For my first full album post I've got this terrific album of covers by experimental soul group Rotary Connection. The arrangements are pretty out-there as per usual for this group, but on the whole it's got more big chamber choral parts then on some other albums.
This brief rundown from AMG also focuses on Respect more than anything else.
The daring covers returned for Songs. In fact, the record is nothing but covers, including drastic re-castings of three songs from Cream's Disraeli Gears. So the creative well was surely drying up for Rotary Connection, right? Wrong. Despite the complete absence of original material, this is a proper Rotary Connection album as much as any other. Their version of Otis Redding's "Respect," like many of their covers, is rendered nearly unrecognizable; slowed to a crawl and stripped of its punctuative chorus of "R-E-S-P-E-C-T/I know what it means to me," Charles Stepney's string arrangement is a subdued but effective smear and Minnie Riperton and Sidney Barnes trade lines, emote in tandem, and twist around each other like they've never done before or since. The song has never sounded more steamy. The slightly eerie tone of the strings that encased "Respect" pop up again for "We're Going Wrong," one of the three Cream covers. The foreboding feel is carried forth with wordless co-ed background vocals that combine with escalating strings. But what really puts a cap on it is the moment when Riperton's voice shoots into a pitch that no theremin can approximate. It's moments like this one that make wading through the group's lapses (a dull, bungled look at "I've Got My Mojo Working," for instance) so worth it. As for those who view the group as blasphemers? Let them cringe.
Respect is the first tune on here and it's got to be one of my favourite songs. I first heard it on a mixtape by local rare groove DJ Paul E. Lopez back in the mid-nineties. That tape was crammed with dope shit but this particular track really stuck with me. Check it out:
This brief rundown from AMG also focuses on Respect more than anything else.
The daring covers returned for Songs. In fact, the record is nothing but covers, including drastic re-castings of three songs from Cream's Disraeli Gears. So the creative well was surely drying up for Rotary Connection, right? Wrong. Despite the complete absence of original material, this is a proper Rotary Connection album as much as any other. Their version of Otis Redding's "Respect," like many of their covers, is rendered nearly unrecognizable; slowed to a crawl and stripped of its punctuative chorus of "R-E-S-P-E-C-T/I know what it means to me," Charles Stepney's string arrangement is a subdued but effective smear and Minnie Riperton and Sidney Barnes trade lines, emote in tandem, and twist around each other like they've never done before or since. The song has never sounded more steamy. The slightly eerie tone of the strings that encased "Respect" pop up again for "We're Going Wrong," one of the three Cream covers. The foreboding feel is carried forth with wordless co-ed background vocals that combine with escalating strings. But what really puts a cap on it is the moment when Riperton's voice shoots into a pitch that no theremin can approximate. It's moments like this one that make wading through the group's lapses (a dull, bungled look at "I've Got My Mojo Working," for instance) so worth it. As for those who view the group as blasphemers? Let them cringe.
Still, it's a pretty good record with plenty of other stand-out moments. Check it out here if you like.
11 comments:
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thanks for posting
Link no longer working - could you please repost? Thanks.
The link seems to be working now...try again and if it's still giving you trouble let me know and I'll up it to another host.
hey, nice blog
I agree the link isn't good - it goes to zshare but trying to download just goes round in a loop of wait 30 secs, click here, wait 30 secs, click here..... but nothing ever downloads.
From what I've read elsewhere, this happens some files that were on there before zshare had some re-arrange of their servers, but umm, rather than put an error message, or missing file page; they just left 1000's of files to go round in circles.
Thanks for that, HM. I will re-up it tonight.
Ok, here it is http://www.zshare.net/download/5299087735d7c767/
I also fixed the hotlink up in the original post. Let me know how you like this one!
woo! works fine - nice 320k - thanks so much.
Loving the blog sweetie! I just found this record today and am so delighted! RC is one of my fave groups and now I just have to find their first two records on vinyl and I'll have all their stuff, yay!
Nice! Glad you like it, Jennifer.
Be sure to drop by the new blog http://daytimelovers.com
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