Maceo Webcast #27 – “Crazy Mama” Lulu Hughes

Maceo Musicology Webcast #27 - "Crazy Mama"

Maceo Musicology Webcast #27 (The Rock Funk of Lulu Hughes) by Mace2theo on Mixcloud

Comments on Triple Threat #2:

Ymaginatif wrote:

And two very very good contributions by Maceo jumped out: both terribly funky and rocky. One is his opener track and the other is in French. Candadian French. I'm not good at picking out names, so do tell us more about those!

SeeNote wrote: Currently jamming to the funk driven contribution by Maceo from the Quebec chick. Who is "Crazy Mama" again?

So who is this Quebec chick "Crazy Mama"  

I was in Montreal a few years back to visit my then-girlfriend, and we had to go to a music benefit concert for her work.  One of the artist on that bill was Lulu Hughes.  Of course, all the artists were Québécois and I didn't know any of them.  Just before Lulu came on, my then-girlfriend leaned over to me and said "I think you'll like her."  Naturally my arrogant self expected some  Celine-Dion-balladtype music, but instead I was blown away!

So I tracked down her cd at a used cd store in Montreal.  She has a tremendous voice (and she sings in French and English), but it was her music that made me a fan.  Then I got her 2nd cd and I fell in love.

She is "Crazy Mama"

She's been featured on a few of my webcasts, but have bought together several of her jams here in one show.

I did receive some help with the pronunciations.

Enjoy 

Blue-eyed soul chanteuse Lulu Hughes was born and raised in Quebec, first earning attention as a member of the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir. In the decade to follow she kicked around the local scene fronting her own blues band, earning frequent comparisons to Janis Joplin, in addition to singing backup for everyone from Too Many Cooks to Barry White. 

After two years at the CASINO DE PARIS, Lulu returns home to present her first self-titled solo album in 2002. Her originality, her mix of influences such as funk, soul, rock, blues and swing earned her instant success with the first single ROCK WITH ME (WINNER OF THE SOCAN 2003 SONG OF THE YEAR AWARD).   Her dynamic debut leaves no one indifferent and in 2003, she was rewarded with two nominations at the ADISQ GALA (Quebec's version of the Junos in Canada, and the Grammys in the USA) for BEST FEMALE ARTIST and REVELATION OF THE YEAR.

Crazy Mama, released in 2006, is a powerful blend of rock, soul, funk and swing bringing her once again to a new level. 

Lulu, versatile and surprising, released a new album in 2010, with her new band the Montreal All City Big Band,  with 20 musiciens and 3 back up singers. The album was launched on June 2 , 2010 at l’Astral in Montreal.

(allmusic/star.ca)

Listen to later  Maceo Webast #27 - "Crasy Mama" Lulu Hughes

The review from CKJ505

Just a great podcast...

I just adore the interaction with her majesty and you. Maybe her majesty should do her own.

The opening track is just amazing, it's Zeppelin mixed with a bond theme.

It should be a bond theme really as it just has that something very different from anything else I have ever heard. It's wonderful.

Totally new to me but I have to say 'I am a big fan!'

An amazing artist, thanks for the introduction to the Crazy Mama.

I will follow, she has 1 more fan!

Mace2theO Webcast #24 - Three Kings

Maceo Musicology Webcast #24 - Three Kings

James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone

There may be only one Prince, but for me there were Three Kings - James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone.



I was lucky enough to have an older sister and a friend's older brother to introduce me to their music while I was a young lad (my sister took me to my first concert - James Brown at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh - when I was 11).  It seeped into my consciousness as I was chasing the latest Monkees and Jackson Five records.






As the music of the Three Kings was of the generation before me, they ended up influencing many of the artists I ended up listening to, from George Clinton to Mothers Finest to Prince to Living Colour, and others.
 





