D.J. Rogers "D.J. Rogers"

Sorry, I've been lagging a bit on the posting lately. Life has been busy, nuff said. Hopefully this one will make up for it. It's a favorite of mine that I haven't seen yet in blogland. So, enough of the blah, blah, blah and on to the album......................

This album has always held a special place in my heart because it was brought to my attention by a good friend of mine who has since past away. I can still remember the first time he played it for me and told me it was Sly Stone. I kept thinking that I had somehow missed a Sly album somewhere between “Riot” and “Fresh”, which really threw me for a loop. Well, eventually he told me it was D.J. Rogers and showed me the album. I would spend the next few years trying to track down this record to no avail. Ironically, I finally did procure a copy of it in a trade with my same buddy (funny how record karma works sometimes). To this day I still have never run across another copy of it. So this one is courtesy of my good friend Keith who’s impeccable taste in music was unparalleled.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Mr. DeWayne Julius (D.J.) Rogers and the work he did on the RCA and Columbia labels in the late 70’s. Although he never achieved major stardom, D.J. did score a few hits over the years, most notably “Say you love me” which was later covered by Natalie Cole. The album below is his first solo effort and was released in 1973 by Leon Russell’s Shelter label. It might be easy to dismiss this effort as some sort of Sly Stone rip-off, which upon listening to cuts like “March On” and “Bail Out” out of the context of the album, may seem like a valid criticism. However, after listening to the album as whole one begins to understand that D.J. is far from a Sly impersonator. The album's mix of down home gut-bucket funk backed by a gospel choir with heavy soul vocals in the front is a sound that is all D.J. It's the kind of album that just plain and simple delivers the goods.




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Bobby Watson/ Andre Lewis/ Keith Hatchell – Bass
Fred Allen/ E.T. Thomas/ Scott Sansby/ Ron Woods – Drums
David T. Walker/ Marlo Henderson – Guitar
Rhonge Southern – Rhythm Guitar
D.J. Rogers – Vocals, Clavinet, Keyboards
Kenneth Loper – Organ
Clarence McDonald – Piano
“Sod” – Horns
Stan Lee Ensemble - Background Vocals under the direction of D.J. Rogers
Lomie Washburn, Patty Hall, Rhonge Southern, Maxayn Lewis, Andre Lewis, Marlo Henderson, Marsha Smith and Sigidi - Background Vocals

Roger, if your feelin' it let me know in the comments

Peace................ Dr. Fever

Pete Eye Trio

The Doctor is back with a little mystery platter for everyone. Here’s the story, I picked up this LP at a record show from a fellow collector. He snagged it from a thrift store in Missouri while on a road trip through the Midwest. There is very little I can tell you about this record being that it is essentially the poster child for a private press LP. The front cover is comprised of a stock image and there is absolutely nothing on the back cover. It was recorded in Independence Missouri at Multiple Subterranean Recording Studios (sweet name, huh?) and is listed as Cavern Custom Recording #41287. Besides the names of the players there’s not a lot more that I can give you, even the vinyl is missing a recording date. My best guess is that it was recorded sometime in the mid to late 70’s by a local club act and received only regional distribution in the Kansas City area. Well, this is Pete’s big chance to get some worldwide recognition through the blogoshere. Good luck Pete!!

OK, how about a quick break down of the album. The album is a pretty standard affair, made up of a smattering of cover songs and some originals. Pete switches between the Fender Rhodes and or Wurlitzer elp and acoustic piano, often times back and forth within the individual cuts. There is a smoking cover of “Sissy Strut” that opens the album which is hands down my personal fave but there are other nice moments here including: original “Good Bait” and a decent cover of “Sumthin You Got”. The only downside occurs when Pete decides to grace us with his vocal styling, for all of you who hated the Ben Sidran I posted, be warned that Pete’s voice is similar if not worse. Even with its vocal flaws the album is still a pretty nice showpiece of private press Americana that deserves to be rediscovered. So hop in your musical time machine and take a trip down to Missouri, crack a brewski and enjoy the musical magic of the Pete Eye Trio.




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Pete Eye – Fender Rhodes and or Wurlitzer Electric Piano and Acoustic Piano
John Hatton – Acoustic Bass
Barry Gould – Drums

Pete Eye or nay, let me know in the comments section.

Peace………………..Dr. Fever



My bad, just found a few things on the web about Pete here and the album here. Our internet has been down the last few days so I was unable to do my usual research on this post.

Joe Pass "Guitar Interludes"

Below lies an LP that has eluded my collection for years and thanks to Katonah, it has finally graced my ears. After spotting my request, he graciously provided this 320 vinyl rip for everyone to enjoy. Your generosity is greatly appreciated, Thanks Katonah!!!!

So let’s see what I can tell you about this LP. This was recorded at a bit of a crossroads in Pass’s career. His recording contract with the World Pacific label had just ended and he was spending most of his time doing session work in the studios of L.A. Pass recorded “Guitar Interludes” for the small Discovery label in 1969 in an attempt to cash in on the “now” sound of the day. Actually the album is really like two different albums on one disc. The first part is made up of different interludes of Pass unaccompanied on guitar. This is actually what he would become famous for later on his recordings for Norman Granz’s Pablo Records. The second half of the album is of Pass recording with a group of singer’s with a rather funky rhythm section backing him up. This yielded the Axelrodesque track “A Time For Us” which was featured on Dusty Fingers Volume 13 and has made “Guitar Interludes” a beatdigger classic for some time now. Although the songs with the singers may sound somewhat dated today and would probably make a jazz purist/Pass fan a touch nauseous, I think they deserve some reexamination. When taken out of the context of Pass’s career and what one would expect from the man know as “The Virtuoso”, the cuts amply hold their own against some of the critically acclaimed sunshine pop work of the time by groups such as “The 5th Dimension” or “The Association”. So let’s give “Guitar Interludes” a second chance, turn off your inner jazz snob and just enjoy the music.



