Here is the fourth installment of Fufu Stew, originally published on the 8th April 2007. I Found it to be one of my favourites, full of deep album cuts. Some righteous soul here… I hope you all enjoy it.

This one is truly food for the soul as the title suggests. If you’ve been following the story, I mentioned last time that Mike over at the College Square was in need of some reprogramming as far as his musical tastes were concerned. The first three recipes were so good that I thought it was about time that he got his fingers greasy on some good old fashioned soul food. The ingredients in this recipe fit the bill quite nicely as I drew my inspiration from three different cookbooks and doused them with a bottle of Ravenswood Zinfandel (or should I say I doused myself because I was feeling rather swell when I sampled the finished product)…

01 Today I Sing The Blues-Aretha Franklin. This little blues is taken from the Queen’s grossly unappreciated Columbia years. Little did John Hammond realise that not only did he have a true diamond in the rough, but that she was putting her foot deep into the Northern Soul movement. I’ll elaborate on that in a future post for sure. You gotta dig the noodly guitar licks smothered in that delicious piano.
02 I Can’t Get Next To You-Al Green. Mike always said he dug Al’s voice, but this reading of the classic Whitfield/Strong masterpiece was just too much…
03 Feelin’ Alright-Rare Earth. All kinds of hammond and axe work gives this Dave Mason standard a distinct and irresistible funky flavour.
04 Grinnin’ In Your Face-The Pointer Sisters. Mike obviously needed to hear this reading of one of Son House’s best loved blues since he’d been really floored by the acappella treatment that Warren Haynes did on the Mule’s debut, which by the way is absolutely fantastic. Bonnie Raitt joins in on this one serving up some great slide work.
05 Roadrunner’s G Jam-The Humble Pie. This was the first time I had listened to this version of Autry DeWalt’s classic tune and I was better for it. More hammond grooves flavours through and through.
06 Maybe Your Baby-Stevie Wonder. Ray Parker, Jr. joins in on this one with some really greasy guitar work, taken from one of the good Stevie records. You all should be quite familiar.
07 Wine (live)-The Electric Flag. Here’s another selection from the Moterey Pop Festival that should have you up and boogieing in no time.
08 Life Is What You Make It-Kool & The Gang. This is how this band should sound all the time. Not that I don’t like their sound, but this track is so guitar heavy. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
09 Red Hot Mama-Parliament. Everybody knows Funkadelic’s version. Here’s Parliament’s, taken from the First Thangs collection which is indeed a must have!
10 Trip/Rocker-Deep Banana Blackout. Mike and I caught this band’s act when they opened up for the Allman Brothers back in 2001. The numerous influences that fill these two tracks will have you salivating for more, I promise you.
11 Post Humous (live)-Morcheeba. I was all about the electronica back in the day, so I had to sneak this one in. Mike really dug the funk on this one, complete with Rhodes and chunky guitar notes.
12 Hair-Graham Central Station. Our good sister Niecy (who also worked at the store back then) hipped us to the classic funk standard “The Jam” which forced Mike to buy a greatest hits package. This song just rips! Hey Niecy, kiss kiss kiss!
13 You Say It-Al Green. Here’s another one from that same album, taken from my mother’s stash once again. She really did have some funky records which I kinda took over when she denounced them for Gospel back in the 80s. Thanks, mommy, I love you!
14 Do Yourself A Favour-Stevie Wonder. Here’s your finish… a really powerful hammond groove and hopefully a full belly, but save a little room for dessert. By the way, Mike was hooked and that was that. The next recipe will seal the deal for sure.

Please download and enjoy Fufu Stew No. 4: Good For The Soul, an mp3 file, 69 MB.

I plan to start working on the zip files in a few weeks, so keep an eye out ‘cos they won’t last long… I’ll see you soon.

Peace and blessings.