Given that all 3 are usually cited in most of the articles written to describe Prince, I thought I would put together this little webcast as background for those purple funkateers a bit younger than me, whose knowledge may be limited to greatest hits compilations, or casual fans of the 3 who haven't caught up on the unreleased tracks appearing on recent reissues and box sets. Enjoy

Warning: This turned out a bit funkier than I originally intended

  
Tracklist

1. Payback/Soul Power - James Brown (live 1974, Zaire)
2. Hear My Train A'Comin' - Jimi Hendrix (live 1967, BBC)
3. You Can Make It If You Try - Sly and The Family Stone (live 1969 Woodstock)
4. Sunny - James Brown w/ Dee Felice Trio (1969)
with Marva Whitney on co-lead vocals
5. Angel - Jimi Hendrix (home demo 1968)
6. I Remember - Sly Stone and Billy Preston (demo 1965)
7. Cold Sweat  - James Brown (False Start/Alternate Take, 1967 unreleased until 1996)
Slightly faster and a bit sloppier than the final funk-history-making version, this is notable in part as James explains the concept of "On The One" to the band
8. Freedom - Jimi Hendrix (No overdub take, 1970 unreleased until 2010)
9. Crossword Puzzle  - Sly & The Family Stone (outtake from 'Small Talk'- 1974, unreleased until 2007)
10. There Was A Time (I Got to Move) - James Brown (Alternate Take, 1970, unreleased until 1996)
Featuring Bootsy Collins on bass, with a guitar solo by Catfish Collins. That's right. A guitar solo. On a JB record. By Bootsy's brother.
11. Strato Strut - Band of Gypsys (1969 - unreleased until 2000)
Recorded during Band of Gypsys' rehearsals for the New Year's Eve 1969 shows at the Fillmore. BOG allowed Jimi to explore his funk and soul side, which allowed his ideas to flow from rhythm, rather than from lead guitar. As such, he could enjoy the grooves laid down by Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums to find a different way to express himself.  On the instrumental "Strato Strut" he plays a bit of lead and some rhythm as the band lay down a hardcore funky groove. BOG never released a studio album
12. Crazay - Jesse Johnson and Sly Stone (1986)
13. Think (About It) - Lyn Collins (1972)
The recording was produced by Brown (who also co-wrote the song) and featured instrumental backing from The J.B.'s. Along with "Funky Drummer" and "Funky President", "Think (About It)" is one of the most frequently sampled James Brown-produced recordings, having been used on tracks by dozens of hip hop artists.
14. Hear My Freedom - Jimi Hendrix (1969 unreleased until 2010)
Part of a handful of studio outtakes where Jimi starts incorporating some additional musicians on percussion and organ. "Hear My Freedom" is a studio jam with vocals, featuring Buddy Miles and (probably) Lee Michaels on organ.
15. Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) - Sly & The Family Stone (1973)
From 'Fresh' Sly's classic cover of a song made famous by Doris Day.



Listen later here

 

Mace2theO Webcast #22 - Mother's Finest

Mace2theO Webcast #22 - Mother's Finest

Maceo Musicology Webcast #22 (The Funk of Mother's Finest) by Mace2theo on Mixcloud

"They sound like Soul Train crashin' into Headbanger's Ball!"

Artist Spotlight - Mother's Finest

They are what can be called a rock-funk band with heavy overtones. Riff-heavy and soulful at the same time,they are a phenomenal stage act.  Formed in Atlanta,Georgia by vocalists Glenn Murdock and Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy, the original line-up was rounded out with Gary "Moses Mo" Moore on guitar, drummer B.B. Queen, Gary "Wyzard" Seay on bass and Mike Keck on keyboards.

'Discovered' by renowned hard rock producer Tom Werman (Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent, Motley Crue) who signed them to Epic Records and fronted by the amazing Joyce 'Baby Jean' Kennedy, Mother's Finest delivered in 1976 one of the eras most astounding albums. Fusing gritty funk with an explosive hard rock underbelly, the band was instantly praised as a welcome amalgam of Led Zeppelin and Sly & The Family Stone.   

