An absolutely mind-melting stormer from the king of the bongos, Preston Epps. Epps hit it big in the late 50s with the tune "Bongo Rock" (which was covered to terrific effect by Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band in the early 70s). This tune goes beyond the novelty aspect of the previous hit, though, into some crazy hyper-speed tempos and incredible breaks.
01 Nov 04 ·[email protected]: Hey!! if you own Preston Epps "Afro Mania"!! then you must own the "B" side "Love is The Only Good Thing"? Just seen a mint- copy on JO Jo sell for �150.00 wow!! Best!! Glen. 01 Nov 04 ·tinks: yeah, that's the one!
Wow. This is just...wow. I've just gotta say that I have an absolutely unnatural attraction to this group. Imagine if you will, a chorus of super-square middle-aged white folks, swinging it's way through the rockin' hits of the day, only performing them all with absolutely perfect diction & grammar. The mastermind behind this way one Mr. Ray Bloch, who, according to the back cover to every one of the LPs that I own, was the musical director for the Ed Sullivan Show. All I know is that anything the man touched was gold! Check out his versions of "Penny Lane" and "Light My Fire" on the "Hits of '67" LP, or his absolutely quizzical take on the ENTIRE soundtrack from "Hair".
02 Dec 04 ·konsu: Too true... I love the cover too. With the spunky teens shopping and sippin' on ice cream sodas in a flower montage. 02 Dec 04 ·tinks: i'm glad i'm not alone in my unholy obsession!
It's a sad fact that the Bee Gees are a group primarily remembered for only one thing. If this were a perfect world, people would realize what an jaw-droppingly amazing group they once were. To me, their first LP is an orchestral psychedelic pop masterpiece easily the equal of the Kinks' "Village Green" or Billy Nicholls' "Would You Believe", and also just about as close at Britain ever got to replicating "Pet Sounds". On this track, listen for the insane rubber-band bassline, the staccato organ fills, the odd timbre of the voices or the occassional flute bit. It's a song bursting with an enthusiam the likes of which people only had during the middle 60s.
from Bee Gees' 1st (Atco D33-233), available on CD (Atlantic)
22 Dec 04 ·ronin: Ah, 1967. "NY Mining Disaster 1941" is a major hit in Boston. And Bee Gees 1st, complete w/cover art by Klaus Voorman, was the 1st lp I ever bought. If only the Bee Gees had kept singing like this instead of the whole falsetto/disco bit! "Odd timbre of voices" indeed! Robin (we always assumed) had his top teeth hanging out when he did this one. His vocal versatility is amazing. "Craise Finton Kirk," with its simple piano accompaniment, is a standout from this lp., too.
David Axelrod leads ol' Lou through a pent-up take on the Donovan classic. Starts out slow, building momentum as it draws to a fantastic close.
from the single Season of the Witch (Capitol) available on CD - Classic Soul (Magnum Midprice)
14 Apr 05 ·Goes Up To 11: And definitely don't miss the 1968 cover of "Season of the Witch" by Vanilla Fudge -- an absolute triumph of excessive bombast! The phrase "over the top" barely begins to capture that performance. It will leave you shaking your head in amazement at the sheer audacity and monumental bad taste, but it is so much fun! 07 Dec 05 ·Swinging London: Lou Rawls never really cut it for me.
Sounds like '60's soul for housewives.
His voice sounds strained a lot of the time.
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Very cool soul-jazz, with vicious, biting lyrics. "Money can buy you silk and sable/false religion/fame and fable". Young and Holt even manage to get a dig in at their former boss Ramsey Lewis by mockingly quoting from his big hit "Wade in the Water".
from Soulful Strut (Brunswick) available on CD - Wack Wack (Kent)
22 Jun 05 ·sok186: and here I thought I was alone, excellent pick
