Vocals, Percussion - Joey Dee, Ray King Guitar - Patrick Patterson Bass - Steve Scipio Congas - Pablo Gonsales Drums - Sam Kelly Saxophone [Alto, Soprano] - Derek Gibbs Saxophone [Alto], Flute, Bongos - Mike Rose Saxophone [Tenor] - Peter Serreo
'Cymande' - originally released 1972, JANUS JLS 3044 'Second Time Round' - originally released 1973, JANUS JLS 3054 'Promised Heights' - originally released 1974, JANUS JXS 7004
Remastered 2-cd set with their 3 albums for Janus, plus 3 previously unreleased trx
Cymande were an eclectic band who released a few albums in the early 1970's. Arriving in London, England from Guyana & Jamaica, they developed a subtle, deep funk style heavily influenced by calypso rhythms, jazz, African music, and American soul. The name Cymande is derived from a Calypso word for Dove, which symbolizes peace and love. By the mid '70s the band members were going their separate ways. It wasn't until 20 years later that they reaped any financial rewards, as their music became a popular source for samplers. Perhaps the band's best known recording is the soulful dancefloor groove 'Bra', later sampled by the American hip-hop group De La Soul in their song 'Change In Speak' [from '3 Feet High & Rising'], by Def Jef on 'Give It Here', & by DJ Kool on 'Let Me Clear My Throat'. The Fugees sampled "Dove" for the title track of their second album, 'The Score' in 1996. The list goes on and on, and it's obvious why: Cymande was da chit & tuffa den allah dem other bands combined :) surprisingly stellar sound fer a remaster from 99. 320 rips!
'To hear him tell it, Syl Johnson could have been as big as James Brown or Al Green. #1 on the charts, top billing on the marquee, Hall of Fame inductions, tearful tributes... all within his reach, and yet never in his hands. Something, someone, and sometimes - if you believe his lyrics - the sole of a shoe was holding him back. Was it because he’s black? Not likely, though his inability to crossover to the pop charts never did him any favors. “I made my opportunities, but I never got the breaks I should have gotten. I was a jack-of-all-trades. More soul than Marvin, more funk than James. If I’d gone pop, you’d be talkin’ about me, not them. I rate right at the top, though I’ve been underrated all my life.”
Laced with that unique brand of bravado, the Syl Johnson interview tends to veer toward harrowing voyages through interruption, correction, and deliberate obfuscation. “Back up, hold on, slow down… Wu Tang, Kid Rock, Michael Jackson… Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy Jones….” Johnson has a habit of insisting that everything printed before—every verbatim transcript read directly back to him—is a blatant misquote or misunderstanding…and sometimes both. His date of birth and place of birth, his surname change from Thompson to Johnson, the murky beginnings of the Twinight record label—Syl Johnson weaves them all into one convoluted narrative, a daunting challenge for historians and fans alike to follow. Resolving his life story for this collection became an exercise in patience and diligence, as we chased the rabbit through even more big-hole 45s than bear his name.
The blues was always a genre riddled with myth and legend—its half-truths muttered on sun-baked Mississippi porches have long-since morphed into biographical foundations. From Robert Johnson’s midnight bargain with the devil at the crossroads near Dockery Plantation to Bo Diddley’s divergent claims about the origin of his name, fabrication is fully ingrained in blues tradition.
Syl Johnson’s apple never fell far from that tree. When this bluesman-at-heart felt his career tapering off early in the 1980s, his tendency toward self-mythologizing gained momentum. If he couldn’t enjoy the successes of an Al Green or a James Brown, he could surely concoct for himself a more mysterious history. Forget hot grits and armed robbery, Syl Johnson’s illegitimate father would be Robert Johnson. Or so he began to claim….
For decades, Johnson has been toeing the edge of a wide chasm that separates soul’s upper and middle classes, overshadowed across his career by the bill-paying stars of the Federal and Hi labels. He’s joined by the likes of Otis Clay and Candi Staton in a pantheon of great soul singers who maintained viable careers over several decades but never achieved that national #1 smash. Consequently, he’s been eschewed by oldies stations and Final Jeopardy questions, never having scattered the cultural detritus that keep even one-hit wonders in the periphery of the national consciousness. The litany of his largely regional hits—“Come On Sock It To Me,” “Different Strokes,” “Is It Because I’m Black,” “We Did It,” “Back For A Taste Of Your Love,” and “Take Me To The River”—is undeniable, a list that dwarfs the tally of winning output in his caste. Even so, Johnson’s reevaluation as a serious artist has yet to arrive.
By sheer quantity of singles issued, Syl Johnson should be an oldies radio staple. He’s issued more than 60 unique 45s, at last count—and that excludes international pressings and what he refers to as “booties.” Of those, 28 are collected here, in addition to extant cuts from his two Twinight LPs and a swath of period outtakes. Johnson’s Hi singles and albums have been compiled comprehensively, and recently, so we’ve chosen to focus on his work prior to joining the Memphis powerhouse in 1971. In cases where no dates could be found, we’ve taken pains to place them within the chronology Syl himself provided over the last four years. But with Syl Johnson, those dates seem to shift every time they’re about to be confirmed. We’ve broken our own Syl Johnson biography into discrete sections, headed by topical quotations even the man himself can’t rightly deny. When grilled, Johnson just shrugs and says, “Gotta keep some mysteries unsolved….' press
Side A 01 there is a god somewhere 02 what is the name 03 rich man, poor man 04 can you say yeah 05 in my father's house
Side B 06 a man called jesus 07 one day in paradise 08 two wings 09 none greater than john 10 peter and john
Andrew Wartts, based in Bloomington, Illinois, recorded his landmark gospel album There Is A God Somewhere in the early 1980s and released it on the small Champ imprint based in Nashville, Tennessee. It took funk archivists years to discover this gem, but it’s a timely resurface. Wartts sound – a mixture of soulful, funky, melancholic yet celebratory exhortations to the Lord – belies the music’s age. In a time when most contemporary-leaning Gospel acts were moving towards the “boogie” sounds of then-pop stars such as Prince and Rick James, Wartts stood firm in his commitment to James Brown style funk. As an example, check out 'Peter And John,' a quirky riff on 'Give It Up, Turn It Loose.' Turning around neatly in 4/4, the rhythm section chooses to skirt, rather than emphasize, “the one.” The result is a slightly off putting, but wholly original entry into the Gospel-Funk archives. last post of the month, hope ya enjoy it. this one's sure to cure even the worst case of the mundaze. seriously superb bible story ear candy
