FEATURED NEW RELEASES
Emmanuelle Parrenin
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto
Oh No! Oh My!
Robbie Basho
Boris
Susan Christie
Honey Cone
Starband Number One

Del Tha Funky Homosapien
Allen Toussaint
Harlem River Drive
Jerry Johansson
Dee Dee Warwick
The Human Beinz

COMPLETE LIST OF THIS WEEK'S NEW ARRIVALS

EMMANUELLE PARRENIN
Maison Rose
(Lion Productions)

"Plume Blanche, Plume Noire"

"Leiturgie"

We carried an earlier reissue of French female folk singer Emmanuelle Parrenin's beautiful, beautiful album Maison Rose about five years ago, but were only able to get about four copies before they dried up. It's been bugging me ever since that we weren't able to expose more people to it. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I heard Lion Productions (Limonada, Classical M, Hojas, etc.) had it on their reissue schedule, and I'm glad to announce that it's finally arrived replete with a bonus track and superior liner notes and photos over the previous edition. Straight away, those liner notes compare Parrenin to Vashti Bunyan, Linda Perhacs, and Brigitte Fontaine; I won't protest as that is the company I've always placed her in when describing the record as it was passed around to various discriminating friends. At some moments she can practically out-hush Vashti and at others be as engagingly original as the Fontaine of L'Incindie or Je Ne Connais Pas Cet Homme; particularly in her arrangements which allow for plenty of modulated space, subtle polyphony, and unique instrumentation such as a wah-wah pedal laden hurdy-gurdy. She has a restrained and delicate seriousness which proves utterly enchanting over the course of the album, and she always balances her love of Breton folk music with a tendency toward the slyly avant-garde. I truly don't have enough platitudes to do such an original album justice, but I should say it's a rare release that could make my top 10 in 2001 and 2006. [MK]

ALVA NOTO + RYUICHI SAKAMOTO
Avatar
(Raster Noton)

"ax Mr. L."

The third installment of the Noto / Sakamoto 'collabo' is in and the results are a distinct improvement from the slightly retread quality of the previous one, Insen. Here the pair's respective sounds, Alva Noto's clinical clicks, whirrs and bass, and Ryuichi Sakamoto's elegant piano, are given what at first just seems like an Oval-ization. But as the album progresses it becomes its own thing entirely, making use of its elements to their full effect. Track two, "Mur," sounds like a digital Harold Budd, or more like Harold Budd as seen through C-3PO's ridged, flashlight eyes. All the details are blurred while allowing the beauty to rise to the surface. Track 3, "ax Mr. L." reaches the most liquefied phase that this collaboration has ever seen, which is precisely what's most exciting about Revep. The two amorphous elements are being pressed closer together, basically smashing them between two clear plates of glass and letting us view the results. A little on the short side (three tracks in about 20 minutes) but this one still manages to be essential. [SM]

OH NO! OH MY!
Oh No! Oh My!
(Self-Released)

"I Have No Sister"

"Jane Is Fat"

ROBBIE BASHO
Venus in Cancer
(Tompkins Square)

"Venus in Cancer"

"Eagle Sails the Blue Diamond Waters"

New age blows. It's all scented candles and crystals, incense and yuppified yoga memberships and whatever other dust-collectors and drawer-fillers you can pick up at your neighborhood kitsch emporium. I mean, does anything reek more of thirty-somethings longing to regain their "cool" and single women stuck in temp jobs pouring over Cosmo on their lunch breaks, desperately trying to not lose faith in fate like Astrology? It ain't pretty. Pardon me for thinking the "least famous of the Takoma" acoustic guitar virtuosos, Robbie Basho, had more than a few screws loose for believing in all this sh*t. It's of little surprise that in the liner notes of Basho's first-time-on-CD masterpiece, Venus in Cancer, we learn he believed he "talked to spirits." But thank the Tarot he plays like it too.

