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Welcome to part 2 of our look at David Axelrod's production profile, focusing on his production on his own early albums and the artists that sampled them decades later.After Axelrod's success as a producer for others, he was encouraged to produce his own instrumental albums. In 1968, he released his first album 'Song of Innocence', an concept album that was loosely based on the writings of 18th century artist William Blake. The album would also contain some of the most sought-after beats by crate diggers worldwide. 'Holy Thursday' was one of the many samples used by Madlib on the Quasimoto track 'Return of the Loop Digga', but most recently it emerged (to my astonishment) as the backing to Lil Wayne's 'Dr. Carter' from the hugely popular 'Tha Carter III'. Swizz Beatz delivered Weezy with an unusually simple looped up 'Holy Thursday' bassline - it's a step out of the norm for both the artist and the producer. 'The Mental Traveller' from 'Song of Innocence' was used by Ras Kass on 'Soul on Ice' from his 1996 debut album also titled 'Soul on Ice'.Axelrod followed 'Song of Innocence' with another Blake themed album, the instrumental 'Songs of Experience'. Axelrod's 'The Human Abstract' would be sampled heavily for DJ Shadow's moody single 'Midnight in a Perfect World' from his outstanding debut album 'Endtroducing...' (Shadow would sample Axelrod again during his stint with U.N.K.L.E.). Kool G Rap would sample the 'Songs of Experience' track 'A Divine Image' on his track 'Take 'em to War' from his first solo album '4, 5, 6'. 'A Divine Image' was sampled again three years later by DJ Muggs on Cypress Hill's '16 Men Till There's No Men Left'.Axelrod would only release one more album through Capitol, 1970's 'Earth Rot', before splitting with the label. Through the 70s, he recorded several more albums for RCA, Decca, Polydor, and MCA.The Lowdown:
David Axelrod 'Holy Thursday' and 'The Mental Traveler'
from 'Song of Innocence' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Lil Wayne 'Dr. Carter'
from 'Tha Carter III' (2008) (MP3/CD)
Ras Kass 'Soul on Ice'
from 'Soul on Ice' (1996) (MP3/CD not available)
David Axelrod 'The Human Abstract' and 'A Divine Image'
from 'Songs of Experience' (1969) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
DJ Shadow 'Midnight in a Perfect World'
from 'Endtroducing...' (1996) (MP3 not available/CD)
Kool G Rap 'Take 'em to War'
from '4, 5, 6' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Cypress Hill '16 Men 'Til There's No Men Left'
from 'Cypress Hill IV' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: '16 Men 'Til There's No Men Left'
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This edition of this blog's Street Sounds section will cover the works of Tony Butler, otherwise known as Pretty Tony or Freestyle. Butler's sound was highly influential for Miami in the early 80s and would be an ancestor of works from 2 Live Crew, the bass explosion including artists like Dynamix II, and future acts that use Miami's signature electro sound. How many artists can say they have a genre named after them? Freestyle (not to be confused with New York Freestyle) still ignites dancefloors.
Butler's breakthrough was his production for the 1983 regional club hit 'When I Hear Music' by Debbie Deb, which has 20 years later become a club staple. Butler recorded singles under hi Pretty Tony alias, like the hit 'Jam the Box' that shines with its NYC electro sounds. One of Butler's most notable club hits as Freestyle (previously Freestyle Express) was the 1985 single 'Don't Stop the Rock', which has been sampled numerous times by dance music producers.
Check back for more singles produced by Pretty Tony in part 2 of our look at his work.The Lowdown:
Debbie Deb 'When I Hear Music'
from 'When I Hear Music' (1983) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Pretty Tony 'Jam the Box'
from 'Jam the Box' (1984) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Freestyle 'Don't Stop the Rock'
from 'Don't Stop the Rock' (1985) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
You have to love internet singles. Here are the instrumentals for all of the songs mentioned above: 'When I Hear Music' (Instrumental), 'Jam the Box' (Instrumental), and 'Don't Stop the Rock' (Instrumental).
