It's a lovely mod revival giveaway, bookended by a pair of Jam cuts and named after a Curtis Mayfield song. The cover evokes "Sound Affects", and all this is missing is a Geno Washington contribution and a set of keys to your own Vespa. Spinning this one makes me miss the late night dance parties at Lithuanian Hall in West Baltimore, the homebrew hooch we'd do shots of, smoking cigarettes, dressing sharp, and greasy eggs the next morning. Move on up, indeed.
The Brazilian pianist/organist Walter Wanderley had already released something like 15 full-lengths by the time he moved to the United States and signed to Verve Records in 1965. Verve would release another six records by Wanderley between 1966 and 1968, including a co-headlining slot with Astrid Gilberto, a collaboration with guitarist Luiz Henrique, and a small group LP as the Walter Wanderley Trio. The other three records were produced by Creed Taylor, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, and make up catalog number SCP 9704-2, third in the list of Scamp releases.
And it's fan-freakin'-tastic. I've always had a soft spot for any bossa nova, MPB, or samba music, all of which still turn up reliably in thrift store bins. But I've never come across any of these Wanderley Verve releases, so it's nice to have some of it compiled here. It's not quite on the level of "Getz/Gilberto", but its material deserves to be reissued more than once every 30 years. Bonus notes: this reissue was digitally mastered by Alan Douches, who's engineered an MFT of hardcore, metal, emo, and punk over the years.
This is the rare instance on this blog where what I'm sharing isn't a first generation copy from my personal archive. In this case, this is a rip of the CD-R that came complimentary with a copy of the 1981 Italian cassette I bought five years ago. A good dude, that anonymous punk who sold me one of the finest punk/HC comps of all time.
Everything about this has a timeless quality. The Fallout Productions cover. The Ed Colver photography. The fold-out poster. The roster of first wave North American punk, hardcore, and outsider music. More so than "Flex Your Head" or "Chunks" or "Charred Remains" or "Meathouse", this is representative of the true width of the scene in 1981. It served as a calling card for the bands contained within as they had reached a point to escape the New World and bring American sounds to Europe and beyond.
This record is 45 years old. It's been out of print nearly 40 years. And yet it's a still a pretty incredible listen, whether you're blasting Flipper, the Subhumans, Half Japanese, or the Offs. The variety present along with the artwork make it a stone cold classic.
This is one of those good "liner notes"-type compilations where you're guaranteed to learn about your favorite artist's favorite artists. In this case, the boundary is the coffeehouses of early 60s New York City. And only a fool would try to deny the greatness of the artists contained herein. John Lee Hooker and Allen Ginsberg bookend this 15-track CD. In between, there's a range of primal music, from various blues artists to English traditional music to folk music of the day. I'll always co-sign Karen Dalton and Pete Seeger, and encourage you to look into Bukka White's catalog if you've not done so before.
It's hot outside. Slap this on and find yourself a shady spot to just listen this week.
Scamp's second release (catalog number, that is) in the fall of 1995 was a reissue of Martin Denny's 1959 exotica classic "Afro-Desia". It was his sixth record for Liberty Records, and his third of four releases in 1959. It was also the first time Denny had moved away from Polynesian/tiki sounds and into something more...primal?
Is this authentic African music? Hell no. Can you reconcile that this, in spite of a cultural insensitivity that really slaps you in the face in 2026, is an incredible record? Gee, I hope so. If you're unable to find a vinyl copy in your local thrift store, I recommend snagging a copy from Portland's Jackpot Records. They reissued this a few years back, and it comes on a lovely shade of orange wax.
There are certain labels that I can always count on to deliver the goods. Dischord, 625 Thrashcore, 12XU; if their logo is on the record, it's probably going to be a good one. Swami also makes that list for me. This 2003 sampler isn't a sampler so much as a gathering of unreleased (at that time) tracks from a range of the San Diego label's groups. You get three servings of John Reis, with songs from RFTC, Hot Snakes, and the Sultans. Dan Sartain, who I've written about before here, makes his Swami debut. The Loincloth track is a big ol' ball-swingin' metal instrumental that'll scare your mama. And Sonny Vincent, whether with Testors or by himself, was a revelation in 2003, and a must-listen in 2026. Discogs sez there's a vinyl version of this, but I don't recall ever seeing it stocked. I've been tooling around with the windows down, blasting this one, and even the kids with the wrapped Geo Metros agree; this is a good'un.
Jimi Hendrix was my first musical obsession. Sure, there was the "Top Gun" soundtrack, populated with Giorgio Moroder and Harold Faltermeyer production, which came along with my first boombox on my 10th birthday. But the purple cover of "The Essential Jimi Hendrix" became burned into my mind when I first found it in my parents' record collection. I remember taking my grass cutting money to buy blank tapes so I could dub a copy to listen to while mowing more grass. I started finding Hendrix's posthumous Reprise releases, produced with overdubbing by Alan Douglas, in cutout bins. So I snapped them up. In 1993, MCA gained the catalog in the States, bringing a fresh remastering to the three Jimi Hendrix Experience releases and adding a compilation of remastered "Blues" tracks. I gobbled them all up. By then, my musical pallet had grown. But by the time I moved to Baltimore in 1994, I was still a sucker for any out of print Hendrix record I could lay paws on.
We all move on, right? Every piece of vinyl, every tape on Reprise, they've all gone to other collections over the years. I just didn't care as much any more, and there were hardcore shows to go to and girls to impress and Impulse reissues to track down. But Jimi, the god who made magic with a guitar, who said he hailed from Seattle but more like came from Neptune; he still had a place in my heart. So that's why this Mojo Monday is for "Experienced!" You get Hendrix-penned songs, his contemporaries (the John McLaughlin track is a favorite), and his descendents, all in one package.
I'm worn the fuck out, having spent all my writing time this past weekend repacking 500 square feet of storage space. So you're not going to get much insight from me about this 2009 Mojo compilation.
Regardless of how one might feel about Nick Cave (editor's note: I'm a'fer 'im), the dude has always had style and taste. All that is reflected here. There's not a skippable track on the entire disc. When I first heard this, it had me seeking out Karen Dalton, a name I knew but have never listened to. The Saints, Johnny Cash, John Lee Hooker, Lydia Lunch, Mississippi John Hurt? Know them all, love them all, love the songs compiled here. It's one of the front to back good ones, kids.
I have a special place in my heart for samplers like these. Most of them aren't nearly this good, nor are they constructed so well. The selections come from contemporary releases from Astralwerks and Rawkus, who both were on fire in 2001. The weak spot is Q-Burns Abstract Message, and his contribution isn't really bad at all. His mix isn't really more noticeable than beat matching and letting a sextet of big beat, house, and hip hop do its thing. If nothing else, this is a great excuse to really dig into the Rawkus catalog. Association with the Murdoch family aside, they put out some all-timers back in the aughts. I really should pull that Pharoahe Monch debut LP out and give it another spin.
Anyways, thanks POWERade for your off-brand rehydrating drink and Cornerstone for putting together the sampler. AND the digital camera you sent me in early 2002 for doing street team stuff in Baltimore. Love, me.
It took from May to August 2000 to go from 100 to 200 posts. Then I hit 300 posts two days before Christmas 2000. And now I'm here, anot...
