Progress must progress (including The Return of the AntiDivas)

Hello, kiddies.

Shit’s getting out of hand. The whole damn world is going crazy…

Again, I didn’t expect the span of time between visits to be quite this long. So many things to factor in this time: the stress of another three month term in which I didn’t do quite as well as I wanted, power outages from the violent thunderstorms in June, a job which is forcing me to feel the effects of just how unstable this economy really is, and to top it all off, a computer that I had to put together with spit and a prayer. it’s easy to see how time can slip through your fingers like sand. I didn’t even get to play any records, much less, visit my mixcloud colleagues and friends. I must send a big shoutout to HeavySoulBrutha and Scapegoat for checkin’ in on a brotha. Your kind words are appreciated… and to those who prompted the good SoulBrutha to drop me an email which finally got me out of hiding, I say thanks to you as well. It’s gonna continue to be a tough road, but at least things are slow enough now to where I can finally sit down and play catch up on a number of fronts. My motivation levels may be at an all time low, but I gotta make a concerted effort to keep it moving…

So as not to get too long winded here, let’s get right to the heart of the matter. I’ve been wanting to do another AntiDivas mix for the longest time, so here goes… I had this one sitting in the queue which I had plan to post back in May before the inevitable shutdown began. It was somewhat of a response to the events that made up the senseless war on women being waged by certain legislators and aggravated by the media pundits. It wasn’t my intention to turn this into a soapbox moment, and for all intents and purposes it really isn’t. Basically it’s just some more of the new scores from the winter and a few old friends that just hit my fingers as I was filing through the crates, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge how the systematic destruction of women’s civil liberties will affect the overall landscape of our society. The way certain people are acting is beyond comprehension. I’m sure that all of you have had enough already; I know I have. I have a message for those aforementioned: at the end of the day, it’s time that you get their shit together and come to the realisation that if not for women, none of us would be here, so just give them their proper respect already! With all that said, I dedicate this installment of AntiDivas to each and every woman in the world, with “…due respect” because as Mr. Allen Toussaint said, “…remember we all have mothers.”

I’m off the soapbox now, sorry… as always, you can enjoy at your leisure or on demand. Of course, things have changed there too; the embed feature is lost again. Lord have mercy

introspeak by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
01 Fire-Etta James (Chess)
02 Lies Lies Lies-Brenda & The Tabulations (Top & Bottom)
03 Baby What You Want Me To Do-Erma Franklin (Shout)
04 Niki Hoeky-Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
05 Your Thing Ain’t No Good Without My Thing-Marie “Queenie” Lyons (Deluxe)
06 Collage-Three Degrees (Roulette)
07 Take Me-Betty Everett (UNI)
08 You Ain’t Changed-Marie Franklin (Maverick)
09 The Pusher-Nina SImone (RCA)
10 Garden Of Four Trees-The Explosions (Soul Jazz)
11 These Boots Are Made For Walkin’-The Supremes (Motown)
12 Slip N Mules-Sugar Pie DeSanto (Checker)
13 You Made A Believer Out Of Me-Ruby Andrews (Zodiac)
14 Trouble-Foxy (Double Shot)
15 Good Girls-Merry Clayton (Ode)
16 A Man WIth Some Backbone-Laura Lee (Chess)
17 Mercy Mercy Mercy-Marlena Shaw (Cadet)
18 Runaway Love-Linda Clifford (Curtom)
19 Baby That’s What I Need (Walk Tall)-Esther Marrow (Bluebird)
20 Hit Or Miss-Odetta (Polydor)
21 Treating Us (Women) Funky-Ike & Tina Turner (Minit)
22 Make Me Yours-Bettye Swann (Money)
23 Uh Uh Boy That’s A No No-Candace Love (Aquarius)
24 I Gotta Get Away From My Own Self-Millie Jackson (Spring)
25 Girls Can’t Do What The Guys Do-Betty Wright (Alston)
26 Silly Silly Fool-Dusty Springfield (Atlantic)
27 Let It Flow-The Glass House (Invictus)
28 The Fool On The Hill-Lena Horne (Skye)

In any event, I gotta go for now, but I hope that you are all doing well and maintaining as best you can. I hope I can get back up to speed soon, For now have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Head in the clouds part two (including Po’ Boy)

Hello, kiddies.

