Rating: NNNNN
High on La Horse
Recently, Universal France released the Cinemix CD, a concept comp in which contemporary club producers remix classic French film themes with disappointing results. But the label did have the good sense to release Serge Gainsbourg ‘s original version of his La Horse theme – a stunning proto-hiphop joint conceived 35 years ago – which is out now as a limited 10-inch backed with far less exciting revisions by Howie B , the Sofa Surfers and the Marathon Men .
Mucho Monguito
It could take a lifetime of crate carousing to turn up a clean copy of Monguito Santamaria ‘s brilliantly bashing second Fania album, 68’s Hey Sister, so the Vampisoul reissue operation gets my eternal gratitude for making this badass boogaloo set available in crisp fidelity at a reasonable price. If charging horn-hyped Latin jazz swingers suit your taste, you need to check what my man Monguito’s got cookin’ here.
Dante’s breakbeat inferno
Evidently, digger deluxe Dante Carfagna doesn’t spend all his time on his knees scrounging up obscure product placement promo 7s in dusty Indiana warehouses. Over the past five years, he’s devoted more than a few hours to using his reclaimed vinyl to create Express Rising ( Memphix ), a hedonistically head-nodding Shadow-esqe chill-out set sure to delight and confound professional breakspotters for months to come.
Soul Selvidge
Speaking of Bluff City, blues picker Sid Selvidge is about as Memphis as a barbecue pork sandwich on greasy butcher paper. On his latest, A Little Bit Of Rain ( Archer Records ), he’s reunited with his old buddy Jim Dickinson , and together they rummage through their memories of colourful hombres like Ron Jordan , Bascom Lunsford and Eddie Hinton , recalling a time when their backyard was the centre of Southern culture on the skids. Spooky and special.