Formed in 1988 and found by EPMD at a talent show, Das EFX's platinum selling debut 'Dead Serious' became part of the soundtrack of 1992 with a series of charting singles with some popular sample sources. This entry into the Crate Creator blog will look at Das EFX's debut album in depth.Lead single B-Side 'Jussummen' takes its refrain (and a few samples) from Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh's classic 1985 b-side 'La-Di-Da-Di' from their 'The Show' 12". 'Jussummen' also samples the Emotions' open break necessity 'Blind Alley' produced by David Porter for Stax. Das EFX's biggest single was their debut track 'They Want EFX', which samples James Brown's 'Black Caesar' soundtrack album cut 'Blind Men Can See It' as well as the heavy title track from his 1973 album 'The Payback'. Also sampled on 'They Want EFX' is Malcolm McLarens cash-in turned classic 'Buffalo Gals' from the highly suspect 'Duck Rock' album. The album track 'Dum Dums' takes its name from its source material: 'The Happy Song (Dun-Dum)' by Otis Redding. Finally, Das EFX's 'East Coast' samples East Coast phenoms ESG who emulated extra-terrestrial phenomena on 'UFO'. The track also samples Isaac Hayes' 'Ike's Mood I / You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'' from '...To Be Continued' (worth the price of the album on its own) and the beat from James Brown's 'Funky President (People It's Bad)' from his 1975 album 'Reality'.The reality of Das EFX's career was their signature rhyming style would be their downfall. After hitting big with the 'Check Yo Self' remix with Ice Cube, many other emcees bit their 'iggity' rhyme style, prompting Das EFX to drop it and more or less drop off themselves. Although they've released four albums since their debut, none have been able to copy the success of 'Dead Serious'.The Lowdown:
Das EFX 'Jussummen', 'They Want EFX', 'Dum Dums', and 'East Coast'
from 'Dead Serious' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD)
Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh 'La-Di-Da-Di'
from 'The Show' (1985) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Emotions 'Blind Alley'
from 'Untouched' (1971) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Blind Man Can See It'
from 'Black Caesar' (1973) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'The Payback'
from 'The Payback' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Malcolm McLaren 'Buffalo Gals'
from 'Duck Rock' (1983) (MP3/CD not available)
Otis Redding 'The Happy Song (Dun-Dum)'
from 'The Immortal Otis Redding' (1968) (MP3/CD)
ESG 'UFO'
from 'ESG' (1981) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Isaac Hayes 'Ike's Mood I / You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin''
from '...To Be Continued' (1969) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
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Kanye West's commercial breakthrough as a producer came in 2001 when he contributed a number of tracks and charting singles to Jay-Z's 'The Blueprint', often cited a sea change in Jay-Z's career thanks, in part, to the sound of West and Just Blaze. 'The Blueprint' will be covered in depth in a future post of this blog, so I will only cover one of Kanye's beats: the excellent 'Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)' which samples generously from Bobby Bland's 'Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City' from his 1973 album 'Dreamer'. Although he produced stellar singles for Jay-Z, his stock was set to rise even more in 2002.
Talib Kweli's 'Get By' was inescapable in 2002, thanks to Kanye's swift edit of Nina Simone's 'Sinnerman' from her album 'Pastel Blues'. The single, laced with then newcomer / future Kanye collaborator John Legend's background vocals, was a new high water mark for both West and Kweli and the track is arguably Talib Kweli's career defining moment to date. 2002 also saw the release of some of his production work for Scarface for his 2002 album 'The Fix'. Kanye samples 'Sunrise' by the Originals for Scarface's single 'Guess Who's Back' with guest appearances from Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel. In 2002, Nas' 'The Lost Tapes' album saw release, which included one of Kanye West's ghost productions for Deric 'D-Dot' Angelettie. 'Poppa Was a Playa' from 'The Lost Tapes' contains a sample of 'The Newness is Gone' by Eddie Kendricks from his album 'Goin' Up in Smoke'.
Check back for the next look at Kanye's production output and also be on the lookout for future posts covering his albums.The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)'
from 'The Blueprint' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)'
Bobby Bland 'Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City'
from 'Dreamer' (1973) (MP3/Import CD)
Talib Kweli 'Get By'
from 'Quality' (2002) (MP3 not available/CD)
Nina Simone 'Sinnerman'
from 'Pastel Blues' (1965) (MP3/CD)
Scarface 'Guess Who's Back'
from 'The Fix' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Guess Who's Back'
The Originals 'Sunrise'
from 'Down to Love Town' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Nas 'Poppa Was a Playa'
from 'The Lost Tapes' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Poppa Was a Playa'
Eddie Kendricks 'The Newness is Gone'
from 'Goin' Up in Smoke' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
Nina Simone's 'Sinnerman' was a popular track to cover by reggae artists (like many soul singles from the United States). Peter Tosh delivers a classic cover with the slightly rewritten 'Downpressor Man' while Tosh's one time collaborators Bob Marley and the Wailers delivered their own 'Sinner Man'.
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One of Dr. Dre's best post-'Straight Outta Compton' / pre-'The Chronic' production works is the debut album by future Death Row labelmates Above the Law. 1990's 'Livin' Like Hustlers' is the lone album produced by Dre; despite their link to Death Row, Dr. Dre would not return to the boards for their future albums. This two post arc will cover the samples used in one of the West Coast's most overlooked albums.