Venus in Cancer is one of the most unafraid albums I've ever heard. Maybe he did talk to spirits. If Basho was on a quest to reach enlightenment, I have to think that he found it here. Originally released in '69, Cancer, was an epic transition piece between Basho's more folky, primitive early work and the overtly new age-obsessed direction he would lose himself within from here on out. However, no matter what your astrological preconceptions may be, it is impossible not to respond to Basho's "post-modernity on a bender" style of playing and arranging. Cancer is "World Music," in the best possible meaning of the term. Raging gut-punching raga drones rub up against intricate Celtic folk melodies and howled operatic paeans, arctic tomes, and spiced Middle Eastern flourishes too -- the record is bursting at the seams with inspired leftfield ideas, and ridiculously affecting playing. And yeah, like Fahey and Kottke and Sandy Bull and the rest, Basho used a myriad of wacked tunings. Plus, he could fingerpick circles around just about anyone. However, most importantly, finally, here's a mostly acoustic guitar instrumental record that doesn't just exist to let your neighbors know you've got good taste in music, or serve as fancy white noise for your next dinner party. Basho's sprawling netherworld jams will not be taken for granted. And to hell if it's not nearly as accessible as the stuff his contemporaries were putting out. Sometimes Basho's tunes are pretty, and sometimes they sound like war, sometimes they sound utterly ridiculous and frequently they'll f**k with you more than anything Takoma ever would put out again. It's enough to make you forget it's all sorta new age too. [HG]

BORIS
Dronevil Final
(Misanthropic Agenda)

"Evil Wave Form"

"Red"

First came Miles Davis' Live-Evil, then Misfits' Evil Live. Now we have Boris' Dronevil!!! Finally available on immaculately packaged CDs (gatefold screen, printed jacket with vellum insert, plus clear cellophane discs to represent each of the tracks of the Dronevil album -- f**king neurotic!) and probably timed to perfectly coincide with the last two LP copies becoming extinct, even on eBay. No matter, because who wants to wake up from a bong coma to get up and flip over two slabs of wax when you can just throw these two silver discs into yr CD-J set up and let 'em rip? (Or more likely, your home stereo and your leftover shopping center parking lot hangout boom box, you Hesher!) That's right, these are two CDs designed to be played simultaneously! They suggest that you play them each through a DIFFERENT set of speakers, but hey, I don't have a dorm-mate anymore so I cheated and played them through my Pioneer CD-J 800s. Boy, does this record rule. Definitely another best-of-the-best, up there with Absolutego (a match concept-wise) and Pink or Akuma No Uta (gently out-rocking both of them with subtlety, not head-on, in a different way). So what's it sound like? OK, how about some post-apocalyptic Morricone sh*t that runs for 12 minutes into a beautiful ringing ride cymbal lull that leads into a doom metal funeral march that slowly becomes Tortoise with elephantiasis afflicted cojones. The finale is filled with scathing, mammoth-surge riffs and surprise endings that I won't ruin for you. The slow-motion bludgeoning of the endless finale is like Earth doing a soundtrack to a natural disaster. I'm telling you, with this release Wata really needs to be added to the guitar-goddess hall of fame. Her abandon and restraint is like no other. She kicks ass with a fistful of airbrushed, black metal press-on nails? Did I just say that? Hell yeah, I did. [SM]

SUSAN CHRISTIE
Paint a Lady
(Finders Keepers)

"Paint a Lady"

"Rainy Day"

