Five On It: July 2008's Essentials

Back once again with Five On It, the last months five most essential beats. This months recap starts off with Otis Redding's 'Hard to Handle' featured in the second half of this blog's post on 'It Was Written' by Nas. 'Hard to Handle' will be covered in depth for a future post in this blog, but it shouldn't keep you from busting it out right now. It's kind of unbelievable to think about it, but it took 20 posts in this blog before the first mention of the Meters. 'Same Old Thing' from 'Struttin'' was one of the many breaks featured on part 1 of Pete Rock's Producer Profile. Without a doubt, many more Meters breaks are to come.

Both 'I Want to Take You Higher' by Sly and the Family Stone and 'Think (About It)' by Lyn Collins were mentioned in the first installment of Dr. Dre's Producer Profile. There is no doubt that even back in the late 80s, Dre could lace a beat. Finally, Kool and the Gang's widely used open drum track on 'N.T.' was mentioned in the first part of this blog's coverage of Main Source's 'Breaking Atoms'. 'N.T.' is one of the building blocks for hip-hop and is a necessity for all beatmakers who want to achieve classic golden age sounding tracks.

The Lowdown:
Otis Redding 'Hard to Handle'
from 'The Immortal Otis Redding' (1968) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Same Old Thing'
from 'Struttin'' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Sly and the Family Stone 'I Want to Take You Higher'
from 'Stand!' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Lyn Collins 'Think (About It)'
from 'Think (About It)' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
'I Want to Take You Higher' was a smash hit for Sly and the Family Stone, and like many smash hits in the 70s, it was covered extensively by peers. Kool and the Gang delivered a live version of 'I Want to Take You Higher' on 'Live at the Sex Machine'. Additionally, Ike and Tina Turner deliver a pretty slick version of 'I Want to Take You Higher' as well. Enjoy!