We’re Gettin’ Root Down
Since I just took off the Jimmy Smith track from last week, I feel obligated to include another JS gem. As I mentioned before, I didn’t find out about the greatness of Jimmy Smith until last year.
Little did I know, I was grooving to Jimmy’s organ when I didn’t even know it, on the Beastie Boys’ “Root Down”. If I had any sense, I would’ve tracked down the originator of that groove when I was listening to it in the mid 90’s. *slap across the face*
Well, it’s no surprise that the original absolutely destroys the Beasties’ take on it (and I do LOVE the Beasties’ version). But man, that beat (and the way it starts, cascading into that sick groove), that rhythm, the sweet low down Hammond… Sheesh.
Buy: Root Down
Photo credit: Hammondite, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Curits Mayfield’s I’m So Proud
I’m not sure who out there has VH-1 Classic, but on Friday, they played a great semi-recent Curtis Mayfield club show from somewhere in Europe. Hey how’s that for detail?? (Hey, I tried finding info on the VH-1 Classic web site, but no luck…) He and his band played a sweet version of “I’m So Proud”, one of Curtis’ tunes from his days with the Impressions long ago. He had that audience in the palms of his hands, it seemed everyone was on the edge of getting emotional. *sniff*
I wish I could track down that live version, but I can’t, so here’s the original from the early 60’s.
Listen:
Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions – I’m So Proud(mp3)Buy: The Anthology 1961-1977, Geffen 1992
2024 update: This might be it!
