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Following the success of their debut album and the eternal hip-hop classic 'They Reminisce Over You', Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth returned in 1994 with their second and final album as a duo. This three part arc will cover the many tracks and many samples used by Pete Rock for the creation of 'The Main Ingredient'.
On the opening track, 'In the House', Pete Rock cropped samples from the Power of Zeus' 'The Sorcerer of Isis'. Deodato's excellent drum break track 'September 13', and the David Axelrod produced 'Capricorn' by Cannonball Adderley. On the song's outro, Rock uses Roy Ayers' 'Ain't Got Time' from the Ubiquity album 'He's Coming' from 1974. Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's 'Carmel City' features samples from Hugo Montenegro's synth filled 'Dizzy' from his 1969 album 'Moog Power' and Milt Jackson's 'Enchanted Lady' from his 1970 album 'Memphis Jackson'. On 'I Get Physical', C.L. rhymes over George Benson's 'Face It Boy, It's Over' from his 1968 album 'Shape of Things to Come'. 'Sun Won't Come Out' features a classic octopus break beat by sampling Bob James' 'Nautilus' while the outro samples another essential Bob James cut, 'Take Me to the Mardi Gras' from 1975's 'Two' and Billy Joel's smaltzy hit 'Just the Way You Are' from 1977's 'The Stranger'. On the album's lead single, 'I Got a Love', Pete Rock samples the Ambassadors' soul single 'Ain't Got the Love (of One Girl on My Mind)' and Mel and Tim's 'Groovy Situation' from their album 'Good Guys Only Win in the Movies'.
Check back for part 2 of our look at 'The Main Ingredient'.The Lowdown:
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'In the House', 'Carmel City', 'I Get Physical', 'Sun Won't Come Out', and 'I Got a Love'
from 'The Main Ingredient' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Power of Zeus 'The Sorcerer of Isis'
from 'The Gospel According to Zeus' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Deodato 'September 13'
from 'Prelude' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Capricorn'
from 'Music, You All' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Roy Ayers Ubiquity 'Ain't Got Time'
from 'He's Coming' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Hugo Montenegro 'Dizzy'
from 'Moog Power' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
Milt Jackson 'Enchanted Lady'
from 'Memphis Jackson' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
George Benson 'Face It Boy, It's Over'
from 'Shape of Things to Come' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Bob James 'Nautilus'
from 'One' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Bob James 'Take Me to the Mardi Gras'
from 'Two' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Billy Joel 'Just the Way You Are'
from 'The Stranger' (1977) (MP3/CD)
The Ambassadors 'Ain't Got the Love (of One Girl on My Mind)'
from 'Soul Summit' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
Mel and Tim 'Groovy Situation'
from 'Good Guys Only Win in the Movies' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Related Posts:
Rewind: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Creator'
Producer Profile: David Axelrod (Part 4, 1972-1977) (Cannonball Adderley)
Through the 70s, David Axelrod continued to record a series of albums and continued producing albums for Cannoball Adderley until his untimely death in 1975. This fourth look at Axelrod's career will cover his work with Adderley in the final part of his life, his work with Funk Inc., his solo work, and - as always - the artists who have sampled the songs from this era.Cannonball Adderley's albums from 1972 are crate digger fantasies: the difficult to track down 'Soul of the Bible' and 'Soul Zodiac' yielded producers with ample samplable music. Biz Markie used a sample from Adderley's 'Soul of the Bible' track 'Make Your Own Temple' for his 'Groovin'' from 1993's 'All Samples Cleared'. RZA sampled Adderley's 'Aries' from 'Soul Zodiac' for Genius/GZA's epic 'Gold' from the previously reviewed hip-hop classic 'Liquid Swords'.Following three jazz-funk albums in the early 70s overseen by Rudy Van Gelder, Funk Inc. turned to David Axelrod to produce their fourth album titled 'Superfunk' (which has recently been re-released by the fantastic BGP label, link below). 'Superfunk' is a source for Eric B. and Rakim's 'Keep 'Em Eager to Listen' which samples Funk Inc.'s cover of 'Message from the Meters'. Brand Nubian samples 'Goodbye, So Long' from 'Superfunk' for their single 'Hold On' from the 1994 album 'Everything is Everything'. Funk Inc. recorded one more album in 1974 with David Axelrod, the currently unavailable 'Priced to Sell', whose 'God Only Knows' was sampled by Black Sheep on their 'A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' track 'La Menage' with Q-Tip. Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Busta Rhymes, and Redman all appear on A Tribe Called Quest's 'Steppin' It Up' produced by Jay Dee which samples another Axelrod produced track: Cannonball Adderley's 'Leo: Rosebud' from his 1974 album 'Love, Sex and the Zodiac'.David Axelrod's out of print 1977 album 'Strange Ladies' is also a highly coveted piece of vinyl that's been sampled by hip-hop's finest. Lauryn Hill's 'Every Ghetto, Every City' from her 1998 album 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' samples Axelrod's 'Tony Poem'. Two years later, Inspectah Deck sampled 'Terri's Tune' for Ghostface Killah's 'Stay True' from 'Supreme Clientele'.
