Loose Ends - Love's Got Me (1990)

Ten Records TENCD 330

  

Kym's note: I originally posted this in April '09 in 160kbps, and I've been itching to re-up it in 320, so here it is! I only have the old scans to hand until I dig the CD out from storage, so do excuse the lesser quality. I will dig it out, re-scan and replace them. It's one of my favourite tracks.

Originally formed in the very early 1980’s, and comprised of members Carl McIntosh, Jane Eugene, and Steve Nichol, Loose Ends are probably the closest thing the UK ever had to a soul/R&B band to perform the impossible task of breaking America (well, until Soul II Soul came along in the late 80’s, that is).

The superb Hangin' On A String (Contemplating) was a hit both here and America, peaking at #13 on the UK Singles Chart and a healthy #1 in the US R&B Singles Charts, and served as a platform for a small handful of classy minor hits to follow. They disbanded in the late 80’s, but by 1990, a new look Loose Ends appeared, with a reshuffled line-up of Carl McIntosh, Linda Carriere and Sunay Suleyman, and released the album ‘Look How Long’, which had an edgier and more urban sound than the band previously had displayed.

The band split again not long after the dust had settled on their last four releases, but briefly reformed to make a very decent song with Hip-Hop uber producer Pete Rock in 1998 on his Soul Survivor LP. Carl McIntosh threw himself into production duties, producing very respectable names such as Caron Wheeler, and remixing for the likes of D’Angelo among others.

…but I digress. ‘Look How Long’ spawned three monstrous singles, the awesome Don’t Be A Fool (which can be found elsewhere on TSV), Cheap Talk, and, my favourite of the bunch, the infectiously funky Love’s Got Me.

Love’s Got Me was propelled along by cheeky usage of a Funky Drummer-esque breakbeat sampled from the excellent Sleep Talk by Alyson Williams, and a Carl McIntosh who sang, in places, like he was channelling the late great Marvin Gaye. It was further helped along by an extended version, which added trippy dub elements after four minutes of normality to make a club dance-floor smash - and provide my favourite version of the track.

The flipside, 'Feel The Vibe...' is a nice chill-out track that wouldn't be out of place on a trendy "bar music" collection CD. Not quite the quality of the lead track for me, but still gets love to this day. I've revised my opinion somewhat on this and it's better than I remember it being.

Love’s Got Me, for me, stands alongside Hangin' On A String (Contemplating) and Don't Be A Fool as one of  Loose Ends' finest moment.

What do you think?

Tracklist

1. Love's Got Me 
2. Love's Got Me (Extended Version) 
3. Feel The Vibe... 

Download: LE-LGM.7z| Filesize: 30.982MB

D'Angelo - Cruisin' - (1996)

Cooltempo Records CDCOOL 316

Kym's note: Not my post originally, but I have the CDS so I'm re-upping in 320. 

I loved Smokey Robinson's original and while ordinarilly I'd consider a cover as blasphemy, D'Angelo absolutely bodies this track. Truly classy and a worthwhile cover.

Dedicated to DJ Filthy Rich who requested this for the Beatminerz Brown Sugar remix like years ago. Sorry Rich! Over to you, Mick...

---

D'Angelo's 1995 debut album Brown Sugar gave us this gem, along with the single Brown Sugar, revisited here by the Beatminerz to good effect. Not preferable over the original mixes but definately different. Prior to Brown Sugar's release, the nu soul movement was yet to be defined by a major release, being dominated by British artists such as Omar. D'Angelo ushered in a new sound, blending classic soul with R&B beats.

While the title song, Brown Sugar, is a thinly-veiled ode to marijuana, Cruisin' is a Smokey Robinson penned cover from his 1979 Tamla album Where There's Smoke, conventional in the classic sense. The Dallas Austin Remix enhances the Album Version for the RnB crew but the Wet Mix is pure class, a lil' piece of soul heaven.

