Major props to memories of these carefree daze and my radio Mentor, the late legendary terrestrial radio Program Director, Sonny Taylor, who loved this jam!
It is a CLASSIC theme-song that visits me every so often as a friendly reminder of better days gone by. If this long twelve-inch remixed version doesn’t get you moving, nothing will! Belita Woods on lead vocal really “belitaed it OUT!” lol Yes this is one of my “children” and I pray that I can get it out of storage soon and, along with you – TURN IT UP!
Just in-time for 2015 spring (beat) breaks, here is a cool cabin fever buster! Whether you are a DJ seeking spice for your sets or a “civilian” music lover, these fifty-four minutes of sound has something to give your Mr. Spockish quizzical eyebrow pause to do its thing.
From the first cookin’ bounce of “MIX” [BasicLUX BL9228-6; release date, March 31, 2015 ], I was reuniting with some old friends. I thought to myself, “The Cools have done it again!” James and DeAnna Cool, better known as Madison Park, are now collaborating with a Dutch dance music producer known as Beechcraft for this “MIX”, a well-conceived fourth full-length album CD since I first heard about and reviewed them for www.about.com back in the mid-2000s. It is very difficult to find out any bio on Beechkraft, who is also a Netherlands composer for television and film. Apparently he prefers to remain a bit of an anomaly – I cannot pinpoint exactly what he added to their sound, but suspect it is the upbeat, spirited-cadence of several of these tracks that he is responsible for. If I am incorrect, please educate me in the comments section below. At times, this album has a Pet Shop Boys feel to it – not a bad thing in my musical universe!
Madison Park, as always, features a very clean, sophisticated club music sound stapled by impeccable electronic editing and, of course, DeAnna’s hypnotically soothing lyrics via enchanting, wispy- velvet vocals. Having gone thru the disc multiple times, the first track, “Tonight” is the one I sweat the most. “Warm When I’m Alone” is next on my hot parade – I dig the uptempo groove – as future floor fillers!
In total, “MIX” grooves like a theatrical play or movie soundtrack with various moods and tempo. The cover art features DeAnna as the “I” in Mix, by the way, while the inner seat for the disc has three philosophical sayings for us to ponder.
Since 2002, downtempo duo, Madison Park has continued to produce brilliant music through a turbulent music industry era and are best known to me for their Billboard Dance remake of Roxy Music and in-particular, my favorite song, “More Than This”. Of-note here is their downtempo version of the David Bowie classic, “Let’s Dance”, which I envision as mixable within pancake turner late night chill sets. I think that it, like several other tracks should fade instead of ending cold. A chop ending works well on the acoustic selection, “Words”, track eight, naturally; fades are more disc-jockey-friendly.
From the dream-scape of “Parts of Me” to the bongos heard on “I Am Your Beachbreeze” or a cathedral-house anthem on “Sunrise (Next Level MIX)” and the lite drum & bass treatment of “Every Single Day”, this “MIX” garners a listenable, danceable four-of-five up/downtempo rated touch of house married with Portishead stars, which will cure whatever malaise the winter of 2015 touched you with. Remember…”Itz IN da MIX”.
Pickhitt: James Cool tells me that “Parts of Me” was the first single released in-advance of “MIX” and is in it’s 13th week charting on the World Chill-Lounge Charts at the time of this revu publishing. The video for “MIX” is being shot and edited at the time of this writing and will be available by the end of March, 2015. Then…y’all will see it here (hopefully FIRST!).
Johnny Taylor was a giant of R&B music. Introduced to me by the late and great radio program director, Frankie Crocker, on WLIB FM which later became WBLS FM, I came to love his music. I also have to give props to New York City’s first black music station of the 1960s, WWRL AM, as a station where I first heard this record, “Take Of Your Homework” on Memphis, Tennesee’s Stax Records back in 1969.
As a tune-wedgie, this classic has been ringing through my musical mind of-late. This is one of my first 45rpm records I bought at the record shop on the way home from school, as was my custom with my “allowance” money from my parents as well as the the clean and soulful album this song was featured on, ‘Who’s Makin’ Love”!
