B-Boy Break from Hell...

MPC 2000 edit...

They reminisce over youth...

Remember 'Pebble Mill'? What about 'Radio Victory'? If you're younger than thirty you probably won't be familiar with either. And if you've never lived in or around Hampshire then the answer to the latter is more than likely 'no'. To be honest though, you didn't really miss much...

Pebble Mill was an early afternoon chat show which ran through the 1970s up until the mid '80s on BBC1 or BBC2. I suppose the closest we've got to it now is 'This Morning' (which is only worth watching for Holly Willoughby, if you're lucky enough to have the day off work). The faint recollections I have of the show are from spending time round my Grandparents' house as a kid. Nan and Pops loved the show but for a young lad there wasn't really much going on to grab your attention. I'd usually head out to the garden for a kick about when it started, sometime just after lunch.

Radio Victory was your typical regional Radio Station that played little more than the average run-of-the-mill Pop cr*p. The only time I ever listened to it was with my Dad and Uncle on the way home from Fratton Park on Saturday afternoons. The jingle they used to play before reading the Football results was a favourite in the car. A good old sing along was guaranteed if Pompey'd had a good win.

The other memory I have of Radio Victory is from around fifteen years ago when they sold off their entire library of vinyl. Barry Styles, Nic Bossa and myself headed over to Portsmouth (maybe Gosport or Fareham, can't remember) on the day of the sale and after queuing up for an hour or so were told we had a fifteen minute limitation on digging time. So many people had turned up it was the only fair(ish) way they could handle the numbers. Once in, it was all a bit overwhelming with around twenty other record fiends scrambling around a room full of uncatergorised vinyl - the clock quickly ticking away in the background. Everything was 50p and I dis pull out some nice James Brown albums and a couple of Hip-Hop bits but I think we'd probably been beaten to most of the real gems that day. Still, a great experience which I wish I could relive all these years later.

Anyway, about a year ago I picked up this album - "Down At The Old Pebble Mill". I can't remember where from, which is unusual for me as I can normally recall where I bought, and how much I paid for, pretty much every record I own. I don't even know why I picked it out in the first place but ended up buying it for Elaine Delmar's version of "Alone Again (Naturally)". It was only a few days ago though that the lovely certificate from Radio Victory (below) popped out whilst removing the vinyl from the sleeve. I'd not noticed it before. Apparently Barbara Pryce won the 'Vintage Competition' on Dave Carson's Victory Vintage show back in 1978. This record was obviously her prize. Now I'm pretty sure the station folded a few years ago, I definitely haven't heard the name for some time anyway, but the sight of this certificate sparked off the memories I wrote about above and the reason I decided to post it here. It also reminded me of the one and only prize I have won in a competition of this type, which must have been in 1989 - the prize being De La Soul's "3 feet High And Rising" on cassette. Winners could choose any title from the U.K. Top 40 Album Chart at the time. I can't remember exactly how you won but I was pleased as punch when the tape arrived in the post a few weeks later. I wish I'd kept my own congratulatory certificate and also, not leant the cassette to Stuart Potts - his two year old brother pulled it to pieces leaving it long past any state of repair. Little b*stard.

All these memories, that were pretty much buried and lost along with a million others, have all come flooding back, thanks to a record and piece of paper that lay tucked inside it's sleeve for just over thirty years. Thank you Barbara, for either selling me this album at Boot Sale or donating it to a Charity Shop that I might have bought it from. I've had a lovely afternoon reminiscing over my youth.



So I guess you're wondering about the music on the record then? After all, this blog is meant to be about vinyl and the wonderful sounds some of it creates. Well like I said, I bought the album for the Elaine Delmar song. I already had the original pressing of her self titled album, which includes this track, and was hoping for a live version with alternative drum break intro. Alas, it's exactly the same, only slightly shorter. Still, nice to have doubles of a dope drum break. The fact that one of them appears on an album celebrating 1000 editions of a crappy British TV program gets bonus points from me for novelty value alone. There's f*ck all else on the record but if you like theses drums and wanna save yourself a few quid, keep an eye out for it on your travels. The Elaine Delmar LP goes for considerably more money, with not a great deal else warranting the extra cash you'd need to spend. Do yourself a favour and grab the BBC product for pennies instead of pounds. Having said that, there is a nice moody version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" which makes for good sample material, and the entire album is arranged and conducted by Nick Ingman so it's worth picking up if you see it for a fiver or so, just don't get drawn into eBay prices . If I didn't already own the original I'd be more than happy having this one track on the Pebble Mill LP.