Tracklist

1. Cruisin' (Album Version) 
2. Cruisin' (Dallas Austin Remix) 
3. Cruisin' (Wet Mix) 
4. Brown Sugar (Beatminerz Remix) 

Download: D-C.7z Filesize: 52.491MB

Cruisin' 

(W. Robinson & M. Tarplin)

Baby let's cruise, Away from here
Don't be confused, baby
The way is clear
And if you want it you got it forever
Oh, this is not a one night stand
Let the music take your mind
And just release and you will find

We're going to fly away
Glad you're going my way
I love it when we're cruisin together
Music was made for love
Cruisin' is made for love
I love it when we're cruisin' together

Baby, tonight belongs to us
Everything's right
Do what you must
And inch by inch we get closer and closer
Every little part of each other
Ooh, baby, baby
Let the music take your mind
Just release and you will find

We're going to fly away
Glad you're going my way
I love it when we're cruisin' together
Music was made for love
Cruisin' is made for love
I love you when we're cruisin' together
(repeat)

Baby let's cruise
Let's fly away
Let's glide
Ooh, Ooh, Let's open up and go inside
And if you want it you got it forever
I can stay there inside you and love you, baby
Let the music take your mind
Just release and you will find

We're going to fly away
Glad you're going my way
I love it when we're cruisin' together
Music was made for love
Cruisin' is made for love
I love you when we're cruisin' together
(repeat)

D'Angelo - Lady CD1 & CD2 (1996)

Cooltempo Records 7243 8 82914 2

Kym's note: This was my first ever contribution to this site back in the day, although the boss man did the post. It's now in full 320 for your audio pleasure. My D'Angelo CDs are in storage right now so I can't redo the artwork. I'll re scan them and add to these D'Angelo posts as soon as I am able but for now we're stuck with the images rescued from our old file hosting platform. Back over to Mick...

OK Family, major props to the lovely Kymba who has provided not only both parts of this 2 CD release but also, all of the artwork, scanned full size so all the dodgy small print can be read. Great work Honey, looking forward to the YD 12".

The Brown Sugar album finally got some recognition when Lady made the charts a year later in 1996. Although Cruisin' and Brown Sugar were superb releases, Lady was always lauded as a great album track, way before it's single release.

The first CD features a superb Live rendition which proves that D'Angelo is no studio creation. The musicians and backing are all top notch (assuming the band is live too, of course). Track 3 is subtitled Just Tha Beat Mix and features a rap from AZ. It is a straight up street mix. For a short while in the early 90's, this sparse production style was referred to as Drum & Bass, anyone else remember that?

The last track on this CD is what the fuss is about really, Carl McIntosh, no relation to CJ, provides his own remix of Cruisin' and a great job he makes of it. This would have been an essential track had the Wet Mix wasn't already perfect. It doesn't matter though because, what the Wet Mix does in the bedroom, this will do on the dancefloor. Try not to get arrested guys.

Tracklist

1. Lady (CJ Mackintosh Radio Edit)
2. Lady (Live Version)
3. Lady (Just Tha Beat Mix)
4. Cruisin' (Carl McIntosh Mix) 

Cooltempo Records 7243 8 82913 2 3

The second part of the single release features the full length CJ Mackintosh Mix but also has the Radio Edit which always annoys me. Why put the edit on both releases? For those who are unaware of the UK's ridiculous guidelines, a single release was only allowed to have a certain amount of minutes on it otherwise it would not be counted for chart inclusion. To further complicate matters the release was only allowed to be made in three (I think?) formats. This was a serious problem for awhile (pre-CD ghettoblasters) because, the emergence of CD Single made the format choice awkward. The 7", the 12", the Cassette Single & the CDS were all important for a few years. The missing format could affect sales and kill a release. By the mid 90's though, it was all a marketing ploy to enable the record companies to bleed the record buying public dry.

The Clean Street Version is remixed by DJ Premier and features a rap from AZ. Premier is not credited on the Just Tha Beat Mix which is strange because that's what this is, with a bit of extra production. I think maybe he laid a bit of extra atmosphere over it and they added him to the credits, his name pulled in extra sales. The mix works though, so who cares.

Track 3 is remixed by 2B3 who had a quirky style that was popular for a couple of years. Anybody know what happened to them? The Shake Dat Ass Mix works for me but it takes a bit of getting used to.

