Monday 22 December 2014

Strictly Christmas 2014



A Ram-Pa-Pam-Pam !

Once Again - It's Strictly Christmas !!!


Some of you may well have noticed by now that the Strictly Biz crew usually be dropping gifts down your chimneys around about this time of year.
This is true.
And even though Old Father Flair has heard that a few (or most) of you have been bad boys & girls.
But this is the world of boom baps where bad means good.
So, rather than spending days trying to decide how that would work, I think it's probably best to just let you all in on the Christmas cheer.
Then, those of you who feel undeserving of the merriment, due to your terrible doings in 2014, can do the right thing & delete these joints the instant you access them, then listen to Coldplay until you turn into a puddle.

OK, now we can proceed with the festivities.


Here at the Strictly Business HQ we are all about the love.
But we know that it's pretty rare for us to deal with the smoother moments in life.

We like shit hard.

Hard beats - hard rhymes - HardNoise - hard boiled - hard nips - hard to earn - e.t.c...

But we can't all be mean mugging & thugging 24/7 can we now.

This is the time to spread love & spend time with the people you want to be with.
So, even though we all love those classic festive joints from previous volumes of Strictly Christmas, a sense of occasion is rather necessary.
As soon as Christmas eve hits & all the hectic bullshit is done & dusted, crack open the special shit & smooth the fuck out to this year's seasonal selection.

The first part is crammed with legendary voices making all those songs that fuck with our heads all December sound nice again.
The second part is another seasonal reggae selection with some lovely spins on those festive standards.
Once again, the point of these particular selections is to offer an antidote to Christmas music.


As I type this, there is yet another clips show on TV filled with nobcockles yakking on about fucking Fairytale Of New York again.
I'm not dissing that track, it's cool & stuff.

But is it as good as James Brown's "Soulful Christmas" ???

Is it fuck.

So there ain't no Slade or Shakey here, this selection is fresher than a Fanny Craddock trifle.

Well, in all fairness, most things are fresher than a Fanny Craddock trifle.
Fanny's trifles are good for up to three weeks or more.

What ?

Three weeks ??

A trifle ???

That really can't be good for your eyebrows !

Oh dear, Flair's gone off on one again.
Nobody knows what the fuck i'm talking about.
Should probably get to the music then.


Strictly Business presents -
Strictly Christmas 2014 pt1

Booker T & The MGs - Jingle Bells
Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz, It's Christmas
Charles Bradley - Everyday Is Christmas (When I'm Lovin' You)
Diplomats Of Solid Sound feat The Diplomettes - Let It Snow
Donny Hathaway - This Christmas
Freddie King - I Hear Jingle Bells
Honey & The Bees - Jing Jing A Ling
Ike & Tina Turner - Merry Christmas Baby
Isaac Hayes - Mistletoe & Me
JD McDonald - Boogaloo Santa Claus
Jimmy Jules & The Nuclear Soul System - Xmas Done Got Funky
Jimmy McGriff - Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town/White Christmas
Jimmy Reed - Christmas Present Blues
Lou Rawls - Little Drummer Boy
Marvin Gaye - I Want To Come Home For Christmas
Otis Redding - Merry Christmas, Baby
Solomon Burke - Presents For Christmas
Sound On Sound Productions - Season's Greetings
Stevie Wonder - That's What Christmas Means To Me
The Emotions - Black Christmas
The Gems feat Minnie Ripperton - Love For Christmas
The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
The Ohio Players - Happy Holidays pts 1 & 2
The Olympic Cyclone Band - Jingle Bells
The Rotary Connection - Christmas Child
The Salem Travelers - Letter For Christmas
The Temptations - Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Wild Honey - Angel's Christmas
William Bell - Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday
Zebra - Christmas Morning


Strictly Business presents -
Strictly Christmas 2014 pt2

Alton Ellis & The Flames - Praise Jah It's Christmas
Anthony Selassie - Rub A Dub Christmas
Assassin - Christmas Is Here
Barrington Levy - One Christmas Day
Bounty Killer - Falling Angel
Brent Dowe - Christmas In Jamaica
Cutty Ranks - Cutty's Christmas Time
Delroy Melody - Christmas Time
Elephant Man - Bad Man Christmas
General Trees - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Hortense Ellis - Santa Is Black
Iron Phoenix - Natty Dread Christmas
Jacob Miller & Ray I - All I Want For Ismas
John Holt - Winter World Of Love
Johnny Clarke - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Johnny Osbourne - Christmas Stylee
King Kong - Nice Christmas
King Stitt - Christmas Tree
Kulcha Knox - Ho Ho Ho (Never Step A Foot Inna Me Yard)
Little John & Tristan Palmer - It's Christmas Time/Oh Holy Night
Mikey Jarrett - Santa Claus Is Black
Nitty Gritty - We Three Kings
Phillip Fraser - The Lord Will Provide
Ranking Ringo - Never Forget Christmas
Red Fox - Christmas Fever
Robert Ffrench - Have A Merry Christmas
Steve Golding - Strictly Rockers Christmas
The Silvertones - Real Christmas Rock
Trinity - Santa Claus Comes Once A Year
Tyrone Evans - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Password - defandstupid


