Back from the wild.

Ruby Lee
Bill Withers
+'Justments
Sussex : 1974
[Listen] [Buy -- out of print right now]

Southern Freeez [12" mix]
Freeez
Southern Freeez 12"
Beggars Banquet : 1981
[Listen]

Strobelite Honey
Black Sheep
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Mercury: 1991
[Listen] [Buy]


Well folks, after 6 weeks of white noise and interference, we're back. No way to really explain it, except the combined brilliance of summertime, living as a collective and in a new space led to a whole lot of not being on the internet taking care of business. Apologies. Everyone needs a hiatus from time to time, a chance to put down the world and leave it behind. We just took ours, and we're happy to be back. Thanks for being patient with us.

So, what marks my return? A trio of tracks I've been spinning a lot lately, and messing with as I create various mixes and get my turntable fingers back up to speed.

---
First up, the throaty, silky Bill Withers. Once that sultry bass line and steady, tick-tock hi-hat beat kick in, it's hard to resist. Give in to the vibe being thrown around and let his voice do the rest. He sings of the love he found and lost, wishing for his girl to be back by his side. As a guy with his ladyfriend living in another state at the moment, I share Bill's sentiment: there's just no substitute for that one and the shape they take next to you when you sleep.

---
Next up, Freeez. Heard of them? That's a shame if you haven't, because more than a few of their tracks are worthy of your praise. This UK dance-funk quartet made some quality up-tempo, energetic tunes, charting many times on both sides of the Atlantic with cuts like "I.O.U" [a track that made it into the Beat Street soundtrack], "Pop Goes my Love" and "One to One"... but for me, it begins and ends with "Southern Freeez". Led by some female guest vocals, the troop pound through 5 1/2 groove-packed minutes that will make you sweaty.

Listen to it several times, and don't be afraid to bop around yr house [especially the three synth- and bass-packed bridge sections, where the percussion rides high and the band cruises through some neat chord changes into a thick wall of electronic sound]. Make Freeez a part of yr playlist, grab their LPs if you can find 'em, and let the slap bass replace your heartbeat.

---
Last but not least, a solid slab of Black Sheep. We should all be music-ified enough to know these rap legends well, so we'll spare the pre-amble.

I love spinning this track because of its deep beat, and the bass line that kinda steals more than one note [sampled in here: The S.O.S. Band, Change, Roger Troutman, Young and Company, and Mason Vaughn and Crew]. As a whole, it's punchy, full of their trademark attitude, and it showed as this track charted to #1 on the Billboard Dance Charts in '92. The rhymes aren't as classic or memorable as other Black Sheep classics, but it easily punches its weight in terms of bounce per ounce.

---
This should be an easy segue back into this blogging business. Sure, it's a little phoned-in, but I'm approaching with caution. Believe me, I've got a mass of quality tunes queued up around the corner, and my writing will slowly get back to where it once was. In the meantime, enjoy Freeez, Bill Withers and Black Sheep, and enjoy returning to FmGT on a regular basis.