The Breaks: Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'

'California Soul' by Marlena Shaw is a former Five On It essential break pick (from August 2008) and this post will expand on why exactly this break is so necessary. Marlena Shaw was signed by Chess Records at the age of 24, leading to two albums before her move to jazz powerhouse Blue Note (where she was the first female artist signing). 'California Soul' is from her 1969 album 'Spice of Life' and the track has received a recent revival from use in a jeans advertisement. Like many other instances, advertisers were a little behind - 'California Soul' has been a hip-hop staple for some time.

One of the first instances of the opening break being sampled is for Gang Starr's 'Check the Technique' from the Primo produced 'Step in the Areana'. Two years later DJ Food (formerly the members of Coldcut, but taken over by Patrick Carpenter in 1993) sampled 'California Soul' on 'Dark Lady' from the fourth entry into the 'Jazz Brakes' series. In 2000, Madlib bit the beat for the title track from Quasimoto's 'The Unseen'.

The Lowdown:
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Gang Starr 'Check the Technique'
from 'Step in the Arena' (1991) (MP3/CD)
DJ Food 'Dark Lady'
from 'Jazz Brakes, Vol. 4' (1993) (MP3 not available/CD)
Quasimoto 'The Unseen'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUTS:
Marlena Shaw's 'California Soul' was not the original and is perhaps not even the most widely known version. Ashford and Simpson wrote 'California Soul' for the Fifth Dimension in 1968. Additionally, one year after the Marlena Shaw cover, 'California Soul' was covered once again by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (this time produced by the writers Ashford and Simpson). The song was the final single from Gaye and Terrell and was released after Terrell's tragic death at the age of 24.

Five On It: August 2008's Essentials

Five on It #3 - another month, another five essential breaks you need to have in your collection.

This month's top five begins with the Philly soul stomper 'Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)' by the Delfonics which appeared in part 1 of our look at 'The Score' by Fugees. On this blog's first post covering the tracks produced by Large Professor, Average White Band's drum heavy 'School Boy Crush' was mentioned (and it will undoubtedly show up in the future). Marlena Shaw's 'California Soul' and David Axelrod's 'Holy Thursday' were both featured in the coverage of Quasimoto's 'The Unseen' album (in parts 2 and parts 3 respectively). Finally this month, the baddest of all bad mutha tracks - James Brown's 'The Payback' as used by Pete Rock. One unbelievable part of the mythology of 'The Payback' is it was turned down for inclusion in the movie 'Hell Up in Harlem' for not being funky enough. What could be funkier?

The Lowdown:
The Delfonics 'Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love)'
from 'The Sound of Sexy Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Average White Band 'School Boy Crush'
from 'Cut the Cake' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1968) (MP3/CD)
David Axelrod 'Holy Thursday'
from 'Songs of Innocence' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'The Payback'
from 'The Payback' (1974) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUT:
'Ready or Not Here I Come' is interpolated by the Fugees on their hit 'Ready or Not', but the opening of the song is actually sampled by Timbaland on Missy Elliott and Da Brat's 1997 hit 'Sock it 2 Me'.

Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 2)

Mandrill has always been a popular pick for crate diggers (though, this is their first appearance on this blog), so 'Khidja''s appearance on Quasimoto's 'Green Power' is not as unusual as the rest of 'The Unseen''s sample sources. The track '24-7' uses a relatively obscure single by Jacob Miller: 'False Rasta'. This is the second reggae track appearing on 'The Unseen', so it should have been no surprise that two years after the release of this album, Madlib would present his reggae / dub DJ mix 'Blunted in the Bomb Shelter'. The album's title cut cuts up one of hip-hop's most essential (though not heavily used) breakbeats. 'California Soul' from Marlena Shaw's 'The Spice of Life' begins with a gigantic, echoey opening drum break. In a future post on this blog, 'California Soul' will be covered in depth.

Check back for the final section of 'The Unseen', a comprehensive look at 'Return of the Loop Digga'.

The Lowdown:
Quasimoto 'Green Power', '24-7', and 'The Unseen'.
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill 'Khidja'
from 'Mandrilland' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Jacob Miller 'False Rasta'
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1968) (MP3/CD)