KOSMO's VINYL of the Week

Patti Smith, "People Have the Power"

10/30/2020

KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week, although we are in the Hit Factory Recording Studio of 1988, we are also very much in the America of Here & Now for Patti Smith's "People Have The Power", first released on Arista in June 1988...

"Round my house, Patti Smith is known as "Saint Patti" or "Notre Dame des Colombes" (our lady of the doves) and is held in high regard not only as a rock'n'roll singer, poet and writer, but also as a kick-ass mother and wife.

This one, co-written and co-produced with her husband, the late Fred "Sonic" Smith (ex-MC5), is a regular go-to for me, whenever political anxiety rears its head. A kind of Psalm 23, if you will." - KV

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Paul Revere & the Raiders, "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone"

10/23/2020

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are in Columbia Studios, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood in early 1966 for Paul Revere & The Raiders' "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", from their "Midnight Ride" LP, first released on Columbia Records on 6th May 1966...

"Introduced to me by The Sex Pistols as a cover of a Monkees tune, this is the original version of the song. It was written by the professional songwriting duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and produced by Terry Melcher (son of Doris Day and witness at the Manson trial).

Starting out in Idaho, The Raiders (due to an embrace of a hokey 3 cornered hat image), rarely get the recognition they deserve as a popular garage band. By all accounts, this line up could kick ass !" - KV

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Delroy Wilson, "Conquer Me"

10/16/2020

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are Dynamic Sounds, 15 Bell Road, Kingston, Jamaica for Delroy Wilson's "Conquer Me", produced by Bunny Striker Lee and released no later than 1972...

"Delroy Wilson was one of the early star singers of what was to become known as Reggae Music, he first recorded for Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in 1962. Indeed, this tune, sometimes released with the prefix "Never" or "Trying To", was first recorded for Dodd's Studio One label. But it is this early 70s or late 60s version, produced by the recently departed Bunny Striker Lee, that is the version played round our place.

My wife Jennifer is a big Delroy Wilson fan and his "Greatest Hits" on Jaguar gets plenty o' plays !" - KV

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Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela, "Never"

10/9/2020

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are in Livingston Recording Studies, West London for Hugh Masekela and Tony Allen's "Never (Lagos Never Gonna Be The Same)" from their album "Rejoice", released this year on World Circuit...

"Trumpeter Hugh Masekela and drummer Tony Allen are two giants of African music who had never recorded together before this. Recorded in 2010, it was only finished after Masekela's death at age 78 in 2018. Sadly it was to be the final studio album for both of them, with Tony Allen leaving us this April, in Paris, aged 79.

This cut is a tribute to Allen's long time associate Fela Kuti, with Masakela, also a friend of Fela's, taking the vocal as well as playing horn. I might have missed this if it wasn't for my Man in Manchester, Dave Bennett, again !" - KV

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Malcolm X, "No Sell Out"

10/2/2020

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KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are in the New York City of 1983 for the Keith LeBlanc produced Malcolm X "No Sell Out", first released on Tommy Boy...

"By 1983, I was spending as much time in the U.S. (mostly NYC) as I was in England, and when this hit the streets of New York, it hit big. Keith LeBlanc was a white drummer for Sugar Hill Records playing on many of their hits, but a dispute with the label led this to be released on the rival Tommy Boy Records. The record, which includes samples from Malcolm X's recorded speeches, was sanctioned by Malcom's wife Betty Shabazz, and the family received royalties from its sale.

It was one of the first records with a spoken word sample over a beat to reach a wider audience than the then regular Hip Hop crowd." - KV

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