Elaine Delmar "Alone Again (Naturally)" (1972, MCA Records UK)*




*I recorded this from the original album but the Pebble Mill version is EXACTLY the same, just fades out a little earlier.

An open letter to Lionel Morton...

Dear Mr. Morton,

Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the many hours of entertainment you provided as a presenter on one of my favourite television programs as a child. Growing up in England during the 1970s 'Play School' was a firm favourite in the Krum household and I have many a'fond memory of you, along with other members of the gang (Brian Cant, Johnny Silvo, Carole Ward, etc, never liked Johnny Ball too much) telling stories, playing games, singing songs and generally having fun. My brothers and I would regularly participate in activities you encouraged on screen and thoroughly enjoyed singing along to beloved Nursery Rhymes like 'Three Blind Mice', 'Old McDonald' and even some of the more crazy ones you occasionally made up.

Enough of the niceties though. This isn't some belated show of gratitude, far from it on fact. I am actually writing a rather disgruntled response to a certain record you released in 1973 on the U.K. budget label, Contour.

Now, as a 34 year old man, with an unhealthy obsession for, what are known in the collectors' world as, 'drum-breaks', I was most disappointed to discover the omission of Roger Swallow's banging skins on the re-recording of 'Fearless Fred's Amazing Animal Band' from the aforementioned LP. As drum-breaks on novelty records go, the original version, from the 'Play School' album, is actually up there with the best of 'em. I've found numerous copies of the BBC released version over the years but never one which retains any condition. I guess the kids who owned them back then had as much fun listening to them as I did watching your show and held little regard for the care and attention that vinyl so desperately needs.

Imagine then, how pleased I was to find an album, which includes the said track, in near mint condition. 'Over the moon' you might say. OK, so the cover isn't nearly as attractive as the 'Play School' one but I can live with it. What I can't live without though is the DRUM-BREAK. Where's it gone? Why? What on earth possessed you to go back in the studio and re-record the whole song without including Ollie The Octopus' hard hitting drum solo? I mean, come on, the pathetic little knocks that can be heard on the newer version are just not doing it. Didn't you realise at the time there would be people, twenty to thirty years later, searching for obscure sources of sample material on records like this? You really should have thought more carefully before depriving the drummer of his shine. You could have had an album, with your face across the whole front cover, which would later become a fabled piece amongst the break-digging community. Instead it's just another throw-away kiddies LP that will never be included in any Ikea-Expedit-Show-Off-My-Records display type photos. You could have been up there, up amongst the best of 'em...

If only you'd included those drums...

Anyway, glad I've got that off my chest. Just in case you've forgotten what the different versions sound like I've recorded them both for you to compare*.

Feel a bit silly now, don't you Mr. Morton?


Yours sincerely,

Mr.Krum





Lionel Morton 'Fearless Fred's Amazing Animal Band'
(from 'Play School'. 1972, BBC Records, U.K, LP)







Lionel Morton 'Fearless Fred's Amazing Animal Band'
(from 'Lionel'. 1973, Contour, U.K, LP)





*Drum break on the original version just after the 1min mark.

Walt Disney presents...

I'm off to Euro Disney with the kids in a couple of days. Don't think I'll find any records out there but you never know, Mickey and the gang have been know to bring some occasional funkyness. Well, I say funkyness, the only record I have that actually grooves in a funky way is the infamous Mike Curb Congregation version of "Mickey Mouse March". I've got the U.K. released album "BBC presents Best of Disney Time", which features this track, but there's a cool U.S. picture sleeve promo 45 I've been after for a while now - I'm hoping Walt's workers might have found some dead-stock copies to put out in the gift shops that clearly advertise 'Records' on the signs (I'll take photos this time).

I've also got a few spoken word Disney albums which have been sampled by various people over the years, including the one pictured above - "A Child's Introduction to Melody and the Instruments of the Orchestra". I won't give up exact details about what this was used on but I'm sure most of you will instantly recognise it anyway - just hit the play button below. Prince Paul craziness in full effect!

Also included below is the aforementioned version of "Mickey Mouse March". The sleeve artwork for the U.K. album is disgusting so I didn't bother scanning it in but if I do find a copy of the 45 I'll post that up when I get back...


