Author Archives: HeadMuso

John Scofield – A Go Go

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John Scofield – “A Go Go” from the album “A Go Go”

He was born on 26 December 1951 in Dayton, Ohio, studied at Berklee College of Music and left to record with Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan.
He spent two years with the Billy Cobham/George Duke Band, recorded with Charles Mingus in 1976 and then replaced Pat Metheny in Gary Burton’s Quartet. He joined Miles Davis in 1982 and appears on Star People, You’re Under Arrest and Decoy.
Here he is supported by the avant garde jazz groovesters Medeski, Martin and Wood.

John Scofield – A Go Go

1) A Go Go; 2) Chank; 3) Boozer; 4) Southern Pacific; 5) Jeep on 35; 6) Kubrick; 7) Green Tea; 8) Hottentot; 9) Chicken Dog; 10) Deadzy
John Scofield - A Go Go

John Scofield – electric & acoustic guitar, whistle
John Medeski – organ, wurlitzer, clavinet, piano
Chris Wood – acoustic & electric bass
Billy Martin – drums, tambourine

Funkadelic – Maggot Brain

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Funkadelic – “Maggot Brain” from the album “Maggot Brain”

Maggot Brain was released in 1971, was Funkadelic’s third studio album and was the last album that featured the original lineup.
According to the liner notes the album was recorded when the band had taken some yellow sunshine acid. The title track is an improvised guitar solo by Eddie Hazel lasting over 10 minutes and, unbelievably, recorded in one take.

Funkadelic – Maggot Brain

1) Maggot Brain; 2) Can You Get to That; 3) Hit It and Quit It; 4) You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks; 5) Super Stupid; 6) Back in Our Minds; 7) Wars of Armageddon

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

Spoken word – George Clinton
Drums – Tiki Fulwood
Guitar – Eddie Hazel
Bass – Billy Bass Nelson

Sonny Boy Williamson – Help Me

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Sonny Boy Williamson II – “Help Me” from the album “His Best”

Sonny Boy was born Alex Ford on the Sara Jones Plantation in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The date and year of his birth remain unclear.

He was the illegitimate child of of Millie Ford, but soon took his stepfather’s last name to be known as Rice Miller. He was also known as Little Boy Blue, Willie Williamson, Willie Williams and Willie Miller.
He was the teller of tall tales and mischievous so his own accounts of his life were never to be trusted and led to a lot of confusion.
He called himself Sonny Boy Williamson to cash in on John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson’s popularity.
His major break came when he got a job broadcasting out of KFFA radio out of Helena on the King Biscuit Show in 1941. It made hm famous as it was broadcast all over the south.
He died on 25 May 1965.

Sonny Boy Williamson II - Help Me

“His Best”

1) Good Evening Everybody; 2) Don’t Start Me To Talkin’; 3) All My Love In Vain; 4) Keep It To Yourself; 5) Fattening Frogs For Snakes; 6) I Don’t Know; 7) Cross My Heart; 8) Born Blind; 9) Ninety Nine; 10) Your Funeral And My Trial; 11) Keep Your Hands Out Of My Pocket; 12) Sad To Be Alone; 13) Checkin’ Up On My Baby; 14) Down Child; 15) Nine Below Zero; 16) Bye Bye Bird; 17) Help Me; 18) Bring It On Home; 19) My Younger Days; 20) One Way Out

Mahavishnu Orchestra – The Inner Mountain Flame

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The Mahavishnu Orchestra – “You Know, You Know” from the album “The Inner Mountain Flame”
John McLaughlin was born on 4 January 1942 in Doncaster. He studied violin and piano as a child and took up the guitar at the age of 11.  He moved to London in the early 1960s and played with Alexis Korner, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, the Graham Bond Organisation and Brian Auger.

He moved to the US in 1969 to join Tony Williams’ group Lifetime and formed The Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971.
He played on the following Miles Davis albums; In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Live-Evil, On The Corner, Big Fun and A Tribute to Jack Johnson.
Jeff Beck called him “the best guitarist alive” and he gave guitar lessons to Jimmy Page.