First and foremost, I hope you all had a great weekend, you know, with Record Store Day and 4:20 day and all… and Earth Day too, imagine that! I sadly could not participate in the former for the obviously painful reasons… I won’t even comment on the latter. I do have a remedy for that though, I’ll get to that sooner than later, but allow me another quick indulgence if you will. It won’t disappoint, I promise.

I kinda got away from posting mixes with non-vinyl sources, and for good reason…they sound great and all, but the times have definitely changed in the land of blog over the past year. I kind of promised myself that I wouldn’t break out the soapbox too much, better yet, I wouldn’t let the soapbox get in the way of serving up the funky eats. Suffice it to say, the message is still very much in need of being spread, but there are so many out there that really tell the truth that very much needs to be heard. I hope you all can keep up with the Best of the Left podcast. It’s the best way to keep one angry enough… I’ll still do what I do in the name of doing my part though, and that’s the best I can do since I am clearly a victim of the madness.

Anyway, on to the meat of the conversation with another from the holidaze sessions.

This one was done around Thanksgiving of last year whilst hanging out with a friend and a bottle of something, most likely some sweet Belgian nectar… after much self doubt and (at the time) jonesing for some new 45′s. I was inspired to do it this way by a couple of my esteemed colleagues from the mixcloud fam. I’ve name-checked them before, sure, and will do so again in good fashion before too long. More on that in a bit…

In any event, this is the result. When the bottle was tipped, I was happy. It’s a collection of some great tunes that most of you should know well, and some you may not have heard in some years. It was also a means of free advertisment for the good folks at Freestyle Records. They also hold it down at Mixcloud too… check it out for some nice mixes and some exclusive ish from their rich catalog, and of course, please support their efforts if you are able. It’s also the answer to a question posed by the one called iDiO7 SAVAN7…I do owe a debt for the inspiration, the will to keep the soul a rollin’…

At the least, I hope you’ll enjoy Po’ Boy, either at your leisure, on demand with the player thingie down there, or here.

Head in the clouds part two (including Po’ Boy), posted with vodpod

Nasty-Deep Street Soul
Micro Popcorn-Calypso King & The Soul Investigators
Heartbreaker-Boogaloo Investigators
Bag Of Soul-Soul Saints Orchestra
I Know What It Is-Shaolin Temple Defenders
Two Beat Beast-Speedometer
Let The Music Take Your Mind-The Soul Providers
Tramp-The Grits
Sexy Popcorn Pot-Breakestra
Heavy Soul-The Sound Stylistics
Hook And Sling Meets The Funky Superfly-Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Don’t Joke With A Hungry Man-Spanky Wilson
I’m Coming Back To)The Coming Back-Osaka Monaurail
Stop The Bus-Funkshone
Cressy St. Breakdown-Cookin’ On 3 Burners
Lover And A Friend-Speedometer Feat. Myles Sanko & Ria Currie
What Have You Done For Me Lately Pts. 1&2-Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Hot Funky And Sweaty-The Organites
Promised Land Pt. 2-Sugarman 3
Crazy Legs-The Grits
Hippy Skippy Moon Strut-The Mighty Showstoppers

and now for the closing commentary…

By request, I re-upped this post too. I will do the other two soon. it’s a good way to gear up for the next session. There’s no denying that it’s gonna be tough keeping it all together, all things considered, but I do intend to press on until an unforeseen inevitability comes along. Again, the best I can do. I intend to be back in some capacity though, so until then, have fun(k), and please be safe.

Peace and blessings

The first of May is coming… please join the fight in whatever way you are able.

Head in the clouds part one (including Records are like chocolate…? The Birthday Edition)

Hello, kiddies.

