Five On It: December 2008's Essentials

Welcome to the final Five On It of the year, a review of the hottest sample sources covered during December.

In our review of Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Life After Death, Herb Alpert's 'Rise' was mentioned as the source for 'Hypnotize''s bassline. Luckily, 12" copies of 'Rise' are fairly easy to find, but if your using Serato - hit the download for the full length album cut and set those cue points for the break. Also mentioned in our review of 'Life After Death' is the trippy 'Space Talk' by Asha Puthli. Though not the most used sample in our review of Marvin Gaye's 'Trouble Man', it's my personal favorite: Marvin's laid back instrumental 'T Plays it Cool'. 'T' is waiting for a proper a flip, anyone up to the challenge?

On our review of Dr. Dre's immortal 'The Chronic', we covered Leon Haywood's 'I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You', the basis of 'Nuthin' But a G Thang'. The extra long intro to 'Freaky' is perfect for teasing the dancefloor before dropping 'G Thang'. Finally, also from the 'Chronic' review is the opening breakbeat from Led Zeppelin's 'When the Levee Breaks'. Gigantic drums that have been used a lot more than you may think (see below).

The Lowdown:
Herb Alpert 'Rise'
from 'Rise' (1979) (MP3/CD)
Asha Puthli 'Space Talk'
from 'The Devil is Loose' (1978) (MP3/CD not available)
Marvin Gaye 'T Plays it Cool'
from 'Trouble Man' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Leon Haywood 'I Wanna Do Something Freaky to You'
from 'Come and Get Yourself Some' (1979) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Led Zeppelin 'When the Levee Breaks'
from 'Led Zeppelin IV' (1971) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUTS:
'When the Levee Breaks' is a popular drum sample for hip-hop on both sides of the Atlantic, but it has also showed up in some odd places in pop history. In 1987, Depeche Mode used 'Levee' for the drums on their single 'Never Let Me Down' to great effect. In 1992, Sophie B. Hawkins used the 'Levee' break on the adult contemporary hit 'Damn I Wish I was Your Lover' (soccer moms stand up). A year later, the break was used on Enigma's biggest U.S. hit fueling interest in 'Pure Moods' compilations for years on 'Return to Innocence'. I can only wonder how much Led Zeppelin has made on just the opening few seconds of one of their lesser known album tracks!

Rewind: Dr. Dre 'The Chronic' (Part 2)

Welcome to our second look at the sample base of Dr. Dre's 1992 classic 'The Chronic'.

The deep album track 'A N---- Witta Gun' takes its famous refrain from the Kay Gees' 'Who's the Man (with the Master Plan)' which has been sampled quite a bit over the years. Additionally, the track samples Johnny Hammond Smith's 'Big Sur Suite' from his 1974 album 'Higher Ground'. One of my favorite non-singles from 'The Chronic' is the bombastic 'Lyrical Gangbang' which speeds up the open drum break from Led Zeppelin's 'When the Levee Breaks' to stunning effect. 'Stranded on Death Row' (notably with Geto Boy Bushwick Bill) samples Isaac Hayes' live version of 'Do Your Thing' from his Stax double album 'Live at the Sahara Tahoe' and also uses B.T. Express' useful 'If it Don't Turn You On (You Ought to Leave it Alone)'. Finally, the closing track 'The Roach' heavily cribs another P-Funk song, this time the single 'P Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)' from Parliament's album 'Mothership Connection'.

Following the run-away success of 'The Chronic', Dre produced the debut album for his protégé Snoop Dogg which was released less than a year after 'The Chronic'. Dre's tenure at Death Row would last less than two more years before he moved on to his own label called Aftermath. In future posts, we will cover 'Doggystyle', more of Dre's production work, and the sample basis for his 1999 sophomore album titled '2001'.

The Lowdown:
Dr. Dre 'A N---- Witta Gun', 'Lyrical Gangbang', 'Stranded on Death Row', and 'The Roach '
from 'The Chronic' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Kay Gees 'Who's the Man (with the Master Plan)'
from 'Keep on Bumpin and Master Plan' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Johnny Hammond Smith 'Big Sur Suite'
from 'Higher Ground' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Led Zeppelin 'When the Levee Breaks'
from 'Led Zeppelin IV' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Isaac Hayes 'Do Your Thing' (Live)
from 'Live at the Sahara Tahoe' (1973) (MP3/CD)
B.T. Express 'If it Don't Turn You On (You Ought to Leave it Alone)'
from 'Do It Till Your Satisfied' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)'
from 'Mothership Connection' (1976) (MP3/CD)