Corduroy - Return Of The Fabric Four

So, the first studio album by Corduroy in eighteen years is finally out, and as promised, here's a track by track report on this much anticipated record. 

The overall approach harks back to the early, classic, largely instrumental, Acid Jazz releases, (think DadManCat and High Havoc); beautifully recorded in Deptford's 2-Bit Studios, the sound is undeniably retro, with throw-back influences and vintage recording techniques, yet refreshingly forward looking thanks to the extravagant yet economic four-piece, drum/bass/guitar & keys, arrangements. Citing punk, easy-listening, TV and movie themes, jazz, funk, mod and British R&B, it's been a long wait and it's been well worth it.

Side 1.

Magic Mountain. The album opener, the best cheeky-kids-television-show-theme-tune that never was, named after a seventies skate-park and already reviewed, with video, here.

The Cleaner. Jazz influenced and super-spy cool, Steve McQueen in Bullitt meets the Pink Panther theme, driven by a sixties bass riff, swinging cymbals and Farfisa melody.

Return Of The Fabric Four. The album title track, Quincy Jones meets Johnny Pate, funky on the feet and cunningly syncopated; a mission statement.

Sambarella. Latin grooves like Sergio Mendez in Basil 66', sweet vocal Ba Ba Ba's in a sweeter plate-reverb Jus. Effortlessly groovy.

Blackmail. Relentless and claustrophobic, punky bass with vibrato guitar line, electric piano designed to cause insomnia and make the guilty pay up. Video here.

Snake Appeal. Beatnick lounge-room beats, Osca Peterson grand piano and Electric Prunes fuzz-tone guitar. Easy like dry Martinis in the sun ... two olives.

Side 2.

Saturday Club. The Who meets The Kinks meets Small Faces; reviewed with video here. 

Waltz For Christoph. Named after the baddie in Spectre, a jazz waltz for Christoph Waltz;  for head-nodders, chinstrokers and stylish actors when they enter the room whistling.

Sign Of The Cat. A small tune with big ideas, twelve-string melodies, inscrutably funky bass with a supple psychedelic keyboard backbone. 

The Slingbacks Solution. Tribal drumming that kick-starts a funny foot-stomping, hand-bag kitsch, twelve-bar number with a twist... crazy!

Jumping Spider. More bounce than a super-ball; Devo meets Jean-Jacques Burnel, itchy guitar runs and a thousand keyboard trajectories....and then it's gone.

Botany Five-O. Seaside funk for the dapper-clad soul boys, Bill Withers meets Ronnie Laws with fast clavi-chords and jazz groove guitar solo finish.

'Corduroy are: Ben Addison, Scott Addison, Richard Searle, Simon Nelson-Smith.
Produced by Corduroy and Andrew Jones, all songs written by Corduroy, sleeve illustration by Ben Addison, released on Acid Jazz Records. Richard plays Danelectro Bass guitars.'

Oh...and it's on white vinyl.

   


 

Totally Wired 21

Compiled exclusively to co-inside with celebrations for the twenty-first anniversary of Acid Jazz Records, demand for this Ltd edition CD has lead to its re-issue, in anticipation of the labels forthcoming twenty fifth anniversary this year.

The last truly independent label has revisited the genre-defining and most popular of all compilation series, Totally Wired. Featuring previously unreleased dance floor killers with remixes of established Acid Jazz releases, plus some new boys and girls on the block.

Staying true to the winning formula of the historic series, Totally Wired 21 also offers the chance to discover some great oldies. Salvaged from original New York acetate, The Harmony Recorders perform the Exodus Theme to soulful perfection. As does Sharon Brown’s self penned Family Tree. Polygram in-house writer/ producer Graham Dee connects with The Fleur De Lys’ Tony Head for a pre-disco funk floor filler.

As for remixes, they live up to the high standard of the previous Totally Wired outings, as Paul Weller’s bassist Andy Lewis has his Loleatta Holloway dancer remixed by Tokyo’s finest, Latin aficionados Los Africanos get the Mondo Disco treatment and Grand Union’s folk masterpiece is ‘cut-up’ by DJ Smoove. Brasil’s Leleo meets electro-teers Twisted Tongue and Anthony Johnson’s dub classic is reworked by Brendan Lynch.

Newer tracks to complete the compilation are The Filthy Six’s record box rework of Roy Budd’s ‘Get Carter’ and Freefall effortlessly capture the timeless Acid Jazz sound on their debut recording while Canada’s Executive Sweet display their tastes in cool filmic arrangements.

The Get Go go R&B on their Hammond instrumental groover and The Elements  skillfully cover a rare sixties stomper.

Finally, Twisted Tongue conclude this eclectic selection with the masterful ‘You Want That Soul’, the lead track from their eponymous debut album. If that doesn’t get your head nodding then you haven’t actually played the CD.