Axelrod recorded three more albums following 'Strange Ladies' as his acclaim quietly grew in hip-hop production circles leading to a high profile release on Mo' Wax Records in 2001 and rediscovery of his work by a new audience. Look for further posts about Axelrod, his production work, and his sample credits on this blog.The Lowdown:
Cannonball Adderley 'Make Your Own Temple'
from 'Soul of the Bible' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Biz Markie 'Groovin''
from 'All Samples Cleared' (1993) (MP3/CD not available)
Cannonball Adderley 'Aries'
from 'Soul Zodiac' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Genius/GZA 'Gold'
from 'Liquid Swords' (1995) (MP3/CD)
Funk Inc. 'Message from the Meters' and 'Goodbye, So Long'
from 'Superfunk' (1973) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Eric B. and Rakim 'Keep 'em Eager to Listen'
from 'Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Brand Nubian 'Hold On'
from 'Everything is Everything' (1994) (MP3/CD not available)
Clean Edit: 'Hold On'
Funk Inc. 'God Only Knows'
from 'Priced to Sell' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Black Sheep 'La Menage'
from 'A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Leo: Rosebud'
from 'Love, Sex and the Zodiac' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
A Tribe Called Quest 'Steppin' it Up'
from 'The Love Movement' (1998) (MP3/CD)
David Axelrod 'Tony Poem' and 'Terri's Tune'
from 'Strange Ladies' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Lauryn Hill 'Every Ghetto, Every City'
from 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Ghostface Killah 'Stay True'
from 'Supreme Clientele' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Bonus Beats:
Funk Inc.'s 'Message from the Meters' is, of course, a cover of 'Message from the Meters' by the Meters. The original Meters version is also a sampleworthy piece of 70s funk like much of the Meters discography: it was sampled by Matt Dike of the Dust Brothers and Michael Ross for Tone Loc's 'Loc'in on the Shaw' from 1989.
Related Posts:
Rewind: Genius/GZA 'Liquid Swords' (Part 1)
Rewind: Genius/GZA 'Liquid Swords' (Part 2)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 1)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 2)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 3)
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After two of his most sought after albums, 'Song of Innocence' and 'Songs of Experience', David Axelrod released his final solo album for Capitol records in 1970: 'Earth Rot'. Like much of his output, this album is highly sought after by beat diggers and has been sampled by hip-hop's finest. This post will cover 'Earth Rot', as well as some of his production credits for Cannonball Adderley.
'Earth Rot' is divided into two concept album sides and is not as widely known for its beats. In 1994, No I.D. sampled Axelrod's 'The Signs (Part 2)' on the title track single to Common's sophomore album 'Resurrection'. The same track would be sampled by Madlib among many others (including other Axelrod tracks) on 'Return of the Loop Digga' as Quasimoto, whose album 'The Unseen' is reviewed in depth here, here, and here. In 1999, Diamond D and Mos Def would use another sample from 'Earth Rot', 'The Warnings (Part 2)' for the track 'Hip Hop' from Mos Def's breakthrough album 'Black on Both Sides' (which will be reviewed in depth soon in a future post on this blog).
