We don't want to know where that flute has been. Legendary jazz flutist Herbie Mann made a sexy foray into the world of funk, R&B, and pop with his 1971 aphrodisiac Push Push. Having already released a whopping 73 albums under his name, Mann ventured into uncharted musical territory, and as the album cover reveals, he did it with his shirt off. To make the equation even more amazing, he brought along Bobka-idol Duane Allman for the ride. The result is 48 minutes of straight up baby-makin' music, featuring funked up versions of jazz standards and sultry, exploratory grooves.
"Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?" Eric Clapton had a lot on his mind when he entered a Miami recording studio in late August 1970 with Derek & The Dominos. Not only was he struggling with the fame and inherent excesses brought on by his time with Cream and Blind Faith, he was also nursing a broken heart - a reliable recipe for the blues. Were it not for the bizarre love triangle consuming Clapton, his best friend George Harrison, and George's wife (the psychedelic vixen Pattie Boyd), it is likely that the definitive track of Clapton's career never would have been recorded, nor would he have played with the amount of passion and soul that is overwhelmingly obvious when listening to the tapes.
Prior to any official recording, the Dominos played marathon jam sessions to get warmed up, often times inviting their new friend Duane Allman to sit in as well. Producer Tom Dowd (who initially introduced Eric and Duane) recalls these early jam sessions lasting anywhere from 15-18 hrs at a time, using a multitude of studio engineers. Luckily, the engineers had the foresight to press "Record" during these legendary jams, which would eventually surface as its own disc included with the 20th Anniversary edition of the album.
Check out Jam I below. Although Skydog is not featured on this particular go-round, Clapton is able to pick up the slack, transforming a simple two chord progression into a fiery, cathartic beast, filled with the pain of his addictions and his longing for his (temporarily) unrequited love. And for the record, I think Clapton is a scumbag for stealing his best-friend's wife, although he is a scumbag who knows how to play a mean guitar, which somehow makes it less deplorable.
{ED. Sidenote: Pati Boyd is set to release an autobiography titled "Wonderful Tonight,", which Clapton also wrote about her}
"It's Been A Long Cold and Lonely Winter" It's not easy to cover the Beatles. Proof:I Am Sam Soundtrack . While every teenage boy with a guitar has taken a stab at Blackbird, it takes a truly unique voice of wonder to interpret the Fab Four's mystique. Luckily there are a few people more than up for the challenge.
Nina Simone didn't get the name the "High Priestess of Soul" for nothing. She was born with the title, divine right, and she proves that on this version of the Harrison classick "Here Comes the Sun." Listen close and you can actually feel the sun creeping out from behind the clouds.
Soul Music, to me, is simply music that reminds you that underneath layers of cold hearted bitterness, you do indeed still have a soul. Wilson Pickett will make you feel that way as he tears through the Beatle's anthem "Hey Jude." The story goes like this: Brother Duane Allman was doing session work at Muscle Shoals Studios, where Wilson Pickett came to record. The locals would go into town to eat lunch every day, leaving the flamboyant Pickett and Skydog (Duane) behind. Duane prompted Wilson to cover "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. Pickett said "Skyman, that ain't for me. It's too weird." But Duane persisted and the version recorded is a classic in the same way as Joe Cocker's version of The Beatle's "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window." The outro, which Pickett and Brother Duane both absolutely CRUSH, is one of those windows down, volume max'd out, rave ups that will make the proverbial "IT" better. This song screams cathartic salvation. RIP Wilson and Brother SkyDog.
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