Just when I thought I’d find a great moment to do all the things that I wanted to do back before spring break, setbacks and lack of motivation rear their ugly head yet again. I may admit to the setbacks, but I will never admit defeat. With all that said, it’s time to get back up to speed here. I’ve got my seafood fix to a certain degree, the Flyers are in the playoffs and socking it to the Penguins, and there’s a few fleeting moments in between to keep the “stew” pot full (that little greeting was for Bill)…

Here is the first of four exercises that I did over the holidaze. All of the tracks except four were scored during a surprise downtown dig. I hadn’t been down to Fells Point in at least two years, so with an unexpected windfall of resources at hand (otherwise known as an early birthday present), I was able to return to my favourite spots, fill some more holes and discover some more real gems. I got so lucky. I finally got a chance to put it here for your enjoyment, either at your leisure, on demand with the little player thingie, or here…

Imagery provided by chocmocakes http://www.flickr.com/photos/chocolatemoosecakes/ Thank you.

Records are like chocolate…? The Birthday Edi…, posted with vodpod

01 Get On Down-Eddie Harris (Atlantic)
02 The Chicken-James Brown (King)
03 Buzzsaw-The Turtles (White Whale)
04 Love The Life You Live Pt. 1-Kool & The Gang (De Lite)
05 Broad Street-The Electric Indian (United Artists)
06 There’s A DJ In Your Town-Samson & Delilah (Black Prince)
07 (Do It) The Funky Dance-Dave Cortez & We The People (Sound Pak)
08 Humpin’ Thumpin’ and Bumpin’-Andre Williams (Checker)
09 My Thing Is Your Thing-Bobby Patterson (Jetstar)
10 Gotta Get Over The Hump-Simtec & Wylie (Mister Chand)
11 Do The Funky Chicken-Rufus Thomas (Stax)
12 The Goat-Freddie & The Kinfolk (Dade)
13 Give The Drummer Some More-Little Hooks with Ray Nato and the Kings (Enjay)
14 Mama Come Quick and Bring Your Lickin’ Stick-George Torrence & The Naturals (Shout)
15 City Dump-Dyke & The Blazers (Original Sound)
16 Things Got To Get Better-Marva Whitney (King)
17 Sweet Meat-The Zip Codes (Better)
18 As Long As I Got You-Laura Lee (Chess)
19 Party Hardy People-Act 1 (Spring)
20 The Funky Mule-Buddy Miles (Mercury)
21 The Emperor Pt. 1-Donald Byrd (Blue Note)
22 Thanks I Needed That-The Glass House (Invictus)
23 The Bottle-Brother To Brother (Turbo)
24 No More Water In The Well-Odell Brown & The Organizers (Cadet)

not much in the way of closing commentary this time around, except to say that I hope to have the rest of the holidaze exercises up soon as well as a couple of new joints. It’s all in an effort to restore some sort of relevance ti this piece of cyber real estate for a while. Just watch and see. Until then, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Happy Spring!

Hello, kiddies.

Countdown… “t” minus 2 weeks (give or take a day) and counting.

Spring has indeed sprung, quickly and without warning. With it, another respite, which I certainly plan to use wisely… Here’s the second session from the last fire haul. I answered the call of my esteemed colleague HeavySoulBrutha this time, not only because it’s lots of fun to hear good 45′s, but because he’s just an all around good joe. He’s been keeping it funky for five years and counting, so it’s always a pleasure to drop by his spot and share. Much respect, good brutha!

I actually got the player thingie to work again, but in case it fails, you can check it out on-demand here if you like. Enjoy.