Get it here!

Sharon Tandy

Following on from The Richard Kent Style, Steve Marriot and The Moments, The Fleur De Lys and The Muleskinners, Acid Jazz return with the fifth in their Rare Mod E.P series of unreleased sixties gems – this time with the first lady of Atlantic, Sharon Tandy.

It’s 1968, England reign supreme and Sandie Shaw is the champion, we’re talking of course about The Eurovision Song Contest. The previous April Ms Shaw had triumphed in Vienna and all eyes were on Swinging London to find another winner on home soil.

Graham Dee and Brian Potter, staff songwriters at Polydor Records, had written the Latin tinged “Walk from here to Mexico”, inspired by the forthcoming Olympic Games and offered it to Sharon Tandy for her next release. Having recorded a demo of the track it was decided instead to enter the song for said song contest but in a cruel twist of fate it was submitted just after the entry deadline and the track was shelved.

Had it made it, the name Sharon Tandy would these days be familiar to all but as it is she remains an enigma, a cult, a legend but the in-crowd know she was one of the greatest white female singers of the 60s. 

The three other tracks featured  are all previously unreleased, “Daughter of The Sun” and “Somebody Speaks Your Name” may be familiar to you but the versions presented here are early studio demos. “Roundabout” was written by Graham Dee and Dennis Lotis, another legend. 

Incidentally England didn’t win the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968, They came second and had to wait another year for Lulu to bring back the silverware.

Released as limited edition 7” vinyl on 16th May.

Here's a video of her at The  Speakeasy in 1968, not a song from the E.P but that's why they call them Rare Mod.

Los Africanos

In the mid 70s producer and latin music hustler Bobby Marin took a bunch of his mates into the studio and recorded a Nuyorican funk masterpiece. He named the group Los Africanos, and then….nothing happened.

The master languished in the back of a cupboard until Bobby played it to award winning compilation producer Dean Rudland who immediately recognized the recording as a missing gem that simply had to be released. So he brought it into Acid Jazz and finally after three decades Los Africanos have arrived with an LP of big chunky, funk filled grooves.

Bobby Marin is a native New Yorker who grew up in post-war Spanish Harlem, digging both the Latin music beloved of his older brothers and the soul of the streets where he hung out.

By the mid 60s he was a producer and arranger, working for the Speed label working on everything from boogaloo and Latin soul to the Northern classic ‘Spanish Maiden’ by Tony Middleton. Working with legendary vibes player Louie Ramirez he also wrote some amazing music including ‘I’ll Be A Happy Man’ for the Latin Blue Band, whose big horn sound you would instanly recognize as that sampled by DJ Premier for Christina Aguilaira’s world-wide smash ‘Ain’t No Other Man’ in 2006.

In the 70s, whilst working increasingly in the salsa field, he kept his hand in with the world of latin funk with albums by La Crema, and a series of collectable sets by the group Ocho led by Chico Mendoza whose big band version of the JBs’ ‘Hot Pants Road’ was an early acid jazz dancefloor classic . Los Africanos features both Chico Mendoza and Louie Ramirez as part of a stellar cast that includes Fania All Star Barry Rogers, Alegre All Star Mauricio Smith, latin soul super-stars Willie Torres, Jimmy Sabater and Joey Pastrana as well as session legends guitarist Joe Beck and drummer Steve Berrios.

The music ranges from the pure funk of ‘It’s Your Thing’, afro-funk of ‘Pamoja Watu’ based on James Brown’s ‘It’s A New Day’, proto disco on ‘Do It’ and ‘Monster Party’ through to rock covers and pure salsa. It is a melting pot of influences that reflects the streets and clubs of Spanish Harlem.

Go on, treat yourself. 

LeLeo 'the Brazilian mod'

In the summer of 2008 Acid Jazz Records released one of the most overlooked albums of the last decade, 'Maravilhas' by LeLeo.

Leonardo, the self proclaimed 'Brazilian mod', enjoyed a successful chart-topping career having worked with the top musicians from the Portuguese-speaking world including Gilberto Gil and Bernardo Vilhena, a famous Brazilian lyricist, with whom he subsequently started a partnership,  the results of which can be heard on the album.

Leleo created his own distinctive and contemporary sound that still captures the happy flavour found in the 1970s style of artist like Jorge Benjor and Sergio Mendes. A blend of Sixties groove and bossa samba swing that he calls “Swing Bossa”.

Stand out tracks included 'Ela Briga Comigo', 'Motoboy' and 'Gisele', named after the Brazilian super-model.

Along with his band 'Maravilhas', from which the album gets it's title, Leleo played a few choice and sold out shows in and around London to promote the album, plus a live session on the Funk Show on BBC6. Yet despite healthy radio support surrounding his tour the album remains a 'best kept secret' amongst Latin aficionados and adventurous mods. 

File Under Latin.