Meet Me At The Copa

Marvin Gaye: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
from Marvin Gaye at the Copa (Hip-O Select 2005)

Marvin Gaye: Georgia Rose
from Marvin Gaye at the Copa (Hip-O Select 2005)

Marvin Gaye: Strangers In The Night
from Marvin Gaye at the Copa (Hip-O Select 2005)

Marvin Gaye: Laia Ladaia (Reza)
from Marvin Gaye at the Copa (Hip-O Select 2005)


Marvin Gaye was never your traditional R&B singer. His was a sound that transcended the genre which he was placed in and the formulaic Motown songs that charted for him and he was truthfully soulful whereas others simply presented soul on a superficial level. And even though he recorded mainly R&B songs, he was no stranger to the traditional standards and early on in his career even aspired to be a jazz vocalist in the tradition of Nat "King" Cole. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that during the 60's when Motown owner Berry Gordy wanted to take the Motown sound uptown to conquer the one venue that epitomized show biz tradition, he would bring his roster of established artists like Diana Ross & the Supremes (1965), Marvin Gaye (1966) and the Temptations (1968) to New York's Copacabana. What is a surprise is that while the Supremes, and the Temptations both released their Copa albums, Gaye's album was shelved before it could be released (the liner notes say that Gordy wasn't satisfied with Gaye's concerts and their emphasis on ballads over his established hits).

Fast forward some forty years as Hip-O Select finally releases Marvin Gaye at the Copa in a limited edition package with a handsome and detailed cd jacket and liner notes. Listening to the songs on this album it's hard not to second guess Gordy's reasoning regarding not releasing it. Even though there is an abundance of ballads, each one is endearing and sounds so natural and fits in so well with the flow of the album that it can be said with confidence that Gordy made a big mistake never releasing it.

The album is balanced between some of his hits and Motown's hits, popular standards from Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, Broadway songs and current (at that time) songs. His hit song How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You is swinging and playful with a nice call and response break towards the end. Gerogia Rose is a song that I was unfamiliar with. Sounding a lot like Hoagy Carmichael's Georgia On My Mind, a fact that doesn't escape Marvin or conductor Maurice King as they flip the song halfway through, slowing it down for a bar before returning to the original. At the time of this recording, the song was a controversial single for Tony Bennett.

Strangers In The Night is Marvin's rendition of the Sinatra classic and he does it justice. Speeding up the tempo and paying homage to his old group the Moonglows during the break (the Shoo Be Doo directly references one of their old singles) Gaye gets to show off his jazz vocal aspirations and he handles it aptly proving that he had the vocal chops to make it as a standards singer, something he explored throughout his recording career but never finding success with. And then there is the one anomaly in the album but also one of the best songs, Laia Ladaia (Reza). The simmering piano and horns work together with the bass and complement Marvin's seductive crooning so well that one very vocal woman can be heard ready to give it up in the first verse and when the tempo speeds up to a dizzying frenetic pace, it makes you wish that there was a video-recording of this performance because it's easy to picture Marvin and his backup dancers, the Gayettes (seriously) busting out a smooth choreographed dance number. This song alone is worth the purchase of the album, and you can consider the other cuts as some damn good bonuses.

If you're a fan of Marvin Gaye, Motown or renditions of pop standards I strongly suggest you pick this album up. Hell, if you're just a casual fan of Marvin Gaye pick this up as it will give you a greater appreciation of him as a singer and performer. Plus, it is a limited edition album, although a print run of 20,000 seems to ensure it will be around for a while. In the end, this is an essential must own album for all music lovers.

The Summer Is Ending, And We Are Still Not Saved

Wailing Souls: Fire House Rock
from Fire House Rock (Shanachie 1980)

Scientist: The Mummy's Shroud
from Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires (Greensleeves 1981)


As the number of days to September 22 (the official start of Fall for 2005) draws nearer my dislike for the summer season lessens and my mood mellows just a bit and ironically I find myself listening more and more to music and songs that bring to mind the apex of the summer season.

The first track is one such song. The roots classic Fire House Rock is a mixture of pure perfection. Like a finely layered baklava, the combination of The Wailing Souls singing, the Roots Radics backing band, Henry "Junjo" Lawes production and The Scientist engineering the sound, everything works to perfection and each piece complements the others. From the opening sound of the familiar drum roll and chirping birds to the infectious scat and howls of the singer, the song brings to mind all that is enjoyable about summer (even I can't argue that summer isn't a beautiful season). In fact this whole album screams musical perfection and you do yourself a great disservice if you don't go out and buy a copy of it in whatever format you find it in.