CD2 Tracklist

1. Lady (CJ Mackintosh Radio Edit)
2. Lady (Clean Street Version)
3. Lady (2B3 Shake Dat Ass Mix)
4. Lady (Album Version)
5. Lady (CJ Mackintosh Mix)

Download: D-L.7z Filesize: 107.113MB

Lady

(Wiggins, Rapael, Archer & Michael)
You're my lady, You're my lady, You're my lady, You're my lady,
Don't think I don't see them looking at ya, All of them wishing they could have ya, And as a matter of fact, uh A bunch of them are itchin'for you to scratch'em, I'm tired of hiding what we feel, I'm trying to get with the real, And I'm-a gonna make it known', Cause I want them to know

[CHORUS]
You're my little baby, my darling baby, I swear you're the talk of the town, And everybody wants to know what's going down, Babe, I know they've seen us before, Maybe at the liquor store, or maybe at the health food stand, They don't know that I'm your man 

[CHORUS]
I can tell they're looking at us, I pick you up everyday from your job,
And every guy in the parking lot wants to rob me of my girl, And my heart and soul, and everybody wants to treat me so cold, But I know I love you and you love me, There's no other lover for you or me, You're my lady

[BRIDGE (AD LIB)]
You're my lady, My divine lady, You're my lady, Such a wonderful lady, I can tell they're looking at us.

A great post and maximum respect to Kymba for making it possible.

D'Angelo - Brown Sugar CD Single (1996)

1996, Cooltempo, CDCOOL 307

Special request!

Mick has already posted the 12" here but after a request the other day about six years ago(!) I thought I'd put up the CD single in 320kbps.

So there is little I can say that Mick hasn't already beaten me to. D'Angelo was the standard-bearer for the fledgling Neo Soul movement, whether willing or not.

Brown Sugar is one of, if not THE, best D'Angelo tune outside of the Voodoo album (Voodoo, how I love thee), a sublime cut with D'Angelo killing it on the vocals and smoky, sensual production courtesy of Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest. Quite frankly, it's an amazing track.

The UK CD single then brings us an edited, Radio version, that is the original with 20 seconds shaved off. Stick with the album cut for a deeper experience, I say. 

However, the real highlights here are the Carl McIintosh (of Loose Ends fame) produced Dollar Bag Mix, and Dodge's Soul Inside Mix. Avid readers will be all too aware of how much I love Dodge, and that funky bassline he brings is tight as hell, but the smoothed out vibes of  Carl's mix can't be praised enough. Though not quite as classic as the original, I can't decide between either, they are the highlights of this CD single.

The album cut When We Get By also gets an airing which a brilliant cut, and, on a lesser album, could well have been a single in its own right.

- Kymba :)

Tracklist

1. Brown Sugar (Radio Version) 
2. Brown Sugar (Dollar Bag Mix) 
3. Brown Sugar (Soul Inside 808 Mix) 
4. When We Get By 

Download: D-BS.7z Filesize: 41.782MB

Lynden David Hall - Forgive Me (UK CD1 & CD2) - (2000)

EMI Records/Cooltempo, 12COOL346 

"This one's fresh, this one's a brand new (brand new) check the mic a one-two..."

Following on from our boy José Manuel aka Alifunk, sharing the Promo CD for "Forgive Me" with us and my subsequent rip of the 12", I present to you here the official two CD release.

CD 1 is acceptable enough and a contains a radio edit of the D-influence Mix as well as the album version, alongside a non album track Love U I Do. Not bad at all but it gets better.

Where this really comes to life is CD 2. We kick off with the un-edited full majesty of the D-Influence remix and it is SMOKIN'! Check out that gorgeous intro. Mmmm!

Next up, we have the excellent Ignorants Club Mix, which is a full length version of their mix on the promo CD supplied by Alifunk - I really dig this mix, the original is straight up soul but this one is for the Hiphop/R&B heads, and really hits the spot. Truly a headnodder.

Lastly, the piece de resistance here are the two mixes by Artful Dodger. They supply both a full Vocal remix and a Dark Dub, the latter of which was MASSIVE back in the day, and still sounds great. I know it's blasphemy, but I think prefer this to the full vocal mix. I remember shaking my booty in the clubs to this when it came out, and it would absolutely destroy dance-floors. An true killer UK garage track.

I know garage won't be everyone's tastes, so if they ain't your particular cup of tea, between the original soul flava, and the other three there will be something here for us all. There's not a bad version of this track.

This post is dedicated to the memory of our very own Lynden David Hall, who we all miss terribly, and with utmost respect to his family. Lynden had all the talent in the world and should have blown up huge. He was taken from us us far too soon yet leaves a legacy of some amazing music. I wonder what great songs we would have had if he was still with us. We will never know now.

