Brass fuggin' Knuckles, alright??!

Today at work I decided to purchase 2 albums out of sheer curiosity based off of a customers suggestions. Both these particular titles landed in the hands of 2 different customers sometime ago, and I found the album covers to be remarkable and decided I would purchase them if we ever got them restocked.

The first title is by none other then Bo Diddley. I'm sure you're wondering what might be so curious about a Bo Diddley album that everyone hasn't already heard before on a previous outing. I assure you, this particular title is something else. The album cover has a very Psychedelic aesthetic to it and has Bo Diddley wearing a very peculiar outfit consisting of leather chaps, very reminiscent to an S & M outfit. The album is Bo Diddley: The Black Gladiator. The album only recieved a poor 2 (out of 5) star rating courtesy of All Music Guide, but sometimes the writers and editors at AMG have no fucking idea what they are talking about. The story goes that Bo Diddley went on to make a series of Funk albums inspired by Sly and the Family Stone beginning with this particular album. The very first track is titled "Elephant Man," which is a song about Bo Diddley claiming to have invented the Elephant by assembling it piece by piece until he was finally finished. Talk about some fucking crazy ass shit. I called my buddy, Devin, asking him whether or not he had heard the album, being the big Bo Diddley fan that he was, and he told me that he went somewhere off the deep end sometime in his career. I feel comfortable in saying that this album is an exception to this statement. The album maintains a very funky vibe while drawing from all the blues dynamics that became a staple of Bo Diddley's early works. The album has all the right call and response type funk vocals where Bo preaches to his fellow sisters and they respond very righteously. Below is a picture taken from the back cover of the album. Frightening.


The other album I purchased today is by Melvin Jackson and it's titled Funky Skull. The title track starts off the album, and it has Melvin Jackson playing an upright Bass through an amplifier with various effects including distortion. This particular album plays like a Jazz album mixed with Funk/Soul Elements, but I wouldn't consider it a Jazz-Funk fusion album. It plays on the lighter side of Funk through most the album, but has its moments, especially on the opening track "Funky Skull." The upright Bass noodlings sound very odd and strangely funky on this opening track due to the various effects being applied. I wouldn't want to place this album in either the Funk/Soul or Jazz section in a record store, because I feel it literally falls in between the two genres. This album would be definitely good to spin at a bar if I were to DJ again in the near future. Great background/good vibey type tunes that has enough soul to make that girls ass shake (or in some instances clap) all night. After a nights worth of drinking you'll find yourself calling Melving Jackson, "Jackie Good-Vibes," as you stumble out of the bar with your coked out mistress as you wave down the next car that looks like a cab, praying to god you have a rubber waiting for you on your night stand.



NOW BACK TO PUNK MOTHER FUCKER

Yesterday at Green Noise records, I saw an LP that I have been putting off purchasing for a very long time despite its importance in the punk community. The album is by the punk outfit from Belgium known as The Kids. No, not "The Real Kids," but The Kids. The Kids play like a Rolling Stones fucked up on speed and without all the Rock & Roll royalty bullshit. This is great pub ass punk, that's fast at times, but very melodic and plays like a Rock record through and through. Snotty at times, and aggressive guitar work, I find this album to be pretty immediately accessible upon the first few listens. For whatever reason, I was never really taken with this album when I had heard the clips online, but the last time I visited Adam at Oasis Pizza, he played this particular album and it sounded far different than I could remember. That's why when I saw it again after a good solid year or so of staring at the cover, I decided to finally buy it. Seve describes the kids as one of his Top 5 favorite records, and with such a bold statement like that, I didn't know how I could turn it down. The album has a Ramones worship type sound to it, but has more gnarl type vocals that make it sound tough (and believe me, the Ramones are TUFF!).