Next up is the dub version of the same song from Scientist. Taking the instrumentation of Fire House Rock, Overton "Scientist" Brown laces it with just the right amount of reverb, vocal editing, and thickens up the bass and percussion to a molasses like texture. As a dub mix, Scientist pulls magic out of a song that is essentially perfect. Free of the Wailing Souls mesmerizing vocals, the dub mix naturally emphasizes the aspects of the song that make it so hauntingly beautiful. The guitars and horn come to the forefront, and the slap of the drums midway through the song sting harder than a slap on a sunburnt back and Scientists bag of tricks fill in where the vocals once shone making this a whole different song that stands on it's own. And the crowning jewel of this piece? The eye popping album cover showing Scientist mounted behind his studio sound board with some maaaasive speakers hunting down some dubious characters.

The Summer Is Ending, And We Are Not Saved

Out in the streets, they call it murder!

Damian "Jr Gong" Marley: Welcome to Jamrock
from Welcome To Jamrock single (Up Above 2005)

John Holt: I'd Love You to Want Me
from 1000 Volts of Holt (Trojan 1973) reissued as 1000 Volts of Holt (Trojan 2002)


As August comes to a close and the season of sticky skin, clingy shirts and rampant underarm stank leaves us for the short days and orange tinted evenings of fall I thought what better way to celebrate and to kiss the summer goodbye than by posting random songs that have been getting constant play in the Filthy Choice household (non-sensical non-sequiturs are a norm in here).

First up is the already played out yet always fresh Welcome To Jamrock by Damian Marley. With it's mix of deep, plodding dancehall basslines and socially relevant lyrics this song has everything going for it. Stirring up a little controversy when it dropped, critics saying that it portrayed Jamaica as a harshly dichotomous city of extreme poverty on one side and exploitive politicians on the other, well listening to the song you can't argue with the points. With mocking lyrics like "some bwoy nah notice, dem only come around like tourist/On di beach wid a few club sodas/Bedtime stories, and pose like dem name Chuck Norris/And don’t know di real hardcore" Damian doesn't pull no punches. He presents the side of Jamaica that never gets mentioned in the tourist brochures and is able to tie together the inadequacies of ghetto life and how it permeates the very being of it's citizens, and with the Ini Kamozie vocal sample this song is the perfect farewell vehicle for summer's swan song.

The other song is by the great John Holt. Taken from his crossover hit album 1000 Volts of Holt, Holt covers the insipid Lobo song of the same name and in the tradition of great cover songs, he laces it with enough elan and rhythm that the song not only becomes palatable, it becomes enjoyable. I don't know why I love this song, I just do and sometimes that's a good enough explanantion. Listen for the "mash up" of the song with the Beatles Let It Be about halfway through.

Where Are They Now?

The guy that used to put the cape on James Brown?

Red Foo & Dre Kroon: On The Microphone - Featuring Promise
from Balance Beam (Bubonic 1997)

Red Foo & Dre Kroon: The Freshest - Featuring Evidence of Dilated Peoples, DJ Revolution, & Promise
from Balance Beam (Bubonic 1997)

Red Foo & Dre Kroon: Life Is A Game Of Chess (Pt. 2) - Featuring Promise
from Balance Beam (Bubonic 1997)


Jumping around different blogs I've noticed that three in particular have recently posted tracks from Hip-Hop artists that have not been in the public eye for a minute. B-Side Wins Again posted about Low Profile (with a young WC who went on to bigger and better things), while Treat Williams did a post on a personal favorite Kwest the Madd Lad (pick up 101 Things To While I'm With Your Girl before it's gone) and the good people over at The Broke BBoys not only did a post on Bone, Thugs & Harmony but also did one on X-Clan. All of these artists are currently living under the banner of obscurity (with the exception of the aforementioned WC) and reading these posts brought to mind a group that has also dropped off the face of the earth. Red Foo & Dre Kroon, a rapper/singer duo that dropped one album in 1997 and seemed to have not made a peep since then. They made some noise in the underground with their first single "The Freshest" featuring a young Evidence and DJ Revolution. Not knowing anything other than that about them I'm not gonna wax philosophical on their place in Hip-Hop, instead I just present these songs for you.

As a group they're blend of rap and singing tries to take a more unique approach to the combo than what usually happens, where the singer only handles the chorus and is there to accentuate the rapper. Here they actually trade verses and it doesn't sound as awkward as it presents itself as is the case with On The Microphone. As a rapper Red Foo is not bad, tending towards the super scientifical at times, but his voice and delivery are unique enough to make him stand out as when he drops the line "Attack, with more energy than tech/no when I let go the neck go wreck" in Life Is A Game Of Chess. But it's is his work as a producer that should get most of the accolades. Delivering the Boom Bap, his drum programming and overall production just makes your head nod. Listen to The Freshest and try not to move your neck. Dre Kroon as a singer is less inspiring. With a limited range (think Nate Dogg but a little higher pitched) he bounces off Red Foo well enough and his southern drawl makes for an odd but pleasing complement to Red Foo's nasally delivery, plus he has some ties to San Diego according to the liner notes which is always a plus.

Another group that fell through the cracks when the Hip-Hop underground/independent movement went bust in the late 90's, I'd seriously like to know what happened to them. If anyone has any info on them, please feel free to comment.