Are You Scared of Revolution? The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron & The Watts Prophets
“Time is running out on lifeless serpents reigning over a living Kingdom”. One of the opening lines of The Last Poets’ debut album accurately articulates the zeitgeist felt by radicals on both ends of the political spectrum circa 1970 in America. Reports of police brutality, race riots and assassinations were flooding the news. Long-time FBI...
The RAH Band Re-edited
The RAH Band were a studio group put together by the English producer Richard Anthony Hewson. Now 67 years old, Hewson drew dubious inspiration from his initials and formed the band in 1977, putting together and releasing singles comprising a mixture of collaborative live performance and rudimentary electronic synthesis and drum programming. One of those...
Thundercat – The Golden Age of the Apocalypse
Just when you thought the Brainfeeder camp was becoming the benchmark for what many a blogger likes to refer to as “Glitch Hop” and “Wonky”, the label headed by Steven Ellison (better known as Flying Lotus) took a couple of unforeseen left turns and released a string of albums that presented the powerhouse label in...
Grover Washington, Jr. – Live At The Bijou
I still remember when I heard this totally great Grover Washington, Jr. record for the first time. And even with many years behind me, these fantastic early Kudu sessions still strike me like a natural force! Live At The Bijou was recorded in May 1977 at the Bijou Cafe in Philadelphia with such giants like...
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Festive Floorshakers: On the Search for the Finest Christmas Cuts
As far as music is concerned, christmas knows no boundaries. But, scratch beneath the surface and you begin find a festive sub-culture that may just get you through December in one piece. So, cast your skepticism aside, grab yourself an eggnog, and enjoy a tasty serving of the finest, funniest and most obscure christmas cuts...
Sam Cooke – Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963
The year is 1963. Sam Cooke is at the height of his fame and is playing a gig in Miami, in the still partially segregated South. The recordings of this gig were released as the Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963 album on RCA in 1985, and are among the most vivid and intimate...
Various Artists – It’s Christmas in Motown
An absolute essential for any Christmas get-together is It’s Christmas in Motown, first released in 1970 in an attempt to cash in on the worldwide popularity of the Jackson 5, issued in the UK on the Music for Pleasure / Sounds Superb label. Though cynics would no doubt whine that it was a hastily assembled...
“Everybody Sweat” by Duke Slammer: Funky and on Vinyl!
Duke Slammer has just burst on to the scene with his huge package (chichi) of funky synth goodies for all cultured listeners and DJ’s out there who like to broaden their horizons. Officially released on November 14th these nu-funk monsterjams have been on heavy rotation as promos all over Europe with rave reviews from all...
Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do
Mayer Hawthorne returns with his neo-Motown sound to tackle “that difficult second album”. iCrates takes a look at how he got on… Mayer Hawthorne’s first album A Strange Arrangement was just that; a collection buckled together with Hawthorne lending his hand – through necessity more than virtuosity – to each and every instrument, carefully mimicking...
Alexander O’Neal – The Gentleman of Soul
Alexander O'Neal was one of the biggest soul crooners and multi-million album selling artist of the late 1980's. He released "Hearsay" in 1987 that went gold and stayed in the UK charts for solid 2 years. iCrates Magazine gives you a full review of that multi platinum selling album on vinyl, including background info,...
MC Serch Return of the product
Imagine storytelling long before the term storytelling was even born; imagine the first white rapper (along the Beastie boys) who shook his ass and spoke his mouth when Hip Hop was in its prime and mainly the channel of the black Ghetto voice. Welcome to the world of MC Serch, the most respected white...
War – Live!
The Californian funk/fusion band War is considered to be one of the best live acts of the 1970's. These seven musicians were unique in their style and dedicated to live performances. While touring constantly during the early 70's to promote their records, this fine live double vinyl album was recorded in Chicago, in 1972. Just...
