Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Blue Note 4003. (1958) One of the greatest jazz records by a giant among men and an all-star ensemble of superstars: LEE MORGAN, BENNY GOLSON, BOBBY TIMMONS, JYMIE MERRITT and ART BLAKEY. Songs here include the jazz standards “Moanin’,” “Along Came Betty,” and “Blues March” among others. The cover portrait was shot by Buck Hoeffler. The session was produced by Alfred Lions and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder of course. Liner notes by Leonard Feather .

(18 votes, average: 4.61 out of 5)

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Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson wrote some of the biggest Motown hits of the 60’s and 70’s including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “California Soul,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand”.

(21 votes, average: 4.19 out of 5)

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The band is Change of Pace.   “Bring My Buddies Back” (1971) on Stone Lady Records.

A wonderful bit of harmony soul from the east coast — a record with exactly the kind of fragile emotion and personal depth you might guess from the cover! Change Of Pace are a group with a sound that’s a bit like some of their contemporaries on the scene — but they’ve also got a slightly different approach too — one that’s not just heartbreaking ballads and love songs, but which also has a somewhat righteous undercurrent. Social themes intertwine with more personal agendas in the tunes — making for some great lyrical interplay that comes off in a unique way. Backings are mostly gentle — save for a few slightly more upbeat numbers — and titles include “Bring My Buddies Back”, “Our Forefathers”, “When You Look Into The Mirror”, “Blood’s Much Thicker Than Water”, “Yuletide Love”, and “Hello Darling”.   – Dusty Groove

(12 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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“Get On Down” by East Harlem Bus Stop. A mix of mid-seventies funk, salsa and disco. Latin star Pete Terrace contributed some rhythm and band scores. Nice cover illustration by C. Ellis. D&M Sounds label.

A tight little east coast combo — with a slick funky sound for the clubs, in the manner of early work by BT Express! The grooves are all tight and choppy — with guitar vamping and wah-wahing over the top of most of the beats, while instrumental lines are laid down by sax and trumpet. There’s some occasional strings that slide into the mix — but most of the instrumentation is by the band. Pete Terrace handled some of the rhythm arrangements — and on the best tracks, you can detect the slightest of Latin influences. Titles include “Let’s Get It On”, “Right On”, “Get On Down”, and a slick cover of “Watermelon Man”. Boss cover, too!   — Dusty Groove

(15 votes, average: 3.87 out of 5)

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“Turn Back the Hands of Time” (1970). I love Tyrone Davis (1938 – 2005) and of course this is one of the greatest soul songs of all time. Another great song on this record is “Something You Got”. This is on Dakar which was distributed by Cotillion records a division of Atlantic. Tyrone’s previous record was his other monster hit “Can I Change My Mind” This was arranged and produced by the great Willie Henderson. The cover photo is by Joel Brodsky. Tyrone was once Freddie King’s valet before being discovered in a Chicago nightclub.

(13 votes, average: 4.69 out of 5)

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A two-sided monsterpiece from Hairy Records (1964) this record is based on the hugely successful early sixties “Silly Surfer” and “Weird-ohs” model car assembly kits from The Hawk Model Co.. The Weird-ohs model kits were introduced in 1963. The initial three-kit batch of Weird-ohs consisted of Digger, a dragster; Daddy, a commuter; and Davey, a biker. These were soon joined by other releases that went on to become one of the most popular and successful series of model kits in plastic hot rod history. Similar to the drag monsters and toy model kits that Ed “Big Daddy” Roth and Stanley Mouse were creating the Weird-ohs were the creation of William Campbell. The Musical Director here was no less than surf maestro Gary Usher.

(26 votes, average: 3.85 out of 5)

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“Instant Insanity Drugs” Key Records put out many “how to”, “sales’ and “educational” records as well as “warning” records about things like communism and here illigal narcotics. Check out the liner notes before your next trip.

(19 votes, average: 2.95 out of 5)

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Another fine cover from Singapore and Asian 60’s Pop Music. Cooool.

(33 votes, average: 3.88 out of 5)

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Fred Elias and his Ensemble of Renown featuring John Tatasopoulas.

Excerpt from back cover notes: “Only the emotional depth of Fred Elias & His Ensemble of Renown and the bazooki of John Tatasopoulas, world’s greatest in this field, can capture the contrasts of tender emotion and resounding rhythms of MYSTICAL TEMPTATIONS.”

Check out lots of cool covers at Belly Go! Go!

(19 votes, average: 3.74 out of 5)

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From the Schytts myspace page:   “For a lot of ages now, since aerly in the middle of 1968, we have brought our mark of by far musice to people of our country, and China also in dovesound. We have stipulated with many in the worlds. Now enjoying of ours fine becoming obsolete to the future coldplay confesses reactive ideas.”

I don’t know what to say.

(22 votes, average: 3.27 out of 5)

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