Happy Spring!, posted with vodpod

01 G’wan-Mark III Trio (Wingate)
02 Give It Up-Young Holt Unlimited (Brunswick)
03 Git E Up (The Horse)-The Preparations (Heart & Soul)
04 Karate-The Emperors (Mala)
05 The Switch A Roo-Hank Ballard & The Midnighters (King)
06 Some Got It Some Don’t-Senor Soul (Whiz)
07 Run Joe-Freddie Scott (Shout)
08 Searchin’-Alvin Robinson (Tiger)
09 Everything’s Hunky Dory-Billy Harner (V-Tone)
10 The Soul Of J.B.-James Brown & the Famous Flames (King)
11 Ain’t Too Proud To Beg-J J Jackson (Warner Brothers)
12 Gettin Away-Cliff Nobles & Co. (Phil LA Of Soul)
13 Snake Pit-Gunga Din (Valise)
14 Poppin’ Popcorn-Alvin cash (Toddlin’ Town)
15 Shake A Poo Poo-Chet “Poison” Ivey and his Fabulous Avengers (Tangerine)
16 Can’t Get Over Losing You-The Delfonics (Philly Groove)
17 Nobody’s Fault But Mine-Arthur Conley (Atco)
18 I Gotta Thing For You-Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (Tamla)
19 Can’t Satisfy-The Impressions (ABC)
20 Our Love Is In the Pocket-Darrel Banks (Revilot)
21 Don’t Make Me A Storyteller-Steve Mancha (Groovesville)
22 Mole Skin-Bobby Kool (Expo)
23 You Can’t Take Love-Cash McCall (Thomas)
24 Chili Beans-Mongo Santamaria (Columbia)
25 Dance What You Wanna-Jerryo (Shout)
26 Do What’s Right-Eddie Seay (Imperial)
27 It’s Too Late-Howard Tate (Turntable)
28 Headline News-Edwin Starr (Ric Tic)
29 You’re Such A Beautiful Child-Archie Bell & the Drells (Atlantic)
Exitus from “LP Retreat” by Luscious Jackson

and now for the closing commentary, brief and to the point.

Thanks for allowing me to continue to do my thing. I know it ain’t much, but it’s all in my efforts to make getting through real life a little more tolerable. For everybody out there fighting the good fight, keep on pushing. Progress will progress. I’m confident. As always in parting, have fun(k), and please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Wait til you see what happens next time…

Grab Bag (a long time coming)…

Hello, kiddies (finally, I get to say that again, I’m excited).

…too many things happened in the last several weeks. Too many fallen icons. Too much workload. Too much politics. Not enough patience! I can only hope that it will get better. Being able to attend last month’s fire haul made it a little easier to endure for a few hours. I managed to score some much needed pieces this time, some of which I’ve been patiently waiting to get my hot little hands on for over five years! I’m gonna thank the three vendors I visited for making it happen. I only know Gary by name for now, and I know the nice lady who I believe to be the one who organises the show each month. There were actually two more who also had lots more heaters for sale. Back to the nice lady, I have to thank her especially for going to bat for me so that I could get one in particular for much less than its sticker price of $60 USD. It’s the first (and more than likely not the last) record that I will ever spend more than $30 USD on. Of course, I digress. In any event, I finally got to make a couple of mixes with the fruits. Here’s one of them.

01 Alvin’s Bag-Alvin Cash (Toddlin’ Town)
02 Afro Twist Time-Jerryo (Shout)
03 Mini Skirts-Bobby Kool (Expo)
04 The Bird-Jimmy McGriff (Capitol)
05 It’s Your Thing-Senor Soul (Whiz)
06 New Mother Nature-The Friends Of Distinction (RCA)
07 Groove N Move-Jr. Walker & The All Stars (Soul)
08 Good Grease-Mark III Trio (Wingate)
09 Finally Caught Up With Jody-Big John Hamilton (SSS)
10 O Me-O My-O-Lee Dorsey (Polydor)
11 You Must Have Put Something In Your Love-The Persuaders (Win Or Lose)
12 Fever In The Funkhouse-General Crook (Wand)
13 Funk In Wagnal-Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (Dunhill)
14 Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone- Martha & The Vandellas (Gordy)
15 Cat’s Got Her Tongue-Joe Tex (Dial)
16 Stinger-Freddy (Creeper) Robinson-Cobblestone
17 Take It Easy Greazy-Billy Guy & The Coasters (Sal/Wa)
18 Funkadelic Sound-Little Beaver (Cat)
19 Let Me Get Close To You-Jerry Washington (Excello)
20 Funky Funky (Hot Pants)-Wee Willie Mason (Jay Walking)
21 Cherry-Jimmy McGriff (Solid State)
22 Crabcakes-Gunga Din (Valise)
23 JM’s Funk Factory-JM’s Funk Factory (Saluda)
24 I Wanna Jump-Ike & Tina Turner (Minit)
25 Hot Dog-Mongo Santamaria (Columbia)

Enjoy Grab Bag, either at your leisure or on-demand…

and now for the closing commentary, because this time there’s plenty. I’ll try and keep it moving though.

