Monthly Archives: August 2007

GOODing Soul.

Sunday: August 26, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Soul 4 Comments

Artist: The Main Ingredient
Title: Afrodisiac
Label: RCA
Year: 1973
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)

Front

Review
This LP definitely comes in second when I talk about the catalogue of The Main Ingredient. Afrodisiac is an amazing album that demonstrates why these guys go down in history as one of the best soul groups ever. The cuts on this album are filled with nothing less than passion, I kind of got the sense that the stories that the songs told were extracted from these guys personal lives and experiences, which is THE way to go. The best music is TRUE music. Specifically, the track “Work To Do” is one that I am sure many people can relate to…when it comes to the one you love, and your life, sometimes it can be hard to find that balance…but at the end of the day, you don’t love that person any less (I won’t go on preaching about relationships, lol…but I know everybody can dig it). Moving on, the production on this record is craaaaaazy!!! This is how love ballads should be produced and arranged, deep bass, sounds gently panning from ear to ear unexpectedly, and drums that lay low. To the credit of the three members of the group, they produced the album. Dig this one up for sure. (Note that the lead singer of this group is the father of Cuba and Omar Gooding)…with a distinct, amazing voice.

Work To Do

Goodbye My Love

Inside

Design
My favorite type of cover! A beautiful, african-american woman with an afro! When in doubt, if you want a dope record cover, go this route. The crew over here loves covers that do this…simply because it embraces our woman, it does NOT degrade them. It shows their true beauty and divine form. Okay, now that I have that off of my chest, let’s discuss typography. Here we see something that I don’t see too often, all lowercase title and subtitle…very understated, but a GREAT treatment here. “Afro” in the word afrodisiac has been darkened, obviously to parallel with the subject in the photo. As far as the font, the typeface is very basic, but elegant to a certain extent, I believe it’s some form of Optima, or something close to it. Credits, Nick Sangiamo shot the cover, and I like his focus/out-of-focus technique, Frank Mulvey designed the cover, and he did a great job with the placement of type and graphic elements…specifically the way that the track listing and album credits cover the woman’s back side, because as we all know, he totally didn’t have to cover it (several albums in the 70′s had nudity on the covers). For me, this cover just all comes together, and I like it from the outside in.

Open

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On Mars.

Sunday: August 26, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Funk 4 Comments

Artist: Dexter Wansel
Title: Life On Mars
Label: The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP)
Year: 1976
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)

Front

Review
This is by far…by planets Dexter Wansel’s best LP. It’s the most thorough, plain and simple. Life on Mars was his first solo LP, and that may explain why. The drum breaks on the album are ridiculous!!! His arrangements are crazy as well. Another strength to this album is the build-up factor, his talent to build-up a track is amazing…and he doesn’t let down your ears. But what really made me buy this record was the way that he used the synthesizers to create these crazy sound effects that were unheard of at the time…at least the way that he put them on the top shelf. Dexter wrote and produced 98% of this album, with that kind of control it was clear that he got exactly what he wanted. Readers, I strongly recommend digging this up…

Rings Of Saturn

Life On Mars

Back

Design
Overall it’s kinda cheesy, predictable, and the typeface that they chose to use is unattractive…a bubble-letter stencil with a gradient (yuck!). Don’t get me wrong, I like those design elements, just NOT the way that they are used here. Chris Peterson and Gerard Huerta must have rushed on this design job. Notice that the pathway that Dexter Wansel is standing on continues behind him, however the tunnel just kind of ends…which looks very weird to me. The only thing that I probably like here is the back of the cover, the way that the type is neatly aligned to the left, and the way that the tunnel fades out on all sides, the back cover is pretty clean. At any rate, the cheesy cover design shouldn’t fool you, if you see this record, don’t be like Mike (here at FLWRPT) and pass it up, lol!, buy it, it’s a great LP.

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Phila At Its Best.