In addition to producing his own material, Axelrod continued his role as producer on much of Cannonball Adderley's 70s output. Among the many Adderley albums that have been sampled is 1970's 'The Price You Pay to Be Free' whose song 'Exquisition' was sampled for the Pharcyde's 'Pack the Pipe' produced by J-Swift. 'Soul Virgo' from the same album is one of the samples used by A Tribe Called Quest on 'Bonita Applebum' from their debut 'Peoples' Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'. Six years later, Tribe would sample another Cannonball Adderley track. An untitled track from Adderley's 'Black Messiah' album was sampled by Jay Dee (J Dilla) and the Ummah for Tribe's '1nce Again' from 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life'.
Check back for our next look at David Axelrod's production career.The Lowdown:
David Axelrod 'The Signs (Part 2)' and 'The Warnings (Part 2)'
from 'Earth Rot' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Common 'Resurrection'
from 'Resurrection' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mos Def 'Hip Hop'
from 'Black on Both Sides' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Exquisition' and 'Soul Virgo'
from 'The Price You Pay to Be Free' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Pharcyde 'Pack the Pipe'
from 'Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde' (1991) (MP3/CD)
A Tribe Called Quest 'Bonita Applebum'
from 'Peoples' Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Untitled'
from 'Black Messiah' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
A Tribe Called Quest '1nce Again'
from 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life' (1996) (MP3/CD)
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Welcome to the final part of our 3 part arc look at the sample sources of the Pharcyde's 1992 breakthrough album 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde', released on this day in 1992.
The Pharcyde's most memorable single is the classic 'Passin' Me By' which samples the melody of Quincy Jones' cover of 'Summer in the City'. The track also samples 'It's a New Day' by Skull Snaps (breaks don't get more essential than this one, it's unbelievable that over 70 posts into this blog, this is the first mention of 'It's a New Day' - whoa), 'Are You Experienced?' by Jimi Hendrix, Weather Report's '125th Street Congress', and 'The Third Eye' by Roy Ayers from 1976's 'Everyone Loves the Sunshine'. The only track from 'Bizarre Ride' not produced by J-Swift is the single 'Otha Fish', produced by L.A. Jay and SlimKid 3. The track samples Herbie Mann's 'Today' and Marvin Gaye's 'I Want You'-era album track 'Since I had You'. Herbie Mann is sampled again on the Pharcyde's cult favorite 'Pack the Pipe' which uses 'Bijou' from his 'Latin Mann' album. Two other jazz joints lend samples to the track: John Coltrane's 'Autumn Serenade' and the Cannonball Adderley Quintet's 'Exquisition' from the David Axelrod produced album 'The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free' from 1970.
Following the success of their debut album, the Pharcyde began to fall apart. Before the album's completion, J-Swift quarreled with members of the group over production credits and compensation. By their second and final album with their classic lineup, the Pharcyde split with J-Swift altogether opting to work with new producers. After drug problems, Fatlip left the Pharcyde, although they went on to release two more albums in the 2000s without him. In 2008, the group reunited for the Rock the Bells tour.The Lowdown:
The Pharcyde 'Passin' Me By', 'Otha Fish', and 'Pack the Pipe'
from 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Quincy Jones 'Summer in the City'
from 'You Got it Bad Girl' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Skull Snaps 'It's a New Day'
from 'Skull Snaps' (1973) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Jimi Hendrix 'Are You Experienced?'
from 'Are You Experienced' (1967) (MP3/CD)
Weather Report '125th Street Congress'
from 'Sweetnighter' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Roy Ayers 'The Third Eye'
'Everybody Loves the Sunshine' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Herbie Mann 'Today'
from 'Today!' (1966) (MP3/CD)
Marvin Gaye 'Since I Had You'
from 'I Want You' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Herbie Mann 'Bijou'
from 'Latin Mann' (1966) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
John Coltrane 'Autumn Serenade'
from 'John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman' (1963) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley Quintet 'Exquisition'
from 'The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)BONUS CUTS:
Sorry that I don't have a download for Quincy Jones' excellent cover of 'Summer in the City' (very different than 'Summer in the City' by the Lovin' Spoonful, also a floor killer), but I can offer Nightmares on Wax's excellent 'Summer' sampling track 'Nights Interlude'. Get your blend on!