Peace and Love.

CD1 Tracklist

1. Forgive Me (D-Influence Radio Mix) 
2. Forgive Me (Album version) 
3. Love U I Do

CD2 Tracklist

1. Forgive Me (D-Influence 12" Mix) 
2. Forgive Me (Ignorants Club) 
3. Forgive Me (Artful Dodger Vocal) 
4. Forgive Me (Artful Dodger Dark Dub) 

Download : LDH-FM.7z | Filesize: 68.3MB

Various - Talkin Loud Two (1993)

Talkin' Loud ‎– 516 061-2

This one's going out to JayBilla, and to the rest of the MIA Soul Vendor crew who have yet to return.

I used to love the trend that we enjoyed in the 90s of labels releasing "sampler" compilation albums. It was a great way to get hold of some phatt tunes at a reasonable price. In my other life as a hiphop and Drum & Bass fan, Rawkus Records and Moving Shadow used to do a wicked line in the things.

I digress though. Talkin Loud's second compilation album is a belter with highlights including Galliano's Prince Of Peace, All I have In Me and Move On from the seminal Young Disciples, MC Solaar dropping some dope French hiphop in Qui Seme Le Vent Recolte Le Tempo, Omar's two joints, Incognito's fab Stevie Wonder Cover Don't You Worry Bout A Thing (as posted elsewhere on here) and the always brilliant Take Me Now by Tammy Payne. And that's just my faves. The others ain't exactly filler.

What this all adds up to is a strong release from a fantastic label highlighting their trademark blend of bohemian/urban/hippy/soul/acid jazz.

I'd actually forgotten what a great album this was. What are YOUR highlights?

Tracklist

1. Urban Species - Hide And Seek (4:35) 
2. Galliano - Hungry Like A Baby (5:12) 
3. Incognito - Colibri (5:39) 
4. Omar - You've Got To Move (5:14) 
5. The K-Creative - Back To The Real World (7:18) 
6. Young Disciples - All I Have In Me (6:06) 
7. Marxman - Theme From Marxman (4:24) 
8. MC Solaar - Qui Seme Le Vent Recolte Le Tempo (4:00) 
9. Perception - Serious Love (5:36) 
10. Bryan Powell - I Commit (3:22) 
11. Tammy Payne - Take Me Now (5:35) 
12. Young Disciples - Move On (3:27) 
13. Omar - Music (5:37) 
14. Galliano - Prince Of Peace (3:59) 
15. Incognito - Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing (5:12) 

PS - I have an alternative version of this CD with a slightly tweaked tracklisting. 3 songs are different. Track 12 is 'Apparently Nothin'' rather than 'Move On', Track 13 is 'There's Nothing Like This' instead of 'Music', and 15 is 'Always There' and not 'Don't You Worry Bout A Thing'. If there's any interest I can always put that up as well. Let me know.

Download: TL2.7z | Filesize: 177MB

Nu Colours - What In The World / Greater Love - (1993)

Polydor/Wildcard, CARDD 4

Another 320kbps re-up!

I'm going to start this off with a complaint: WHAT THE HELL WERE POLYDOR/WILDCARD THINKING MAKING GREATER LOVE A B-SIDE????!?!?!?

It's got classic stamped all over it, and, if only it had been supported and marketed it could well have made a decent splash on the pop charts, and seen the band get a bit more recognition than they did. It's an incredibly strong song, it's got beautifully sung vocals, and a nice, slinky, urban groove to it courtesy of producers par excellence Ethnic Boyz.

I honestly believe this is one of the UK's finest soul moments.

Not that there's anything wrong with the main track, What In the World. It's a really nice guitar driven piece of soul, produced by a certain Robert Howard of The Blow Monkeys fame (thanks for the confirmation, Frank). I always loved Wait his duet with my namesake, Kym Mazelle.

There's a third track (fourth, if you count the Greater Love Remix - more on that in a moment) called Want Your Love 2 B Mine, which is a perfectly decent backup track, but with such a good main track in What In The World, and an even better one as the "B-Side", if you will, in the shape of Greater Love, it's easily forgotten.

As mentioned, there's also an Ethnic Boyz remix of Greater Love, which is odd really, as they produced the original version, and it's fairly similar, just a touch more dubby. I prefer the original, but it's nice to have for completions sake.