Camarata "Cavemen" (1962 Walt Disney Productions)




The Mike Curb Congregation "Mickey Mouse March" (1975 BBC Records)

Creed Taylor, Inc

OK, so I'm probably not breaking any new ground with a post about C.T.I. Records. In fact, I know I'm not - there's tonnes of great sites on the internet dedicated to the label and probably loads of blogs with individual album reviews and downloads. I couldn't, however, find anywhere else which includes what I have here - a nice little label catalogue from 1975. Initially I was only gonna post up the scans, but then decided it wouldn't hurt to delve into the crates and include some of my favourite albums as well.

I can't for the life of me remember where this catalogue, or 'katalogus' came from because I don't own any C.T.I. releases which aren't either U.K. or U.S. pressings, and as the spelling suggests, this must have been included in an Hungarian or perhaps German release? I've had it in my collection for around ten years now and no matter where it came from, it's a nice little reference point that I find myself going back to from time to time.

The booklet features a full list of releases up until 1975, on Creed Taylor's C.T.I. imprint as well as the subsidiaries 'Kudu' and 'Salvation'. It also includes photos of all the covers, which is what, for me, makes it something special. Although it is only reproduced in black and white the stunning graphic design and photography still translate well - a testament to the artists responsible, in most cases Pete Turner (Photography) and Bob Ciano (Design). In doing a little research for this post I've only just found out that Pete Turner had a book of his photography published in 2006 called "The Color Of Jazz". Looks like a 'must have' that I'll be adding to this years birthday present list.

So anyway, here's the scans...




Front cover



Inside pages (click to enlarge)


Back cover (click to enlarge)


So that's the catalogue, now for a few records.

C.T.I. is one of my favourite non Hip-Hop labels that consistently turned out top notch Jazz throughout the seventies after Creed Taylor split from a production deal with A&M in the sixties to set up his own independent imprint. Finding a C.T.I. record in the wild is always really nice for me. Sure, you can probably pick up a good deal of the catalogue on eBay with great ease, but to find them at Bootsales and Charity shops in the U.K. is quite a struggle - when they do turn up it's a real bonus.

I'd say I've got around thirty or so albums (including releases on A&M and the two subsidiaries) and pretty much everything I've ever bought has been pure quality. From the heavyweight, high gloss, gate-fold sleeves, through to the lush production and arrangements, a record on C.T.I. near enough always guarantees a great package throughout.

Here's my top five tracks from the collection...


Bob James
'Nautilus'

Thought I'd start with what I consider to be the ultimate release on the label, Bob James' classic, 'Nautilus'. Recorded at the tale end of the 'Golden Era', featuring the staple line up of session kings (including Steve Gadd, Idris Muhammad, Ralph MacDonald, Grover Washington, Jon Faddis, Thad Jones, Hugh McCracken, Eric Weissberg, Gary King, etc...) as well as a full orchestra, all six tracks on this album are 'epic' scores of the greatest proportions.

I won't babble on too much about each individual song, who sampled what off them, etc, because like I said before, I'm not breaking any new ground, these are just my personal favourites. If you're into Jazz or collecting breaks it's more than likely you already own this album anyway. If you don't, you really should.

I can honestly say, I never tire of listening to 'Nautilus'. Play it back to back for an hour and it never drains - musical arrangements just don't come much better than this. As for samples? The list goes on and on...

'Nautilus' (1974 C.T.I. Records)





Stanley Turrentine
'Sister Sanctified'

Next up is an album that includes another 'ultimate break and beat' - 'Sister Sanctified' by Stanley Turrentine featuring Milt Jackson on Vibes. You should all know this track anyway with it's classic break, most notably made famous by Boogie Down Productions on 'My Philosophy'. Billy Cobham is rocking the funky drums with Ron Carter on bass. Bob James blesses the keys and Cornell Dupree does his thing plucking away on the guitar. This particular song was written and arranged by the late Weldon Irvine Jnr, and much like 'Nautilus' is a track I never tire of listening to. Many of Stanley Turrentine's albums can be kind of hard work unless you like cheesy Sax solos, but they seemed to have found a nice balance on this one.

Unfortunately I only own a re-issue of this L.P. from 1982 and as much as I avidly avoid them, the year of re-release sort of allows forgiveness in my eyes. Until I find an original that is.