There's plenty of "lost" and "forgotten" and "mega-rare" psychedelic albums out there. Lots of them are bootlegs or gray-market reissues. Many of them hustle you worse than a street game of three card monte, leaving you out $20 or more. Let me assure you -- this is not one of them! Susan Christie was a Philadelphian folk singer caught up in the moment of the late-'60s. Old heads may remember her single "I Love Onions" popping up on "Captain Kangaroo" way back when. That novelty hit may have been the nadir of her budding music career, as the eight tracks on Paint a Lady never saw the light of day, until now. Teamed up with clued-in producer/arranger John Hill (Pacific Gas & Electric, Wool, The Riders of the Mark), who successfully emulates past triumphs of Jack Nitzsche on a tighter budget, Christie recorded these songs in a variety of of-the-moment styles, from downer-laced Poppy Family-style folk to acid-kissed loner pop, haunted with ghosts of loss and leaving, and coating the earth with its damp green mossy touch, to stabs at '69 soul. One pictures these recordings as a demo reel left unanswered by CBS Records, who initially funded this session, full of ideas about a direction a whole album could take. Throughout various levels of studio orchestration, some constants remain: sinuous, twangy guitar playing in the style of Neil Young's Stray Gators, Hendrix-esque freakouts, psychedelic wah-wah arrangements laid out next to milky brass passages, and much more. Christie and co. had this session on lock, and for what? Three acetate LPs, one of which inspired this reissue from John Hill's original session tapes, sounding as good as the day the songs were cut. Fans of the freak-folk revival, B-Music devotees, and break-miners are certain to go wild over this beautiful, poignant rediscovery. [DM]

HONEY CONE
Soulful Sugar: The Complete Hot Wax Recordings
(Castle/Sanctuary)

"Stick-Up"

"Ace in the Hole"

In my humble opinion, Honey Cone is one of the top five girl groups of all time. No other girl group to my knowledge was able to amass the kind of song catalog these ladies were able to in the relatively short time they were together. The group was put together by the legendary production writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland shortly after they left Motown to form their own label. The ladies were a trio of beautiful young black women who were veteran session singers that HDH had met on separate occasions while they were still at Motown. The idea was to produce a girl group that reflected the sassy feminist attitude of the young women of the early-'70s, and fuse it with the same kind of bubblegum funk that the Jackson 5 were finding success with. The impact was fast and immediate. Honey Cone seemingly came out of nowhere with their leather fringes, tight minis and cowboy boots, and provided the industry with a much-needed wake-up call. They were a deliberate counterattack to the classic '60s girl group sound and coquettish attitude that the HDH team helped create at Motown. They not so subtly drove the final nail into the classic Detroit sound leaving groups like the Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas floundering, struggling to switch up their style and stay relevant.

Honey Cone's sound was a mixture of the slightly psychedelic string-drenched funk that the HDH team hinted at with "Reflections," a song they produced for the Supremes while still at Motown. This time around, the backbeat was much harder and the lyrics were realistic anthems of self-empowerment, as evident by their biggest hit "Want Ads." Hands down, this is some of the best sounding music produced in the early-'70s. You can hear traces of the arpeggiated string swells in the sophisticated disco productions coming out of Philadelphia less than 10 years later, and the bass lines and breakbeats in countless hip-hop productions by Kanye West, RZA, Pete Rock, Dr. Dre and so many others. Unfortunately, bad business decisions from the label as well as pressures from touring and recording schedules caused the project to implode in three short years; but their influence was immediate and ushered in a new kind of vocal group as evidenced by the success of post-Honey Cone artists that formed after, such as the Three Degrees, First Choice, the Emotions. And it continues to this day. The brassy attitude of Christina Aguilera and Destiny's Child is a lot more in line with Honey Cone than the Supremes…whether they're aware of it or not. This is some of the best music ever! [DH]

STARBAND NUMBER ONE
No.1 de No.1
(Dakar Sound)

"Guajira Ven"

"Yoro"

Devastating archival live sets by Pape Seck's Starband Number One, one of the leading lights of the early-'70s Senegalese M'balax scene that also gave us Youssou N'Dour and Thione Seck. If you enjoyed the Bembeya Jazz reissue of a couple of years ago you may find a lot of pleasure here, as they also combine Cuban influences with impassioned vocals, blistering African percussion, and some truly mind melting effects-laden electric guitar. Mesmerizing. [MK]

DEL THA FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN
I Wish My Brother George Was Here
(Elektra)

"Mistadobalina"

"Catch a Bad One"

Could this man be one of the most influential emcees ever? Well, I don't know if Del has achieved the kind of Zen-like reverence that artists like Rakim, B.I.G. and Tupac have, but I can't think of a more underrated artist who has had such a major impact on the current indie-underground hip-hop aesthetic, especially on the West Coast. The irony being, of course, that these two albums were considered commercial failures by the label. But the legacy of these recordings continues to grow, with emcees like Eminem, Bun B and Murs all citing these records as a major influence. Hell, even Dave Chappelle claims that he is a huge Del fan!

