KOSMO's VINYL of the Week

Run DMC, "Rock Box"

1/29/2021

KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are at Greene Street Recording studio, 112 Greene Street, Soho, New York City for Run DMC's "Rock Box", first released on their self-titled debut LP on Profile Records in 1984...

"Having got to know Russell Simmons through Kurtis Blow, I was aware of Run DMC from the get go. Here was a hip hop outfit that presented itself pretty much as it did on the street. Their debut was, for me, the first Rap LP that was strong from start to finish and I played the hell out of it, although mostly on a boombox cassette.

Who would have thought that my favourite Heavy Metal record of all time would be made by two African American dudes from Hollis, Queens, but it was and it still is !" - KV

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Otis Redding, "A Change is Gonna Come"

1/22/2021

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are back in the Stax Recording Studio, 926 E. McLemore Ave., Memphis, on July 9th or 10th, 1965, for Otis Redding's version of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come", first released on the "Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul" LP on Volt...

"Sam Cooke wrote this song around Christmas 1963 and it was first released by him as a b-side. Cooke said it was unlike any other song he had ever written and may have only performed it once live. Otis Redding recorded his version in the year after Cooke's death and it is one of three Cooke songs on the "Otis Blue" LP.

Otis Redding is my favourite singer of all time and "Otis Blue" the first LP I ever owned, it is without a doubt one of the masterpieces of Soul Music - if you don't own it you should." - KV

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Ronnie Lane, "Roll On Babe"

1/15/2021

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are near the village of Hyssington on the Welsh border with Shropshire, for Ronnie Lane's version of Derroll Adams' "Roll On Babe", first released on the "Anymore For Anymore" LP on GM in July 1974...

"I recently read that Yo La Tengo had just recorded this, and although their version is a faithful cover of Ronnie's arrangement, it is in fact a cover of a cover. Bass player, singer and songwriter Ronnie Lane was the foundation of both The Small Faces and the later, taller version. He walked away from The Faces at the peak of their popularity and also away from all the trappings of the rock star lifestyle. He was an unpretentious man, who wanted to live an unpretentious life, and made unpretentious music. Sadly he died of multiple sclerosis aged 51 in 1997, having lived with the disease for over 20 years.

The phrase "diamond geezer" comes to mind whenever I'm thinking of him." - KV

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"Georgia" by Tiggs da Author

1/8/2021

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week, although we are in the London of 2015, we are also celebrating the current turn of events in the place of the song's title, "Georgia", recorded by Tiggs Da Author and first released in July 2015 by RCA...

"Tiggs Da Author is a Tanzania-born, North London-raised (by Ghanian parents), rapper/singer. I shall not pretend to know anything else about him, but it was one of my two sons that put him on my radar 2 - 3 years ago.

I do, however, know more than I care to about Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader in Waiting. To all the good folks of Georgia, I Salute You !" - KV

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Jackie Wilson, "Reet Petite"

1/1/2021

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are in the New York City of 1957 for Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite", produced by Dick Jacobs and first released on Brunswick in August 1957...

"Detroit-born Jackie Wilson first came to fame as a member of Billy Ward and His Dominoes, where he was Clyde McPahatter's replacement. His solo debut, "Reet Petite", (co-written by Berry Gordy) was a minor hit, but it did become a UK#1 in 1986, almost 3 years after Jackie's death. It is said that his acrobatic live performances would send the ladies in the Apollo Theater's audience into a frenzy.

In late 1975, Jackie fell into a coma as a result of a heart attack, and I am proud to say that The Clash played a benefit concert in Detroit to help with his medical bills." - KV

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