Two bottles

Gil-Scott Heron's original version of The Bottle was a big hit also on the dance floors which isn't typical for his work. The song is just amazing. It's fragile and full of soul but at the same it's a funky monster that makes you dance.

Father of salsoul, Joe Bataan, made an instrumental cover of the song right after the original came out. And what a great job he did. The song remains loyal to the original but gives it an excellent latin treatment that makes the song a bit more groovy and gives it some edge. I believe this was Bataan's first cut for Salsoul so with this song he pretty much set the standard for the label.

Gil-Scott Heron & Brian Jackson - The Bottle [320 kbps]

Joe Bataan - The Bottle (La Botella) [320 kbps]

Leon Ware vs. Marvin Gaye

You might be aware of the story behind Marvin Gaye's 1976 album I Want You. A young producer Leon Ware had been writing excellent stuff for his first solo album but when Motown executive Barry Gordy heard the material he "persuaded" Ware to give the songs to Gaye.

I don't know the full story behind this but later Leon Ware released a solo album, Musical Massage. The album is full of amazing, soul tracks but commercially it failed. The rumor has it that Ware should have given also these songs to Gaye but he refused so Motown subsidiary Gordy didn't promote his album at all. Nice way of rewarding loyal employees.

Musical Massage (1976) was re-issued in 2001. This issue contains Leon's original versions of Comfort (a.k.a. Come Live With Me Angel), recorded with Minnie Riperton and I Wanna Be Where You Are, both done by Marvin Gaye on I Want You.

Hopefully you don't get me wrong here. I'm not underestimating Gaye's visionary and style. I just want to give Leon Ware the credit he definitely deserves.

Leon Ware - Comfort (Come Live With Me Angel) [320 kbs]

Marvin Gaye - Come Live With Me Angel [320 kbps]

Charles Earland - (It's A) Doggie Boogie Baby (Vocal Edit)

Charles Earland break into the jazz-funk scene in the late 60's and cut great albums for Prestige in the 70's. He started off playing sax but became known for his skills as an organist. He's also known for Let The Music Play, a certified dance floor jazz classic. Check out Dollar Bin Jams' post about the song.

In 1983 Strut Records released a 12" single featuring (It's A) Doggie Boogie Baby. It differs from Earland's earlier stuff but it will make you dance for sure. At least right after the dog barking voice commands everybody to dance.

Charles Earland - (It's A) Doggie Boogie Baby (Vocal Edit) [320 kbps]

Charanga 76 - No Nos Pararan (Ain't No Stopping Us Now)

I'm trying to be clever here and link my previous post to this one. Melba Moore's version of You Stepped Into My Life was produced by McFadden & Whitehead. So is Ain't No Stopping Us Now which is the original version of No Nos Pararan. The original is somewhat played out but this great latin cover version still feels fresh.

No Nos Pararan was released as a single from the album No Nos Pararan. The album contains awesome covers of some classic disco cuts. Check out American Athlete's great post about the album.

Charanga 76 - No Nos Pararan (Ain't No Stopping Us Now) [320 kbps]

Melba Moore - You Stepped Into My Life (Special Disco Version)

Melba Moore's cover version of Bee Gees' song You Stepped Into My Life is on the next level compared to the original. The song was produced by a Philadelphia-based producer duo McFadden & Whitehead. The album version that appears on Melba (Epic, 1978) works fine too but this disco mix by John Luongo really does the trick. The B-side of the single features There's Now Other Like You.

Melba Moore - You Stepped Into My Life (Special Disco Version) [320 kbps]

Coffee Breaks, pt. 2

When I started this series of post I promised to keep the content fresh because the concept is not so original. Well I'm gonna eat my words right away by posting two classics familiar to many. I've been feeling late 80's rap a lot lately and I'm always in the mood for tight drum breaks.

I found Blow Your Whistle back in the day on this compilation from a small public library and went crazy about the break. Of course later I had to get a copy of Salt Of The Earth. You know the story...I had heard everybody sampling Ashley's Roachclip but I had never heard the original song.

I've always liked Dropping Rhymes On Drums which was the lead single of Def Jef's debut album Just A Poet With Soul. It might be thanks to Etta James on the vocals. She really brings the soul to the track. In the early days of rap old school soul people weren't really into hip hop nor working with rap artists but on this track it seems to work out fine.

Soul Searchers - Blow Your Whistle [320 kbps]

Def Jef feat. Etta James - Dropping Rhymes On Drums [320 kbps]

Michael Jackson - Rock With You remixed

There's loads of remixes of this classic out there but in my opinion these two are the best ones. What's special about these edits is that they contain unreleased vocals and ad-libs not heard on the album version. This is because Masters At Work and Frankie Knuckles both had access to the original master tapes of the song while doing their remixes.

Michael Jackson - Rock With You (Masters At Work Remix) [320 kbps, zShare]

Michael Jackson - Rock With You (Frankie's Favorite Club Mix) [320 kbps, zShare]