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New wave jump-up
Those saddened by the end of Caribana celebrations can keep the mas party vibe going at home with Red Hook‘s 7-inch reissue of the Katzenjammers‘ sweat-inducing steel pan version of Gary Numan ‘s Cars. Ingeniously produced by Gil Markle back in 81, the Katzenjammers rip into the new wave classic with the metal-bashing zeal usually reserved for competition final runs at Yellow Bird and Shaft. Adventurous DJs may want to drop it between the usual Duran Duran and Human League faves to heat up their next 80s party.
Awesome Oxford
The always enjoyable music-themed issue of the Oxford American magazine is out, and, as usual, the annual reminder that the best music writing often doesn’t come from music journalists includes a bonus CD collection of stellar Southern music. This issue includes novelist William Gay retracing the steps of Blind Willie McTell and Daniel Alarcón getting up close to blind street singer Moondog , while Roy Blount Jr. ponders the legacy of Ray Charles , Anthony Doerr wonders why Howard Tate isn’t better known and Sven Birkerts uses his admiration for Lightnin’ Hopkins to come to terms with why he wants to be black. There’s a song from each profiled artist on the accompanying disc, which makes for 29 tracks of the best blues, psych, soul, country, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll you’re likely to find stuck to a magazine.
Cryptic soul survey
Although the 28-track CD comp The Socker! (Continental) doesn’t come with any production credits, recording or song publishing information, the killer collection of “6Ts Super-Soul” nevertheless has all the hallmarks of Tim Warren Crypt label production. Not unlike Warren’s excellent Back From The Grave archival series of raw and obscure garage punk oddities, The Socker! presents the nastier side of oddball rockin’ R&B, bumpin’ boogaloo and scorching soul straight from the scratchy lost 45s of knucklehead savants like Peg-Leg Moffett , Little Hank , Stu Gardner , the 4 Instants and Bohanna . Fab-u-lous!
Anga’s action
Cuban conguero Miguel “Angá” Díaz – known for his masterful percusion work with Irakere and deep jazz threats Steve Coleman and Roy Hargrove – has been long overdue for an album of his own, and Echu Mingua (World Circuit) surpasses all expectations. Not simply a pounding session, Echu Mingua puts Angá between fellow Cuban heavyweights Cachaito López , Chucho Valdés and Malian griot Baba Sissoko for a descarga-style cultural collision Angá calls rumbadelica. The take on Round Midnight is a trip, but wait till you hear the strings kick in on their version of A Love Supreme. Sweet.