They opened for the Who on their 1976 tour and got raves from the rock press. The band were guests on the German tv show Rockpalast and from that one oncert established a cult status in parts of Europe that lasts to this day. With all  this rock acclaim, their highest charting single was the ballad "Love Changes" which charted only on the R'n'B charts.(rock candy, rock roots)

 

While they had become well-known on the southern rock circuit, it wasn't until the single "Baby Love" in 1977 (a year before Prince's first album) that their sound reached most Funkateer's ears and blew us away.  Getting that album "Another Mother Further" and then discovering the previous self-titled Columbia debut released in 1976, I then heard the track "Gvie You All the Love (Inside of Me)" and I was forever sold. From there, it quickly became apparent that the combination of guitarist Moses Mo unleashing some of the heavy riffs and Baby Jean working a lyric with those soaring vocals was something different from what else was out there.  

They could rock, they could funk and they could "sang" but they were dangerous when they brought it all together. 

They remain almost criminally under-appreciated. They are one of my favourite bands.

So let me introduce you:

1.  Baby Love
2.  Mickey's Monkey
3.  I Can't Believe
4.  Love Ain't Goin' Nowhere*
5.  Give You All the Love (Inside of Me)
6.  Thank You for the Love
7.  Mr. Goodbar
8.  Funk-A-While (live @ Villa Berg)*
9.  Don't Wanna Come Back (live @ Villa Berg)*
10. Love Changes
11. Dis Go Dis Way, Dis Go Dat Way (Maceo mix)*
12. If 6 Was 9 (with Vernon Reid)*

*If you are already a fan of MF, then you'll enjoy these tracks

Listen later here

 

Mace2theO Webcast #16.5 - Twin Peaks Alternate Takes

Alternate Takes to the Twin Peaks webcast

.."Grooves and grooves up on the shelf"

In making a podcast, sometimes the problem is finding the right music for what you want to say.

Other times, you have too many good tracks.

Enjoyed Purpleblues podcast so much, as realised we could have had even further 'twinning' but for some last minute changes. So I did an spontaneous 'alternate take' mini -podcast in response - a twin of PB's twin.

A Deep Purple cover, a Stevie Salas cut, a different cut from Cee Lo, Eric Gales, Sharon and my own favs of Lulu and Stress...all artists featured on the original twin podcasts with tracks that are too good to just leave out

Whereas the original Twin Peaks podcasts has music reflecting the "textured tapestry of talent," this is a Guitar Funk Jam

1.  Burn - Cory Glover et al
Cory Glover,Simon Gregory,Lars Y.Loudamp,T.M. Stevens, and Van Romaine on the Black Rock Coalition's "Black Night-Deep Purple Tribute According To New York"

2.  Accroche-toi Bébé! (Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!) - Lulu Hughes
From Montreal, Lulu Hughes rips it up on a track from her 2nd album 'Crazy Mama'

3.  Be There - Inqbator
Amachi, J. Ogugua, and Wayne Binitie released a great debut album as Stress UK.but it didn't earn them a follow up with the record company. This album is essentially a follow-up, here with Karl Wallingerof World Party.

4.  What's Goin' Down    Hardware
Funk rock 'supergroup' Hardware consisted of lead guitarist Stevie Salas, P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins, and drummer Buddy Miles (formerly of the Band of Gypsys), produced by Bill Laswell

5. Closet Freak_Sexuality Live)    Cee-Lo Green
Before Cee-Lo put on a suit and sang "Forget You," he was a toga-wearing Closet Freak. This is live in his hometown of Atlanta, mixing in a Prince cover.

6. Montego Bay - Lulu Hughes
Crazy Mama hits the dance floor

7. Do What You Want - Sharon Jones & Daryl Hall
Live From Daryl's House, a cover of the Hall & Oates classic

8. Custard Pie (Revisited) - Matt Tutor, Eirc Gales & Derek Trucks    
Webcast #16 (Twin Peaks) started with Eric's acoustic version, so we'll end with his electric version from 'Whole Lotta Blues - Songs of Led Zeppelin'    

Listen now here

Listen later here

Mace2theO Webcast #10b - Rockhard in A Funky Place

Mace2theO Webcast #10b - Rockhard in A Funky Place

Maceo Musicology Webcast #10a (Rockhard in a Funky Place) by Mace2theo on Mixcloud

I grew up in a different time...

