This may be the most extraordinary discovery I’ve stumbled upon.
It was recorded in 1963 but its psych-tinged blend of jazz, soul and blues is way ahead of its time. (more…)

Whoever said white men can’t sing the blues (or play them) had clearly never heard this tune by Blood, Sweat & Tears. (more…)

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band created the template for Acid Rock with the sprawling title track of their second album East West in 1966. (more…)

There’s something horribly prophetic in the lyric of Gil Scott-Heron’s song The Bottle: “Look around on any corner/If you see some brother lookin’ like a goner/It’s gonna be me.”
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Quincy Jones came up with the song named after the Japanese arthouse porn film that gave me one of my most memorably horrible experiences in a cinema. (more…)

The most frightening musical term for me is “free jazz.” So it’s odd that I should enjoy this nine-minute noodle by the Art Ensemble of Chicago. (more…)

Here is Marlena Shaw reimagined in a deep house tune by Benny Blanco – probably the most successful guy in the entire music biz. (more…)

Here’s another tune taking its inspiration – and its main sample – from Marlena Shaw’s Woman Of The Ghetto, this time by Ludovic Navarre, a Frenchman whose recording alter-ego is St Germain. (more…)

Marlena Shaw’s soul classic Woman Of The Ghetto gets a  summery makeover fusing mellow dance grooves with jazzy sax by Akshin Alizadeh. (more…)

Marlena Shaw’s spellbinding live version of Woman Of The Ghetto from 1974 transforms a tribute to African-American women into a civil rights anthem.

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