It is a great, simple song and concept that became one of Johnny’s greatest hits. I found this cool video about it on You Tube! Check it out:
Is there still infidelity in marriage and relationships here in 2014? If so, then this record still is relevant as a cautionary tale. Check out the lyrics, if you don’t believe me! lol
“Got to tell you the truth, I got to tell you truth..
Oh brother Jack, you goin’ with sister Sadie
When you ought to be home with your old lady
But your heart is divided in so many pieces
Tryin’ to please them both, never pleasin’ neither
Oh Jack, take it on back
Before your good thing is gone Because the downfall of too many men
Is up keep of too many women. So…
Take care of your homework fella
If ya don’t somebody will, oh yeah
You better take care of your homework fella
If you don’t somebody will
Now wait a minute, yeah!
Oh brother Fred, how he used to run,
Stayin’ out all night leavin’ his homework undone
Now Fred’s old lady, took as much as she could stand
Then one night the next door neighbor, gave him a helping hand
Oh Brotha, take it on home,
Before your good thing is gone Because the downfall of too many men
Is the up keep of too many women, so..
Take care of your homework fella
If you don’t somebody will, oh
You gotta hear me now,
You better take care of your homework fella
If you don’t somebody will
Listen to me y’all
Take it on home
Get off the streets y’all
Take it on home, Ahhhhhh!
Alright! [interlude]
But fellas let me tell you
These girls are gettin’ hip
You can only slide so long
Before you make a slip.
Take care of your homework fella
If you don’t somebody will
Oh, hear me now, hear me now, hear me now
You better take care of your homework fella
If you don’t somebody will
Take it, take it, take it on home..”
Take it, take it, take it…
Songwriters
BANKS, HOMER / JACKSON, RAYMOND E. / DAVIS, DONALD / KELLY, THOMAS F.
Comments or tales of how this song saved you from losing your relationship are welcomed feedback. So “take care”!
I have known about Mark Tara since 2006, when I was first assigned his single, “Different Love” to review by my then Editor at www.about.com/dancemusic, Nashville’s “DJ Ron” (Slomowicz).
Since then I learned much more about Toronto’s Mark Tara and his varied talents which include being very astute as a creative website developer.
“Creative” is the adjective I can use multiple times to describe Mark’s latest musical release, “Number One”, which is now available for your ears. The proof is in the first sentence of his press release, which describes the single as “the perfect blend of talent and technology”.This alludes to the virtual collaboration with co-producers, The Netherlands’ Matt Pop, who commented, “It’s always a pleasure working on a strong tune with great vocals – that was very much the case with Number One.” and the Klubjumpers of the USA, whose Dan Matthews added, “It was great working with Mark Tara on Number One. Very appealing lyrics to the song with Mark’s great voice just adds life to [The KlubJumpers] remix. ‘Sure to be a Hit on many DJ’s Radio Mix shows Play List.”
Number One” is sparkling and brilliantly fierce as dance tracks go these days! I am so happy that Mark thinks enough of me to have sent me the advance video and colorful follow-up finished track.I like the way the video opens with a curtain going up on a stage and then the multi-boxes of Tara performing marquee-style – it ends with the curtain going down on the show. Great stuff!
“We live in days of making dreams come true,” says Mark Tara. With the advent of WE TRANSFER, a website allowing users to email files as large as 2 gigs, (Wow!) digital distribution sites and DSLR camera technology, which means that the future is indeed here, allowing musicians like Mark to present his unique talents to a global market – or even the musical gift anthem to the US President and Supreme Court in the aftermath of their recent apparent affirmation of “gay marriage’- strange bedfellows, indeed! Mark is a kinder, gentler and prettier ‘RuePaul’, if you will allow the analogy. Sometimes it seems that Mark’s moves in the video are a parody of female singers, but as with many things these days her in ‘the future which is now’, it IS what it IS.