For all intents and purposes, I have made my way to the extreme left. If you recall my rant about the 2010 midterm election debacle, well as we have witnessed, it’s gets better. The GOP candidate nonsense just makes me want to do and say unthinkable things. I intend to add another widget on the right with links to the truth as soon as I can. For your entertainment and your enlightenment, because there are so few who actually tell the truth. The new axis of evil is recruiting new members daily, and true to form, we the people are in huge trouble as a result. “YES WE MUST!!!”

For starters, check out the Best of the Left Podcast…

It’s only a matter of time before the next respite begins. I’ll do my best to make it fruitful. My ride’s slowly on the mend, so I need some new entertainment within. Y’all know the rest. I’ll also be playing another round of catch up. For those of you who check the Fufu Stew on Mixcloud link at the top of the page, you know that I have been posting there. It’s easier to do so because I have been relegated to a much slower internet connection since moving to the city, and yes, I’m pissed about that. I’ll put up some of those posts here in the coming days just because. And speaking of mixcloud, I know I do it all the time, but I really have to thank a couple of mixcloud regulars in particular who have provided me with a lot of incentive and inspiration over the last several months. Essentially, they helped me to rediscover what it is that keeps me here. More on that in a future post, I assure you.

In any event, I thank you all for your continued patience and your patronage, even in the midst of my extended hiatus. Thanks also for taking a few minutes to read this far. Until the next time, and yes, next time will be much sooner than last time, I promise, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Back to the Corner…

Hello, kiddies.

The respite is slowly drawing to a close. Lots of unexpected twists and turns happened, but as is always the case, I rolled with the punches. I have been lacking in my duties here once again, but I’ve still got some time left to atone. Before I go another further, let me direct all of you over to Funky 16 Corners so you can take advantage of another installment of the F16C Soul Club All Nighter and pledge drive, held at the world famous Grogan Casino… clever play on words, huh? Dig this all-star lineup: Tarik (8KC) Thornton, DJ Prime Mundo, Tony C., and the mighty DJ BlueWater… and headlined of course with two sets from the host with the most. I am truly honoured to be among such great company. Clicking on the image below will get you to the place to be post haste.

…and while you’re there, please show your support if you are able. It’s an investment that has already paid for itself and will continue to do so for years to come. Thanks so much for allowing me this indulgence. I hope to be back sooner than later with some new goods. I’ll make it worth the while… until then, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.
Peace and blessings.

It’s a Mondo Mondo Mondo Mondo World…

Hello, kiddies.

Another day in the life is coming to a close. It was a very productive couple of weeks to say the least, so let’s get the ball rolling.

Here’s where the overhaul finally begins. The page images will change radically, as well as the font. It should be a lot easier to digest when I get done. Additionally, the blogroll will go through a major change too. Each and every blog that is still active will get a visit from me in the next few days, just to say hi and thank you for all of your support over the years. I know I’ve lost touch with a lot of you, due largely to real life issues… believe me, I can dig it. It’s like I said back in November, the world as we know it, is in serious trouble on so many levels. In one way or another, we are all feeling the pinch. Besides the usual blessings that I certainly count each and every day, I am thankful for the role that my mixtape craft has played in my recent existence. It keeps me sane. The finished products usually always make me happy when I blast them on my iPod or in my wife’s grocery getter. (shrug)… why not share them, y’know? It’s only that simple. I’m equally thankful for all of the support of all of you who saw fit to visit and enjoy the small contributions. So to make a long story just a little longer, the future of Fufu Stew will unfold before your very eyes sooner than later. Moving on…

I caught up with my long-time colleague Mr. Mondo and the mighty Mr. Grogan last week. Both have invited me back to their respective spots to lay some 45′s down. Of course I can’t ever pass up an opportunity to make a mixtape or five…

For now, you can head over to Planet Mondo and dig on this batch of heavy fuzz and buzz.

He also turned me on to a sneak peek at the latest marvel from the Bongolian which should be available in the all the right places by the time you get this far in the post. I was given the go ahead to share just a bit of it, which you can check out in the form of a mini sampler over at my Mixcloud page if you like. Big cheers and mad love for the folks at Blow Up Records first, last and always for the opportunity. Click the image below…

…and since it’s a mondo mondo mondo mondo world, I will start the overhaul of this little ol’ slice of blog by restoring the exchange we did wayyyyy back in 2008. You can dig on those at my Mixcloud pages. Again, click the appropriate image if you wish…

Aside from the lack of visual changes, that should be a good start… more to come sooner than you think. I will change the imagery later on this week, so until then, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Hungry for vinyl…?