Monday: August 20, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Soul 2 Comments

Artist: O’Jays
Title: Back Stabbers
Label: The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP)
Year: 1972
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)

Front
Back

Review
Not rare by any standards…but damn is this a great record by the O’Jays, in my opinion…probably their best LP. Back Stabbers brings nothing but deep penetrating soul bangers…the lyrics, the production (Gamble and Huff), the emotion. I can’t lie…Eddie Levert is my man, but vocalist Walter Williams did his thing on this record…he outshined ol’ Eddie on this joint if ya ask me, holding his own on tracks such as “Backstabbers” and “Time to Get Down”. This LP gives the listener a little bit of everything, the message track, the love ballad, and the party track…so it is pretty well-rounded. As you know, Back Stabbers was released in 1972…but this LP clearly is ahead of its time…listen to the sound, you be the judge. Although this record is not mentioned a lot, take my word for it, it’s worth having in your collection, and it’s easy to find. Just…classic soul.

When The World’s At Peace

Time To Get Down

Design
There is no designer credit on the album cover, but whoever created the type treatment did something sweet here…in my opinion. Peep! The alblum (that’s right, alblum) is titled Back Stabbers…notice how the name “O’JAYS” and the title “BACK STABBERS” create a dagger, going through the back of my man Walter Williams fro-piece! Subtle obviousness is what I call it! Now on the other hand, the kerning could have been a bit more consistent, but I won’t knit-pick. Moving on, the hues of this cover are fitting, sort of an over-cast, dark, cloudy feel going on here, which works with words like Back Stabbers. Viewers, how do you feel about the lasagna-breasted wedding shirts these cats are rockin’? Could you all pull that off? LOL! Finally, the photography, done by Steinbicker/Houghton, Inc. was mediocre at best, his lighting technique is kinda sketchy to me, the contrast isn’t consistent throughout the 3 group members, not sure if that was the intention or not though. Nice subject positioning, however, the “O’JAYS” type is too close to William Powell’s head, it generates tension, which can be good, but it looks a little weird here.

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The Axe.

Wednesday: August 15, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Jazz 2 Comments

Artist: David Axelrod
Title: Songs of Experience
Label: Capitol
Year: 1969
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)

Front
Back

Review
David Axelrod’s Songs of Experience is a great album…bottom line. Everybody loves a great movie score, well imagine an album that is NOT a movie score, but gives off that feel. That’s how I would describe this particular record, it’s almost like chapters in a book also…the way the songs complement one another in sequence. This record was released in 1969, but has that 70′s instrumental feel to it. Interesting fact, Axelrod based each of these songs after 18th century poems written by William Blake, they are merely musical interpretations of the poetry…done beautifully. The poems are all typed up for the record owners viewing pleasure, on the inside of the cover. What’s even more awesome about this album is that I am not familiar with any of the musicians that contributed to it…now I’m interested in digging up some of the other work that these musicians have contributed to (diggers domino effect). Written, produced, and arranged by Axelrod, definitely a special piece here, worth checking out by all means. Axelrod is hard to come by, but keep those eyes OPEN!

The Sick Rose

London

Design
David was a pretty deep cat, so I’m not sure what the cover art has to do with the title of the LP…but I think it’s interesting because of the way it draws a major blank. So i’ll pose some questions, comment if you’d like. On the front, everything is black and white except for the woman, why? On the back there are nine color images of Axelrod, in sequence…all appearing the same but I’m almost sure they’re each different in some way not recognizable immediately by the human eye…but why? Each of the nine images are labeled as an experience…why? Experience five shows a bit of the woman standing behind Axelrod…why? I may be staring the answer right in the face, but I can’t lie to my readers, this one is flying over my head! Anyway, two things I know for sure is the typeface, Helvetica Bold…tightly kerned, and that the diagonal type layout on the back cover is niiiiiiiiice. (note: No designer or photographer credit provided)

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Get Ready For The Get Down.