So there you have it, one of my all-time favourite tracks, as a bloody B-Side! Amazing.

- Kymba :)

Tracklist

1. What In the World 
2. Greater Love 
3. Greater Love (Ethnic Boyz Remix) 
4. Want Your Love 2 B Mine 

Download: NC-WITW-GL.7z File size: 38.1 MB

En Vogue - Hold On (1990)

Atlantic – A 7908 CD, WEA International – 7567-86178-2-LO, 1990

Another re-up in 320kbps!

I throw the word 'classic' around a lot in my write-ups, but I'm sure you will agree that this track is the very definition of the word.

I'm also quite sure you know all about En vogue already, but, if not, here's a bitesize guide: They're a Grammy-nominated R&B girl-band Assembled in Oakland, California, USA in July 1989 by producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, formerly of Club Nouveau (Mick has already given us the lowdown on Foster & McElroy and Club Nouveau here.). En Vogue launched with original members Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson (who left in 1997 & went on to form Lucy Pearl with Raphael Saadiq & ATCQ's Ali Shaheed Muhammed) and Terry Ellis. They sold over 28 million albums and singles worldwide, and have won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other all female group in MTV history, a total of 7 VMAs. The group was named the second most successful girl group of the 90's and the 18th most successful act overall of the 90's according to Billboard magazine.

Hold On starts strong with the girls giving us a wicked rendition of The Jackson 5's Who's Lovin' You, showcasing each girls soaring vocals and the beautiful harmonising of the group as a whole. It gets better when the beat drops and suddenly we have an absolutely banging tune built on a loop from James Brown's beyond dope The Payback, over which the girls can strut their stuff and dispense beautifully sung knowledge and advice on keeping your man.

You know this tune, and you sure don't need me to tell you about it. There are three mixes on the CDS, not really a lot to pick from between them, but the extended version is worth the entry fee alone, as, unlike the other two versions, it hasn't featured on a million and one R&B compilation albums.

Last bit of trivia about this particular release: The inlay card was misprinted with details of a release called Nationwide Television by a Tony Baez (see above). Weird.

Tracklist

1. Hold On (7" Edit) 
2. Hold On (Extended Version) 
3. Hold On (Radio Version With Intro) 

Download: EV-HO.7z Filesize: 43.2MB

Teddy Riley Featuring Tammy Lucas – Is It Good To You (1992) (UK & US CD Singles)

SOUL Records, MCA Records – MCSTD 1611

This is another pre-existing Soul Vendor post that I am updating with 320kbps rips goodness. I'm also making this a double post with both the UK CD Single and the US promo releases. Don't say I'm never nice to you. ;)

Anyway...

The soundtrack album for seminal Hip-Hop movie Juice was overflowing with dope tracks from various artists like EPMD, Naughty By Nature, Big Daddy Kane and others. It really is up there with the greatest urban soundtrack albums. Leading the way in terms of single releases were Aaron Hall's superb Don't Be Afraid as posted previously, alongside this monstrous cut.

Is It Good To You is a reworking of a tune of the same name that TR produced for the late great Heavy D a year before. That song featured the bassline from Junior Giscombe's 'Mamma Used To Say', and, coupled with Heav's quality rhymes, made it a song of some note. Forward on a year and Teddy hooked up with long term collaborator, the honey voiced Tammy Lucas to rework the song into a fully fledged New Jack Swing masterpiece.

It's a real shame Tammy Lucas never blew up in her own right. I always loved her voice; she sounded damn near angelic, sung with real style, and stole the show whether guesting on the brilliant 1nce Again by A Tribe Called Quest, or Blackstreet's Tonight's The Night (both of which I will be adding to this site in the coming weeks). Frank/Windowlicker mentions in the older post's comments section reading an interview with her where she mentions that, as a plus sized woman, the record company didn't know how to market her, and so she went into writing rather than being an artist herself. What a superficial world we live in; hypocritical, too, with Heavy D's larger size being perfectly acceptable.

This release, then, is a nice reminder of a wonderful soul singer who never quite got her due.

There are six tracks on the UK single, most of them sound almost identical barring one or two slight differences in the arrangement, so I will let you judge which is the best. However, the Acapella might be of interest for you mixologists. For me, much like Aaron Hall's Don't Be Afraid, it's the album version featured on the Juice OST, conspicuous by its absence, which is best, so I've included it as a bonus track. 

