McKoy ‎– Fight - (1992)

Right Track Records ‎– CD RT KOY-02

Mick's original write-up can be found here.

More goodness from the awesome Noel McKoy and band who have been covered on here many times. McKoy had a real knack for blending social commentary with heartfelt soul music and were essential listening for younger me.

In recent times, Noel has been a part of the brilliant British Collective, along with Don E, Omar, Carl McIntosh, Lee Johns and several other UK soul veterans.

The City Lick is, of course, produced by the legendary and always dope Dodge & IG Culture, no surprises that it is probably my favourite version, although mad love to the original version should be taken as a given.

Paul Gotel's Belvedere Mix is also pretty good with its recreation of the bassline from Gwen McCrae's All This Love I'm Giving.

But all that aside the Original & City Lick are perfection. Start there and branch out is my advice.

Tracklist

1. Fight (7" Mix) 3:20
2. Fight (City Lick Mix)
3. Fight (Paul Gotel Belvedere Mix)
4. Fight (Original Mix)

Discogs page

Download: M-Fi.7z | Filesize: 41.2MB

Dodge City Productions - Unleash Your Love - (1993)

4th & Broadway ‎– BRCD 265, 4th & Broadway ‎– 862 067-2

Another banger from the Dodge City Productions boys, again featuring the wonderful  Portugese jazz vocalist Ghida De Palma on vocals. This was the next-best track after As Long As We're Around off the Steppin' Up & Out album, and  makes for another heavy release.

You get a radio edit version in the City Lick Edit, but not the full length or an extended version. This original rub still remains my favourite so I'm including the LP version as well for completions sake.

The Unleash Your Love (Unleash A Scat Mix) is a nice change of pace - a much tougher beat, with a dash of ragga dancehall style vocals give it a completely different vibe to the original with Ghida strutting her stuff via resung vocals.

The No Strings Attached mix is aptly named, being the regular City Lick version minus all strings instrumentation. It's nice but does leave me thinking the strings were there for a reason.

Somewhat predictably, I say go straight for the Album Version or the City Lick Edit to enjoy this track at its best. The other mixes are well worth a listen though.

Kymba

Tracklist

1. Unleash Your Love (City Lick Edit)
2. Unleash Your Love (Unleash A Scat Mix)
3. Unleash Your Love (No Strings Attached Mix)
4. Don't Worry
5. Bonus Track: Unleash Your Love (City Lick Mix) (Album Version) 

Download: DCP-UYL.7z | Filesize: 58.4MB

Dodge City Productions - The Clarity EP - (1992)

4th & Broadway Records BRCD 231 - 886 397-2

320 re-up - originally posted 07/06/2012.

Dodge City Productions (DCP) were a British hip hop/Acid jazz group formed in London circa 1991, (and signed to the 4th & Broadway records), by IG Culture (real name Ian Grant) and DJ Dodge (real name Roger Drakes). They were one of the leaders of the Acid Jazz movement, and also received much acclaim and success for their many, many dope remixes, usually done as "City Lick". The group split in the early 1990s, and both members went to have further success in the music industry as solo artists.

Anyway, I've already told you all about the DCP boys here, so to the tracks themselves.

I have problems picking out what version I prefer as I like them both; I think The Clarity Edit just edges it as the drums seem a bit tighter, but there's not a lot in it. What do you think?? 

It's backed up by two solid cuts from the album: Ain't Going For That (actually a sequel to the album cut) & The Slow Jam which is a gorgeous jazzy cut that slinks its way under your skin, and features... yeah, you guessed it, our man Ronnie Jordan on guitar.

All in all, a quality release.

Tracklist

1. The Road In Front Of Me (The Clarity Edit)
2. The Road In Front Of Me (The Black Mix)
3. Ain't Going For That (Part 2 '92)
4. The Slow Jam

Download: DCP-TC-EP.7z | Filesize: 54.0MB

Dodge City Productions - As Long As We're Around - (1992)

4th & Broadway Records - BRCD 261

320 Re-up - Originally posted 06/05/2012 by me.

Combining an authentic jazzy Hip-Hop swagger with a sophisticated soulful knowhow and bringing it to everything they touched, DJ Dodge and IG Culture were two of my favourite producers back in the day. 

A regrettably short-lived career as a duo in their own right under the name Dodge City Productions saw them release an EP, a couple of singles and an LP, Steppin' Up & Out, and go on to remix anybody who mattered, infusing any artist with their trademark classy urban sound.

Steppin' Up & Out is a great album, but I felt it perhaps leaned a little too heavily towards Hip-Hop, and could have done with a couple more tracks like As Long As We're Around to make it truly fly, as it was clearly the stand-out track. Feels a little weird me saying that, being the Hip-Hop fan that I am, to speak the truth.