Sunday: August 12, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Soul 8 Comments

Artist: Willie Hutch
Title: The Mark of the Beast
Label: Motown
Year: 1974
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)

Front
Back

Review
Sick joint right here!…This record starts off funky with “Get Ready for the Get Down” and continues its high-set standard all throughout. Hands down this is my favorite Willie Hutch LP because of the sound, i’m a rhythm head, and the rhythm section went to work on this record! What more can one expect from a group of Motown session musicians? Nothing but the best. This album was definitely inspired by the ghetto, poverty, heartbreak and love etc. Soulful yet funky tracks like “Life’s No Fun Living in the Ghetto” exemplify that to the fullest, with a sick bass line that walks the walk! This record was slept on for some strange reason that I can’t point out, therefore most people don’t even know that it exists…but I’m bringing it to the light and recommending that everybody check this out. The sound is a bit different than what you would typically expect from Willie Hutch, but it more than satisfies the ears. Check it out!

Get Ready For The Get Down

Life’s No Fun Living In The Ghetto

Design
Bob Gleason did his thing here, illustrating the cover for The Mark of the Beast. The red overcast is fitting for the title. There are few things going on within the painting, a seven-headed beast, Willie Hutch peaking around the creature, the 666 mark, a suggested stream, demons, etc. The beast happens to represent temptation, sin…evil…and Gleason hints at this by adding an attractive glare/sparkle to several areas of the creature (maybe?). Overall I think that this is a dope cover, eye-catching, balanced composition (which I love), nice type, clean illustration style, and last but not least, an accurate painting of Willie Hutch…with minimal detail on facial features. I also really like the bright blue outline that breaks up the painting, since everything is pretty overcast…that outline helps.

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The Legendary.

Thursday: August 9, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Jazz 3 Comments

Artist: Weldon Irvine
Title: Spirit Man
Label: RCA
Year: 1975
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)

Front
Back

Review
There isn’t one word that can truly define the sound of this album, but for those of you who are familiar with Weldon Irvine’s music…you know it’s dope. Maybe it’s cosmic soul. Irvine plays the acoustic and electric piano, clavinet, and synthesizer on this particular record…and he gets loose! He’s an innovator of sorts, not doing anything totally unheard of, but doing what we’re used to hearing…but BETTER. This album totally supports the statement that it’s not what instruments and equipment that you have, it’s who has the equipment. On this journey through music, one can instantly connect with Irvine’s talent for creating some killer melodies that stick, even after the track is through. The change ups are sick, the vocal harmonizing is sick, the layering of sound is amazing…just an all-around solid album. Produced by the man himself, the late…great, Weldon Irvine, may he rest in peace.

Softly

The Power And The Glory

Blast Off

Design
David Hecht is the photographer who shot this cover. Respect on the photo overlaying technique, as this was done well before the photoshop days. He gets some decent lighting in the image, and maintains to keep Weldon Irvine’s face as the focal point. The image itself does kinda reflect the title of the album, Spirit Man. Acy Lehman is credited with the design, and I’m not a fan of her choice in typeface or scorpion graphic used. Nice tracking on the type, but otherwise I have no further comment(s). The back is the same as the front except it’s black and white, and it’s the back of Weldon Irvine. I do, however, like the left and right alignments of the tracklisting and the credits. Overall this is a basic cover, not much is special about it…but the hoodie is dope!!! (LOL!)

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Party Up.

Thursday: August 9, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Boogie Leave a comment

Artist: The Evasions
Title: Wikka Wrap/All Wrapped Up
Label: SAM
Year: 1981
Format: Vinyl Extended Play 12″ (Original)

Front

Review
Definitely a party starter, released during the boogie era…from a small independent label called SAM Records (Long Island City, NY). Not much to say here, as it’s a single, with a full track and an instrumental…but in short, this is now one of my favorite cuts to sit and listen to. It’s synth-heavy, but used in all the right ways, making for a monster groove! The Evasions make reference to a few of its predecessors throughout the track, sparingly chanting phrases such as “Tear the Roof Off the Mother Sucka…”, “Leave Your Cares Behind…” etc. (All softly beneath the groove). Not sure on the rarity of this or anything, but the cover is pretty loud visually, so if you recognize it and you want a nice piece to add to your collection, grab this with a quickness. (DJ’s, you NEED this!)