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Boomp3.com

Joe Pass - guitar
Mike Melvoin - keyboards
Monty Budwig - bass
Colin Bailey - drums
Victor Feldman - percussion
Vincent Terri - rhythm guitar
Jess Ehrlich on 7 - cello
Gwen Johnson, Jim Bryant, John Bahler, Nancy Adams, Vangie Carmichael, Bob Tebow & Gene Merlino - voices
Robert C. Smale - arranger and conductor of personnel on 9-13
Del Kacher - guitar & voices
Jim Hughart - bass
Frank Severino - drums

Tracks 1-8 were recorded at Amigo Studios, L.A. on August 20, 1969. Tracks 9-13 were recorded at California Recorders, Hollywood on April 14, 1970 in L.A.· 1-6 are the first recording of Joe's unaccompanied solo playing.

Don't forget to thank Katonah for this essential contribution. I will hopefully get another post of my own up before the weekend.

Peace...................Dr. Fever

Oliver Sain "Main Man"

OK, here’s a RARE hunk of soul for ya’ll to sink your teeth into for a stretch. This scarce piece of wax took me literally years to track down and a squeaky clean copy of it still eludes me to this day. “Main Man” is Sain’s funky debut, which was released in 1972 on Abet. When it was issued Sain had already been in the music biz for over 20 years playing the part of writer, producer, talent scout and musician. An icon of the St. Louis music scene, he is possibly second only to Ike Turner as far influence on the local sound. On “Main Man” Sain delivers the goods, his signature big brassy sound is soaked in a greasy style rhythm section who keep the playing simple and tight. It’s the perfect setting to enjoy “The Man With the Golden Horn” in. So sit down, relax and let ole Oliver serve you up a heaping helping of soul food. Hope your hungry.

Still curious? More bio info on Oliver Sain here



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Try to find this record here

Charles Hayes – Alto & Baritone Sax
Bob Elliot – Trumpet
Phil West – Guitar
Earl Wright - Guitar
Paul Jackson - Bass
Sammy Harris – Drums
Oliver Sain – Alto & Tenor Sax, Organ and Vibraphone

Here's to filling that hole in your soul with some deep grooves that'll make you move.
Your comments are the fuel that powers my posting.

Peace.................Dr. Fever

Ben Sidran "Puttin' in Time on Planet Earth"

I love this guy, a man after my own heart!! Ben Sidran has pulled off a long eclectic career in the music biz that spans nearly 40 years. He’s played producer, musician, lyricist, author, journalist, and just about anything else you could imagine in the field. Pretty fascinating guy and by the way, he also wrote the lyrics for college pal Steve Miller’s stoner-rock classic “Space Cowboy”. More bio here.

This is Sidran from 1972 on the Blue Thumb label and features a pretty impressive lineup of players. I’m not the biggest fan of the more lyrical numbers that predominate the 1st part of the album but side 2 is a different story. The first time I heard “Now I Live (And Now My Life Is Done)” I was absolutely floored. I said, “Who is that?” When my buddy showed me an album cover of a guy who looked like Cat Stevens leaning on some sort of rock structure, I was somewhat perplexed. Then I realized I had been let into some sort of secret club. It still never fails that when I spin this track out, there’s always someone who asks me, “Who is this?” I usually just smile and show them the cover. “Wanna join the club?”

Buy the CD here

Bill Perkins - Saxophone
Tony Williams - Drums
Phil Upchurch - Bass, Guitar, Drums
Tim Davis - Vocals (bckgr)
Curley Cooke - Guitar
Laudir Soares de Oliveria - Percussion
Steve Miller - Guitar
Jim Peterman - Organ
Frank Rosolino - Trombone
Ben Sidran - Percussion, Piano, Electric Piano, Vocals
Jose Soares - Percussion
Clyde Stubblefield - Drums, Bass
Sam Linde - Cymbals


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Boomp3.com

More from Mr. Sidran? You make the call in the comments.

Peace.................Dr. Fever

R.I.P. Black Moses

Just got the news on this one, what a sad day. He was just here in PDX about a month ago for our annual "Waterfront Blues Festival". Unfortunately I was DJing and missed his performance. His death is hitting me hard tonite. May the beauty of his music provide an eternal exitence for a man who was a pillar of the sound we call SOUL.

Gabor Szabo "Dreams"

OK, here's a quick post of one of my favorite Gabor Szabo records. This one was produced and played on by Gary McFarland for his short lived Syke label. It's hard for me to completely sum this album up because it seems to contain a certain sort of magic that goes beyonds the power of the pen. It was recorded in 1968 amongst a flurry of musical experimentation where many styles were beginning to cross pollinate each other and really blur the lines of conventional categorization. The best I can come up with is something like "psychedelic gypsy jazz". There was a nice article in "Wax Poetics" #13 that goes in depth over the specifics of the recording sessions. If the album really intrigues you, it might be worth hunting it down for the read.

buy the cd here
even better, the record here

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boomp3.com

Your thoughts are always appreciated in the comments section.

Peace.............Dr. Fever

Oh, almost forgot. For all you Kenny Barron fans, Wara Katsu left a little treat for everyone in the comments section of "Lucifer". Give him a shout if you enjoy it much as I did!
Thank You!!!! Thank You!!!!