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David Axelrod first entered the recording industry as an A&R man in 1963, though major label production work soon followed when he helmed Lou Rawls' 'Live' album in 1966. Axelrod's minimal, funky production style has made his records a commodity among beat diggers and producers. This first post in a two post arc will cover Axelrod's early production work, from 1966 to 1968, and the artists who have sampled his tracks.
'Trouble Down Here Below' by Lou Rawls from his 1966 'Carryin' On' album was sampled on Justin Warfield's 'Teenage Caligula' produced by Warfield and QD III (Quincy Jones' son). The track is from Warfield's debut 'My Field Trip to Planet 9', a highly underrated, unconventional hip-hop album with psychadelic elements. He would follow with a string of unusual projects including the Justin Warfield Supernaut and One-Inch Punch before becoming half of the rock band She Wants Revenge. 'My Field Trip to Planet 9' will be covered in a future post on this blog.
One of 1993's inescapable summer jams owes some credit to Axelrod. The Joe Zawinul penned '74 Miles Away' by Cannonball Adderley from the 1967 album of the same name is the source for Naughty By Nature's 'Hip Hop Hooray', which was arguably Naughty By Nature's last hurrah on the charts. Call it what you like, it's an obvious sell out track, but it's immaculately produced and is seemingly cut with sunshine. Six years later, Dr. Dre would have his own summer anthem via another David Axelrod produced sample, but not without some hip-hop controversy. 'The Edge' by David McCallum was sampled by Missin' Linx for their track 'M.I.A.' in 1998, but a year later would be sampled again by Dre on 'Next Episode'. Whether it was a beat bite or a coincidence, 'Next Episode' blew up into the stratosphere while Missin' Linx is a footnote in hip-hop history. Another tidbit about this beat is McCallum himself, who was an actor from the television show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. who was given a two album deal (both of which are fully instrumental and produced by Axelrod). Another coincidence in sampling circles around two West Coast crews and a sample of Lou Rawls' open drum and vocal track 'Lifetime Monologue' from the Axelrod produced 'You're Good for Me' from 1968. Both the Beatnuts and Dilated Peoples sampled the break in 1997, the Beatnuts on their 'Stone Crazy' album track 'Thinkin' Bout Cash' and the Dilated Peoples on their Alchemist produced debut single 'Third Degree'.
Check back for part 2 of David Axelrod's producer profile, with tracks by DJ Shadow, Madlib, Lil' Wayne, and more.The Lowdown:
Lou Rawls 'Trouble Down Here Below'
from 'Carryin' On' (1966) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Justin Warfield 'Teenage Caligula'
from 'My Field Trip to Planet 9' (1993) (MP3/CD not available)
Cannonball Adderley '74 Miles Away'
from '74 Miles Away' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Naughty By Nature 'Hip Hop Hooray'
from '19 Naughty III' (1993) (MP3/CD)
David McCallum 'The Edge'
from 'Music: A Little Bit More of Me' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Dr. Dre 'Next Episode'
from '2001' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Next Episode'
Lou Rawls 'Lifetime Monologue'
from 'You're Good for Me' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Beatnuts 'Thinkin Bout Cash'
from 'Stone Crazy' (1997) (MP3 not available/CD)
Dilated Peoples 'Third Degree'
from 'Third Degree' (1997) (MP3/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
Loads of instrumental cuts this time: Naughty By Nature 'Hip Hop Hooray' (Instrumental), Dr. Dre 'Next Episode' (Instrumental), and Dilated Peoples 'Third Degree' (Instrumental).