Cool ?
Cool !

While you were reading that I ate 87 mince pies & I feel much better now.
So before I hit the sleigh I should probably point out that the previous volumes of Strictly Christmas are once again back in business, you know we bring the cheer, ya hear.
So, if you missed those, you can find them here-> ho ho ho.

OK, now you are all good, I need to get my shit sorted, so love to all, keep peeping these pages, some proper tasty treaters coming in 2014.....
And to all those out there who have contacted us regarding previous posts, everything will be back online early next year, keep it locked right here. Strictly Business.

Peace to Chestwigz, Repo & Waxer, Uncle Mic Nitro, King Tut, Myk Apache, Captain Black, Mutt & Shrunkeneye, SupaBadBenz, George Gweilo & Kimberly Drummond (not their birth names), Tyni & Black Belt, & the Strictly Business family.

And on a final note, for those we lost in 2014, we love you & we will never forget you.

Peace.

"All I Want For Christmas Is The Collie Herb"

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Strictly Rub A Dub


Yeah yeah, I know. I'm shit. Sorry.
Strictly Business has been very much on the DL in 2014, & it's pretty much down to your boy Flair getting distracted by various stuff & thangs.
I would say that I was letting the side down, but I think it's fair to say that the entire crew have been rather lacking in productivity, so Flair is the most active member by default.
We have got a lot of goodies in the pipeline, but I know that doesn't mean much to you impatient interwebbers.
So, rather than wasting everybody's time babbling on about what we haven't done, we're gonna babble on about something that actually exists.
This.
Strictly Rub A Dub.



What do you all fiend for around this time of year ?
Turkey ?  Nah, we get dry birds all year round.
Egg Nog ?  Well, we luh the nog, but baint no egg in it.
Cranberries ?  You are a cranberry.
£15 new release DVD that will be 20p in Cash Converters next month.  Obviously not.
Reggae ?  Fuck yes.
Cool, we got there in the end.


Is that strictly traditional I hear you ask ???
Well, that kinda depends on a number of things that I am not prepared to go into at the moment.
So, let's just say yes !
Reggae is an important yuletide tradition, & Flair for one is not gonna fuck with that.
Most other traditions can lick the balls, but reggae at Christmas is the gift that keeps on giving, so Strictly Biz is here to save the day.
I should probably state that none of the included tracks have anything to do with Christmas, been there, fucked that.
What we are bringing the cheer with is just pure musical niceness, however, if any of you out there haven't been nice boys & girls then you are strictly forbidden to even read any further.
Go away you nasty little buggers.


OK, now we just have the well behaved with us I feel I can continue.
Reggae oh reggae, a much misunderstood creature.
I know a lot of heads out there aren't really feeling the jamaican vibes, but just how deep are you prepared to dig ???
If I had never heard hip hop before, & some bod played me some Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye, e.t.c. Then I would have the opinion that hip hop was the most horrendous form of torture imaginable.
But then again, I don't recognise that pop rap shit as hip hop anyway, but you get the jist.
As with all musical forms, you have to dig through the massive piles of shit to find the gems.
And it's only the proper diggers that are prepared to get shitty fingers.
So once again, peoples champions that we are, the Strictly Biz crew have done did the dirty work for you. What we have here are some of the illest reggae joints known to mankind, ranging from around the mid '70s to the mid '80s, selected by Flair, with a bit of help from my boy Friendly.
Mostly DeeJay tracks, cos that's my shit, but there are a few killer singers in there too.
Dope lyrics all the way, some classic riddims, a bit of digi, plus a few samples along the way that the hippety hoppers might recognise.


No time for one of Flair's (pffftt) entertaining write ups this time around, i'm currently typing this under a bridge using a local pub's wi-fi, due to my house being full of vinyl & cats.
It's cool though, i've put a bit of tinsel up down here.
I've got more important things to do anyway, like watching every episode of Patrick's Pantry.
So whilst I do just that, you lot can have a look at this here list...


