Rewind: Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop' (Part 1)

After the dissolution of his early group called Ultimate Force, Diamond D and the D.I.T.C. crew debuted in 1992 as Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics with one of underground hip-hop's classic LPs: 'Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop'. This three part blog post will cover the sample sources (and man, are there a lot of them) for Diamond D's epic.

On the 'Intro' track to 'Stunts, Blunts', Diamond samples folk rocker James Taylor's 1967 album 'James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine''s album cut 'Knockin 'Round the Zoo'. Diamond also produces the cut 'Best Kept Secret', the oldest track on the album, by sampling Booker T. and the M.G.'s 'Green Onions', Three Dog Night's rock cut 'I Can Hear You Calling', Kool and the Gang's breakbeat cut 'N.T.', and Johnny Pate's title track to the 1973 soundtrack of the movie 'Shaft in Africa'. On 'Sally Got a One Track Mind', Diamond D samples 'Sparkling in the Sand' by the Tower of Power and the classic Skull Snaps break 'It's a New Day'. Showbiz (of Show and A.G. fame) and Diamond D produced the cut 'Step to Me' by sampling the Delfonics' soul classic 'Ready or Not (Here I Come)' and 'Fight Back' from Solomon Burkes' cut from the 1972 soundtrack of 'Cool Breeze'. Lakim Shabazz and Diamond produced the Psychotic Neurotics classic 'F--- What You Heard' with samples from 1970's Donny Hathaway self titled album cut 'Magnificent Sanctuary Band' and John Handy's 1977 song 'Alvina' from his album 'Carnival'.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop'.

The Lowdown:
Diamond and the Psychotic Neurotics 'Intro', 'Best Kept Secret', 'Sally Got a One Track Mind', 'Step to Me', and 'F--- What You Heard'
from 'Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop' (1992) (MP3/CD)
James Taylor 'Knockin 'Round the Zoo'
from 'James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD)
Booker T. and the M.G.'s 'Green Onions'
from 'Green Onions' (1962) (MP3/CD)
Three Dog Night 'I Can Hear You Calling'
from 'Naturally' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Johnny Pate 'Shaft in Africa (Addis)'
from 'Shaft in Africa' (1973) (MP3/CD not available)
Tower of Power 'Sparkling in the Sand'
from 'East Bay Grease' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Skull Snaps 'It's a New Day'
from 'Skull Snaps' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Delfonics 'Ready or Not (Here I Come)'
from 'The Sound of Sexy Soul' (1968) (MP3/Import CD)
Solomon Burke 'Fight Back'
from 'Cool Breeze' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Donny Hathaway 'Magnificent Sanctuary Band'
from 'Donny Hathaway' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
John Handy 'Alvina'
from 'Carnival' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Rewind: Beck 'Odelay'

The Dust Brothers were mentioned in the last post on this blog and here is another release with their indelible signature sound. Beck's album 'Odelay' from 1996 may not elicit the same sample spotting interest as other Dust Brothers productions like the Beastie Boys' 'Paul's Boutique', but 'Odelay' has its share of unusual and soulful samples, which will be covered in today's post.

The driving breakbeat of the opener 'Devil's Haircut' is a classic drum part: Bernard Purdie's explosive drum fill laden 'Soul Drums' from his 1968 album of the same title. The track and the album are a must for aspiring producers and beat heads alike full of remarkable drum sections from Pretty Purdie. 'The New Pollution', the album's third single, uses a sample from Joe Thomas' 'Venus' from the 1976 album 'Feelin's from Within'. The album's lead single 'Where It's At' famously samples its robotic voiced phrase "two turntables and a microphone" from Mantronix's 'Needle to the Groove' on 1984's 'The Album'. The song also samples Lee Dorsey's classic break 'Get Out of My Life Woman' and Danny Hathaway's 1970 cut 'The Ghetto' from his stunning album 'Everything is Everything'. Beck's 'Readymade' samples a cover of 'Desafinado' by Laurindo Almeida and the Bossa Nova Allstars. If the name of the group didn't drop a big enough hint to the style of their music, Laurindo Almeida also titled his album 'Bossa Nova!' (mind that exclamation point). Finally, 'High 5 (Rock the Catskills)' samples the relatively unknown group Rasputin's Stash and their funky cut 'Mr. Cool'. That's not an easy one to find, consider picking up a digital copy while you can.

The Dust Brothers would work with Beck again for his 1999 album 'Midnite Vultures', but not in the capacity of this album. Recently, 'Odelay' was rereleased as a deluxe edition with B-sides and remixes, though there have been complaints about the selection and sound quality of some of the cuts - buyer beware. You should pick up a copy of 'Soul Drums' instead.

The Lowdown:
Beck 'Devil's Haircut', 'The New Pollution', 'Where It's At', 'Readymade', and 'High 5 (Rock the Catskills)'
from 'Odelay' (1996) (MP3/CD)
Bernard Purdie 'Soul Drums'
from 'Soul Drums' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Joe Thomas 'Venus'
from 'Feelin's from Within' (1976) (MP3/Import CD)
Mantronix 'Needle to the Groove'
from 'The Album' (1984) (MP3/CD)
Lee Dorsey 'Get Out of MY Life Woman'
from 'The New Lee Dorsey' (1966) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Donny Hathaway 'The Ghetto'
from 'Everything is Everything' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
Laurindo Almeida and the Bossa Nova Allstars 'Desafinado'
from 'Bossa Nova!' (1962) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Rasputin's Stash 'Mr. Cool'
from 'Rasputin's Stash' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)