Del is Ice Cube's cousin and Cube signed him to his burgeoning production/management company, Street Knowledge, which boasted a roster of intimidating sounding West Coast gangsta rap groups like Da Lench Mob and WC & the Maad Circle. But one look at Del's album cover, which featured a pensive and slightly paranoid looking Del sitting in a forest with a sea of human eyeballs staring at him, you got the feeling that this wasn't going to be your typical gun totin', crack slangin' affair. But whatever nervousness he felt about all eyes being on him must have dissipated in the studio, because this vicious debut, I Wish My Brother George Was Here, featured a self-assured Del attacking the mic with a direct, taunting yet disarmingly sing-songy flow that sounded like nothing else at the time. His underlying theme throughout the album is about staying true to one's self at all times, and the trials and tribulations of doing that when you're a young, eccentric, black male survivin' in the hood. The subjects he rhymed about included getting harassed by gang members on the bus for dressing funny ("Wacky World of Rapid Transit"), pretty-boy emcees who dance ("Pissin' on Your Steps"), skin tone issues among blacks ("Dark Skin Girls"), and lazy friends who sponge ("Sleepin' on My Couch"). It wasn't anything that other rap artists weren't doing at the time, but the way Del used his cynical observational sense of humor to channel that frustration into his rhymes was an absolutely groundbreaking formula -- a formula Eminem took straight to the bank six years later. The beats were great too...okay, hampered only by the West Coast g-funk overtones that were the rage at the time. At its best, it's a chunky, layered sound that flips the Parliament and Zapp-like grooves on its ear and injects a jazz element to the proceedings, which Del and co. would expand upon on No Need for Alarm.

I guess you could say that Alarm is kind of like Del's Sister Lovers or Pink Moon, an album that by all means should fail considering the artist's mind-state at the time; but the pure honesty of the emotions coupled with his incredible talent give the album a weird, self-destructive focus that still inspires to this day. The honesty contained within these recordings was a welcome breath of fresh air. He introduced a new, distinct brand of West Coast hip-hop culture that was decidedly different than the Afro-centric, slightly gimmicky style of leftfield hip-hop coming out of the East Coast -- a style where flow reigned supreme and individualism was king. Around this time, he split from the Street Knowledge crew and label, solidified his own crew of oddball emcees, the Hieroglyphics, and recorded this mainly self-produced album. Gone was the bright roller funk thump of George, which was replaced with an inverted spaced-out jazz sound that sounds pretty close to the classic East Coast boom-bap. Only Del took out the bap and left only the boom, keeping the sound as sparse and minimal as possible. The space was filled with his vitriolic rhymes aimed at music critics, shady record execs, and wack emcees. It boasted no bouncy hooks or choruses, just pure lyrical heat meant to be a wake-up call to all bandwagoning rappers to stay original, and a f**k you aimed at the music industry execs attempting to market him and hip-hop as pop entertainment. The album boasted no videos or real singles, so it sank pretty quickly. But over the years, this record has been an enormous impact on the West Coast underground, paving the way for the sound and subsequent success of artists like Madlib, Freestyle Fellowship and Del's own Hieroglyphics crew.

