Posts

Showing posts from December, 2009

Sensual Grooves

Image
Sensual songs for romantic evenings! One of them is the brilliant ‘Slow hand’ by the Pointer Sisters . In the 1970s the girls were aiming at the R&B market and had small hits, like ‘Yes we can can’ and 'How long betcha got a chick on the side’. They became highly successful after recording ‘Fire’ (written by Bruce Springsteen) and moved more into the pop market. In the 1980s they had their biggest hits, like ‘Jump’, ‘I’m so excited’ and ‘Slow hand’, of course. Then, by the end of the decade, they were wiped away from the scene when house, hip hop and swingbeat took the place of soul and disco. In 2004 Junior Jack used 'Dare me' from the Pointer Sisters (that originally came out in 1985) for their hit 'Stupidisco': 'Is it love you're after' by Spyder Turner is one of the sensual grooves. The song became a hit for Rose Royce: Light a candle and enjoy the sensual grooves! Tracklist: The Mystic Moods Orchestra – The Other Side Of Midnight (1975) Milton W

Soul Searching

Image
Yes, that’s me, Professor Eddy, on the left spinning some records. The guy on the right is Daan from the excellent cool jazz dj-act Swoolish . 'Soul Searching' was the show I used to host for Laid Back Radio. Every now and then I was a guest dj for Laid Back on FM Brussels as well. Last summer I played the Dimitri from Paris remix of ‘Love is’ from the big Greek Demis Roussos. It was his new single at the time. Demis Roussos was a much in demand disco star at the Loft, one of most popular clubs in NYC back in the day. Those disco singles never became chart successes at the other side of the ocean. People in Europe couldn't imagine the not so tiny Demis as a dancing disco star, as he wanted us to believe in his lyrics. One of his best selling songs in the Netherlands was the Mediterranean sounding ‘My friend the wind’, but 'L.O.V.E. got a hold on me' (written by the guys behind the classic 'I will survive) is way more precious to me. You can hear the album vers

Soul Twist

Image
It’s time to make a soul twist. One of the standout tracks is the one by Dee Dee Sharp, ‘What kind of lady’. The echoes in the song really make me shiver! In the early 1960s Dee Dee Sharp (born Dionne LaRue) was a teenage star and sang a duet with Chubby Checker, ‘Slow twisting’. In 1968 Dee Dee recorded 'What kind of lady' for Gamble Records, owned by producer Kenny Gamble whom she had married a year earlier. ‘What kind of lady’ was one of the early Gamble & Huff productions. The song was arranged by Bobby Martin and Tom Bell in some kind of Motown style. The four of them became very successful in the 1970s and created the sophisticated ‘Philly sound’ (Stylistics, O’Jays, Three Degrees, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and many more). When Dee Dee Sharp-Gamble and husband Kenny had marital problems, he wrote ‘You’ll never find a love like mine’ which became a hit for Lou Rawls in 1976. Kenny and Dee Dee officially divorced in 1980. Del Shannon and FrankieValli (from

Boogie Cops part 3

Image
Another episode of Boogie Cops! Again some soulful (underground) disco tracks from the late seventies and early eighties, with a few exceptions. I tried to make the Michael Jackson classic spookier by adding more of Vincent Price’s raps and a few horror effects, like MJ’s voice… ;-) Spot the differences by listening to the first track of the mix and the original later on: Thriller by Michael Jackson One of the best bands of today are The Noisettes. They sound a little bit like Amy Winehouse, but their vocals are much deeper. And their lyrics are quite nice to listen to. They have a new single out ‘Every now and then’ which is so good! In this mix I used ‘Never forget you’. Picture by Chicagos-Finest Full tracklist: Michael Jackson – Thriller [Eddy’s Horrific Edit] (1982) Quincy Jones – You’ve Got It Bad Girl (1973) Anthony White – Stop And Think It Over (1976) Noisettes – Never Forget You (2009) Rice & Beans Orchestra – You’ve Got Magic (1977) Starship Orchestra -

Slow & Easy Grooves II

Image
Picture by FreeFoto.com It’s time to ease things down a little bit. This is my follow-up for ' Slow & Easy Grooves part 1 ' that came online a few weeks ago (24th of November). One of the highlights in the mix is Roger (Troutman). He became well-known for singing through his talking-box (which gave him a robot or vocoder sound). He was co-founder of the legendary eighties funk band Zapp, together with his brothers Larry and Terry. They were an inspiration for many hiphop acts. Roger can be heard on ‘California love’ from 2Pac, for instance. During an argument about money Larry killed his brother Roger on the 25th of April 1999, before he aimed the gun at himself. Hall & Oates were a rock-soul duo and highly successful from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. ‘Kiss on my list’ is one of their best pop singles. Tracklisting: Carmen McRae – How Long Has This Been Going On? [MJ Cole Remix] (2002) Chromeo – I Can’t Tell You Why [Eddy’s Edit] (2009) Kristinia DeBar

Boogie Oogie Oogie (Boogie Cops part 2)

Image
The title of this mixtape is a little bit inspired, of course, by the wonderful classic of A Taste Of Honey. They made such good records with the highly innovative Mizell Brothers behind the production desk. Fonz and Larry Mizell started to work on the Blue Note jazz label in the early seventies, but they became more crossover disco-jazz-funk producers later on. Check out their work with organ player Johnny Hammond, trumpeter Donald Byrd and flautist Bobbi Humphrey. They sound almost perfect! John Morales Universal Robot Band and Instant Funk can be found on a great new John Morales tribute on BBE records, named after his famous M&M mixes. John was a remix-pioneer in the late seventies and early eighties. He initially worked with tape, a pair of scissors and glue to rework original dance tracks. His intention was to create longer versions to play at his gigs. John started spinning records in his native Bronx, ending up playing in several of the Manhattan clubs. An original

Boogie Cops!

Image
Picture by DottieboBottie It’s time for some good old-fashioned disco! In this case boogie not only means (post) disco music from the late seventies and early eighties, but most of all soulful (underground) disco. Johnnie Taylor’s ‘You’re The Best In The World’ has been used for the excellent ‘Squeeze me’ from Dutch dance-act Kraak & Smaak last year. And if you listen to Jennifer Lopez after the disco classic of Tavares you’ll understand why I squeezed her in... ;-) Thanks to F. and Andrew ' Lovefingers ' Hogge for the inspiration! Full tracklist: Julia & Company – Breakin’ Down (Sugar Samba) (1983) Toba – Moving Up (1982) Margie Joseph – Knockout (1982) Voyage – Point Zero / From East To West (1978) El Coco – Cocomotion (1978) Montana – The Toys Come To Life (1978) Don Ray – Body And Soul [Edit] (1978) Eddie Gale – Black Rhythm Happening (1969) Carl Carlton – Everlasting Love (1974) Father’s Children – Hollywood Dreaming (1979) Tavares –