Webcasts #10a and #10b are linked as they were originally assembled at the same time to reflect two periods in my life - This is my 'Black Album'

Quote 1 The rock star named Stew doesn't have the fondest memories of growing up African-American and loving the likes of Led Zeppelin. "There were about four of us in this predominantly black school who listened to rock 'n' roll," he says. "Everyone else would tease us. It meant you were a pansy." (NY Daily News 'Rock is the new Black') Quote 2 "Black rock artists have gotten past the fear that prevents many of us from fully following our interests, even when those interests aren't seen as "traditionally" black. "I grew up listening to Joy Division, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Cure…." says TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone. "I simply identified with something in the [white rock] music.” He took that music as inspiration and, along with his bandmates, created Dear Science, the sharp, angry and euphoric genre-mashing album that Rolling Stone and SPIN unanimously named their 2008 album of the year. It was also one of the blackest albums I've heard." (boldaslove blog) Quote 3 And what is black rock, anyway? According to critic Greg Tate, editor of Everything But the Burden: What White People Are Taking from Black Culture, bands such as Fishbone and Living Colour emerged from the post-soul era, infusing the emotion of soul music into a more aggressive, modern-rock sound. Author Mark Anthony Neal wrote in The Birth of New Blackness, that the emergence of black rock signified "the conceiving of blackness in the absence of the black racial subject -- what happens to blackness when the need (and desire) to acknowledge the physical presence of black folk is removed." So it is not really about a black face standing in front of a all-white rock crowd, but the freedom to do so without race factoring in to the music they want to perform. And a lot of black fans and musicians play and listen to rock -- fans who are being tired of being ridiculed for attending shows because of their ethnicity and, most important, a community of thousands who want to live a punk or rock lifestyle without being unfairly judged because of the color of their skin." (boldaslove blog) Quote 4 "The r&b section was always at the back of the record store. I wanted to be in the front" (Prince)

This webcast reflects some of the artists I started following in late 80's when the above really mattered to me (my Black Album so to speak). At the time, I was feeling that society was beginning to define my cultural identity around hip hop, when I listened to a broader base of music. So I reacted with rock. In hindsight, it was a dark period for me (pun intended) in that I was seeking music based on race, which defeats the purpose.

Things are different 20 years later. More so than the success of Gnarls Barley and TV on the Radio, etc, it's the little things like the inclusion by Ymaginatif in the first Triple Threat Podcast of Alice Smith without knowing who she is that show me times are different- it's just music and nobody has to be excluded because their color and sound are different than traditional perceptions.  

      

Feel free to ignore my ramblings and put turn the knob up to 11.

Track list

1. Neon Messiah    - Terence Trent D'Arby
TTD was supposed to be the second coming. He was the first 'post-purple' artist that I followed, and based on his 1987 debut album "The Hardline..." with 'Wishing Well' etc, we were in for a great career.  But then came the infamous interview with 'the Quote' - "My debut record was better than Sgt. Pepper's" - which killed his career (note to self: don't attack rock critic idols when talking to rock critics). The critics couldn't wait to shred his 2nd album. It took 4 years before he delivered two strong albums, but things had moved on. It was a shame, as the guy had a voice.  He did learn his lesson, as he used to announce in his later concerts - "We can tend to be too ambitious when we're young, and a little blind. We can think we're the sh*t, but really we haven't seen the bigger picture." That could apply to a few artists I follow.  This cut is from his 3rd album "Symphony or Damn"

2. Bless Those  -  Living Colour
Wiki describes Living Colour as a "funk metal" band - funk metal?  Anyway, the leaders of the pack are still going strong and this is from their 2010 release. The band were prominent members of the Black Rock Coalition in NYC during the late 1980s and early 1990s (a movement which also featured Fishbone and 24-7 Spyz). One of my favorite bands of all time. 'Nuff said.