Strictly Business presents -
Strictly Rub A Dub pt1

Arena - Knatt Up Them Head
Big Joe - Smoke Marijuana
Brigadier Jerry - Strictly Rub A Dub
Captain Sinbad - Electric Boogie
Charlie Chaplin - Naw Leave Me Chalwa
Clint Eastwood & General Saint - What About Right Oink
Dignitary Stylish - Jah Send Me Come
Early B - DJ Pattern
Jah Batta - Informa Watch It
Jah Woosh - Lick Him In The Dustbin
Johnny Ringo - Sensimelia
Junior Parker - Taxman
Lee Van Cleef - Dread At The Controls
Lone Ranger - Walk Man Connection
Massive Dread - Right Time Come
Michael Palmer - Smoke The Weed aka Don't Smoke The Seed
Papa Finnigan & Jr Ranking - Step Ina Dance
Papa Michigan & General Smiley - Ghetto Man
Papa Tullo - Lightnin Frizz & Thunder Kick
Peter Ranking & General Lucky - Give We Dis
Prince Mohammed - Some Like It Hot
Purpleman - Sandra Lee Buy A Big House For Me
Ranking Joe - All Over The World
Ranking Toyan - Toyan On The Go
Rexton Gordon aka Co Pilot aka Shabba Ranks - Heat Under Sufferers Feet
Sassafrass - Yorkshire Ripper
Super Cat - Vine Yard Party
Tonto Irie - General A General
U Brown - Party In Full Swing
Welton Irie - Me Neat Me Sweet


Strictly Business presents -
Strictly Rub A Dub pt2

Asher Senator - Jah Me Right
Bingy Bunny - Me & Jane
Burro Banton - Better Than The Rest
Carlton Livingston - 100 Weight Of Collie Weed
Chicken Chest - Ragamuffin Selector
Daddy Freddy - Lyric Champion
Don Carlos - Lazer Beam
Flick Wilson & The Roots Radics Band - Slave Master
Jah Thomas - Friday Night Jambaree
John Wayne - Murder Style
Josey Wales - Stalk Of Sensimillia
Karl Matthews - Kat Slater
Leo Graham - Three Blind Mice
Louie Lepkie - Return Of The Champion
Mellow Yellow & Young Ranks - Back Off
Nicodemus - Five A Dem Trax aka Shaolin Plot
Papa Keeble aka Nicodemus Jr - Feeling Happy
Papa San - Concept
Peter Metro - Ribibibung Skens
Prince Jazzbo - Croaking Lizard
Puddy Roots - You Think I Wouldn't Hold You
Ranking Dread - Jean Green
Ranking Superstar aka Ranking Trevor - Red & Dread
Rappa Robert - Disaster
Roy Ranking & Raymond Naptali - Hip Rub
Sugar Minott - International Herb
Tipper Lee & Johnny Slaughter - Warn Them
Trinity - Mini Skirt
Wayne Smith - E20
Yellowman - Wreck A Pum Pum

Password - defandstupid


As I previously stated, can't say stuff - gotta do stuff.
However, I would like to just say one thing about Charlie Chaplin's chalice though.
It took him a whole day to light it !
Holy fucking molehills, how much was in it Charlie ?
How long did it keep blazing for when you eventually got it sparked ??
Did you just have a dodgy lighter ???
Answers on a postcard to the usual address Mr Chaplin (if that is your real name).


Oh yeah, one more thing. Lone Ranger is quite possibly the greatest person to ever touch a mic.
That is all.
Ahh, but is it ?!?
Naaah son, we're not quite done yet, a little something something else will happen before the 25th.
Then next year, the large Puzzle Fighter gems will be rocking !


So, on that bombshell, i'm outta here like Diamond D when he rocked that Flaming Ember shit.
Peace to Benz, keep those SupaBadSounds rolling my man.