'Untouchable' is underpinned by the familiar James Brown 'Funky Drummer' break, but also uses samples from Young Holt Unlimited's cover of 'Light My Fire' by the Doors and Quincy Jones' 'Ironside' (most known for its recent use in 'Kill Bill'). The title track to 'Livin' like Hustlers' also samples further from Quincy Jones' 'Smackwater Jack' album, knicking bits of 'Hikky Burr'. It also features another JB sample, the track 'Hot (I Need to Be Loved Loved Loved Loved)' from his 1976 album 'Hot!'.
Above the Law's 'Menace to Society' goes to town with its use of B.T. Express samples, sourcing no less than three tracks from the Express' 1974 hit LP 'Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)'. Dre uses 'This House is Smokin'', 'Once You Get It', and 'Do You Like It' for the backing of 'Menace'.
Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Livin' Like Hustlers'.The Lowdown:
Above the Law 'Untouchable', 'Livin' Like Hustlers', and 'Menace to Society'
from 'Livin' Like Hustlers' (1989) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky Drummer'
Young Holt Unlimited 'Light My Fire'
from 'Just a Melody' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Quincy Jones 'Ironside' and 'Hikky Burr'
from 'Smackwater Jack' (1970) (MP3/Import CD)
James Brown 'Hot (I Need to Be Loved Loved Loved Loved)'
from 'Hot!' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
B.T. Express 'This House is Smokin'', 'Once You Get It', and 'Do You Like It'
from 'Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)' (1974) (MP3/CD)
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'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.
Dilla, along with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, continued their production as the Ummah by producing A Tribe Called Quest's 1998 album 'The Love Movement'. The lead single 'Find a Way' barely made a dent into the top 100 and although 'The Love Movement' peaked as #3 on the Billboard album charts, it didn't make much of a mark on the ever-changing landscape of hip-hop. 'Find a Way' begins a trend of odd, recent sample choices for Dilla - it nicks from Towa Tei's solo hit 'Technova (La Em Copacabana)' from only three years earlier. An album track from 'The Love Movement', 'His Name is Mutty Ranks', samples Aswad's 'Not Guilty'. A year later, Q-Tip would drop his solo album 'Amplified' with a heavier hitting single produced by Tip and Dilla: 'Vivrant Thing' (which samples portions of the Barry White produced 'I Wanna Stay' by the Love Unlimited Orchestra).The Ummah lent production to Heavy D's second and final solo album in 1999 titled 'Heavy' (does production from the Ummah seem like the kiss of death to anyone else?). 'Listen' from 'Heavy' is typical of the Ummah style from the era. After the dissolution of the Ummah, both Q-Tip and J Dilla joined the loosely defined production collective known as the Soulquarians. Another artist from the collective is the Roots' ?uestlove. The link led to Dilla's production credit on the Roots' 'Dynamite!' from their critically acclaimed 1999 album 'Things Fall Apart'.Check back for part 4 of our look at Dilla's career, including production work for Common, Erykah Badu, and De La Soul.The Lowdown:
A Tribe Called Quest 'Find a Way' and 'His Name is Mutty Ranks'
from 'The Love Movement' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Towa Tei 'Technova (La Em Copacabana)'
from 'Future Listening!' (1995) (MP3 not available/CD)
Aswad 'Not Guilty'
from 'Live and Direct' (1983) (MP3 not available/CD)
Q-Tip 'Vivrant Thing'
from 'Amplified' (1999) (MP3 not available/CD)
Love Unlimited Orchestra 'I Wanna Stay'
from 'Music Maestro Please' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Heavy D 'Listen'
from 'Heavy' (1999) (MP3/CD not available)
The Roots 'Dynamite!'
from 'Things Fall Apart' (1999) (MP3 not available/CD)
There isn't much praise given to Casio keyboards in the history of music, but one of the most significant riddims to come out of Jamaica was allegedly built from the Casio MT-40. King Jammy and Wayne Smith introduced the first fully computerized riddim to the world: Wayne Smith's 'Under Me Sleng Teng'. The riddim was an instant hit and several artists were put over top of the track.
The most notable early Sleng Teng track (with the exception of the original) is Johnny Osbourne's 'Buddy Bye' which was later the anchor track on his album 'Mr. Buddy Bye'. Another Jammy produced hit on the riddim is 'Pumpkin Belly' by Tenor Saw. Other excellent mid 80s Sleng Teng tracks include Sugar Minott's 'Jam in the Streets' and Papa Faith's 'Maniac'.
