EJ on the mellow (read: overworked) tip. Droppin' it.

Old School Wednesday: Out Of Thin Air, Volume III.
(Problems with javascript/browser? Click here.)

Podcast/mix available here. [Click to play or right click-save as to download.]

01 - Brick - Dazz
02 - Narada Michael Walden - Divine Emotions
03 - George McRae - I Get Lifted
04 - Ca$hflow - Mine All Mine
05 - Third World - Try Jah Love
06 - Brass Construction - Right Place
07 - Deniece Williams - I Found Love
08 - Soul II Soul - People
09 - Ramsey Lewis - Whisper Zone
10 - The Cars - Drive
11 - Jevetta Steele - Love Is A Losing Game
12 - Michael Franks and Patti Austin - Now You're In My Dreams
13 - LeVert - Feel Real
14 - Aretha Franklin - United Together

Well, I started out with Brick and Narada Michael Walden, but what got me was my brother-in-law, who was playing I Get Lifted from his truck. That track was one of the tightest tracks I can remember from back in the day. Then, from Larry Blackmon's label Atlanta Artists from the 80s is Ca$hflow's Mine All Mine, followed by Third World and Stevie Wonder's Try Jah Love. I had been feeling Brass Construction, so I pulled out Right Place, and I wanted to hear Deniece's I Found Love again.

I followed Soul II Soul and Ramsey Lewis' Whisper Zone (love that instrumental) with The Cars' Drive. It's all about Jevetta Steele's (remember Calling You?) melancholy track Love Is A Losing Game, one of my favorite cuts off her album Here It Is.Michael and Patti's Now You're In My Dreams is off the album Skin Dive, and I followed it by Nikki's favorite LeVert cut Feel Real and Aretha Franklin's wonderful cut to close with, United Together.

Take it light.

In a quick and fast way to prepare for the holiday, I went ahead and put together a euro groove mix, one that was actually implemented some 2 years ago. Since I don't have much time due to holiday preparations and huge workloads, let me slide the tracks and the podcast for you.

Old School Wednesday: Melanin Not Required, Volume I.
(Problems with javascript/browser? Click here.)

Podcast/mix available here. [Click to play or right click-save as to download.]

01 - Yazoo - Situation
02 - Aha - Take On Me
03 - The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another
04 - Paul Young - Come Back And Stay
05 - Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart
06 - Duran Duran - A View To A Kill (From A View To A Kill)
07 - Scritti Politti - Perfect Way
08 - Talk Talk - It's My Life
09 - The Art of Noise - Close (To the Edit)
10 - David Bowie - China Girl
11 - Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
12 - Elton John - Benny and the Jets
13 - Go West - Goodbye Girl
14 - Howard Jones - No One Is To Blame
15 - The Police - King of Pain

I'll be putting more of my critique in as time permits. Until then have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Take it light.

In tribute to the one and only Gerald Levert:

Old School Wednesday: Gerald.
(Problems with javascript/browser? Click here.)

Podcast/mix available here. [Click to play or right click-save as to download.]

01 - Levert - Casanova
02 - Troop - Mamacita
03 - Rude Boys - My Kinda Girl
04 - Men At Large - Use Me
05 - Levert - Pull Over
06 - Gerald Levert - Private Line
07 - Rude Boys - Written All Over Your Face
08 - Gerald LeVert - Can You Handle It
09 - Gerald Levert and Miki Howard - That's What Love Is
10 - Levert - Pop Goes My Mind
11 - Levert - All Season
12 - Gerald Levert - Hurting For You
13 - Gerald Levert - Baby Hold On To Me
14 - Men at Large - I'm So Alone
15 - Rude Boys - Are You Lonely For Me
16 - Gerald Levert - School Me

Admittedly, this mix started out as a challenge, because when one thinks of Gerald Levert, the thought of smooth silky ballads comes to mind, and I needed a little more variety. I then remembered the trio Levert and the production company Trevel Productions that he handled with Mark Gordon, and that made things much easier. I went through the vaults and thought that I'd pull out the two most uptempo tracks I knew (Casanova and Mamacita), and then Rude Boys and Men At Large popped immediately into my head, which is how they came into play throughout this mix. I remembered the Use Me video which made me smile and was able to make me pull out the other tracks like My Kinda Girl, I'm So Alone and Are You Lonely For Me with ease.

My favorite Levert tracks are well represented here, Pop Goes My Mind and All Season, but it's also the tunes with Mikki Howard (That's What Love Is) and his father Eddie Levert (Baby Hold On To Me) that are staples. It's also about tracks like Pull Over (forgot how funky that track was), Private Line (my favorite Gerald Levert cut), and Hurting For You which round out this playlist well.

