Rating: NNNNN
Getting Cramped
Not to be left out of the grave robbing craze, the Cramps ‘ Lux Interior and Poison Ivy do their own archival dig to uncover their previously unreleased demos, rehearsal tapes and live recordings circa 1977-78 from Max’s Kansas City and CBGBs for the fab How To Make A Monster (Vengeance) double-disc set. Almost as good as raw-rockin’ early takes on Sunglasses After Dark and I Was A Teenage Werewolf are Lux and Ivy’s revealing liner notes and the accompanying scrapbook photos, sure to delight Cramps fiends and voyeurs.
Discovering Columbus
In response to Motown’s staggering mid-6os success, just about every town in America had its own indie soul start-up label. In Columbus, that was Capsoul (short for Capital City Soul), run by singer/arranger/ producer Bill Moss . Now, some 25 years after Capsoul dissolved, Numero Records boss Ken Shipley – who knows about failed labels, having run his own Tree Records label into the dirt – has put together Eccentric Soul , a swank overview of Capsoul’s small but quality output. Along with forgotten classics by the Four Mints , Kool Blues and Marion Black , there’s Elijah & the Ebonities ‘ nutty cash-in on Al Green’s misfortune, Hot Grits!!!, and Moss’s own bangin’ Bell side Sock It To ‘Em Soul Brother. Righteous!
Dilla out-thrilla
It’s pretty well a given that Detroit production boss Jay Dee is going to be the star of any project he touches, so even though the new Dirty District, Vol. 2 EP (Baraka) is credited to rising D-town beatmakers B.R. Gunna , aka Curtis “Black” Cross and Ralph “Young RJ” Rice , the reason everyone is going to check it is for the J. Dilla stomp Do Ya Thang. While the Gunna crew deliver some choice throwback MPC-3000-type badness, the real excitement here is provided by MC Breed with the club wrecker Dat’s Fa Sho. Call it a comeback.
Estonian soul picnic
Apparently, Estonia’s Tallinn Conservatory was a hotbed of choral experimentation back in the mid-60s, and Raivo Dikson assembled the best singers of the bunch for his forward-looking Collage project to put a modern spin on Estonian folk jams. The Collage 12’50 EP (Wool Recordings) collects four tracks from their self-titled Melodiya label debut – Petis Peiu, Üheskoos, Memme Vaev and Kodukinga Kuusik – which swing surprisingly hard in a Novi Singers style. Guaranteed to rock your next Eastern block party.