'Sister Sanctified' (1972 C.T.I. Records)





Deodato
'September 13'

In much the same fold as Bob James, Eumir Deodato was a prolific arranger and keys man throughout his career and worked on a whole wealth of classic albums, like wise supplying many a 'break' or 'sample' for producers of later years. 'Prelude' was his debut L.P. on C.T.I. and produced a cross over hit in the shape of his arrangement of 'Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)'. The track was released as a single and is the only 45 on the label that I have ever come across whilst out digging. I've had quite a few copies of this album over the years - I should imagine, thanks to the success of the single, it was the label's biggest seller.

Like most C.T.I. releases, there's a good load of sample material on the L.P. which you can check over at 'The-Breaks' or wherever, but I did recently notice the use of the drums from 'September 13' layered (I think) into Black Sheep's 'Try Counting Sheep'. Very subtle I know, but I'm pretty sure they're in there.

By the way, this is probably my favourite C.T.I. sleeve.

'September 13' (1972 C.T.I. Records)





Grover Washington, Jr.
'Knucklehead'

From the saxophone superstar's Kudu released album 'Feels So Good' I was hard pressed to pick a favourite between 'Knucklehead' and 'Hydra'. Most would probably choose the more obvious 'Hydra' as it features the instantly recognisable break that Black Moon used for their classic single 'How Many Emcees'. After weighing them up I eventually settled on 'Knucklehead' as I've always loved the remix of Yvette Michell's 'Everynight And Everyday' (featuring Doo Wop), which used a loop or two from this.

The album features pretty much all the same musicians I've already mentioned but it's worth noting Jimmy Madison hitting sticks hard on 'Hydra'.

I never noticed the halo round Grover's head until i scanned in the cover today. The glow is far more subtle in the flesh.

'Knucklehead' (1975 Kudu Records)





George Benson
'The Changing World'

Another great cover and another great album. Recorded during George's transitional period, there's hints of some of the cheese he was later to release, but still plenty of quality material on 1974's 'Bad Benson'.

I remember finding this album in an Antiques shop somewhere in South London about thirteen years ago with my mate Si. Can't remember the name of the town. Near Croydon somewhere. Doesn't really matter anyway but I do specifically remember getting goosebumps though the first time I played 'The Changing World' and the sample for Common Sense's 'I Used To Love H.E.R.' dropped in. I love finding breaks I don't know about, especially on songs that are quite emotive anyway, which 'The Changing World' definitely is.

If you haven't heard this track before, and have a short attention span you'll wanna skip to the 4min mark. If you like good music in general just hit play, sit back and relax - it's a beautiful piece of music.

'The Changing World' (1974 C.T.I. Records)





And before I go, thought I'd leave you with this "definition of a holy-grail"! Word to Soulman Phill...

Bob James 'Take Me To The Mardi Gras (Live)'

The Chelsea Percussion Group (Give The Drummer Some - Part 2)

The brief few weeks of Summer are over and the Winter is now well and truly with us. Last Sunday's car-boot sales were completely washed out so I decided to hit up the charity shops on Monday. Although it wasn't particularly fruitful I did pick up a nice album from my local record shop's £1 box - 'Moods & Music' by The Chelsea Percussion Group. The cover alone sealed the deal but on closer inspection the track listing revealed an exciting prospect - a 'Drum Battle' between two of the student musicians featured on the album. As well as that, I love these 'private press' school releases that probably only had a run of two or three hundred copies and were sold exclusively to parents and friends. I've bought a fair few shitty ones over the years but when a good one turns up it makes it all worthwhile.

So, onto the album. Any good? Well, I'll be honest - musically it ain't great. The band, consisting entirely of percussionists, were definitely not the tightest musicians around and it sounds like it's been recorded in the school hall with the mics at the back and band playing down front! Having said that, it does hold a certain charm and reminds me of my own school days when I'd usually be allocated a 'triangle' or 'wood block' during music lessons. For sampling there's obviously loads of potential with individual hits as well as some nice Vibraphone and Xylophone sections - think late '90s Pete Rock production. The reason I decided to post this up though, is for the aforementioned 'Drum Battle'. Terry President and Stephen Claw hammer it out for just under two and a half minutes, hitting sticks across the entire kit before being kind enough to drop a couple of straight ahead B-Boy breaks. The word 'raw' couldn't be more appropriate. Thanks Terry, and extra special thanks to Stephen who, along with Al Green (!) supplied the record sleeve graphics. It's definitely a 'wall-display' piece.

Click the newspaper clipping (which was tucked inside the sleeve) for a larger image if you're interested in reading about the band and their 'achievements'.

