Monthly Archives: June 2009

Dwele MJ Tribute.

Sunday: June 28, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Video 1 Comment

This is definitely the most creative MJ tribute that I have seen thus far. Dwele doing an on-the-spot rendition of “Human Nature” with his own flare to it. Props to Dwele!
Enjoy…

Kool & The Gang.

Thursday: June 25, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Funk, Jazz Leave a comment

Artist: Kool & The Gang
Title: Kool & The Gang
Year: 1969
Label: De-Lite
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 4.75/5.0

Front Cover

Review
This is Kool & The Gang’s first album, the self-titled release was a very groundbreaking piece of work which was the foundation that would later cement these guys as one of the best, most influential funk bands of our time. Straight out of Jersey City, NJ…they defined their own style and sound of music, and produced it to the maximum level.

This album is significant in that it shows the groups versatility from the jump, providing jazz, soul, and hardcore funk tunes that make this LP almost flawless. The guitars, horns, and drums are all on point, not lacking in either category. Enjoy this masterpiece…

Check out the sound!

Let The Music Take Your Mind

Kool’s Back Again

Breeze & Soul

Give It Up

Design
This cover is bad@ss. BOTTOM LINE. This is exactly the type of cover that solidifies your arrival into the music business. Nothing fancy, nothing crazy…just a gritty picture of the group in their neighborhood/environment, it smells of the late 60′s inner city…I LOVE IT! A nice desaturated duotone (maybe tritone) finish to the photo, framed into a basic maroon-painted background, with very simple, almost default type at the top. No smiles on their faces, these guys want you to take them seriously…and their music here definitely backs that up. Easily one of my favorite covers all-time.

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Additional info on Kool & The Gang

Dwele Mixing.

Thursday: June 25, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Video 2 Comments

I wish Dwele was using vinyl here, but whatever, still a pretty nice mix. Essentially he’s giving a brief lesson in samples (and where they came from). Enjoy…

Good Times.

Wednesday: June 24, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Funk, Jazz 1 Comment

Artist: Kool & The Gang
Title: Good Times
Year: 1972
Label: De-Lite
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 4.0/5.0

Front Cover

Review
For those that don’t know, prior to being a household name, and a commercial success…Kool & The Gang were hardcore underground funk musicians. This Good Times LP will give you a sense as to how gritty their earlier sound was, which is definitely the sound that I prefer from them. Robert “Kool” Bell is the leader of the group, he plays the bass guitar, and without a doubt his bass reigns supreme in the overall texture of the music, along with the sax (which is played by his younger brother Ronald Bell). These guys defined their own style, and paved the way for many funk bands that followed. Listen to how these guys communicate with each other through music—OH! and be sure to check out the way that the guitarist works the wah-wah on “Rated X”. Enjoy…

Check out the sound!

Good Times

Rated X

North, South, East, West

Design
Beautiful cover. The illustrations of the band members interlaced through the typography creates a very strong and interesting composition. Each member with an instrument associated with them, and some type of expression adds to this piece as well. The type is very bold and up front, which I like a lot, it’s commanding the foreground creating hierarchy amongst the various pieces. I’m also digging the western style font here, I don’t see that too often on any of my other record covers.

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Additional info on Kool & The Gang

Wax Poetics.

Friday: June 19, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Video 1 Comment

Wax Poetics, my favorite magazine for content/writing, layout, rare photos, and the ability to put me on to artists of the past that I may not be familiar with. Not only is this one of the best magazines on the rack, but they also represent Brooklyn. Check out this vid that Brooklyn Independent Television did on Wax Poetics.

Peace.

Don't Turn Around.

Thursday: June 18, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Soul 2 Comments

Artist: Black Ivory
Title: Don’t Turn Around
Year: 1972
Label: Today
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 5.0/5.0

Front Cover

Review
One of my favorite 70′s r&b records, Don’t Turn Around by Black Ivory. This was their first release, and by far, the absolute best album that they produced (though the others were good albums). On this album you’ll get a little bit of everything, some ballads, some poppy r&b, and some funky stuff as well. That’s one of the things that makes it great is its versatility. The music/production is great, but I am really into the lyrics here…the songs are very well written, one can relate to at least one song on the album. It’s all about life, and love. Enjoy…

Check out the sound!

Don’t Turn Around

You And I

I’ll Keep Asking You Questions

I’ll Find A Way

Our Future

Design
This cover is awesome! From image composition to typography, it just works, plain and simple. Not to mention that the font they’re using is one of my favorites (or at least a variation of it), looks sort of Bodoni/Didot-ish. Can’t pinpoint the exact font, but I know I love it.

Check out the dance steps! These guys are great!

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Additional info on Black Ivory

We The People.