I could loop this song and listen to it or play it in my club over-and-over again, ad infinitum! As Toronto-Trinidadian Mark revealed in one of my prior music critic interactions with him, “”You Rock!” I give this song four lucky stars out of five, remembering that this is just one song of an anticipated forthcoming album (I hope). And I will say this, without the video, like back in my younger days of just having a 45rpm vinyl or a 12” vinyl or single CD first, this might just be “another dance cut” vying for attention.
One…two…one, two, three, hit it! My “children” (aka my Disco record crates) are weeping in memory of an original “disco diva” from the 1970s, Loleatta Holloway, who left the physical world yesterday at only sixty-four (64) years of age. First impression? Again – we never know how long we have on Earth…
My Holloway vinyl library consists mainly of special DJ 12″ pressings (which play at the speed of 45rpm) and 45rpms with the long versions of her classic disco hits that the record companies bestowed up me, the “baby DJ” when they ran-out of the bigger platters. A neighbor gave me this one that somebody was going to throw away, of all things…
Of course I first heard of Ms. Holloway when the late Frankie Crocker introduced her over the airwaves of the then number one music station in the nation, New York City’s WBLS, 107.5 FM, “Loleatta Holloway…that’s ‘Hit and Run…she’s a Diva…” The eleven minutes of 1977’s “Hit and Run” is the disc that I can always put my hands on first as I’ve kept it cataloged in the same crate. Listening today for this post, I dusted off my Hustle steps with my invisible dance partner, Nina! (I’ll have no problem teaching it to her, lol) That’s the dance that was popular during the Holloway heyday.
I have two “Love Sensations” and to listen to the video below, I am reminded how Crocker and another programmer of the day used to speed-up the pitch of the music we played on the air so as to make our “sound” livelier than the competition – pitch control on turntables was “new technology” back in the ’70s – an it worked! This version sounds a bit labored.
Loleatta is one of those classic club music singers like my acquaintance Jocelyn Brown, who had that throaty, church- Gospel kind of yell that they used to accent the song’s situation. She added that accent more after her days as an R&B singer on the Aware record label, no-doubt. The only hit I own from those days is “Casanova”…played during my young-adult days on NYC’s WWRL AM and Newark’s WNJR AM, it still resonates and retrieves those memories here, now
that I dug it out of the old 45 box; there was a bigger hit from those days, “Cry To Me” but I didn’t like that one as much, nor do I have it, and for a long time I didn’t make the connection between those Atlanta days and the disco jams.
“It’s all ova, Casanova, It’s all ova CasaNOVA…”
Teaming-up with Salsoul Records head man and producer, Vince Montana, and his Salsoul Orchestra gave Loleatta the opportunity to shine on their second album, 1977’s “Magic Journey” with the midway on side one the hit “Runaway”. My only other Holloway appearance is on Dan Hartman’s 1980 floor-filler “Vertigo/Relight My Fire album. That is one l-o-n-g intro and Loleatta’s voice stands out among the chorus, “Strong enough to walk on through the night!” Yeah!
Once Holloway blessed the DJ booth of the Garage in NYC while I was there visiting Larry Levan after my overnight radio show on WBLS.
What is your favorite disco memory from 1977? “Ok, now let’s do the album version…” lol
As a new blogger…this is bit of an experiment…my mind is such that I think of it as a huge jukebox with millions of songs in it. If the old TV show, “Name That Tune” was still on, I’d go on a winning streak, naming those tunes in…one, two or (at the most) three notes… Every so often, a new tune crashes my personal ” Top 999″ songs and becomes a tune wedgie – I play it again, and again, and again, and again, et. al (At times like this, I guess it would take a special girl to actually LIVE with me…). And so, this is today’s tune wedgie/and song I’m stuck on. It reminds me of myself and that special dance partner (or not) alone, twirling, whirling, turning, swirling and cavorting on the sequentially-lit, multi-colored disco club dance floor.
Who knows, if this catches on, I’ll do one a month! LOL
pickhitt: video is the bomb, but the track is all that!
Achilliad's Blog! by Jimi B 