The Chelsea Percussion Group 'Drum Battle' (1976 Chelsea School P/P)

The Black Version

Just been recording some Soul and Funk to burn onto C.D. for the car and realized half way through the day that a lot of the tracks I was converting are covers, or 'versions' of other peoples music. So, I've decided to put 60 minutes worth of these versions together for your downloading pleasure. Nothing mega rare or particularly hard to find on the internet but some nice bits that I've picked up at the boot-sales and charity shops over the years. I was gonna write about each individual song but you can find out anything you need to know with a quick google search. There's a few Bill Withers tunes, some Sly & The Family Stone, a couple of Beatles tracks, and a whole bunch of other artists music. Break spotters will pick up on some of the samples used by Buckwild, Lord Finesse, Rza, DJ Spinna, Dr Dre, and T-Ray. Check back next week for the 'Secret Squirrel' edition where I'm gonna go deep with some crazy 'white boy' versions. You'll have to forgive the odd crackle here and there, all songs are recorded from the ORIGINAL vinyl pressings...


1. The Shirelles "Ain't No Sunshine" (1972 RCA Records U.K.)
2. Ike Turner, Tina Turner & Home Grown Funk "Use Me" (1980 Fantasy Records U.S.)
3. Al Jarreau "Kissing My Love" (1976 Timewind Germany)
4. Gladys Knight and the Pips "Thank You" (1973 Motown Soul U.S.)
5. Clydie King & Brown Sugar "Dance To The Music" (1973 Chelsea Records U.S.)
6. John L. Watson with White Mouse "I Get Lifted" (1975 Spark U.K.)
7. O.V. Wright "Let's Straighten It Out" (1978 Hi U.S.)
8. Brook Benton "Born Under A Bad Sign" (1970 Cotillion U.S.)
9. O.C. Smith "Hey Jude" (1969 CBS U.K.)
10. The 5th Dimension "Ticket To Ride" (1971 Bell U.S.)
11. Melba Moore "Walk A Mile In My Shoes/25 Miles" (1971 Mercury U.S.)
12. Little Royal "Another Woman's Man" (1972 Tri Us / King U.S.)
13. King Curtis "You're The One" (1972 Atlantic U.K.)
14. Jackie Wilson "Light My Fire" (1968 Brunswick U.S.)
15. The Chequers "Get Up Stand Up" (1970 Creole U.K.)
16. Melvin Van Pebbles "Superstition" (1973 Atlantic U.S.)


Mr Krum "The Black Version"

Give The Drummer Some

Whenever I get back from the boot-sales or charity shops with a fresh batch of records, the first thing I listen for is a drum-break. There's nothing better than finding some dope drums, and the more obscure the record, the more satisfying the feeling. Now obviously there's drum-breaks on near enough all genres of music, but what could be better than a whole album of nothing but drum-breaks? I've picked up a few 'drum tuition' L.P.'s over the years, but this is probably my favourite. Lloyd Ryan's 1978 album - "Prelude To The Pulse Of Time", released only in the U.K. on 'The Label' (TLED 2). There's also a 'part one' titled "The Pulse Of Time - Rock Drumming" (TLED 1) which I have never seen or heard, but judging by this release should also be a sampling producers dream. The cover alone on this one is worth every penny of the £1.00 it cost me, and the record itself does not disappoint. A very basic, beginners guide to drumming, broken down in to 32 short exercises, ranging from individual drum sound demonstrations to playing different rhythms (dance beat, rhumba and pop). So to start with, you've already got a nice little drum kit to sample with all the separate hits, clean and with plenty of breathing space, and then you've got the loops - and the 'pop' beats are where it's at. I've uploaded one example below so you can get a taster, but there's plenty more on here, so keep your eyes peeled for a copy. I put this in my eBay search soon after I got it, which was about two and a half years ago. Not one single listing has appeared yet!

The only other record I have by Lloyd Ryan is "Kendo's Theme", a U.K. 45 on PVK which was actually the song British wrestling legend Kendo Nagasaki used for his entrance to the ring. It's a spacey Disco-Funk type of tune that kinda reminds me of Rah Band's "Messages From The Stars". There's a break on this as well but nothing amazing - the 12" version though, is extended and harder hitting. Try finding that!



Lloyd Ryan 'Exercise 10b' (1977 The Label L.P. track)



Lloyd Ryan's Express 'Kendo's Theme' (1975 PVK Records U.K. 45)