Hello, kiddies.

First off, I must wish all of you springtime holiday greetings, Easter, Passover and all the rest… I’ll kick off the festivities on a positive. Unfortunately since the last visit,  I wish I could say that the respite is going according to plan. As is always the case however, real life loves to rear its ugly head in the form of having to kick it in gear getting ready for a major face lift to the pantry. Boxing up all that vinyl will be a chore, but a labour of love just the same. It only stands to reason in that case that I have to fill up the ol’ life support system, I mean iPod, with plenty of new mixtapes. Here’s the first.

Inspired by the cutest Peanuts comic strip I ever read, here’s an on the fly funk fix full of 45′s that are pretty much chewed up as the image suggests. The perils of digging through dusty Rubbermaid bins, hoping that steam distilled water and alcohol will resurrect the errant gems. Some were easier to clean than others, but all the tunes were pure bangers so I went with it. No additional restoration was used.

As always, listen at your leisure or on demand (at least until I really figure out and resolve the embed issues at any rate)…

01 Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is-Olympic Runners (London)
02 Super Cool-Black Heat (Atlantic)
03 Little Ol’ Country Boy-Parliament (Invictus)
04 Keep On Doin’ What You’re Doin’-Bobby Byrd (Brownstone)
05 Gettin’ It On-Dennis Coffey (Sssex)
06 If He Can You Can-Isley Brothers (T Neck)
07 California Dreaming-Harley Farquart Express (Peon)
08 Too Many Cooks Spoil The Soup-100 Proof Aged In Soul (Hot Wax)
09 You’re What’s Happening (In The World Today)-Marvin Gaye (Tamla)
10 Raw Hamburgers-Kool & The Gang (De Lite)
11 Shimmy-Toussaint McCall (Ronn)
12 Hum Along And Dance-Temptations (Gordy)
13 Black And Blues-Chollo Rivera & The Latin Soul Drives (Cotique)
14 My Brother Pt. 1-The JB’s (People)
15 Funk Power-Creative Funk (Creative Funk)
16 HLIC-Bobo Mr. Soul (Ovide)
17 Turn On The Light Of Your Love-Four Tops (Dunhill)
18 Higher Than High-Undisputed Truth (Gordy)
19 Jam-Three Dog Night (Dunhill)
20 If I Can See The Light (Instrumental)-The 8th Day (Invictus)
21-Oh Baby I Love The Way-New Birth (RCA)
22 Magic Mountain-Eric Burdon& War (MGM)
23 Hard Times-Curtis Mayfeld (Curtom)
24 Be Thankful For What You Got Pt. 2-William DeVaughan (Roxbury)

Don’t go far, or keep reading on to the next post for even more new stuff. I’ll probably pop in a little later on with some more eclectic stuff but til then, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings… and happy 4:20 too

Happy Spring (Incuding Back To Basics…)

Hello, kiddies.

I’ll keep this short and sweet since respite time is at an all time premium. Three months to get a lot of pent up frustration out of my system, and I plan to use each and every day of it doing exactly what needs to be done. Gee, I wouldn’t know it was really spring by looking out of my front door. I just have to shrug my shoulders and move on I suppose. I played some nice 45′s last week; there’s a good start… nothing fancy,  just the basics, but they all sounded good. Enjoy.