"Him Have Him Weak Spot Inna Him Diamond Socks"

Friday 4 July 2014

Strictly Space Mountain



Well howdily doodily neighborinos, yeah, we know - we know, it's been rather quiet round these parts recently, but we're not ugly people, in fact the Strictly Biz famalam were recently voted "Best Looking Hip Hop Crew" at the recent Swaffham Fayre, & although we had to cut our rosette up into pieces (so we could share it, but also as a protest against the state of some of those cabbages, smack 'em Rae), we will always wear those tiny fragments with equal pride & fury.
Hmmmm, yuh bwoy Flair appears to have gone off track a wee bit, maybe I shouldn't be typing this shit when it's late & i've got my proper drowzzz on, but a lot of the hippety hop blogheads have been very sshhh sshhh so far this year, so the Strictly Biz squad just wanted to point out that we are very much (ahem) Still In Business !
Hear me now star !
As we already know, sunshine plays a major part in the daytime, & around this time of year the SB unit usually like to drop a summertime special on your collective melons, 2013's Strictly Hot, & 2012's Strictly Summer Series.
What does that say to you about Strictly B Summer compilations ?
There's too many of them ?
That's one way of looking at it, another way of looking at it is, people like them, let's make some more of them.
Well, that's & well & good in theory, but that would involve trying to remember another bunch of summer related joints, & although I could word an explanation in many ways, I would rather just make the noise "Chooooft" & give you something else, something which is not summer related, but will still blow the bloodclaaat bollocks outta your barbeque.
Lawd 'a' mercy !
Do you wanna ride Space Mountain ?
I won't bore you with the formula, but the following tracks are all linked in some way or another & certain tunes are included to represent members of the Strictly Business crew, in all honesty I just wanted to sling out a quickie that would involve me leaving my chair as little as possible.
At the moment the whole crew have a pie on every finger, so rest assured that we have a whole heap of jewels to drop very soon, & the next piece that we're about to drop on this here site is morbidly obese, but that is the then & this is the now, so let's do this thing.
Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line, abso-bloody-exactly, so with that in mind I think that I should point out that to be the Nan, you've gotta beat the Nan.
Now that's clear, let's get down to Business.
Blogger's being a bit of a pisser at the minute, so let's have some nice pics first.




















