TIMEBOX SETLIST - SATURDAY 24th MAY 2014

Last weekend was a Bank Holiday and after a rainy afternoon scooter rideout organised by the New Untouchables and Bar Italia Scooter Club there was the Timebox all-dayer at the Strongrooms in Shoreditch.  I was otherwise engaged at Wembley (did I mention QPR’s last minute winner? Oh man, you shoulda seen it…) but made it for the evening and played a couple of sets.

The original plan was to mix it up with a mixture of R&B and soul plus some beat and garage tunes but Alex (billed as "from The Embrooks" even though that was such a loooong time ago) was DJing either side of me and had the “white” side excellently covered, so I stuck predominately with the “black” side. Was a mixed crowd (this was Saturday night Shoreditch remember) but they got stuck in and from about eleven the dancefloor stayed packed. Made the second set a doddle and a pleasure (although I stuck to tried and tested floorfillers) and the earlier first set - when still filling up - allowed for more diverse choices including a couple of singles I’d picked up recently after being introduced to them via The Sidewinder Club in Islington. I’d never played Johnny Young’s “Slam Hammer” in a club before and as much as the dirty harmonica is wonderfully over the top, hearing it as such loud volume shredded the ear drums of many; won’t be doing that again, sorry Johnny.

The Dippers – Goin’ Ape (Diplomacy)

Lester Young – Wobble Time (Chase)

Afro Blues Quintet Plus One – La La La La La (Mira)

Eddie Holland – Baby Shake (Motown)

Hindal Butts – In The Pocket (M-S)

Cecil Garrett – Bearcat (Calla)

Tommy Ridgley – I Want Some Money Baby (Johen)

Brian Auger & The Trinity – Tiger (Marmalade)

The Action – Never Ever (Parlophone)

Mouse & The Traps – Cryin’ Inside (President)

Earl Stanley – Fish Eyes (Pitassy)

Johnny Wyatt – Any Kind Of Love (Challenge)

Pete Mayes – Peace (Ovide)

Young Jessie – You Were Meant For Me (Mercury)

The Hammond Brothers – Thirty Miles Of Railroad Track (Amber)

Slim Harpo – Little Queen Bee (Excello)

Johnny Young – Slam Hammer (Arhoolie)

Lowell Fulsom – Love Grows Cold (Checker)

BB King – Beautician Blues (Kent)

Big Daddy Rogers – I’m A Big Man (Midas)

Young Jessie – Big Chief (Mercury)

Chubby Checker – Karate Monkey (Parkway)

The Gardenias – What’s The Matter With Me (Fairline)

Lloyd Price – The Chicken And The Bop (KRC)

JB Lenoir – She Don’t Know (Checker)

Charles Sheffield – It’s Your Voodoo Working (Excello)

Mike Pedecin – Burnt Toast And Black Coffee (Federal)

Grover Pruitt – Little Girl (Salem)

Curtis Lee – Is She In Your Town (Mira)

Lonnie Lester – You Can’t Go (Nu-Tone)

Kim Weston – Helpless (Gordy)

Barbara Randolph – I Got A Feeling (Soul)

Isley Brothers – This Old Heart Of Mine (Tamla Motown)

Marv Johnson – Come On And Stop (United Artitsts)

Leo Price Band – Hey Now Baby (Up-Down)

MARCH PLAYLIST

A very groove laden month. Enjoy.

1.  Larry Young – “Young Blues” (1960)

“Young Blues is the second in a series of underground test explosions of nuclear funkiness by the Larry Young Quartet”. So reads the liner notes to organist Young’s second LP. Of course it’s nowhere near as good as that (imagine if it was) but a nice example of early soul-jazz all the same.

2.  Johnny Young & His Chicago Blues Band – “Slam Hammer” (1966)

Johnny Young takes top billing but it is James Cotton in the small print whose dirty, in-the-red, harmonica makes this a crunching slab of extreme blueswailin’.

3.  The Rubaiyats – “Omar Khayyam” (1966)

From the dynamite compilation New Orleans Funk 3 and written by Allen Toussaint, The Rubaiyats (featuring Allen) joyously promise to get out in the street and indulge in wine, women and song the whole night through. Sounds like one heck of a party. God, I wish I was back in New Orleans.

4.  Santa Barbara Machine Head – “Rubber Monkey” (1967)

Santa Barbara Machine Head only existed for a few months in 1967, just long enough for Jon Lord (keyboards), Ronnie Wood (guitar), Kim Gardner (bass) and Twink (drums) to cut three instrumentals for Immediate. The Hammond-heavy workout of “Rubber Monkey” gave notice of Lord’s next project: Deep Purple. 

5.  Blue’s Men – “If I Were A Carpenter” (1968)

There are hundreds of versions of this but Argentinian beat combo Blue’s Men turn in one of the most bizarre. Brilliantly bonkers.

6.  Albert King – “Hound Dog” (1969)

Best record shopping find this month is Albert King’s LP, King, Does The King’s Things, a 1969 Stax release of songs made famous by Elvis. Backed by the MGs and the Memphis Horns it’s a smokin’ blues funk of a beast although quite what King did to upset the art department at Stax remains a mystery.

7.  The Friends of Distinction – “Grazing In The Grass” (1969)

In reverse of the more common situation, The Friends of Distinction took Hugh Masekela’s instrumental hit and added their own lyrics. They also added four extra layers of cheery Californian sunshine.

8.  Houston Person – “Hey Driver!” (1969)

A chant of the track’s title over an irresistible Hammond and horns groove from the excellent long-player Goodness!

9.  Blood Hollins – “Don’t Give It Up” (1976)

Everett “Blood” Hollins’ second release on his Strange Fruit label was this disco driven number. Had Paul Weller heard this in 1987 during The Cost Of Loving-era he and Dee C. Lee would surely have been tempted to cover it for The Style Council. Be grateful he presumably didn’t.

10.  Real Estate – “Primitive” (2014)

A quarter of the way through the year and the best album so far belongs to New Jersey’s Real Estate for Atlas. Melancholic melodies entwine with beautiful crisp guitar lines which weave their way through the whole record.