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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.
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