Jammy would celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the riddim with a slightly updated version called Sleng Teng Resurrection. The Sleng Teng has become one of the most used riddims in dancehall - all thanks to a Casio.The Lowdown:
Wayne Smith 'Under Me Sleng Teng'
from 'Under Mi Sleng Teng' (1985) (MP3/CD)
Johnny Osbourne 'Buddy Bye'
from 'Mr. Buddy Bye' (1985) (MP3/CD not available)
Tenor Saw 'Pumpkin Belly'
Sugar Minott 'Jam in the Streets'
Papa Faith 'Maniac'
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Wow, September has already come to a close, and that means another installment of Five On It, the five tracks you need most from the last month (though, honestly, this month was a killer and you do need to check out more than five).
Isaac Hayes' gigantic drum drop on 'Walk on By' was mentioned in this blog's first entry to a review of Biggie's 'Ready to Die'. 'Walk on By' will be covered extensively in at least one future post on this blog, but it's an absolutely necessary download if you don't already have it (and if you don't - why not?). Biggie's 'Ready to Die' was laced with another high profile sample: The Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets'. 'Between the Sheets' (and the instrumental on the single) are easy selections for sliding into 'Big Poppa' and winding down a night (or building up a party). 'Between the Sheets' was mentioned in the second 'Ready to Die' post, check out the other samples you may have missed.
Our blog covered 'Cavern' by Liquid Liquid in depth for it's post in the Breaks section. I've personally got a mini-mix cooking with 'Cavern' playing a prominent role - it's the perfect 'I know it but I don't know it' track for dancefloors. Eric B. and Rakim's 'Paid in Full' was covered in full on this blog and one of the many James Brown related tracks sampled on 'Paid in Full' is the J.B.'s burner 'The Grunt', perhaps best utilized by the Bomb Squad for Public Enemy. In any case, it's a classic break you need to have. In this blog's extensive producer profile for David Axelrod, his production for David McCallum's 'The Edge' was among the many breaks mentioned. That blog post alone is thick with beats, but 'the Edge' is one of the most notable because of it's use on a gigantic Dr. Dre hit.The Lowdown:
Isaac Hayes 'Walk on By' (Radio Edit)
from 'Hot Buttered Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Between the Sheets'
from 'Between the Sheets' (1982) (MP3/CD)
Liquid Liquid 'Cavern'
from 'Optimo' (1982) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The J.B.'s 'The Grunt'
from 'Food for Thought' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
David McCallum 'The Edge'
from 'Music: A Bit More of Me' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
'Between the Sheets' is far from the only sample from the Isley Brother's 80s album 'Between the Sheets' that has been used by hip-hop artists. The Jay-Z and Too Short cut 'A Week Ago' samples the album cut 'Ballad for the Fallen Soldier' while the DJ U-Neek produced 'Buddah Lovaz' by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony samples the single 'Choosey Lover' by the Isleys (which was also notably coverd by Aaliyah). Don't overlook this album as another 80s outing by a band past their peak - 'Between the Sheets' has beats!
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Welcome to the final post in our look at 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' by Del tha Funkee Homosapien.
Del's 'Sunny Meadowz' puts two of Parliament's biggest hits in one track. 'Mothership Connection''s 'P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)' and 'Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome''s 'Flashlight' are used on this album track, which also samples another big hit: Hot Chocolate's 'You Sexy Thing'. Imagine clearing that list of samples in this day! 'Hoodz Come in Dozens' samples the Dramatics' 'Get Up and Get Down' (I can't talk enough about how good the album 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' is, vastly underrated and full of jams) and the Average White Band's 'Your Love is a Miracle'. Del's 'Same Ol' Thing' puts a grip of Meters 45's into the sampler; the track samples 'Cissy Strut', 'Rigor Mortis', 'Same Old Thing' (of course), and 'Handclapping Song' - all by the Meters. That list is beats for days, any aspiring beat makers need everyone one of their tracks in their arsenal.
Although Del's debut was successful, he felt stifled by the scope of the album and opted to produce his next album, 1993's 'No Need for Alarm', on his own (to date, 'No Need for Alarm' has sold about twice as many copies as 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here').The Lowdown:
Del tha Funkee Homosapien 'Sunny Meadowz', 'Hoodz Come in Dozens', and 'Same Ol' Thing'
from 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)'
from 'Mothership Connection' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'Flashlight'
from 'Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Hot Chocolate 'You Sexy Thing'
from 'Hot Chocolate' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Dramatics 'Get Up and Get Down'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Average White Band 'Your Love is a Miracle'
from 'Warmer Communications' (1978) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Cissy Strut'
from 'The Meters' (1969) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Rigor Mortis'
from 'Look-Ka Py Py' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Meters 'Same Old Thing' and 'Handclapping Song'
from 'Struttin'' (1969) (MP3/CD)