The Inner Mountain Flame

1) Meeting Of The Spirits; 2) Dawn; 3) The Noonward Race; 4) A Lotus On Irish Streams; 5) Vital Transformation; 6) The Dance Of Maya; 7) You Know, You Know; 8) Awakening

The Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mountain Flame

John McLaughlin – Guitar
Rick Laird – Bass
Billy Cobham – Drums, Percussion
Jan Hammer – Keyboards, Organ
Jerry Goodman – Violin

Dr John – Big Shot

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Dr John – “Big Shot” from the album “Locked Down”

Born Malcolm John Rebennack on November 21, 1940 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States,. More commonly known as Dr. John and also Dr. John Creaux, and Dr. John the Night Tripper.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14, 2011.

Locked Down

1) Locked Down; 2) Revolution; 3) Big Shot; 4) Ice Age; 5) Getaway; 6) Kingdom Of Izzness; 7) You Lie; 8) Eleggua; 9) My Children, My Angels; 10) God’s Sure Good

Dr John - Locked Down

Dr. John – keyboards, lead vocals
Dan Auerbach – guitar, percussion, background vocals
Max Weissenfeldt – drums, percussion, background vocals
Leon Michels – keyboards, percussion, woodwinds, background vocals
Nick Movshon – electric and upright bass, percussion, background vocals
Brian Olive – guitar, percussion, woodwinds, background vocals
The McCrary Sisters (Regina, Ann & Alfreda) – background vocals

Gary Bartz – The Drinking Song

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Gary Bartz – “The Drinking Song” from the album “Freedom, Rhythm & Sound”
(Gary – soprano and alto saxes; Andy Bey – vocals; Juni Booth – bass; Nat Bettis – percussion; Harold White – drums)

Gary was born on September 26, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. He plays alto and soprano saxophones and clarinet.
His break into the music industry came when filling in with Art Blakey’s band at his father’s club in Baltimore.
Since that break he has played with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Max Roach, McCoy Tyner, and Jackie McLean.

Freedom, Rhythm & Sound

Disc 1

1) Oliver Lake – Africa; 2) Stanton Davis’ Ghetto / Mysticism – Space-A-Nova; 3) Steve Colson & The Unity Troupe – Lateen; 4) Mary Lou Williams – Miss D.D.; 5) Joe Henderson – Foregone Conclusion; 6) Art Ensemble of Chicago – Old Time Religion; 7) Philip Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble – The African Look; 8) Gary Bartz Ntu Troop – Drinking Song; 9) Pheeroan Aklaff – 3 In 1; 10) The Hastings Street Jazz Experience – Yes Lord; 11) Gato Barbieri & Dollar Brand – Eighty First Street; 12) Ralph Thomas – Big Spliff

Gary Bartz - The Drinking Song

Disc 2

1) Archie Shepp – Attica Blues; 2) Horace Tapscott and Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra – Peyote Song No. III; 3) Sun Ra and his Outer Space Arkestra – Nuclear War; 4) Joe McPhee and John Snyder – Shadow Sculptures; 5) Errol Parker – Street Ends; 6) Amina Claudine Myers – 3/4’s of 4/4; 7) The Pharaohs – Freedom Road; 8) Edward Larry Gordon – All Pervading; 9) Michael White – The Blessing Song; 10) Roy Brooks and the Artistic Truth – Black Survival; 11) The Lloyd McNeill Quartet – Dig Where Dat’s At

William Onyeabor – Atomic Bomb

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or the full 8.31 version!

William Onyeabor – “Atomic Bomb” from the album “Who is William Onyeabor?”

Little is known about William Onyeabor! According to the Luaka Bop record label, Onyeabor “self-released 8 albums between 1978 and 1985 and then became a born-again Christian, refusing ever to speak about himself or his music again….By attempting to speak with Onyeabor himself, and by talking to people who seem to have first hand knowledge, Luaka Bop has been trying to construct an accurate biography of him for the past 18 months…without success.”

“Atomic Bomb” played on fears that were very real at the time. Temitope Kogbe, a Nigerian DJ says, “Though the Cold War…had petered off in the West, Africa was the new theatre for this confrontation – in Angola, Mozambique, and most tragically in the Congo, where in 1961, the U.S.- backed Mobutu to kill Patrice Lumumba, who was feared to be a communist. So the Cold War and its threat of Atomic Bomb was still very much in the spirit of the times when the record was released in 1978.”

