelli, now known as Bucky, unless the younger was that much of the man at 9 years old).

Tracklist:

1. Compared To What
2. Angelitos Negros
3. Our Ages Or Our Hearts
4. I Told Jesus
5. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
6. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
7. Tryin' Times
8. Ballad Of The Sad Young Men

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Nina Simone - Pastel Blues (1965)

Nina needs no introduction, and if you're like me, you can never really get enough of her loose, emotional tenor. This record from the High Priestess of Soul is bluesy (as the title would imply), but is sparse, minimalist and contemplative. The highlights of the record for me have to be the opening and closing tracks, "Be My Husband" and "Sinnerman", the first a field spiritual sounding song by her husband Andrew Stroud, and the last a theatrical ten-minute poem of redemption.

Tracklist:

1. Be My Husband
2. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
3. End Of The Line
4. Trouble in Mind
5. Tell Me More And More And Then Some
6. Chilly Winds Don't Blow
7. Ain't No Use
8. Strange Fruit
9. Sinnerman

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Anita O'Day - Cool Heat (1959), Once Upon a Summertime (1963) and Anita O'Day Sings The Winners (1990)

Hitting the ground running on this, my return from summer hiatus. Anita O'Day is one of my favorite jazz vocalists ever. With her supple, shining copper tone and her short, sexy delivery, O'Day is maybe the only white jazz singers to hold her own among her inspirations, heavyweights like Billie and Ella. Beyond her musical talent, Anita was also a strong, sassy, shit-talkin' lady and a survivor of long-term addiction and abuse.

The tunes she sings on these recordings generally stay within the realm of fast playful bebop and swing driven by Anita's fierce coolness and seemingly endless melodic flexibility (you try singing "Take The A Train" a capella sometime!). There is a bit of overlap between the albums and the compilation. The recording is a bit scratchy for Once Upon A Summertime, but they almost heighten the cool ambience of Anita's incomparable "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" or inventive "Girl From Ipanema". Thanks to Adam for this copy of Cool Heat, on which O'Day sings Jimmy Giuffre arrangements. Also, Buns O'Plenty recently put up an awesome collaboration between Anita and vibes player Cal Tjader, which I highly encourage you to check out.

Tracklists:

Cool Heat

1. Mack The Knife
2. Easy Come, Easy Go
3. Orphan Annie
4. You're A Clown
5. Gone With The Wind
6. Hooray For Hollywood
7. It Had To Be You
8. Come Rain Or Come Shine
9. Hershey Bar
10. A Lover Is Blue
11. My Heart Belongs to Daddy
12. The Way You Look Tonight

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Once Upon A Summertime

1. Sweet Georgia Brown
2. Love For Sale
3.S'Wonderful
4. They Can't Take That Away From Me
5. Boogie Blues
6. Tea For Two
7. Once Upon A Summertime
8. The Girl From Ipanema
9. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?
10. Night And Day
11. Anita's Blues
12. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square

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Anita O'Day Sings the Winners

1. Take The "A" Train
2. Tenderly
3. Interlude (A Night In Tunisia)
4. Four
5. Early Autumn
6. Four Brothers
7. Sing, Sing, Sing
8. My Funny Valentine
9. Frenesi
10. Body and Soul
11. What's Your Story Morning Glory
12. Peanut Vendor (El Manisero)
13. Whisper Not
14. Blue Champagne
15. Stompin' At The Savoy
16. Hershey bar
17. Don't Be Tht Way
18. Peel Me a Grape
19. Star Eyes

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Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 1 in D Major (1884-1888)

Arpad Joó conducts the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in this performance of Mahler's first symphony. What can I say about this that Wikipedia can't? The third movement stands out for the dirge-like version of Frère Jacques.

1. Langsam, Schleppend - Im Anfang Sehr Gemachlich
2. Kraftig Bewegt, Doch Nicht Zu Schnell
3. Feierlich Und Gemessen, Ohne Zu Schleppen
4. Sturmisch Bewegt

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Bathory - Blood Fire Death (1988)

Sacred shrine of life and death
Apharamons gold key
The raping of holy interior
And all concealed
Now masturbated upon is throne of gold

The lyrics come from "The Golden Walls Of Heaven", and if you read the first letter of each line, it spells SATAN (I learned this thanks to Encyclopaedia Metallum). Is this taking it a step further than spinning the record backwards? Bathory is the project of one man, Quorthon, and is considered a part of the first wave of black metal. Listening to this album you can hear the profound influence Bathory had on the coming second wave of black metal in Norway. Some of the songs are short and thrashy, with fast, noisy, and rad guitar solos/spasms. But a few tracks, for example "A Fine Day To Die", are so fucking brooding and epic. "A Fine Day To Die" is a segue from the synthy album opener, starting with sounds of a storm and whinnying horses. A dreamlike whisper over acoustic guitars for a few minutes, and then Quorthon smacks you in the face with such a fantastic shriek and guitar playing. It almost sounds like Ride the Lightning-era Metallica, but heavier and way cooler.

1. Odens Ride Over Nordland
2. A Fine Day To Die
3. The Golden Walls Of Heaven
4. Pace 'Till Death
5. Holocaust
6. For All Those Who Died
7. Dies Irae
8. Blood Fire Death
9. Outro

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