Sunday, August 1, 2021

Songs Of The Week, 2021: 7/24-7/30

 


 

Sugar Mama- Led Zeppelin
Little Bit Of Soul- King's X
Listen To My Babe- Fiction Plane
Postizo- Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos
Dionne- Prince
Heavenly Homes- Be-Bop Deluxe
Open Up Your Heart- Chuck Prophet

zip

Sugar Mama- Led Zeppelin
A long time holy grail for Zeppelin fans, this groovy blues was recorded in 1968 and finally saw its first official release as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of "Coda."

Little Bit Of Soul- King's X
I've loved King's X since day one. Pigeon-holed as a metal band, this trio has been delivering their own special hybrid of rock, soul, funk, and fusion, with Beatle-esque harmonies since 1979. I fell off the bus after 1996's "Ear Candy," but thanks to Record Store Day, got back on with two first time vinyl releases--1998's "Tape Head" and 2001's "Manic Moonlight." This groovy little track is from the former.

Listen To My Babe- Fiction Plane
Sting's son Joe Sumner's first full length with his band Fiction Plane killed me in 2003. Then, I got to see the band up close at a Mercury Lounge showcase, and the room was on fire. "Everything Will Never Be Okay" was one of my favorite records that year. And then, that was that. Here is the opening cut.

Postizo- Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos
This record came out during the big Cuban music explosion spearheaded by Ry Cooder and the Buena Vista Social Club a few years prior. I believe this record sold more copies in my store in 2000 than any other release. It was beloved by my staff and all who heard it. I hadn't thought about it or Ribot in ages and then I saw Ribot has a new collection of essays coming out on August 3rd, "Unstrung: Rants & Stories Of A Noise Guitarist." And here we are.

Dionne- Prince
And speaking of Record Store Day, "The Truth," the bonus acoustic CD that came with early editions of Prince's "Crystal Ball" box got a stand alone vinyl release. This is from that.

Heavenly Homes- Be-Bop Deluxe
It's not just the guitar solo, it's everything Bill Nelson plays on this track. A BeBop Top Ten for me.

Open Up Your Heart- Chuck Prophet
Chuck Prophet has no bad records, only really good ones and really great ones. This is from "Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins," a really good one. (Or maybe it's a really great one. Hard to keep track.)

3 comments:

A Walk In The Woods said...

Thanks for this!

cmealha said...

Almost passed on the Prince album but based on your recommendation and multiple previews, which i like more and more with each pass, i bought it and was totally pleased. "Dionne" is my favorite of the bunch.

dogbreath said...

That Be Bop Deluxe cut has always done the business for me. Throw in King's X and you've got, probably, the best SOTW zip since last week. Cheers!