Showing posts with label Three Dog Night. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Three Dog Night. Show all posts

Monday, June 22, 2009

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)

Friday, November 7, 2008

Rewind: GZA/Genius 'Liquid Swords' (Part 2)



Welcome to the second part of our look at 'Liquid Swords' by GZA/Genius, released on this day in 1995.

'Liquid Swords''s second single was the RZA produced 'Cold World' and features a fantastic use of the Dramatics' ballad 'In the Rain'. The track also samples Stevie Wonder's 'Hotter than July' album cut 'Rocket Love'. GZA's 'Shadowboxin'', the album's final single, samples Ann Peebles' 'Trouble, Heartaches, and Sadness'. A sample of Three Dog Night appears on GZA's 'Investigatve Reports' by way of their 1974 album 'Hard Labor' and the track 'I'd Be So Happy'. The album's closing track and the only track not produced by the RZA (this track was produced by Wu associate 4th Disciple) is 'B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)' which samples an early Ohio Players track titled 'Our Love Has Died' on their pre-breakthrough album 'Pleasure'.

'Liquid Swords' has, in time, become a platinum selling album and is often cited as being one of the best hip-hop albums of all time and is the high water mark for albums released by Wu-Tang members.


The Lowdown:
GZA/Genius 'Cold World', 'Shadowboxin'', 'Investigatve Reports', and 'B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)'
from 'Liquid Swords' (1995) (MP3/CD)
The Dramatics 'In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Stevie Wonder 'Rocket Love'
from 'Hotter than July' (1980) (MP3/CD)
Ann Peebles 'Trouble, Heartaches, and Sadness'
from 'Straight from the Heart' (1971) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Three Dog Night 'I'd Be So Happy'
from 'Hard Labor' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
The Ohio Players 'Out Love Has Died'
from 'Pleasure' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)