As always, you can listen at your leisure, or, now that I’ve finally figured out how, you can listen on-demand with the player thingie below. Imagine that

Happy Spring (Incuding Back To Basics…), posted with vodpod

01 Can’t Be Still-Booker T & The MGs (Stax)
02 The New Breed-Jimmy Holiday (Diplomacy)
03 Boomerang-Tom & Jerrio (ABC)
04 Saturday Night Fish Fry-The Coasters (Atco)
05 Happy Feet-Robert Parker (NOLA)
06 You Ain’t Ready-Lou Courtney (Riverside)
07 Day Tripper-The Vontastics (St. Lawrence)
08 I’m A Man-Spencer Davis Group (United Artists)
09 Switch It On-Cliff Nobles & Co (Phil LA Of Soul)
10 Music Talk-Stevie Wonder (Tamla)
11 Grits N Cornbread-The Soul Runners (Mo Soul)
12 You Ain’t Too Cool-Cash McCall (Thomas)
13 Too Many Fish In The Sea-Jack McDuff (Prestige)
14 Much Too Much-James Crawford (Mercury)
15 Baby Don’t You Cry-Ray Charles (ABC)
16 Kansas City Woman-Bennie Gordon & The Soul Brothers (Enrica)
17 Ain’t It The Truth Now-Eddie Bo (Ric)
18 Popcorn Charlie-Chrles Spurling (King)
19 Modern Jive-Pretty Purdie (Date)
20 Elanor Rigby-Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
21 Ode To Billie Joe-Mel Brown (Impulse)
22 I Take Care Of Homework-Syl Johnson (Twinight)
23 Devil Woman-Clarence Carter (Atlantic)
24 Are In Laws Really Outlaws?-Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues (Smash)
25 Knucklehead-The Bar-Kays (Volt)
26 The Barracuda-Leonard King & The Soul Messengers (Inferno)
27 Shing A Ling Baby-Willie Bobo (Verve)
28 Down Here On The Ground-Lou Rawls (Capitol)

Since time waits for no one, I’m off to enjoy what I hope will be a very therapeutic yet very fruitful respite. Until the next time, you know…

Peace and blessings.

Come and get it… Fufu Stew No. 14 at long last!

Hello, Kiddies.

Yes, I’ve been away for a little bit, not that it matters much. Oh well, no harm, no foul. I deal with shit the best way I know how.

I am tinkering with background imagery as you can see. It’ll probably change a few more times so that the text in the sidebar can be read a little easier. I just wish I could get those pretty Mixcloud embed thingies to work. Speaking of which, I have to send a special shoutout to the Mixcloud family for their kindness over the past few weeks, and for keeping my inspiration level high. I did put up a couple of exclusive pieces over there in the past couple of weeks. I’ll do that from time to time so please drop by my Mixcloud page from time to time and the fine folks I follow as well. There’s some top notch people over there doing some great things which for me has been rather theraputic. I need that right about now, which brings me to this latest crop of old faves… I told y’all I was going to return to the freeform exercises that I used to do. Well here’s one, purposely made from crusty old 33′s. Pops, clicks and other anomalies are intentional. With a hard crunchy texture and heavy flavour kinda like rock candy, it only made sense to call it

It’s been an awful long time since I whipped up some Fufu Stew like I used to make when I first started this little ol’ blog over four years ago. I always went for specific ingredients which most of you may or may not pick up on right away, but it felt so good to do it again… and it’s awful funky too. Enjoy.

As always, listen at your leisure or on-demand…

01 Big John Is My Name-Rare Earth (Rare Earth)
02 Born To Move-Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy)
03 American Woman-The Guess Who (RCA)
04 Every Hungry Woman-Allman Brothers Band (Capricorn)
05 Cross Eyed Mary-Jethro Tull (Reprise)
06 Must Be Love-The James Gang (Atco)
07 Mr. Big-Free (A&M)
08 Sunrise Dance With The Devil-Hot Tuna (Grunt)
09 With The Power-Jimi Hendrix (Reprise)
10 Politician-The Cream (Polydor)
11 Let It Ride-Bachman Turner Overdrive (Mercury)
12 Crazy Horses-The Osmonds (MGM)
13 I’m A Man-Chicago Transit Authority (Columbia)
14 Get Off Your Ass And Jam-Funkadelic (Westbound)
15 You Got Me Hummin’-Cold Blood (San Francisco)
16 Rock My Plimsoul-Jeff Beck (Epic)
17 Feelin’ Alright-Grand Funk Railroad (Capitol)

Until the next digging spree commences, it’ll be slim pickins around here, but I know how to make lemonade with life’s lemons… I’ve had lots of practice. When the feeling hits (or when I make a new mixtape for my personal enjoyment), I’ll certainly be back to share it with you… Until then, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.