3. Freddie's Dead - Fishbone
4. Fight The Youth - Fishbone
Fishbone plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, and funk, and initally attracted a following based on their hyperactiveness, goofy sense of humor, and sharp social commentary.  Loud Guitars, thumbing bass and a ska horn section. Yum.  To be honest, I wasn't into Fishbone until the 'Truth and Soul' album in '88, and it's follow up soon after. Included here is a track from each - a cover of Curtis Mayfield's jam and an original tune that shows off their ability to blend a rock riff with a ska-funk break & fade.   

5. Jungle Boogie - 24-7 Spyz
Upon their formation in 1986, the band immediately earned a dedicated following in New York due to the eclectic mix of their music. The band would switch gears from Motown and soul sounds with lush vocal harmonies to violent heavy metal and punk with ease, sometimes several times within the course of one song. Here they do funk-metal justice to the Kool & The Gang classic. Check out the bass solo.

6. Something Beautiful    Trombone Shorty & Lenny Kravitz   
I really had high hopes for Lenny.  His debut was like a breathe of fresh air - organic hippy funk. However, from there he became a 'rock star' and his music less interesting to me. But I really do like this track he did with New Orlean's Trombone Shorty in 2010 for TS's debut album.

7. Down Low - Eric Gales
A former child prodigy guitarist who plays a right-handed guitar "upside-down" (with the E-bass string on the bottom) even though he is not naturally left-handed (btw, not some Jimi homage but his left handed brother taught him to play). He was signed to Electra at 15, he plays the blues with in-your-face guitar riffs and in-the-pocket grooves.

8. How I Got Over - The Family Stand
9. This Too Will Pass - The Family Stand
The Family Stand is a New York based rock/soul group active since the late 80's, consisting of Sandra St. Victor, Peter Lord, & V. Jeffrey Smith. They found success on the dance floor with "Ghetto Heaven" which allowed them to produce most of Paula Abdul's 'Spellbound' album (which also contained the purple song "U").  But they changed everything with 1991's breakthough classic "Moon Over Scorpio" which tackled politics, social issues, relationship tensions, sexual tension, and musically blending the mixed influences Peter, Jeff & Sandra bought to the table. Sandra later work with Prince (one track ended up on 'Emancipation').  These two cuts are from their 2010 release and show off their funk metal (thanks wiki) credentials. One of my favorite bands.

10. Attracted To You (Live) - Terence Trent D'Arby
A strange choice, but one of my favorite tracks from his 2nd album.  "Take me to the bridge"

11. Stuntman (Live) (Maceo remix) - 24-7 Spyz
Here live as a power trio, this is a special remix for the podcasts. The full version might have blown your speakers.

12. What's Your Favorite Color? (Live-Medley) -  Living Colour
Seeing this band live in NYC just blew me away.  This medley has been released as seperate tracks on various EPs, but here it is as originally recorded - Ocean (Led Zep)/Sail On (Bad Brains)/What's Your Favorite Color? with some house music and James Brown thrown in for good measure. This features the original band of Corey, Vernon and Will with Muzz on bass.

Listen now here

Listen later here




Reviews:

purpleblues1 wrote:

I'm with you on that... genre busting is the way to go now...
Back in the 80's, Dan Reed Network and Living Colour were objectified as "special" because they weren't white and working class...
They , along with Fishbone, Roachford and the success of P proved that it doesn't matter the colour of your skin, good music is good music.
And I was lucky enough to catch them all live at one stage or another, back in my regular gig going days.
I was always trying to fit in - Too Rock for my soul friends, too Blues for my Metal friends, too funky for my punk friends, yet I also got to see great African, Reggae, jazz and folk bands too.
All of which proved that diversity is a positive thing and you should never put people in boxes...
HIp Hop went the other way, but that's another rant...

Ymaginatif wrote:

The finale with the live Living Color song is AMAZING!!! I heard it yesterday on the bus, and it physically hurt to have this as the ending of the podcast!!! I wanted more more more! No ... nothing ... only the goodnight song (and a little bit of Prince )

What a blast of a podcast!