Del went on to have subsequent success with the Gorillaz and his other solo works, but always on his own terms and never compromised. His unsung influence started with these two albums, so if you consider yourselves a fan of any of the aforementioned artists and aren't familiar, consider these essential listening! [DH]

HARLEM RIVER DRIVE
Harlem River Drive
(Stateside)

"Harlem River Drive"

"Idle Hands"

I picked up a bobo Roulette repress of this 1971 album years back and it's rarely left my crate, a too-perfect fusion of soul and Latin pop that's been often imitated (see any of the post-Eric Burdon War albums) but never topped. The group consisted of Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, both leading sessions for the first time, along with assistance from the best of both musical communities, including Jimmy Norman, Pretty Purdie, Cornell Dupree, Victor Venegas, Ronnie Cuber, Gerald Jemmott, Randy Brecker, Nick Marrerro, Eladio Perez, and many more. Putting the vibe of Harlem River Drive into words is no easy task, but all becomes evident upon a sit-down with this groundbreaking, flawless material: the slow, spaced-out brooding of "Broken Home," its Hammonds spiraling off into a glass ceiling and reverberating back down; the bright Latin hustle of "Seeds of Life"; the Funkadelicized lilt of "If (We Had Peace Today)"; the endless love, akin to both Sly Stone and Charles Wright of the title track; the brassy, extended funk of "Idle Hands." And that's all you get. Five songs, barely over a half-hour, and you're left wanting more. Since the group never took off commercially, the record stalled out, leaving only a later Eddie Palmieri date, recorded live at Sing-Sing, as an artifact of this one-of-a-kind band. Harlem River Drive as a location connects the overpass with the many different people who live in its shadow, and the album is a perfect encapsulation of that social synergy. This is the eternal NYC soundtrack of summer struggles, love, tolerance, respect, and above all, fun, with, by, and for one another, and its messages still echo within our culture nearly four decades later. Guaranteed to put bodies on the dancefloor -- there's something for everyone here. A classic inside and out, here reissued on CD for the first time in years, following decades as an unavailable rarity. A must-own. [DM]

ALLEN TOUSSAINT
Life, Love and Faith
(Water)

"She Once Belonged to Me "

"Cruel Way to Go Down"

For as much as I adore music, there are scant musical idols for me. Sure, plenty of them have already left this world, but as a rule, I don't ask them to be personable and for the most part have little interest in interacting with them. That said, I had the chance last year, post-Hurricane Katrina, to shake the hand of New Orleans Renaissance man, Allen Toussaint, and it was an absolute honor. For over half a century, Toussaint has embodied the sound of New Orleans in every aspect, learning piano from the master Professor Longhair, producing records for the likes of Lee Dorsey (who is one of my favorite singers of all-time), Irma Thomas, and Ernie K. Doe, as well as discovering a little band called the Meters. He's the pen behind songs like "Working in a Coalmine," "From a Whisper to a Scream," "Get Out My Life, Woman," and even "Lady Marmalade." Comfortable behind the boards and scenes, Toussaint stepped out in the early-'70s to finally be behind the microphone, voicing his own songs. After a self-titled debut, he cut three subtle, sublime, smooth NOLA funk records, the two strongest finally available on CD.

Motored by the Meters and a crack-team of session men, Life, Love and Faith finds Toussaint touching on social concerns with "Victims of the Darkness" as well as fly ladies (see the funk classic "Soul Sister"), more often than not in an up-tempo mode. Somewhat more conceptual in scope, the follow-up Southern Nights brings together strands of New Orleans, Creole music, Toussaint's classical piano upbringing, and the Band's rustic country-funk (who learned a great deal from Toussaint's sides), not to mention that the hazy, Leslie-speaker swirls of psychedelia that grace the title track wouldn't sound out of place on the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa. As its name suggests, it's a smoldering stew of such strains, rendered at a luxuriant pace, yet the funk is crisp, no doubt. Opener "Last Train" mixes sharp second-line rhythms with phased smears of brass, while "Country John" is a cut of downhome funk. "What Do You Want the Girl to Do?" is one of Toussaint's most poignant vocal deliveries. While not one to dabble in tragedy, I'm glad that the post-Katrina scene has brought Toussiant back into the light and in front of the mic. Rather than his collab with the well-meaning Elvis Costello though, I'd opt for these classic slabs to better appreciate his sundry talents. [AB]

JERRY JOHANSSON
And a String Quartet from Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
(Kning Disk)

