Eclectic Grooves

While the title of this post sounds like one of my own mix-tape creations, it's actually the title of the latest encyclopedic, music-reference tome from the prolific author Vernon Joynson. Over the past several years, I've been intrigued with the plethora of music reference books available which highlight the most obscure artists in the pantheon of music.  The first books I heard about that were written by Vernon Joynson were Fuzz, Acid and Flowers and The Tapestry of Delights, but the price of these has always been so exorbitant that I could only hold the vision that there would be a new pressing that was more affordable. Recently, I discovered that he had released a revision of one of his earlier books Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmares from Far Away Lands Revisited that would showcase music coming out of Turkey, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and the Middle East. After doing some research about the cost of landing a copy of the aforementioned A Melange of Musical Pip...

Monomono- Dawn of Awareness Lately, I have been on a psychedelic afro-beat kick. You will probably be into Monomono's Dawn of Awareness if you dug the Chrissy Zebby Tembo from last week . However, their sound is more reminiscent of Fela Kuti's syncopated afro-beat funk than Tembo's afro-psych fuzz guitar sound. "Dawn of Awareness" was released on Capitol Records in 1974 to little critical acclaim. Friday Jumbo, the leader of Monomono was a member of Fela's group before he joined forces with vocalist Joni Hasstrup and bassist Kenneth Okulolo to form Monomono. The opening track entitled "Awareness Is What You Need" really nails the Fela afro-beat sound while still creating it's own sound. "Ipade Aladun" is the longest track on here at just over eight minutes and it really cooks with soulful vocals laid over a bed of funky organs and keyboards. Lots of breaks and weird sound effects for the beat junkies on this track alone. At just under f...

Johnny Jenkins- Ton Ton Macoute, 1970, Capricorn Johnny Jenkins recorded this legendary funk-inflected swamp blues album in 1970 at the ripe age of 31. Jenkins was a huge influence on the playing of Jimi Hendrix and on Ton Ton Macoute, Jenkins concocts a heady brew of Hendrix-flavored psychedelia mixed with gospel, delta blues and swamp rock. Beck liked the sound of his rendition of the Dr. John classic "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" so much that he sampled the infectious drum beat for his hit song "Loser". On "Sick and Tired" Johnny really funks it up with an infectious mix of wah wah guitar, tight beats and gutsy vocals that really make you believe in the power of soul. Other standouts include the psychedelic gospel soul of "Voodoo and You" and the wonderful organ and slide guitar driven "Leaving Trunk". Check out this underappreciated classic in all it's glory while the getting's good. Get it here Apryl Fool- S/T, 1969, Label ...