All Wrapped Up

Design
The only reason this record is being featured is because the firs thing that I noticed about it was its cover. Sitting in a bin at a local yard sale, this one stood out! Silver background, cyan circle, and bright orange bubble type! I was intrigued…and I had never heard of this group, The Evasions. Anyway, for those who care, I believe the font used here is called VAG Rounded Bold, if i’m wrong…correct me. What you see is the standard SAM Records 12″ cover art, so there is no designer credited here.

Posted by: Darien of flwrpt

Bring Your Apetite.

Tuesday: August 7, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Jazz 1 Comment

Artist: Mongo Santamaria
Title: Sofrito
Label: Vaya
Year: 1976
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)

Front
Back

Review
Smooth, Soothing, Soulful…the first three words that come to mind when Mongo Santamaria Sofrito is mentioned. This was another one of those dollar bin gambles, turned one of my favorite records! (Another one, yea I know lol) Prior to this record Mongo had some good music for sure, but I think Sofrito is the best because of its melodic, jam session feel to it…and its overall groove. This is a peaceful record, with the occasional Brazilian influenced banger…similar to that of an Azymuth track. Now typically I am not totally moved by the horn section, but I was taken back on this record, taken waaaaaay back, they command and demand nothing but love on tracks like “Princess”, and the title cut…and a couple others. The musicianship was slapping me in the face, there is not a single dull track on this album…NOT ONE. If any of our viewers come across this record while diggin’…don’t listen to it…just buy it, be surprised. Mongo Santamaria is a conga player, for those that didn’t know and were interested.

Five On The Color Side

Princess

Design
Lee Marshall was the photographer of this album cover. Because of Lee, I picked this album up in the first place…a record with a HUGE bowl of salad on the cover (which later you’ll find that it’s not actually salad, but in my excitement I was ignorant) Talk about attention-grabbing. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the cooking pan had major wear and tear on it, which is great…his props weren’t brand new, which brought a human quality to the object, imperfection, it had life (like the music). The composition works very well here also, the tight crop of the bowl, handle, and wooden spoon balance well with the heavy white typeface at the top…I’m not a fan of that typeface, but it works well here because of its blocked thickness and hard drop shadow. Also notice that the wooden spoon and the handle of the mixing bowl almost parallel one another, which is subconsciously visually pleasing. Sofrito, in Spanish cuisine, it contains garlic, onions, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil and is used as the base for many dishes. Looks good, I want some…word!

Posted by: Darien of flwrpt

Magic Music.

Monday: August 6, 2007 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Jazz 4 Comments

Artist: Michael White
Title: Go With The Flow
Label: Impulse
Year: 1974
Format: Vinyl LP (Original – White Label Promo)

Front
Back

Review
This is an amazing, amazing, amazing record that I came across, and not having any idea of who it was, what it sounded like…I bought it. Michael White plays a variety of instruments, but is known for his magic on the electric violin…yep, electric violin. Anyhow, before I let the needle hit the wax, my heart is poundin’, like…”let this sound dope…let this sound dope…”, the music starts and I’m in shock at the first 15 seconds of this record, I knew I was in love…not at first sight, at first SOUND, lol(corny)! The instrumentation is out of this world, the arrangements and originality on this record are world class. Highly recommended, pretty obscure (because it was not a huge success around the time of its release)…but if you can get your hands on this one…do so.

Her

In The Silence

Design
Within the gatefold, and on the back cover (track listing), the designer/illustrator of this album cover, Keith Washington used Avant Garde…which happens to be one of my favorite fonts, Avant Garde was created by the one and only Herb Lubalin, as the logo for a magazine. Anyway, Washington used the font the RIGHT way, unlike several designers who abused it (However, I disagree with yellow type on a blue background). Anyway, there is a very complex, abstract illustration filling the front and back cover, and Washington was sure to keep his type clear of that, taking advantage of the positive space. On the front, notice the hand-drawn, free-form typography…as of late, I have become a huge fan of that as well. It’s very organic, original, imperfected and in my opinion, is a testament to how the artist felt at the time, because in some cases hand-drawn type is not a conceptual thing. The illustration is amazing as well, a machine that is made up of different parts of instruments (played throughout the album), that serves as a water facet! Wild, but the album is aptly titled Go With The Flow.

Gatefold

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