Both Dodge and IG have enjoyed hugely successful solo careers since disbanding DCP and are still very much involved in the music scene. Here's some further reading on on our dynamic duo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_City_Productions

Onto this release, featuring the talented vocalist Ghida De Palma singing her ass off, and the mighty Ronnie Jordan on guitar (no wonder it sounds so great), the LP Edit is a nice enough shortening of a brilliant track, but it saddens me there is no extended version of it, or even just the full LP version, on this CD (so I've included the full album track in the download to make up for that fact. Never say I don't look after you). Why only feature a shortened version of the reason you're buying the single for in the first place?? It doesn't make sense.

The script gets flipped in a harder take on the track in the Say You Hear Dis Mix; Ghida's vocals are re-sung in a more aggressive fashion, the beat is considerably harder; and it sounds a lot better today than I remember from the time when all I cared about was the original/LP version that was getting heavy rotation. Really good stuff. The Dub Dance version is effectively the LP mix minus pieces of the chorus, but is otherwise a minor variation on the original mix.

Rounding it out is the Whistle Mix of Young Life, which is a nice early 90s slice of jazzy Hip-Hop which, if, like me, you're into bands like A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul will appeal to you.

Enjoy this, as it's another classic.

Tracklist

1. As Long As We're Around (LP Edit)
2. As Long As We're Around (Say You Hear Dis Mix)
3. As Long As We're Around (Dub Dance)
4. Young Life (Whistle Mix)
5. Bonus: As Long As We're Around (LP Version)

Download Link is here: DCP-ALAWA.7z | Filesize: 54.4MB

Young Disciples - Road To Freedom (reissue) - (1991/2006)

Talkin' Loud Classics ‎– 9840692

I mentioned in a previous that I don't normally do album posts on here but really this place feels kinda incomplete without this iconic release.

Where do you start when talking about a classic such as this? Words fail me when I try to sum up what this represented for many of us us here in the UK in the early '90s, especially if I want to do it justice. 

Marc Nelson and Femi Williams had been kickin' it for a while in 1990 before they were introduced to a certain Miss Carleen Anderson, true funk and soul royalty, being the daughter of James Brown Protege Vicky Anderson (Message From The Soul Sisters), who had relocated to London. A coming together of like minded folk somewhat akin to the stars aligning.

Now, I ain't much of a believer in fate and suchlike, but whatever universal chemistry led to this fortuitous meeting, I am eternally grateful. It birthed such amazing music as Get Yourself Together, As We Come To Be, Move On, the heartrendingly beautiful Freedom Suite and, of course, Apparently Nothin' - a song so perfect and era defining it really needs little said about it (although I do wax lyrical on my Apparently Nothin' CD single post). 

In addition to Carleen's angelic singing, Road To Freedom featured guest spots from the always dope Masta Ace from the US, with my man MC Mell'O and Outlaw Posse repping the UK. The list of musicians involved is even more impressive; Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Mick Talbot, Paul Weller (yeah, THE Paul Weller (the album was recorded at his own studio) of The Jam fame), Steve White, Max Beesley, and IG Culture from Dodge City Productions, who all feature.

No wonder it was so damn good!

While a sizeable chunk of the UK demographic were swept along on the crest of a glorious wave of bleepy, intense BPM breakbeat madness and rave culture, there was a parallel musical movement more urban, more soulful and informed by a hip hop sensibility that pulled us in a direction far more nourishing to the soul. It had been around for a while, spearheaded by artists like Loose Ends and Soul II Soul in the late 80s, with bands such as the Sindecut, The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai and others following in the early 90s. The YDs were a huge part of that; really solidifying the urban cool identity of so many of us, and in a way, still defining us to this day.

So this is the 2006 reissue which contains 4 bonus tracks at the end. I wanted to put this up so you could get your hands on the Soul Pride Mix of Move On, which is easily one of their best, and really outstrips the original.

They only released the one album, which is a damn shame, but looking back on it, when you've dropped something so timeless and perfect... where would you go after that?

Peace and love x

Tracklist

1. Get Yourself Together (Part 1 & 2) 
2. Apparently Nothin' (Soul River) 
3. Funky Yeh Funki 
4. Talkin' What I Feel 
5. All I Have (In Dub) 
6. Move On 
7. As We Come (To Be) 
8. Step Right On (Dub) 
9. Freedom Suite (Freedom, Wanting, To Be Free) 
10. Young Disciples Theme 
11. All I Have In Me (Young Ideas Mix) 
12. Move On (Soul Pride Mix) 
13. Apparently Nothin' (12" Mix) 
14. All I Have In Me (Original Musiquarium Mix)

Download: YD-RTF.7z | Filesize: 175.256MB