The Mike Cotton Sound ‎- The Mike Cotton Sound ‎1964 (Columbia)

Label : Columbia

Value :

Michael Edward "Mike" Cotton hit the UK professional jazz circuit with his trad jazz outfit The Mike Cotton Jazzmen in the 1950s. The Mike Cotton Jazzmen recorded three singles and one EP for Columbia between 1961 and 1963, prior to moving from jazz to a more pop / R&B oriented style and a band name change to The Mike Cotton Sound. They were regulars in the London R&B / Mod club circuit of the early sixties and in 1964 they released one single and their eponymous LP on Columbia, plus one single on Denmark's branch of the Metronome label. They would be releasing other 45s through 1965, and inn 1966 their style evolved again, entering the field of soul music and performing and recording as Lucas and The Mike Cotton Sound. Lucas was Bruce McPherson Lucas, an american singer who had previously been working with other bands in the Norwich area. The Mike Cotton Sound also acted as a backing band, both live and in the studio, for artists such as Sugar Pie DeSanto, Gene Pitney, Stevie Wonder, Doris Troy, The Four Tops and Solomon Burke. They also backed Mary Hopkin in her classic Postcard LP for The Beatles' Apple Records. Their brass section, which included Mike Cotton himself on trumpet and flugelhorn, joined The Kinks on their 1971 Muswell Hillbillies album and stayed with them until the mid 1970s, when Cotton returned to the jazz scene.

Taste :

The Mike Cotton Sound - Chinese Checkers

Download Lp zippy

By Electric Looser

Afrosound - La Danza De Los Mirlos 1973 (Discos Fuentes)

Label : Discos Fuentes

Value :

Afrosound’s mission was to emulate the guitar-heavy tropical sounds emanating from Perú and Ecuador at the time. To add to the hippie vibe, there were plenty of whacky improvised vocal asides (called ‘inspiraciones’), plus custom fuzz, wah-wah, flange and echo effects boxes for the guitar and keyboards. A barrage of odd sounding synths, drum machines and other electronic flourishes were also sprinkled in to spice up the proceedings.

The dozen tracks on Afrosound’s debut long play make for a surprisingly diverse palette from which these Colombian musicians painted their daring portrait of Peruvian cumbia, returning the favor in bold colors that still resonate almost 50 years later. 

"La danza de los mirlos" kicks off with most famous Afrosound hit of all, ‘Caliventura’, a genius blend of funk and cumbia. Also, there are several covers including various Colombian costeño classics, a groove oriented son montuno / cumbia hybrid, Fruko’s bomba-funk ditty ‘El chorrillo’, the melancholic psychedelic cumbia ‘Esperando por ti’ and the rocking cumbia andina gem ‘Cabeza de chorlito’.

This lovingly restored reissue features the artwork for the Peruvian edition, which was licensed and issued by Lima’s El Virrey label in 1974.

Taste : 

Afrosound - Caliventura

Download Lp zippy

By Electric Looser

The Robin Jones Seven ‎– El Maja 1972 (Apollo Sound)

Label : Apollo Sound 

Value :

A classic album of Latin grooves from the UK scene – a musical world that wasn't always a hotbed of styles in the Afro-Cuban mode, but which did have the benefit of the mighty percussionist Robin Jones! Jones was born in India, but moved to London during the same post-colonial jazz migration that brought the city key talents from the West Indies – and like Joe Harriott, Shake Keane, and others, Robin's contributions to the scene were crucial during the years he worked in a variety of different groups! This set is Jones' second as a leader – a very hip set that's all jazz all the way through – with plenty of percussion from Robin, and a combo that includes trumpet, saxes, keyboards, and vibes – all used in ways that take off from the best jazz descarga styles into a range of other modes. 

Taste :

The Robin Jones Seven ‎-  El Maja

 

The Robin Jones Seven ‎- Atlas

 

Download Lp zippy

By Electric Looser

Maxayn ‎- Maxayn 1972 (Capricorn Records)

Label : Capricorn Records

Value :

The debut album from Maxayn – a funky female talent who deserves to be mentioned in the same territory as Betty Davis and Yvonne Fair! Like both of those artists, Maxayn isn't afraid to use an electric guitar when she wants – which puts her music somewhere in the territory of groups like The Bar-Kays and Black Nasty, and the way they could blend rock influences with funk and soul! No surprise, Maxayn's bandmates here include two members of Buddy Miles' group – who really help keep things deep – providing a massive foundation for the lady's incredible vocals. Titles include covers of the Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Gimme Shelter" – plus the original tunes "Trying For Days", "Jam For Jack", "Song", and "Doing Nothing Nothing Doing".

Taste :

Maxayn ‎- Full album

 

 

Download Lp zippy 

By Electric Looser

 

Willie Hutch - Soul Portrait 1969 (RCA)

Label : RCA

Value :

 Prior to gaining recognition as a co-writer of the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" and establishing himself as a valuable songwriter, arranger, and producer at Motown, Willie Hutch released singles on Dunhill and Soul City and wrote for the 5th Dimension. He was also signed to RCA as a solo artist, and Soul Portrait was his debut album, the first of two sets he recorded for the label. Hutch compared his approach here to that of Otis Redding; though there are definite parallels, such as its convincing Southern tint, Hutch's vocals, rough-hewn as they are, tend to roam within the range of sweet and tender to deeply impassioned and emphatic, yet without ever reaching Redding's belting levels à la "Try a Little Tenderness" or "Respect." Backed by an uncredited roster of studio musicians that often involves a rich combination of horns, strings, and female background vocalists -- best heard together on the ecstatically reeling "Your Love Keeps Liftin' Me Higher," an original that indicates where Hutch would take his sound on The Mack -- Soul Portrait is as complete as any other soul album released in 1969, consistent without obvious high or glaring low points. That lack of a signature song or two likely hindered its progress.

Taste :

Willie Hutch - A Love That's Worth Having

Willie Hutch - Your Love Keeps Liftin' Me Higher

Download Lp zippy or easy

By Electric Looser