Thanks to a super-fine tip, I have been knee deep in this blog post, over at Versions Galore, comprised of 100+ covers of Allen Toussaint's "Get Out Of My Life, Woman." Whereas the name Jimmy Smith, and his backroom organ undertaking of the tune, may not be foreign to many of you, the Memphis, TN [...]
By The Time I Get To Phoenix is not even my favourite Jimmy Webb song, much as I love it, but I cannot think of many other songs in pop music that traverse interpretations and genres as effortlessly as this. Here I am offering a bunch of versions that cover pop, country, soul, jazz and easy listening. By The Time I Get To Phoenix sounds like it belongs in any of these genres. And even when interpreted by artists from the same genre, it is an immensely flexible a song. Just compare the versions by the Four Tops, [...]
The Heptones' Leroy Sibbles touched more than the majority of Studio One's hit songs, whether in his own band or as the obfuscated group of studio musicians known variously as Sound Dimension or the Soul Investigators or as the man who played the bass on classics by the Abyssinians or Dennis Brown. He will be leading the Lions at Dub Club tonight. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

Hip-hop is clearly the most impactful and important musical genre that has emerged in the past thirty years. And much of it has been built on the rhythmic foundations of soul. Stax has just released The Soul Of Hip Hop , a compilation of Stax songs that were used for tracks and beats in famous hip hop songs, including De La Soul, Rakim, DJ HiTek, Cypress Hill, DJ Muggs, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, DJ Quik, Ice Cube, Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, RZA and more [...]

Game changing, son - not sure what else needs to be said about De La's 1989 debut. In a a genre where original expression is king, this album redefined rap's role in projecting cultural positivity while presenting a radical style and format change from everything released at the time (or since). Homeys also invented the now-standard hip hop skit along the way. Most notably, Prince Paul built a name for himself here by permanently upping the creativity bar for sampling (even though The Turtles later sued them and won). You might have already recognized some of the more [...]
HELP John Lennon The Complete Home Recordings [Unreleased] HELP ME Ray Sharpe w/the King Curtis Orchestra feat. Jimi Hendrix Atco : 1966 Available on: Blues & Soul Power Atlantic : 2003 [Buy It] HELP THE BEAR Ted Taylor Atco : 1966 Available on: Blues & Soul Power Atlantic : 2003 [Buy It] WATCH THE DOG Sandy Gaye Moonshot : c.1969 [Out of [...]

I once sat next to Posdnuos and his lady at a performance of Topdog/Underdog starring Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright. In the middle of the first act, a voice came on the loudspeaker and calmly told us we all had to leave, not to panic, and that yes, there was a fire in the building. Once outside, I bummed Mos a light for his Dunhill through the window of his Navigator, and he told me not to worry- that we would all get rain checks for the next week; to which I responded that, [...]