"Kalyan"

"Kirwani"

Jerry Johansson, the undisputed Swedish champion of the sitar, presents two 25-minute pieces in collaboration with Camilla Wahlberg on tambura, and a string quartet from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Johansson composed and arranged all the music, which was recorded live in a church in 2005, blending Eastern and Western styles (including Swedish folk music) to utmost perfection. The two pieces evolve and undulate slowly, with Johansson and Wahlberg taking turns in the spotlight, however, the music truly comes to life when they share centerstage. The sitar combined with the tambura creates an intense and mesmerizing sound, with the violin and cello quartet providing the perfect background. Another highly recommended release by Kning, who's developing quite the track record with recent releases by Alvars Orkester, David Stackenas, Steffen Basho-Junghans, James Blackshaw, and others. [AK]

DEE DEE WARWICK
The Collection
(Spectrum)

"It's Not Fair"

"Do It with All Your Heart"

My friend Alec has always claimed that the wrong Warwick became a household name. I suppose that's relative, but it is a shame that more people haven't heard Dee Dee's material because she was an amazing vocalist and her music was pretty damn good. This import collection of her '60s work for Mercury/Polygram is as good a place as any to start for anyone unfamiliar with her brand of elegant soul. Dee Dee, like older sister Dionne and her aunt Cissy Houston (Whitney's mother), made her name as an in-demand back-up session singer. Dee Dee and Dionne both got separate solo deals at the same time, but while Dionne hit pay dirt by teaming up with Burt Bacharach and going pop, Dee Dee went in a more traditional R&B direction. Dee Dee definitely had an earthier, souful vocal style. Her material ranged from super-elegant orchestrated soul ballads to bright northern soul shakers. Like Dionne, Dee Dee worked with some of the best R&B producers and writers of the time, names like Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Carole King and Kenneth Gamble. It's perplexing why she didn't produce a substantial hit, because this is some amazing music. It's not like she didn't have any success, because many of these songs did chart a bit, but she never had that breakaway hit that so many of her contemporaries had, although many songs that she sang first became significant chart toppers for others ("I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" for the Supremes and "Alfie" for her sister Dionne). All in all, this is an excellent collection of vintage R&B from one of the most underrated singers in the genre. If you're a fan of Phil Spector productions, Dusty, or good soul music in general, you need this in your life. Now if someone could re-release all of her '70s output for Atlantic Records, this nerdy beatdigger will be all smiles! [DH]

THE HUMAN BEINZ
Evolutions
(Fallout)

"The Face"

"Every Time Women"

For any of those curious to know what happened to the band who did "Nobody But Me" … well, it was a typical late-'60s music biz story. The Human Beinz started life years earlier as the Premiers, then the Human Beingz, in the industrial slum of Youngstown, Ohio. After several independent singles, they were picked up by Capitol A&R man Lex de Azevedo, who brought the band into the label, but managed to get their name wrong. The group felt slighted, and when their Detroit-influenced single (last heard in Kill Bill, as well as modified for TV commercials, and on the expanded Nuggets box set) hit the Top Ten, the one thing that seemed to bother the band the most became their calling card. They survived for two albums, Evolutions being the hard-to-find second, from 1968. It's a solid mix of songs that find the group in between Grass Roots-style folk pop in one direction, and a better-produced dirty garage sound, a la the Standells, in another. There's one real standout here, the seven-minute fuzz-drenched closer "April 15th," easily worth the price of admission. Also tacked on are two tracks from an impossibly rare Japanese 45 (as luck would have had it, the quarreling band, having broken up, got huge in the land of the Rising Sun and were forced to reassemble to tour there in early '69). Overall, a real cool time. [DM]

THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS

[AB] Adrian Burkholder
[HG] Hartley Goldstein
[GH] Gerald Hammill
[DH] Duane Harriott
[MK] Michael Klausman
[AK] Andreas Knutsen
[DM] Doug Mosurock
[SM] Scott Mou


THANKS FOR READING
- all of us at Other Music