UK CD Single tracklist

1. Is It Good To You (On The Radio Mix)
2. Is It Good To You (Acapella) 
3. Is It Good To You (Hip Hop Mix) 
4. Is It Good To You (In The Clubs Mix) 
5. Is It Good To You (Lucasade Mix) 
6. Is It Good To You (Instrumental)

Download link below.

 

And here is the US release for sake of completion, which contains Percapella and Bonus Beats versions not available on the UK disc. I don't have the actual CD to hand at the moment to scan the artwork, so cover and CD courtesy of Discogs. :)

If you appreciate this post, or have great memories of it then please leave some love in the comments section. This track deserves it.

Peace and love x

US promo CD tracklist 

1. Is It Good To You (7" Mix) 
2. Is It Good To You (12" Mix) 
3. Is It Good To You (Hip Hop Mix) 
4. Is It Good To You (Instrumental) 
5. Is It Good To You (Percapella) 

Download: TRTK-IIGTY.7z Filesize: 149.8MB

Big Daddy Kane - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now (1989)

Cold Chillin' ‎– W 2635T

Here's a quick and dirty post of an utterly brilliant 12".

Apologies upfront as this is a vinyl rip, and while my rip is great, I no longer have access to to the large scanner I used to use, so I've had to borrow an image from Discogs.

The audio rip itself is particularly good. It's a 320kbp rip of a treasured slice of wax. Being a bit OCD I used to tape record my 12" records as soon as I bought them, and then leave the 12" alone, meaning there are very few pops and crackles. It sounds almost like a CD rip.

Anyway, about this tune. The original is okay, but far from Kane's greatest track. However, the two Brixton Bass remixes here (track 1 'Brixton Bass Mix; and track 3 'UPSO Mix' are phenomenal and really elevate it. 

The pick of the bunch is the titular Brixton Bass mix, with it's sweet and slick production. This mix transformed it into a smooth summer jam you can bump in your whip to this day and it sounds pretty damn fresh still, and, aside from Kane mentioning the year on a couple of occasions, has aged like a fine wine. I absolutely adore this track!

In addition to the quality of the main remix, the UPSO Mix is really good, too. Yeah, it may not be quite as amazing, but the tougher sounding UPSO Mix is still way better than the original and flexes its muscles with a lovely reverse JBs/The Grunt loop, and will satisfy the street crowd.

All in all, this is a pretty essential release, especially if, like me, you adore Big Daddy Kane.

Tracklist

1. Ain't No stoppng Us Now (Brixton Bass Mix)
2. Ain't No stoppng Us Now (LP Version)
3. Ain't No stoppng Us Now (UPSO Mix)

Download: BDK-ANSUN.7z | Filesize: 31.3MB

Omar - Keep Steppin' (1994)

RCA Records 74321233672

So, the 12" of this was posted previously by Mick, but this is a new 320kbp rip of the two CD singles, with freshly scanned artwork, so I figured I'd put up a new post.

I love the positive lyrics in this track. Check them out:

Keep Steppin’
O. Lye-Fook/D. Frank

When you’re walking talking steady you're ready,
To be dealing with your own inhibitions,
If I told you so you’d never believe me,
That you yourself must make those crucial decisions

It’s never too late, To do what you want,
Things can go right, You’ve got to be strong

Don’t be bullied in your own little corner,
Weigh up your principles with dignity and honour,
We all have our own ways of moving,
Sometimes the other people can’t see that we’re grooving

Repeat chorus

Keep on steppin' heads up up don’t worry,
You get yours i get mine to the next story,
Pick up the pace blackness in your face,
So much flava with my very own taste,
Giving it all ’cause it’s all that i'm giving,
Now who can stop me from my choice of living,
Politics hurts in a life that costs,
Concrete is down and my advice is step off

Give me something that makes it worth me living,
Want some mountain air ’cause i don’t care, For this pollution I am breathing,
Gonna let go of this excess baggage i am carrying,
I'm gonna reach so high it feels like i am truly truly flying

Repeat chorus

I ain’t so old to learn something new,
Too blind to see, Too deaf to hear,
Too dumb to understand the truth,
When will we all learn,
So we can all use, The wisdom for a greater meaning

Co-produced by Omar and David Frank for Muso Music Inc.

