Samuel R. Parker and The Holy Family Choir - Put Your Hand In God's Hands (1987)

This right here is a real rare gem in many ways. Besides just being a record which has scarcely been written about (I couldn't even find a picture of the album cover), this album is rare for one major reason: this is a Gospel recording done by a (predominantly) Black Catholic choir. I don’t really count myself as an expert on religion, but I’m fairly certain there aren’t many Black Catholics, much less Catholic Gospel choirs. That being said, this one is especially interesting to me because it happens to be recorded by a choir based in Chicago, just blocks from where I went to high school.

According to several blurbs on the album sleeve, Holy Family Catholic Church has been standing since the mid 1800’s, before the Great Chicago Fire – they even claim that the pastor at the time prayed that the fire would spare the church. This made me laugh, because I recalled a lesson by a former History professor about churches on the South and West sides of the city (as Holy Family is) claiming to have survived the Chicago Fire due to the miracle of prayer, regardless of the fact that the fire burned North and East. No matter, the blurb goes on to state that in 1987 when Put Your Hands in God’s Hands was recorded, Holy Family Catholic Church was in a dire state of disrepair, and so the choir and their director, Samuel R. Parker, recorded this album, “a symbol of the living community known as Holy Family Catholic Church.” So here we have a great album with a great story behind it.

Samuel R. Parker, the man whose efforts are at the core of this album (and whose soft-focused and Jeri-curled glamor photos are all over the sleeve), turns out to be somewhat of a virtuoso. He has been playing piano since the age of 5, became choirmaster by age 11, and has been Minister of Music at Holy Family since 1973. Mr. Parker apparently also made weekly appearances on a local Gospel television program called “Rock of Ages,” which aired on WCIU-TV. Most importantly, he not only arranged every song on this album, but wrote the majority of them as well. Once you hear this album, I think it will become clear what a great achievement that is.

The music itself has wide secular appeal and feels very contemporary, funky, raw, soulful and personal. Mr. Parker lends his unique vocals to several tracks, and contributes piano and heavy music production knowhow throughout. As a “crate-digger” of sorts myself, this album is pretty much wall-to-wall sample-fodder (that’s a compliment for those not “hip” to the “lingo”). From the funky keys of “Keep Your Hands…” to the mind-boggling sparse-yet-heavy arrangement of “Somebody’s Knocking at the Door” to the awesome Blues-Rock meets Catholic Metal chanting of “Wash All My Sins Away” to the Reggae-on-Syzzurp lost homie anthem of the finale “Move On Up A Little Higher,” this album is a delightful surprise at every corner. One band member was so delightful and surprising that I felt I should give him special tribute here, and that is Arthur (“Da Bass”) Sutton, who slaps his bass like it owes God money.

While doing my final stage of research for this blog entry, I discovered a couple things that made me very happy: not only is Holy Family Catholic Church still standing today (and I’d like to think that this great album helped to make those big repairs possible 25 years ago), but Samuel Parker is listed as Choir Director on their website (I’m hoping it’s really him, and not a Samuel Parker, Jr.). I may just have to play the role of the rabid fan and go collect an autograph some Sunday in the near future.

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Kenny Burrell with The Brother Jack McDuff Quartet - Crash! (1963)

On this album, the extremely prolific Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell teams up with the excellent organist (Brother) Jack McDuff, and his Quartet of 60’s Jazz somebodies, including Harold Vick on tenor sax, Count Basie’s own Eric Dixon on flute, Ray Barretto on conga, and of course, the funky drummer Joe Dukes. Together, they made an excellent Jazz album during an era when excellent Jazz albums were a dime-a-dozen. However, don’t expect the moody, provocative styles of Miles Davis or John Coltrane here, nor the spacey, spiritual futurism of Sun Ra or Pharaoh Sanders. 

Crash! is a “Bop” album – much more cheerful, up-tempo, and even funky compared to much of what is remembered most from this era – which just goes to show what a broad genre Jazz is. Although we may tend to remember the rule-breakers of the 60’s the most, some of the more traditional artists were still creating masterful works like this one.

The musicianship here is truly excellent, as one would expect from these names. Brother Jack’s organ maintains a bright, “take me out to the ballgame” feel on all his solos. Kenny Burrell’s guitar work sounds breezy and care-free. The drum breaks are always funky. Everything is done with a sense of joy and innocence – even during the album’s more nostalgic moments – although the sophistication of the music is never in question.

Crash! may not have been the nail that stuck out most, but it is still doing an excellent job of holding the house that Jazz built together. I find this album perfect for a joyful evening with friends and summer cocktails – even dancing. It would also pair nicely with a Woody Allen montage. 

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Johnny Nash - Celebrate Life (1974)

Johnny Nash is the pimp king of Dad Rock. I was totally unaware of this guy (at least by name – it turns out he had some huge hits in the Pop Reggae world, and even produced records for Bob Marley and Peter Tosh before they were famous) before I found this record at the 46th Anniversary sale at Shake, Rattle and Read; a fantastic little independent used book/record/magazine/comic store, which specializes in Sci-Fi novels, vintage Playboys, and pristine used Rock and Jazz vinyl, and which has exponentially outlasted a hugely hyped Borders just one block away (hello, America?). Anyway, back to the record. I knew I had to buy this record just by looking at it: both the front and back covers of this album are quite stunning.

On the front, Johnny is dressed in the most immaculate Pimp suit – complete with matching cane – while he takes a jolly stroll through the park. There is a bright, fuzzy glow – seemingly emanating from his body – which lends the notion that maybe he is some kind of Supernatural Pimp Angel who only you can see. All of these things might be true. Also, the tall, skinny font used on this record is really great.