All the big names are here, Jimmy Van & Richard Hieronymus, Maggie Thrett, Martin Galway, Private Party, The Spotnicks, McCoy Tyner............ Absolute legends - i'm sure you'll agree.
What ?
WHAT ???
Yeah, I know, well what the fuck do you want, Bruno Brookes ? If nothing else, this here selection could be seen as a representation of Mr Flair's daily listening habits, maybe I should do one every day ! Pffffttt.
Or as I previously said, an obscure representation of the Strictly sound squad.
Or probably more than anything a representation of Ricardo La Rock's complete shitness at actually doing stuff he should be doing.
Ner-ner-ner-nerner, I don't care, there's a thin line between batty & punanny & I suffer from vertigo (fact) but I don't have a photo of a hunchback in my pocket (another fact), Lu Cipher is now a cyborg from the neck up, Chestwigz is the new Cracker J, DJ Friendly (allegedly) resembles a rounder headed version of Shockwave The Robot in an attempt to protect himself from Babylon, Sonny D does the washing up in pink Marigolds & cycling shorts, MonoXcyde is now OxyGareth, Breakz & Vagabond snapped each others arms off in a game of thumb war - but they're not bandits, Jim Breaze is still a prisoner of war, EveR now owns the most powerful computer on the planet, but he is still struggling to find the on button (there are only actually 7 of these machines in existence, the other 6 are owned by Tony Curtis), Rhymeswine is currently...........
Um, sorry, old Flair-O has gone a bit off track, again.
Probably best to actually really properly get down to Business.
This compilation is nice.
There I said it.
There is all kinds of interesting stuff here, the UK is well represented, there's a Commodore 64 banger, a mad Frenchman, some Tommy Boy 12" greatness, Tom Jones just being straight fucking ill, drummy drum drums, The Erasure-Cosmo connection, Tracy Barlow blam blamming, things that people think are other things but they aren't, things that people think are other things but they are, Kool Keith actually rhyming rhymes, more drums, & some other things that I can't be bothered to think of.
Oh yah, & shout to my man Apache Throwdown on this little cashew nut, there is a handful of (gasp) recent (gasp again) hip hop tracks that are (gaaaaaaaaaasp) not shit, in fact they are bloody dope. Well, recentish, but then I still think the '90s was only a couple of years ago.
I don't really wanna get the old rant steez a gwan again, but if you are one of these people who claim to be an old school hip head but thinks that hip hop died in the early 90s then piss the piss off. You slept on Black Moon because you were listening to Blur because hip hop wasn't fashionable any more, fucking dicknobs.
Shit.
I said I wasn't gonna rant, bugger, never mind, if you have read this far then you may well have as many issues as me.....
Of Big Daddy magazine !
See what I did there, I smoothly slipped in another Partridge reference, whilst cleverly altering the punchline to suit the "style" of this beautifully written piece.
Oh hang on, I meant to say ->
See what I did there, I lazily bit another line whilst repeatedly making a twanny of myself.
Here's a thought......
Oh how painful is must be to create your own Wikipedia page only to have it deleted because you are full of shit & nobody has ever heard of you except for yourself. Ouch.
Sorry, didn't mean to think out loud.
I must wholeheartedly apologise to all members & associates of Strictly Business for my self indulgent unprofessionalism, hang on - don't professionals get paid ?!?
OK, my self indulgent amateurism then, well, I should be sunning myself on Ganryujima Island right now, but instead i'm tapping my bloodied fingers away just to bring a little bit of happiness to the die hard hardcore core readers of this humble interblog.
What ?
Bah, not again.
You say nobody's reading ???
Who said that then ?
Shit, start typing again quickly Flair-Ski, before the voices take over.
Ah, that's much better.
It's not the voices, I just left the telly on downstairs.
Back to Business (again). A bit mo' about those tracks -
Yes - Kane was was able to rock Atomic Dog beats in '93 when you all said he had fallen off & still sound dope.
No - 4-Ever Fresh is not Public Enemy, & Johnny Juice does not currently live with Rod Hull's Emu & all his offspring. Go Philly.
Yes - That Dirty Dike joint is nice, but Stig, "bring a gram of weed in" ?!? Yeah right, that's a Cell Block H single skin you lightweight.
No - Egyptian Lover did not always rock 120+ bpm beats.
Yes - Can I Get A Soul Clapp should have 2 Ps, it should also say "Fresh Out The Pack", let's just put it down to being tired & emotional, at least I know how to spell the word Romantic.
No - It's not Acieeeeed, but Ice's bassline is a 303 on some fly Terminator shit. I have no idea who King Fantastic is, but his shit sounds like a ZX Spectrum loading.
Yes - Rickity Flair is aware that I Weigh With Kilos is actually called Ten Is The Number - Kilos. Glaring error there, er, tired & emotional.
No - J-Live is not for hipster backpack moccasin sissies, dude is one of the nicest of all time, buy everything he has made now.
Yes - Maggie Thrett was fly & she definitely should have recorded more music.
No - That Arkanoid joint is not by some now school nitwit with lots of hi tech computer shit purchased by his/her parents, it was made purely with the Commodore 64's SID chip by the incredibly talented & patient Martin Galway in 1987. You call me a nerd, I call you a cranberry, rack off you flamin' drongo.
Yes - Chicken Yellow is the fucking tits. And it's produced by Blowfly.
No - Poet should never have squashed any beef, he should have got beefier & beefier, most rappers need to be dissed.
Yes - PJ & Smiley have been responsible for some right old bum, but those Private Party joints are the kestrel's knees dunny, even Don't Distress This Groove. Honestly. Sort of. DJ Hype sounds like DJ Naffa, but Summer Madness is well tasty, pity I didn't remember it a couple of years ago. Cheekie Bee - Where are they now #945298.
No - I don't know where Shogun MC is, or what the frig the deal was with Blue Chip Records.
Yes - Dilla/Black Sheep/MF/Tribe/Stet/Ghostface/De La/Other people did sample that !
No - Don't sample that mp3 you twazzock, go & buy some old records, then sample them. On a sampler.
Yes - Black Cow probably is one of the greatest tracks ever, don't even think about asking for my take on it's lyrics, & Gas Drawls is diggety dope.
No - I don't think Metal Thangz should have been the B side. Brooklyn Beast was 6 years ago - Where you at FT ?
Yes - The artwork on that Sweet Linda Divine LP is one of the best things that your eyes will ever see.
No - I do not know why The Mystic Moods Orchestra didn't always have the drums so high in the mix, or what on Earth was going on with that English Muffins LP.
Yes - I do own that limited edition Spotnicks bumbag with the version of Mardi Gras with Babybels on.
No - Although I did watch Playschool, I don't know which window Tom Jones is looking out of, however I do know that Delilah was originally titled Jemimah.
Yes - Poetic was an absolutely phenomenal MC, & even though Droppin' Signal had a few dubious beats it should absolutely have been released, the quality of the rhymes are ridiculously dope. I probably should have included a track from the LP, but I didn't for reasons I would rather not disclose at the moment...... Alright, I forgot. So it's probably best that you all hunt it down now, Tommy ain't my motherfuckin' boy. RIP Poetic.
No - Trouble are not a doom metal band (well, they are, but not this Trouble). Trouble are actual proof that Westwood has been responsible for some good things. And this joint is hyper than Pinocchio's nose.
Yes - Yazoo - Yes! Yes! Yes! Honestly, Situation is just so fucking ill that it's been in intensive care for 33 years. Even though Vince & Alison split decades back their milkshake company is thriving. My fave is Banana flavour, I just can't get enough.
No - ZZ Top are not included due to the current trend in beards. Shiiiiiittt, Mint Aero Flair-O's been rocking beards for donkey's, now you want to fuck me but last week I looked like the Yorkshire Ripper, cha' gyal. If you want to know why this particular ZZ Top track is included, just listen to it.
Yes - I am going to keep typing this shit until one of us drops.
No - I'm not.
Very well done for reading this far. I am aware that it may have been a troubling experience, but I am trying to experiment with a form that I am calling "Jazz Writing", & some jazz can make you feel uncomfortable. (Not as uncomfortable as Chappell AV Series - Danger/War though, if you ever see that fucker - burn it immediately).
Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Business As Usual.
I believe I said earlier that I wanted to "sling out a quickie", nyaaaa. Oh ! Have I typed too much babblebollocks ?
Awwww, poor you.
No, seriously, poor you.
It was either type this or dismantle my Corby Trouser Press again.
This has all been a bit one sided & i'm beginning to feel sorry for you, so I think at this point it would only be fair to list the tracks.
Here y'are.

