Monday, November 23, 2009

A Tuneful Turkey Day.



Well, Thanksgiving is nearly here and you know what that means: lots of food. In the spirit of the season, we here at Go-Fi thought we'd share a number of tasty musical morsels with you.

We all begin Turkey Day hungry (gotta save room, after all), so an empty stomach seemed like an obvious place to start:

"Hungry Belly Dub" - King Tubby

Next up is Grandma's mouth-watering dumplin(g)s, served in a bouncy ska dish:

"Dumplins (1960 Version)" - Byron Lee & the Dragonaires

We'll fill our plate with a number of side dishes, including the ubiquitous cranberry sauce - made even sweeter by Shirley Scott's smooth organ:

"Soul Sauce" - Shirley Scott

Don't forget to add some string beans! (They're good for you.) John Patton makes them more palatable if you happen to be a picky eater:

"String Bean" - John Patton

And now the main course - succulent roast duck prepared by Uncle Lee! He's a bit crazy, but a damn good cook:

"Roast Duck" - Lee "Scratch" Perry

And what would a Thanksgiving meal be without dessert? It's always important to end on a sweet note:

"Sugar, Sugar (Featuring Junior Byles)" - Big Youth

Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Josie vs. Jackson



There have been quite a few twee funk compilations released lately and most of them contain a fair share of glorious Jackson 5 rip-offs. The artists included are kids, of course, so these comps tend to miss out on some of the J5 facsimiles created by adults.

One group that straddles the kiddie/adult line is Josie and the Pussycats. (No, seriously.) In 1970, "they" released a full-length album of excellent pop-soul directed at the animated series' pre-teen audience. The "group" was fronted by the very adult Patrice Holloway, sister of steamy soul chanteuse Brenda Holloway. The album contains a faithful cover of "I'll Be There," but the influence of the J5 is felt throughout. "You've Come A Long Way Baby" obviously uses "The Love You Save" as a blueprint, while "Stop, Look and Listen" is based around the the main riff of "ABC." Far from being mere copies, though, these tracks are fantastic in their own right. Indeed, the Josie and Pussycats record is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable releases of the bubblegum era. The pre-fab genre was big on singles, of course, but bubblegum albums were often cluttered with filler. In contrast, the Pussycats' album is lean--a mere 10 tracks--but all are quite good. Track it down if you can. In the meantime, enjoy these:

"You've Come A Long Way Baby" - Josie & the Pussycats

"Stop, Look and Listen" - Josie & the Pussycats