Tuesday: June 16, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Funk 5 Comments

Artist: The Soul Searchers
Title: We The People
Year: 1972
Label: Sussex
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 5.0/5.0

Front Cover

Review
The Soul Searchers make their presence felt early in the game, with the release of this masterpiece, We The People. This is the first release from the group, and definitely one of the most memorable…being solid from start to finish.

Chuck Brown is the the leader of the group, writing and producing most of the music, singing lead, and playing guitar. With that said, one can expect to hear the signature “pocket” beat that Chuck created, which later in his career was used to master the go-go sound (that single handedly influenced the go-go scene in Washington, DC). Those that know the signature Chuck Brown sound will notice that the “pocket” beat was still in it’s development stages during this album…but still VERY strong.

This is one of my favorite records, quality music from start to finish. Enjoy…

Check out the sound!

1993

Soul To The People

We The People

It’s All In Your Mind

Think

Design
This cover is interesting without a doubt, however, it’s not my favorite. It has that psychadelic look and feel, but it’s definitely a funk record. The composition of the band photo is quite nice though, and I really like the conga player being the focal point. Warping the text to arc above the step motion photo effect is a nice use of the type as a framing device. This is one of those covers that you come across, and instantly you know that the music MUST be as interesting as the cover.

(Side note, Chuck Brown is much younger here, it may be hard for some of you to pick him out of the picture.)

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Additional info on The Soul Searchers

Rejuvenation.

Sunday: June 14, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Funk, Soul 4 Comments

Artist: The Meters
Title: Rejuvenation
Year: 1974
Label: Reprise
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 3.5/5.0

Front Cover

Review
I’ve been in a Meters mood all week, so I’ll keep it rolling with this one here, Rejuvenation. This is a funky album, probably the only album that I like from the group that wasn’t recorded on the JOSIE label. The sound isn’t as dirty as their earlier work, but it still makes for a decent LP. Enjoy…

Check out the sound!

Just Kissed My Baby

Jungle Man

People Say

Design
I’m a minimalist, and this cover is ALL OVER THE PLACE, I completely dislike it…COMPLETELY. If you had no clue who the Meters were, you may even think that the group is called “Rejuvenation”, because the hierarchy of the type is just WRONG. Layer upon layer of junk, it just looks bad, and the grid lines don’t work here. On the contrary, if you strip this cover of all it’s clutter, the photo is actually kinda cool, and has an interesting abstract composition.

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Additional info on The Meters

Waajeed Diggin'.

Saturday: June 13, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Video 1 Comment

Producer Waajeed of PPP fame, and principal of The Bling 47 Group doing his thing diggin’ for records…his way. This record shop seems to be pretty dope, I have to check it out whenever I can get up that way. Enjoy…

Struttin.

Thursday: June 11, 2009 Posted: Darien Victor Birks Category: Funk, Soul Leave a comment

Artist: The Meters
Title: Struttin
Year: 1970
Label: Josie
Format: Vinyl LP (Original)
Flwrpt Rating of this Record: 4.75/5.0

Front Cover

Review
WHEW! One of my favorite groups during their early years (’69 to about early ’71), basically anything they’ve done on the JOSIE label), during those years, I feel like they didn’t have ANY bad songs on an LP, everything was quality and produced to perfection! If you like hard hitting grooves, get into The Meters, STAT!

Hopefully you did your homework by now, I posted a Meters video for you all yesterday in an attempt to get you on a mission to check out their discography. Well even if you didn’t, I’ll get you hip right quick. This is The Meters second LP, Struttin, and struttin is exactly what their style of music is all about. These guys are one of the funkiest groups EVER to grace the music scene. They represent the New Orleans Bayou Funk scene with an exclamation point(!), PERIOD(.) The group is produced by none other than one of the leaders of that movement, Allen Toussaint (look his early works up as well, mind-blowing stuff).

Like a lot of The Meters work that you’ll hear, this record is guitar, organ, and drum heavy, sounds typical right? (wrong) Once you hear the way that they’re able to emphasize every sound, every note, you’ll soon understand the tremendous talent that lives within these guys. Definitely some killer grooves on this record, some breaks, so do me a favor and enjoy…

Check out the sound!

Same Old Thing

Hand Clapping Song

Tippi-Toes

Hey! Last Minute

Design
This cover is nice. I dig the abstracted illustration of the “barnyard pimp” (aka Rooster). The overlapping of the subject, to show movement is so old school, but executed nicely. The designer even went as far as to try and mimic the image with the typographic treatment, which works because it’s still readable. I must say, however, I don’t really like that font…but it works well here because it’s simple and straight-forward, it doesn’t compete with the image. Bright color palette set on black, I’m always a fan. The sharp contrast makes for a strong piece, EVERY time.

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Additional info on The Meters

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