Strictly Business presents -
Strictly Space Mountain

4-Ever Fresh - Urban Sound Surgeon
A Tribe Called Quest feat Kid Hood & Leaders Of The New School - Scenario Remix
Big Daddy Kane - The Beef Is On
Dirty Dike feat Stig Of The Dump, Dr Syntax, Bva, Datkid, Verb T, Jam Baxter, Edward Scissortongue, Mr Key, Fliptrix & Leaf Dog - Future Posse Cut One Thousand
Egyptian Lover - E-Rap (Holding It Down)
Eilert Pilarm - Jailhouse Rock
Grand Wizard Theodore & The Fantastic 5 - Can I Get A Soul Clapp
Habitat & DJ Severe feat Mnsr Frites, Archetype, El Tel The Dopeness & Chrome - Polyrhythmic
Ice-T - Squeeze The Trigger
Jimmy Van & Richard Hieronymus - I Weigh With Kilos
J-Live - Not Listening
John McLaughlin - Honky Tonk Haven
Kings Of Swing - Stop Jockin' James
Kool & The Gang - Chocolate Buttermilk
Lakim Shabazz - Posse Is Large (Ced Gee Remix)
Lee Moses - Time & Place
Maggie Thrett - Soupy
Martin Galway - Arkanoid
McCoy Tyner - Impressions
Miami - Chicken Yellow
Newcleus - Jam On It
Overlord X - Definition
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Soul Brother #1
Pleasure Web - Music Man
Poet - All Hell Breakin' Loose
Poor Righteous Teachers feat KRS One - Conscious Style
Private Party - Tennents
Raekwon feat Nas & Ghost Face Killah - Verbal Intercourse
René Costy & His Orchestra - Scrabble
Roxanne Shanté - Roxanne's Profile
Serge Gainsbourg - En Melody
Shogun MC - Ready For Action
Showbiz & AG - Diggin In The Crates
Spye - Oops Sorry
Steely Dan - Black Cow
Stig Of The Dump - On A Rampage
Street Smartz feat OC & Pharoahe Monch - Metal Thangz
Sweet Linda Divine - I'll Say It Again
The Cenobites - Lex Lugor
The Mystic Moods - Cosmic Sea
The Spotnicks - Take Me To The Mardi Gras
Tom Jones - Looking Out My Window
Too Poetic - God Made Me Funky
Trouble - I Get Hype
Yazoo - Situation
ZZ Top - It's Only Love

Password - defandstupid

And i've got news for you, when you get off Space Mountain you'll be like this.
(Hit the deck & lie spreadeagle flat on your back).
Wooooooooo.
OK.
Now you are fully armed with the info, go out & buy these tracks from your local independent music retailer.
On vinyl.
I'm done, that's it, it's over man.
This blog will delete in 10 seconds.
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6
5
4
3
3
3
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Bugger.
Must be a bug in the software.
Seems like we're still here.
Righty ho.
Well I suppose we better drop something gigantimassive on your noggins then.
Baron Von Flairington's terrible timing has transmogrified into perfect timing.
It's this blog's 5th birthday, so plenty celebratory shenanigans will be popping off.
Honestly, I know I say honestly a lot, but honestly, something spesh is pulling into the SB station.
So, on that bombshell, this is Lou Flairino signing off.
Stay tuned to Strictly Business.
Aw, bloody Nora, the version of John Coltrane's Impressions by McCoy Tyner is misspelled, you might wanna sort that out.
Thanks a lot Ron Carter on the bass, yes my man Ron Carter is on the bass.
Right.
Finito.
I'm off like Christ Bearer's nob.
Word to Chestwigz.
Boing.

