Stevie Wonder: Hey Love
From Down to Earth (Motown, 1966)

Seriously? How the f— have I never posted this before considering it’s pretty much one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs of all time which is another way of saying it’s one of the greatest songs of all time. Perfect pop song: under 3 minutes long, killer hook, a beat that you can’t help but smile at and Stevie at his finest, vocally.

Lately, I’ve gotten my wife hooked on the song after she heard it at a wedding I went to. Her and [...]

Continue reading MAY I HAVE A WORD WITH YOU?

Allen Toussaint: Soul Sister
Fingers and Toes
From Life, Love and Faith (WEA, 1972)

i originally posted this song almost exactly five years ago, albeit under very different circumstances. At the time, it was following the Katrina disaster and I was mentally and emotionally spent and I posted a few of Toussaint’s songs as both homage and salve.

Five years later and I was at the Groove Merchant this past weekend and Cool Chris was playing “Soul Sister” and I remembered how fucking great this song is (pardon mon français). It’s funny because [...]

Continue reading ALLEN TOUSSAINT: FOR THE SISTERS

Marius Cultier: The Way It Should Be
Nathalie
Ochung
Zouk
From My Way (Magidisco, 1976)

Grupo Los Yoyi: Banana
Paco La Calle
From S/T (Egrem, 1977)

This is easily one of the most extraordinary albums I’ve come across in a long, long time. Cultier represents one of those ultimate examples of transnational musical mastery – a pianist born in Martinique but recorded in both Canada and France and sounds like he’s from everywhere and nowhere at once. Even though My Way is ostensibly a “jazz” album, it [...]

Continue reading MARIUS CULTIER + GRUPO LOS YOYI: CARIBBEAN CRAZINESS

Cachao y su Orquesta: El Manicero
From 7″ (Maype, 1968)

Johnny Sedes: El Manicero
From Mama Calunga (Fonseca, 1969)

Ranil and His Tropical Band: El Manicero
From Ranil’s Jungle Party (Masstropicas, 2010)

“El Manicero (The Peanut Vendor)” is easily one of the best known Cuban compositions in the world, covered many many many times over yet it is a tune I never, ever seem to tire of. I’ve been lax in actually showing proper love even though my intentions have been there for a while: both Cachao and Sedes’ versions [...]

Continue reading FRESH PEANUTS FOR SALE

Andres Landero: Perdi Las Abarcas
From Con Las Mejores Cumbias). Also available on Historia Musical de Andres Landero

(Editor’s Note: Bardo Martinez is one-third of Chicano Batman, a great local L.A. group I “discovered” when Sonido Franko sent me their new EP earlier in the summer. Among their other strengths, the group really has a sense of what a good summer song sounds like so I reached out to Bardo for a post and he didn’t just lace us with a really cool cumbia, he provided a huge historical back story behind it. Bueno! He [...]

Continue reading SUMMER SONGS: BARDO MARTINEZ