On this date 19 years ago (1992), the world sadly lost, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant minds in music in Arthur Russell. Even though Arthur is no longer with us, his influence and spirit is very much alive with all of us that deeply cherish the music that he created. To help pay tribute to Arthur on this somber day, I thought I would feature a number of his brilliant compositions. Arthur left this world way too early at the young age of 41 and all of us that have been touched by him and his music continue to miss him and all that he brought to this world.
I'm finding that this is rounding out to be a huge couple of weeks for new releases, especially for Strut Records. Last week, the label partnered up with the Afro-Latin crew Sofrito to release one of the best new compilations of the year in Tropical Discotheque. This week, Strut is releasing the much anticipated debut album by Arthur's Landing. For those that may not know, Arthur's Landing is a group that features many of the musicians and close friends that Arthur Russell collaborated with during his lifetime. These members include Ernie Brooks, Mustafa Ahmed, Joyce Bowden, Steven Hall, Elodie Lauten, Bill Ruyle, John Scherman, and Peter Zummon. If you have read Tim Lawerance's excellent biography on Arthur Russell, titled Hold On To Your Dreams, many of these names will sound very familiar as they are featured throughout the book playing an important part in Arthur's development as a musician and an artist. The whole purpose of this group is to help pay tribute and build from the wide-range vision of Arthur's music. Some of the tracks feature new arrangements of some of Arthur's most notable work including "Miracle 2" which is a new take on "In The Light of The Miracle" and "Love Dancing" which is a new version of "Is It all Over Your Face?", while other songs like "Bobby", "You Can't Go Back", and "Your Motion Says" are re-interpretations of Arthur's lesser known compositions. Even though there is certainly one important member of the group missing, in Arthur Russell himself, Arthur's Landing has nicely captured Arthur's complex vision and nicely funneled it through to these new recordings. It's truly hard to say because Arthur's music was always changing and re-inventing itself, however I would like to think that this album might help shed a little bit of light on what Arthur's music might have sounded like today if he was still with us. At least some of his closest friends and former bandmates have come together and released this great new album that helps give us a little more insight into Arthur's world. Let's Go Swimming!
Since I will be leaving for Paris on Monday and won't be near a computer, my posts next week will be very short, including just a song and a photo. I'm sure everyone can get by fine with the temporary limited approach. So continue to check this site next week, even though I will be away.
If your in Paris next week, please come out to one of the three (if not all three) night's I am deejaying. I would love to meet many new people, along with all those from Paris that have followed/supported this blog and my music/edits over the years.
To end this week, I thought I would leave off with a song I always like to play out while deejaying in Loose Joints 1983 disco classic "Tell You (Today)". By now, I'm sure everyone is aware of the pure brilliance that is Arthur Russell, and this funky track is just one of his many great songs that he wrote and recorded during his life. Even though the song was released during the eighties, the song has an overall late seventies groove to it. It certainly captures that "Disco-not-Disco" sound that seemed to develop shortly after the commercialization of disco during the late seventies. Over time, the disco gem has become one of my favorite Arthur Russell songs. The song's lyrics and uplifting groove seem to always have the ability to put me in a good mood. Overall, like many of Arthur's songs, "Tell You (Today)" is a classic among classics. Enjoy!
This month I'm celebrating the four year anniversary of this blog, and what better way to do that than post my all-time favorite song and one of the earliest tracks to ever appear on this site in Dinosaur's 1978 classic "Kiss Me Again". If there has been one thing that has stayed the same on this site throughout the last four years, it has to have been the constant discussion and sharing of Arthur Russell's music and influence. This track which represents Arthur's first exploration into disco and dance music, was co-produced with legendary Gallery deejay Nicky Siano. Unfortunately, the single was considered by many in the industry at the time as a failure, as the record initially sold very poorly. As I've mentioned in previous posts, Arthur blamed the record's bad showing due to both Jimmy Simpson's more dancefloor-friendly extended mix and Sire Records' lack of promotion and willingness to get behind the twelve-inch single. A better argument for the song's lack of success,in my opinion, is that the track was just well ahead of it's time as many Arthur Russell songs have shown to be. That would explain the reason why the original twelve-inch single continues to be one of the most sought after records by disco collectors worldwide. Regardless of the song's early tough goings, judgement of the track has gotten better over time and "Kiss Me Again" is now looked at as a true disco masterpiece and one that I proudly stand by as my personal favorite track of all-time. Enjoy!
UPDATE: I regret that I forgot to mention that this week (May 21st) we celebrate Arthur's 59 birthday. It's been almost twenty years since he passed at the young age of 40. He obviously left this world way too early, however we will continue to honor him by enjoying and appreciating the music and legacy that he left behind. Happy Birthday Arthur...