William Onyeabor - Who is William Onyeabor?

“Who is William Onyeabor?”

1) Body and Soul; 2) Atomic Bomb; 3) Good Name; 4) Something You Will Never Forget; 5) Why Go to War; 6) Love Is Blind; 7) Heaven and Hell; 8) Let’s Fall in Love; 9) Fantastic Man

GoGo Penguin – Hopopono

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GoGo Penguin – “Hopopono” from the album “v2.0”

GoGo Penguin are a Manchester trio consisting of Chris Illingworth (piano), Nick Blacka (bass), and Rob Turner (drums).

influences include Aphex Twin,  Shostakovich and Massive Attack. v2.0 (their second album on Gondwana Records) has been named as one of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Albums of the Year.

GoGo Penguin – v2.0

1) Murmuration; 2) Garden Dog Barbeque; 3) Kamaloka; 4) FortOne Percent; 5) Home; 6) The Letter; 7) To Drown in You; 8) Shock and Awe; 9) Hopopono

GoGo Penguin - v2.0

Gregory Isaacs – Mr Cop

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Gregory Isaacs – “Mr Cop” from the album “Extra Classic”

Born Gregory Anthony Isaacs on 15 July 1951 in Fletcher’s Land, Kingston, Jamaica. He and his younger brother were raised by their mother in the rough streets of nearby Denham Town. He died on 25 October 2010 aged just 59.

Gregory Isaacs – Extra Classic

1) Mr Cop; 2) Rasta Business; 3) Black Against Black; 4) Extra Classic; 5) My Religion; 6) Promise; 7) Dread Locks Love Affair; 8) Loving Pauper; 9) Something Nice; 10) Warriors; 11) Jailer Jailer; 12) Once Ago

Gregory Isaacs - Extra Classic

The album is actually a collection of singles that surfaced on assorted labels during 1975/76.
Engineers; Errol Thompson, Lee Perry, Ossie Hibbert
Producers; Gregory Isaacs, Lee Perry, Pete Weston
Vocals; Gregory Isaacs
Backing Band; The Aggrovators, The Soul Syndicate, The Revolutionaries, The Upsetters
Studios; Black Ark, Channel One, Dynamic Sounds, Randy’s

Johnny “Guitar” Watson – Space Guitar

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Johnny “Guitar” Watson – “Space Guitar” from the album “Roll Your Moneymaker”

Born John Watson, Jr on 3 February 1935 in Houston, Texas he was initially taught piano by his father. A musical prodigy (his grandfather gave him a guitar when he was 11), he played with both Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland.

His “Space Guitar” album was released in 1954 pioneering guitar feedback and reverb.
He toured and recorded with Larry Williams, Little Richard, Johnny Otis and David Axelrod, played with Sam Cooke and was a guest performer on Frank Zappa’s “One Size Fits All” album. He died on 17 May 1996.

moneymaker

Roll Your Moneymaker: Early Black Rock ‘n Roll 1948-1958

1) You’ve Got To Lose – Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm; 2) You Gonna Wreck My Life – Howlin’ Wolf; 3) W-O-M-A-N – Etta James; 4) Roll Your Moneymaker – Shakey Jake; 5) Sugar Coated Love – Lazy Lester; 6) Tiger Man – Rufus Thomas; 7) Night Out – John J. Moses; 8) I’m Going Down To Tijuana – Andre Williams; 9) Please Don’t Freeze – Ruth Brown; 10) Bring The Money In – The Bill Davis Trio; 11) Don’t Leave Poor Me – Big Maybelle; 12) Space Guitar – Johnny “Guitar” Watson; 13) She Made My Blood Run Cold – Ike Turner; 14) I Got Love If You Want It – Slim Harpo; 15) Keep On Loving Me Baby – Otis Rush; 16) Jericho – Sister Rosetta Tharpe; 17) If Lovin’ Is Believing – Billy “The Kid” Emerson; 18) Heart-O-Matic Love – Bo Diddley; 19) Got My Mojo Working – Ann Cole With The Suburbans; 20) 21 Days In Jail – Magic Sam; 21) Deep Feeling – Chuck Berry; 22) Crawfish – Jesse Stone; 23) Pneumonia – Joe Tex; 24) Love My Baby – Little Junior Parker