May Gerald Levert rest in peace. Take it light.

EJ's out of nowhere. On the way to Chicago for this weekend, so I'm all ears for being whereever you are. I'll be playing this on the plane:

Old School Wednesday: Out Of Thin Air, Volume II.
(Problems with javascript/browser? Click here.)

Podcast/mix available here. [Click to play or right click-save as to download.]

01 - Mass Production - Firecracker
02 - Lakeside - It's All The Way Live
03 - Zapp and Roger - I Can Make You Dance
04 - Billy Ocean - Stay The Night
05 - Jocelyn Brown - Somebody Else's Guy
06 - Emotions - Rejoice
07 - Howard Jones - Things Will Only Get Better
08 - Foreigner - Urgent
09 - Prince - Sexy Dancer
10 - Slave Featuring Steve Arrington - Just A Touch of Love
11 - Foster Sylvers - Misdemeanor
12 - Martha Wash - Now That You're Gone
13 - Melba Moore & Kashif - I'm In Love
14 - Perri - Someone Like You
15 - Anita Baker - Mystery

Mass Production and Lakeside are starting this one out, as well as the Zapp & Roger track I Can Make You Dance . It's hard to keep the beat going after these three funk tracks, but I managed to find Billy Ocean's Stay The Night, which is rarely known these days. J-Notes recommended Someone Else's Guy as well as Emotions' Rejoice, and I was happy to pull them out.

I pulled out two of my favorite pop tracks from the 80s, Things Can Only Get Better and Urgent, two cuts I remember playing quite a bit. It was all about Prince after that, with Sexy Dancer on my mind, and my alltime favorite track from Slave, Just A Touch Of Love. I can listen to that track everyday, especially with Mark Adams killing that bassline.

I know everyone remembers Misdemeanor, always a classic track. I then slow it down with Martha's Now That You're Gone, the requested Someone Like You which just reminds me over and over how good they are (what's up, Yvette!) and cap this off with Anita's rendition of Manhattan Transfer's Mystery.

Take it light.

EJ's out of nowhere. In between NYC and Chitown --- and then back to NYC.... All I can say is I'm having a great time doing it all (major props to Bernie, Donald, and Phillippe). I'm trying to write up my exploits while balancing everything else. In the meanhile:

Old School Wednesday: Out Of Thin Air.
(Problems with javascript/browser? Click here.)

Podcast/mix available here. [Click to play or right click-save as to download.]

01 - Jesse Johnson - Lovestruck
02 - Duran Duran - The Reflex
03 - The Power Station - Some Like It Hot
04 - The Jacksons - Heartbreak Hotel
05 - Rick James & Teena Marie - I'm Just A Sucker For Your Love
06 - Cameo - Be Yourself
07 - Sheena Easton - Sugar Walls
08 - Prince - Mountains
09 - Kashif - Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart
10 - Stevie Wonder - All I Do
11 - The Blackbyrds - Rock Creek Park
12 - Perri - The Flight
13 - Isley Brothers - Groove With You
14 - Chaka Khan - Papillon

You know I had to break it on down with Jesse Johnson, who had been on my mind for a while. This R&B track tinged with a rock solo at the end is no joke. Duran Duran and The Power Station are welcome pop tracks that were played on R&B stations back in the day (and yeah, I had the cassette tapes of both of their albums).

For me, the instrumentation of Heartbreak Hotel is already enough to make it a fantastic track (horns, guitar solo, piano, and percussion out of this world), but then to have The Jackson's vocals, serious bridges, and lyrics? Definitely an unforgettable single. The track segues into Rick James and Teena Marie funkin' it up with I'm Just A Sucker For Your Love. When's the last time you heard this track...and the unforgettable Sugar Walls?

Cameo, Prince, Kashif, and Stevie follow, all masters in their own right (although I gotta say, All I Do is still one of my favorite Stevie Wonder tracks, and fits into just about any party). The Blackbyrd's Rock Creek Park is also a classic, a track with woodwinds and percussion that's jazzy but at the same time sultry. The combination still works.

Perri's The Flight was the first release from Perri, a fantastically underrated group that sings with Anita Baker. I got a chance to see them live and it was nothing short of spectacular. I then close it off with The Isley Brothers and Chaka Khan's Papillon (aka Hot Butterfly) which boasts backgrounds from several wonderful vocalists, including Luther Vandross.

Take it light.