Stand In For Love

So I'm gonna give this an other go after my admittedly feeble first attempt. Will (hopefully) be keeping things a bit more up to date from now on, so keep checking in. To kick us back into action we have this elusive O'Jays cover from Pandella Kelly.

Fell in love with this soulful cut on first listen but any attempt to find a copy of the 7" or even a download has been futile. No info on discogs but apparently a copy went for $1069 on ebay a few years back so I won't be keeping the hopes too high. Released on Cleveland Horoscope/Saru records which had major creative input from the O'Jays themselves. The label was brought back into the limelight in 2013 with the release of Kanye's Bound 2. That track was heavily based on an uncleared sample of Ponderosa Twins Plus One's Bound, originally released on Horoscope. A copyright lawsuit was filed by Ricky (The Plus One From Ponderosa Twins Plus One) Spicer, the outcome of which is unknown.

Please forgive the delayed return, I'll be back again soon!

Set Out Your Lovin'

Last weekend saw the return of Chez Damier to Dublin. I sadly/foolishly could not attend, but last time he was in The Twisted Pepper I got to lay witness to him. He provided a lovely, much needed, house refuge in the basement while Techno Kingpin Jeff Mills brought the intensity to the stage. The aggression upstairs was starkly contrasted by the joyous scenes in the basement.

Memories of this bring to mind this Chez Damier classic:

Deep classic with some amazing percussion at the fore but it's greatly bolstered by the vocal, lifted from this classic from Detroit:

Not to negate a classic but I really think the vocals don't quite get shine through quite as much as they deserve through here.

On that note, we're gonna through the maestro Omar S' version into the mix.

Potentially my favourite of the three, not an adjective usually associated with the man but I'd say it has to be the loveliest

The synth pads (sampled from "My Boo", Omar you lovely man) add just the right laid back atmosphere to the track. In this instance the vocals are really at the fore and the emotion in them cuts through perfectly.

A Blog Thing

I finally the bullet and started a blog. I'll be keeping it up to date with a fine variety of classic disco/funk/house.
I've been contemplating this for a while but was hit by a bout of inspiration while record shopping earlier and thought I'd actually follow through with it.
Kickin' off with one I picked up today. This Fat Larry's Band 12" caught my eye with some seriously slick artwork of the eponymous Fat Larry James.  Standout track is the b-side Traffic Stoppers, a smooth, more subdued nod to Rick James Superfreak.