"From The Womb To The Tomb, Presume The Unpredictable"

Friday 7 March 2014

Get Out Business


Hold up, wait a minute !

Don't worry, it's not time for another one of your boy Flair's rants, far from it this time around.
(I'm not trying to give my girlfriend any hints either).
This here bit is about a track that is possibly one of the most influential of all time, a piece of music that has been loved by generations & is as classic as classic could possibly be.

Written by the legendary Allen Toussaint & first recorded by Lee Dorsey way back in 1965, produced by Marshall E. Sehorn & Toussaint (& quite possibly backed by the then recently formed The Meters) "Get Out Of My Life Woman" was obviously a winner of a track to begin with, it is ridiculously hard to find any information on it's origins, but the song's sentiments seemed to strike a chord with people who had been through relationship problems at some point (pretty much everybody then), but I doubt that Toussaint or Dorsey had any idea of the legacy that their work on that particular joint would leave over the next (almost) 50 years, & beyond.


Lyrically simple, but very effective. The actual lyrics are gender specific (lesbians excluded), but i'm fairly sure that just as many females have been sympathetically nodding their heads over the years to this one.
But as nice as those lyrics are, this one is very much about the drums.

Now, here at Strictly Business we love our drums, very much so, very bloody much, very bloody much indeed, blahblahblah-e.t.c.e.t.c.e.t.c....
But we are far from what could be described as your actual drum experts (We can leave that to the ©Cold Man), but we know the odd nugget.

One of those nuggets is the fact that the style of drumming on that track definitely doesn't seem to sound like what the average drummer was playing back in '65, again, it's simple, but it's clearly got that boom bap shit going on which you generally didn't hear coming through until a few years later. We would not be surprised at all if it was Zigaboo Modeliste on the drums, as it could definitely be interpreted as an early version of the style he would become known for with The Meters.

And that's where the beauty of the whole shit lies...........

It didn't take long to take a hold, & within a year of it's original release, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" had already been covered by many different artists & was well on it's way to becoming a standard.
But something particularly sweet happened along the way, these artists seemed to recognise the prominence of the drums, they all took this on board one way or the other, & without knowing it at the time, gave hip hop heads a bountiful source of funkiness.

"Ba Boom - Bap, Ba Boom Boom Bap" - Repeat.

The original track has been sampled well over 100 times, & that's just the drums. But as you will hear, that really was just the beginning, we can't be bothered to look it up properly right now, but we think that it's fairly safe to say that if you include all the cover versions, there are at least 230 examples of samples used from this one song.

The versions by the blues & jazz heads are pretty much all absolute classics, but those crazy rock/garage/psych/mod/hippy/whatever freaks also did some awesome work with the track, most of these covers (with a few exceptions) were recorded in the mid to late 60s when everything was lovely & the funk started creeping into the room.

One interesting note is the fact that on a large amount of the rock/genre versions the vocalists seem to fuck the lyrics up quite a lot, but the jazzier dudes hold it down nicely, some even add their own extra verses.

Also, not all these tracks are actually named "Get Out Of My Life Woman". Other titles are "Get Out My Life Woman", "Get Out Of My Life", the amazing "Get Off My Life Woman", & "Yeter Artik Kadin" in the case of the psychedelic Turks Bunalim.

Another thing to note is that some of these tracks are covers of the original, but some are actually covers of covers, if you get our drift.


But as important as those drums are, the musical variations in the cover versions are really something special too, the horns, the pianos, the guitars.....
& those extra female vocals on the Solomon Burke version are ridiculously nice.

Really hope this doesn't come across as racist in any way, but a lot of the singers lacking in eumelanin on a few of these joints don't really sound particularly nice, in fact some vocals are rather painful, but the rest of the band usually make up for it, but those singers blessed with natural vocal ability are beyond superb on some of these versions.

There seems to be at least 100 'official' cover versions out there, & that's not including all the other shit loads of live versions by bands all over the planet floating around the net.
But as you should already know, Strictly Biz always keep it quality over quantity, so what you get here is what we consider the top 30 recordings of this classic song.