Omar .. vocals, keyboards
Dave Frank .. Keyboards, programming
Concrete .. rap

Mick said: "A collection of mixes on this '94 CD Single from RCA. The original release is backed up by the Uptight Remix by Rodney Hunter (Moreaus) & Demon Flowers (Werner Geier of Kruder & Dorfmeister). It features additional vocals from Leena Conquest (Boundaries).

Next up comes from Gang Starr's DJ Premier and features Uptown (Dope On Plastic). Last but not least, we have two mixes from London's Ghetto Lab featuring Darkman with his own inimitable rap style. The last mix is an Acapella featuring Darkman. No unreleased tracks though, which is a shame but then what do you want for £3."

Kymba says: CD1 is a suite of mixes. As a big fan of Gang Starr and DJ Premier, it's no secret that I love his mix. The main melody is sampled and cut up from Bob James' Touchdown, sample spotters.  The Ghetto Lab Mix is a typical Darkman affair and pretty dope. The Ghettapella will be of use to you mixologists, too.

However, for me, it is the Uptight Remix (featuring Leena Conquest blessing us with some sultry backing vocals) that towers above the other versions. It's funkier, punchier and really brings that funk out of Omar's original vocal recording. The fact that there's a Skull Snaps/New Day breakbeat in there helps. Man, I love that break! This is the mix I bought the CD for back in the day.

CD2 has the LP version of Keep Steppin', backed up with Omar's biggest cut, There's Nothing Like this and topped off with a beautiful duet with Carleen Anderson of The Young Disciples.

This 2 disc set is a great release, so get it while it's fresh!

Tracklist CD1

1. Keep Steppin' 
2. Keep Steppin' (Uptight Remix featuring Leena Conquest) 
3. Keep Steppin' (DJ Premier Mix featuring Uptown) 
4. Keep Steppin' (Ghetto Lab Mix featuring Darkman) 
5. Keep Steppin' (Ghettapella featuring Darkman) 

Tracklist CD2

1. Keep Steppin' 
2. There's Nothing Like This 
3. Who Chooses The Seasons (Duet featuring Carleen Anderson) 

Download here: O-KS.7z | Filesize: 78.3 MB

Omar - For Pleasure (1994)

BMG ‎– 74321208532, RCA ‎– 74321208532

Listen, before I start the review proper I feel the need to preface it with the following: we're not in the business of posting up entire albums on the Soul Vendor. We're all about venerating certain artists and primarily posting dope CD Singles containing mixes that, criminally, would be otherwise lost to time.

However, this album is special and deserving of veneration. It's out of print and only available on the secondary market, often for silly money (I'm looking at you Amazon third party sellers). Please do all you can to support the artist if you dig his work. Omar is the very definition of "legendary" and is one of the rare UK soul artists who had a very palpable influence on the US artists, essentially creating "neo soul" before it was even a thing.

Omar released For Pleasure back in July 1994 to widespread acclaim. Known mainly for the super-smooth joint There's Nothing Like This and the fabulous Your Loss My Gain, this time around Omar dropped an absolute BOMB of an album in For Pleasure which had a lot more swagger about it. The production had a touch more of the hiphop about it, and the tracks, for my tastes, were of a higher standard.

The first track proper, I'm Still Standing, is as infectious as the flu, and a great way to kick things off. I love how Omar plays those keys - it really makes me regret dropping my piano lessons! Next up is Saturday, probably my favourite cut off the album. That Monstrous bassline had me at first listen. Keep Steppin' is dope with its positive lyrics, but I preferred the Uptight Remix on the CD Single. Other choice cuts would be Need You Bad, Confection, Making Sense Of It with its square synth bass lead and the title track For Pleasure, in which Omar sounds like he's channelling Stevie Wonder on those keys!

For Pleasure remains a gem in the crown of UK soul and, for me at least, a true seminal moment. I hope it brings you as many eargasms as it did me.

Tracklist

1. My Baby Says
2. I'm Still Standing
3. Saturday
4. Keep Steppin'
5. Magical Mystery Interlude
6. Outside
7. Little Boy
8. Need You Bad
9. Can't Get Nowhere
10. Confection
11. Magical Mystical Way
12. Making Sense Of It
13. For Pleasure

Download here: O-FP.7z | Filesize: 118MB