Stone Alliance - Stone Alliance (1976)

The first album by Stone Alliance, in their most famous line-up, the one that featured the great saxophonist Steve Grossman alongside historic members Don Alias and Gene Perla; and it's a treasure of quite adventurous yet surprisingly accessible music.

The unusual trio setting makes for an innovative use of the instruments, and bold compositions by the group, mixing hard funky jazz, latin and afro elements, with a minimal sense of the groove that transcends musical barriers.

The record also includes a killer version of a Stevie Wonder-penned favorite, 'Creepin', that is well worth a listen.

Enjoy it!

Greg

Link in comments...

Chocolate Milk - Chocolate Milk (1976)

The second album of hard funky soul by this great New Orleans band – and it's one of their best! The record's got great production by Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn, and a nice rolling funk groove that never lets up.

Loads of great deep funky cuts, including "Never Ever Do Without You", "Running Away", "Pluck It", and the slowjam 'How About Love'. One of their two truly great LPs!

Enjoy it!

Greg

Link in comments...

West Coast Revival - West Coast Revival (1973)

Let me make up for that (too) long absence with a rare gem of an album, the self-titled effort from Cali-based 'West Coast Revival'. Not much is known about this great vocal trio apart from the musical legacy they carved on this LP, a blend of fantastic vocal harmonies and raw, sunshine-drenched soul, sometimes not unlike their Chicago contemporaries Rasputin's Stash.

The arrangements are especially worth a close listen with a very strong interplay between the singers themselves, and the band. Includes the indie soul masterpiece 'My Mind Is At Ease', plus 'Feelin' Alright' and 'Familiar Places'. A killer!

As usual, the link is in the comments...

Enjoy it!

Greg

William Bowers - Soundtrack #2

Another one from Already Dead Tapes, a bit different than anything else I've ever had on here; this one is an ambient album. The songs leave you in an almost brain-dead state, clearing the mind of all but subconscious thought. Your breathing slows; you float. It's like a soundtrack to cloudwatching; but hey, the label describes it better than I ever could:

William Bowers works primarily in synthesizer, tape, piano, and musique concrete to form a very desolate, cold ambiance. Drawing heavy influence from composers such as Basinski, David Lynch, Philip Glass, and Silas Ciarán, Bowers focuses on mood and atmosphere versus technical composition.

Already Dead Tapes, from their catalog that I've heard so far, has been squeezing out awesome experimental noise/rock/whathaveyou, but being relatively new, I'm getting excited to see what else they'll have to offer in the future. You can listen and download it from here:

http://alreadydeadtapes.bandcamp.com/