On the rear cover, a man – who might be Johnny Nash (it’s kind of hard to tell) – is looking like the shirtless, Afro’d Bizarro Zorro who comes from a world where everything looks like a black and white photograph. It’s hard to tell whether they (man + horse) were really rendered in black and white, or whether the costume and lighting departments did a mind-blowingly good job, either way – the image is eye-catching. The background is in color, but appears to be muted, save for a very trippy, contrasting purple sky.

Enough with the descriptions of the artwork – the point is, you can tell exactly why I was originally reeled into this record before ever hearing it. Oh yeah, it gets better.

Johnny Nash’s music sounds kind of like what it would sound like if Sam Cooke and the Beach Boys formed a Reggae Jam Band, and then tried to win the hearts and minds of Southern Rock fans. If you are human (please verify via Captcha), this analogy should be one which causes both confusion and intrigue, in equal measures. But fear not: though the analogy is mostly true, it is true in only the best possible ways. The production style is very simple and pleasant – heavily using the powers of stereo mixing to their maximum – which makes for a really exciting listening experience, especially on a pair of good speakers or headphones. The music itself utilizes elements of Barber Shop, Doo-Wop, Reggae, Soulful Ballads, and straight-up Dad Rock, and manages to create a really unique, groovin’ celebratory sound, much as the album’s title suggests. Johnny Nash’s vocals are really interesting too – his phrasing seems unrehearsed, and the melodies seem to expose themselves almost accidentally – and yet, his vocals are effortlessly beautiful.

This is music that could be found at a beach party or at a working class divey Cheers bar and achieve the same effect. This feels, to me, like music that brings people together. Johnny Nash earned his greatest success just one album previous to this one, with his song “I Can See Clearly Now.” The material on Celebrate Life still has that recognizable Reggae influence, but definitely has some great straightforward Soul and Rock moments as well.

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Psychedelic Tokyo 1966-1969 Vol. 3 - Slitherama! (1991)

If you are anything like me, you get giddy when you hear a unique, original cover song. This compilation is jammed full of them. Slitherama! is the third volume of psychedelic 60s Japanese garage rock released by Italian label Planet X. This was purchased at Time Bomb Records in Tokyo's America Town (making it the all-around most cosmopolitan record I own) by my good friend Manny of LBP Stunts, and I am forever grateful for this addition to my collection.

Anyone who is a fan of heavy reverb, rumbling Hammond organ, screaming bluesy guitar solos, and Engrish accents is sure to be taken on quite a journey. There isn't much about the music on this collection that is definitively Japanese (besides the monster movie soundtracks which bookend each side of the record), but it all rocks in a way that is far more rebellious than whatever passes as Rock 'N' Roll these days. Every selection here is a memorable discovery, and for those who own a physical copy, I'd just like to note that it's pressed on awesome marbled color vinyl!

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P.S. If you like this, you might also want to check out a little remix I cranked out the other night. May your necks be as sore as mine was when this was completed.

Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan - (19--?)

Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan was a classical singer of the Karina Gharana style from Northern India. He died back in 1937 before your grandparents were probably even born. These recordings were made some time in the 1930's, and reproduced for this record who-knows-when. My guess, due to the heavy weight of the high-density vinyl would be some time in the 50's or 60's.

Most of the music sounds kinda like a guy making Scooby Doo ghost voices over mellow sitar and tons of crackles and static. What can I say this thing is ancient, and not necessarily in the best shape. However, this music is very mellow and definitely has a spiritual quality to it. If you can tolerate the poor audio quality, this is a real interesting album.

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Phil Medley and The M.V.B. Orchestra & Chorus - Happy Walk (1976)

Phil Medley, whose big ol' face adorns the back of this album, was a songwriter most famous for "Twist and Shout," as originally performed by the Top Notes (produced by a not-yet-mad-genius Phil Spector!), then made famous by the Isley Brothers, then made famous-er by The Beatles. I should note that Mr. Medley is also the uncle of one Sharon Brown, famous for the 80's hit "I Specialize in Love."

From what I can gather, Happy Walk  is the first album released under his own name (with the help of his M.V.B. Orchestra & Chorus) followed by only one other full-length a year later. Not sure what happened to the guy, because his talent for funky breaks and groovy melodies is hard to ignore. 

The album is mostly instrumental, with some sparse vocals thrown in here and there, and rides the line between Funk and Jazz masterfully. I would say it feels like Isaac Hayes collaborated with the Rat Pack, and everyone felt good about it. Not many albums will make you want to learn how to waltz and  break dance, but this is one of them.

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Blowfly - Disco (1977)

Today is the 4th of July - Independence Day here in the States. I wanted to upload something special for everyone to play at their BBQ's - something that really represented what makes this country so special - and so I thought 'who better than Blowfly, masked defender of free speech?' Although I'm not sure this is what the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the constitution, Blowfly definitely kicked the ass of censorship left and right.

Looking like a blend between the Bee Man from The Simpsons and some sort of horror movie nightmare, Blowfly was a contemporary of Rudy Ray Moore's funky X-rated sense of humor - the general gist of all his records is to take current hits and re-write the lyrics as childishly perverted odes to the carnal act. This here is his Disco album, and it is no different. B.T. Express' "Do It" becomes "Suck It", "What a Difference a Day Makes" becomes "What a Difference a Lay Makes" and the list goes on.

So today, while you are setting off your fireworks and waving your flags, let Blowfly's sleazy spin on classic Funk and Disco be the soundtrack. It's sorta kinda what the founding fathers would have wanted.

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