Sticking to Classics

For my second post, I’m going to stick to posting some classics of the hip hop, jazz, and blues genres.

KRS-ONE – A RETROSPECTIVE (2000)

KRS-One is my favorite emcee of all time. Most hip hop heads regard him as the emcee’s emcee; your hip hop collection is not complete if you don’t have any KRS-One in it. He first hit the hip hop scene with the release of Criminal Minded when in the seminal group Boogie Down Productions. A Retrospective is a compilation album of his greatest hits with Boogie Down Productions and some tracks from his first three solo albums, Return of the Boom Bap, the self-titled KRS-One, and I Got Next. This album is great for anyone who is new to KRS-One, or hip hop in general. I highly recommend this to anyone, even the hip hop haters out there, because I assure you that once you heard him speak, you’ll think twice about hip hop music. My favorite cuts would have to be “My Philosophy,” “Sound Of Da Police,” “Criminal Minded,” and the previously unreleased “Essays On BDP-ism.” This truly is a must have for hip hop fans. I’ll never forget the first time I heard “My Philosophy”… I thought I knew what hip hop was about, bumpin’ some 2Pac record… then I heard that track; the Turrentine sax sample (off of that Cherry album I upped early, infact), the beat, and then the voice. Hip hop changed for me that day.

Track Listing:

1. My Philosophy - Boogie Down Productions
2. I'm Still #1 - Boogie Down Productions
3. South Bronx - Boogie Down Productions
4. Sound Of Da Police - KRS-One
5. Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love) - Boogie Down Productions
6. Step Into A World (Rapture's Delight) - KRS-One
7. You Must Learn - Boogie Down Productions
8. Jack Of Spades - Boogie Down Productions
9. The Bridge Is Over - Boogie Down Productions
10. Jimmy - Boogie Down Productions
11. Criminal Minded - Boogie Down Productions
12. Black Cop - KRS-One
13. MC's Act Like They Don't Know - KRS-One
14. Why Is That? - Boogie Down Productions
15. Outta Here - KRS-One
16. Essays On BDP-ism - Boogie Down Productions

Sample it here, buy it here

If you dig this, be sure to post up, and I’ll start upping some of his BDP albums.

JIMMY SMITH – BACK AT THE CHICKEN SHACK (1960)

This is the kind of nasty, back-alley music that makes you wince in ecstasy. With Stanley Turrentine's tenor and Kenny Burrell's guitar sharing solo space, the Hammond master digs in with a blues-drenched shovel. While certainly fluent in the bop idiom, Smith's organ work maintains a direct emotional peg that reflects the swing and jump blues of a previous generation. Turrentine, a relative newcomer at this point (1960), proves a perfect foil for Smith's funky ideas, forgoing flashy bop runs in favor of soulful, expressive passages. Even on chestnuts such as "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street," the foursome boils the melodies down to their barest bluesy core. Back at the Chicken Shack is the prototypical soul-jazz recording.

This is a great introduction to the B3 Hammond playing of Jimmy Smith and the smooth tenor sax of Stanley Turrentine (also see my prior post for the album Cherry). My personal favorites on this album are “Back At The Chicken Shack” and “When I Grow Too Old To Dream,” although they’re all great tracks. A great mix of jazz, blues, and soul.

Track Listing:

1. Back at the Chicken Shack
2. When I Grow Too Old to Dream
3. Minor Chant
4. Messy Bessie
5. On the Sunny Side of the Street

Sample it here, buy it here

JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUESBREAKERS (WITH PETER GREEN) – A HARD ROAD [EXPANDED EDITION] (1967)

Peter Green has got to be one of the greatest (and under-rated) blues guitarists ever to pick up the instrument. A figurehead in the British blues movement, Green inspired B.B. King to say, "He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats." In my humble opinion, this album even surpasses the Beano Album that John Mayall did with Eric Clapton the year before. Peter Green has influenced some of the biggest names of the blues today, including Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa. If you’re a fan of some of that 60s blues, you must check this recording. I spent months looking for this, I finally laid down some cash and got it at Best Buy for around $45, so I hope you all enjoy it!

This set includes the original A Hard Road along with over a dozen tracks of bonus material that Peter Green recorded throughout his short-lived career with John Mayall.

Track Listing:

Disc 1:       Disc 2:
1. Hard Road           1. Looking Back
2. It's Over           2. So Many Roads
3. You Don't Love Me   3. Sitting in the Rain
4. Stumble             4. Out of Reach
5. Another Kinda Love  5. Mama Talk to Your
                          Daughter
6. Hit the Highway     6. Alabama Blues
7. Leaping Christine   7. Curly
8. Dust My Blues       8. Rubber Duck
9. There's Always Work 9. Greeny
10. Same Way           10. Missing You
11. Supernatural       11. Please Don’t Tell
12. Top of the Hill    12. Your Funeral and My
                           Trial
13. Someday (Sorry)    13. Double Trouble
14. Living Alone       14. It Hurts Me Too
15. Evil Woman Blues   15. Jenny
16. All My Life        16. Picture on the Wall
17. Ridin' on the L&N  17. First Time Alone
18. Little by Little      
19. Eagle Eye

Sample it here (part 1) and here (part 2), buy it here

PJ