I'm almost finished reading Tim Lawerance's excellent Arthur Russell biography Hold On To Your Dreams and it's safe to say that I've learned a lot of insight into the music and life of this incredible artist. One of my favorite sections of the book is the sub-chapter that discusses the recording sessions for Arthur's Dinosaur L album, 24→24 Music. The 1981 record consists of funky left-field classics like "#5 (Go Bang!)", "#1 (You're Gonna Be Clean On Your Bean)", and "#3 (In The Corn Belt)". That being said, the song that has always intrigued me is the album's only live recorded track "#7". This funky live track was recording during the group's 1979 live performance at the avant-garde venue, The Kitchen. The show was slated as a live performance of a disco orchestra, which was a bit controversial at the time, due to the idea of disco being performed at a dedicated avant-garde venue. Never the less, the show went off with mixed results from the people attending the show and "#7" is the only track to have been released from the performance. The funky track is a solid cut that has a lot of energy similar to the other songs that appear on 24→24 Music. My only real complaint about the live track is that it's a bit too short, registering in just over two minutes in length. After listening to this track, I would love to hear the entire recording of that Kitchen performance. I suppose that unless the entire live recording surfaces, "#7" will have to serve as our only artifact to that unique event. Enjoy!
It's the beginning of a new week, therefore let's start it off with a disco classic and personal favorite track of all-time in Dinosaur's 1978 gem "Kiss Me Again". As many probably already know, Dinosaur is the short-lived tag team of Arthur Russell and Nicky Siano. As I continue to read Tim Lawrence's "Hold On to Your Dreams", I was intrigued by the section of the book that covered the recording process and background to this amazing track. According to the book, "Kiss Me Again" completely bombed in the charts and in the record shops. Arthur Russell blamed the record's bad showing to Jimmy Simpson's more dancefloor-friendly extended mix, which he never liked. He also blamed Sire records, who released the record, because of there lack of promotion. Regardless, all of that is history and as time has gone on, I believe the track has continued to receive more and more praise because in my opinion, the song was just a bit ahead of it's time as most of Arthur's songs truly were. Here is the original version of the track. Sit back and enjoy!
I've been spending a lot of my free time lately reading the new Arthur Russell biography Hold On To Your Dreams by Tim Lawrence. As I write this I'm about half way through the book and I'm enjoying every single moment of it. The biography is a very fascinating and revealing look into Arthur's life, his influences, his music, and the people that surrounded him. With each and every page, author Tim Lawrence does an amazing job of highlighting the most intimate details of Arthur's life and music. I hope to do a full review once I finish the book (which will hopefully be soon). In my opinion, Arthur Russell is one of the greatest musicians to ever walk the earth, and unfortunately I will never get the opportunity to meet him. However, Hold On To Your Dreams is giving me probably the closest thing with a true account into Arthur's life. I highly recommend anybody who is interested in Arthur Russell, his music, and/or the downtown avant-garde or disco scenes to pick-up a copy of this fascinating book.
Here is the extended bootleg edit of Arthur Russell's (under the name Indian Ocean) classic cut "Treehouse" which was recently included on The Sleeping Bag Sessions LP. Enjoy!
A couple of weeks ago I was listening to Arthur Russell's Calling Out of Context album for the first time in awhile. As I was listening to the record, I was reminded of how much I really enjoy this timeless album. One of my favorite tracks has always been the short but funky "Make 1, 2" cut, which has always reminded me of something off of Herbie Hancock's "Future Shock" album. With that being said, I always felt like it was a bit too short, being under just three minutes. I decided to take a stab at this track and try extending it out a little bit. I didn't want to mess with the overall feel and structure of the original song too much, just hoping to build on the already amazing song by adding an extended intro, outro, and a few breaks here and there. Overall, I'm happy with how it came out, even as suddle as the edits might seem. This is the first attempt at editing an Arthur Russell producted track, and probably not the last. Hopefully you enjoy the extended edit as much as I do. ENJOY!
While I was thumbing through some of my records this weekend, I came across a bootlegged twelve-inch of Loose Joints' originally unreleased full-length version of "Is It All Over My Face". I realized that I had forgotten that I even owned this record. I immediately played the 1980 classic and was obviously blown away, almost recapturing the same great feeling I had when I first heard the female version of the track years ago. Now this wasn't my first time listening to this record or track, it just obviously had been a while and I definitely needed a refresher on how great of song this eleven-plus minute male vocal lead version is.
From the stories I've been told, this extended version of the track was the original version that Arthur Russell and Steve D'Aquisto, under the name Loose Joints, wrote and recorded before Mel Cheren of West End Records suggested replacing the lead vocals with a female singer. This version, which focuses more on free form instrumentation of horn arrangements and funky percussion, might not have the same dancefloor or club appeal that the A-side female version has, however it does have a unique groove that stands all by itself, providing a more sophisticated musical take on one of dance music's greatest songs.
On this date 19 years ago (1992), the world sadly lost, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant minds in music in Arthur Russell. Even though Arthur is no longer with us, his influence and spirit is very much alive with all of us that deeply cherish the music that he created. To help pay tribute to Arthur on this somber day, I thought I would feature a number of his brilliant compositions. Arthur left this world way too early at the young age of 41 and all of us that have been touched by him and his music continue to miss him and all that he brought to this world. 