Along the way you will notice many a recognisable sample from such classic tracks as "Ill Street Blues", "How My Man Went Down In The Game", "I Got Cha Opin", "Dre Day", "Back To The Grill", "Extra Abstract Skillz", "Memory Lane", "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha", "Funk Is Back" & "Bloodshed Hua Hoo" amongst many others.

Muggs is a repeat offender & Cypress in particular have caned it on the various versions.
And at a guess we reckon that most of you beatmakers out there have rocked at least one of these versions at some point.

Some of these open drum breaks are supremely fonky, but a few sound like Chestwigz's Nan could have rocked the same shit on her empty tins & ashtrays, but generally they all stick to the original structure.
Not every included track starts with an open drum break, but most of them do.
These drums vary heavily in quality, but some of the better ones are unbelievably good.

This certainly isn't some last word shit on the subject, the included tracks are just the ones we like the most out of the ones we've actually heard, but there are many many more out there so do your own hunting. We would love to hear more versions in any other language than English, there must be at least one Japanese version out there, but we are yet to find it. If we missed any particularly good versions then please let us know in the comments.

Well, it's been almost 50 years, Lee Dorsey is sadly long gone, but Allen Toussaint is still very much with us & still performing his timeless classics, In fact he will be playing Ronnie Scott's in Soho, London on the 15th of April, so sling that in whatever tech reminder systems you currently rock & grab some tickets.

So, in the words of DJ Run & DMC - "There It Is", Some of the finest versions of one of the greatest tracks of all time, shout out to Lu Cipher on this one, coming up next is something rather special, keep it locked right here.

OK, nuff rambling, head nodding time.

Strictly Business presents
Get Out Business


Albert King - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Allen Toussaint - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Bill Cosby - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Bunalim - Yeter Artik Kadin
Dee Dee, Barry & The Movements - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Freddie King - Get Out Of My Life Woman
George Semper - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Ginger Ale - Get Off My Life Woman
Grassella Oliphant - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Hu & The Hilltops - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Ian & The Zodiacs - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Iron Butterfly - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Joe Williams & Thad Jones With The Mel Lewis Orchestra - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Lee Dorsey - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Les Blackburds - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Les Marquis & Harry Brent - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Mountain - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Q65 - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Solomon Burke - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Tags - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The Boots - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The Fireballs - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The John Schroeder Orchestra - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The Kingsmen - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The Leaves - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The Mad Lads - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The Mourning Reign - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The New Apocalypse - Get Out Of My Life Woman
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Get Out Of My Life Woman
Wilmer & The Dukes - Get Out Of My Life Woman

Password - defandstupid


"Climbing, Climbing, Climbing - High !"

Saturday 18 January 2014

Strictly Antimix


What you say people ?!?

Happy new year & all that malarkey.

Those of you in the know may have heard of a rather smashing site called Antisocial.
Well, if you didn't, you bloody well should have done, but at least you know now, so let's all take a deep breath & move on.
Anyway, the Antisocial crew have been responsible for all sorts of tasty treats over the years, but for me one of the highlights has been the superb Antimix series.
Antimix is a bit like when your nan used to get tins of food for a bargain price because the label had fallen off & nobody actually knew what was inside, so you never quite know what you're getting until you open it up.
Unfortunately back in the day my nan always ended up with dog food or mandarins, shit loads of mandarins.
But this is where Antimix differs, cos when you open that bugger up it's like finding hidden treasure.
Now we at Strictly Business tend to know our shit when it comes to funky records, but Antimix has schooled us to all kinds of absolute gems.
As I write this I am listening to the latest in the series & my head nod is properly on. I'm not gonna mention anything specifically, but if you like your drums & general funkiness you wil be very happy indeed.
Anyway, you can hear it right here. -



But even better, head to the site & grab a copy, then while you're there you can scroll down & peep all the other dope stuff the squad have posted for our enjoyment.
157 is a walking hip hop encyclopedia & Fish is a beat making demon, amongst their many other talents.
Then if you head over to Mixcloud you can listen to various parts of the series, plus other nuggets of joy.

an·ti·so·cial
adj.
1. Shunning the society of others; not sociable.
2. Hostile to or disruptive of the established social order; marked by or engaging in behavior that violates accepted mores: gangs engaging in vandalism and other antisocial behavior.
3. Antagonistic toward or disrespectful of others; rude.

And you can't fuck with that.

"Monkey See, Monkey Do - I Don't Know Why"