The Eternal Playlist

The Blue-in-Green Sessions presents... The more posts we get through, the more you’ll understand that I’m a prolific procrastinator - the King of “I wish I would…”. More than that though, I’m the biggest fan of soul, jazz and funk music that I know and can’t pass up an opportunity to share my passion with like-minded folks and musos. The purpose of ‘The Eternal Playlist’ is for me to get through as many songs as I can from the aforementioned genres, with dashes of hip-hop and R&B thrown in too. I pick a song in each post and proceed to profess my adoration for it. The song that’s discussed in the next post has to begin with the last letter of the previous song’s title. You’ll catch on in no time :) Always feel free to jump in with suggestions and we’ll hopefully all be putting each other on to lots of great soul music - new and old, classic and unsung, major hitters and independent darlings.

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H is for... 'How Many Ways' [Bad Boy Remix] by Toni Braxton

I'm on the biggest Bad Boy Remix thing right now and am discovering a whole load I didn't even know existed.  And here's one right now - how am I just finding out that Toni Braxton has a Bad Boy Remix featuring Notorious BIG and Puff Daddy?!

And why are none of these remixes available to purchase anywhere?

I swear Puff should release a compilation with all the Bad Boy Remixes - surely it would be a best-seller.

Anyway, while the R Kelly Remix of this song is perhaps more well-known, this one is super awesome too.

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Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac Gangsta whitewalls TV antennas in the back You may not have a car at all But remember brothers and sisters You can still stand tall Just be thankful for what you've got Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac Diamond in the back, sunroof top Diggin' the scene With a gangsta lean

William DeVaughn, ‘Be Thankful For What You Got’, 1972, Roxbury Records

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N is for... 'Never Too Much' by Luther Vandross

From the album 'Never Too Much', 1981, Epic Records

Our featured song today is the lead single from Luther Vandross's album of the same name and a song, perhaps along with 'Give Me The reason', that has become his signature number.

Other than the fact that the song hit #1 on the soul charts and #33 on the Billboard 100, there's little else I can really tell you about it that you wouldn't already know.  So for fun - and to highlight the incredible impact that this song has had on artists and fans - here's a list of artists that either covered or sampled the song in the last 35 yaers:

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Queen Pen, Big Kap, TCG, Craig T Cooper, Shaka, MC Hammer, Richard Smith, Aston Martinez, Will Smith, Troop, Paul Jackson Jr, Bad Influence, E-Life, ODahl... <pause for breath> Wu-Tang Clan, Mary J Blige, Gucci Mane, Beenie Man, Big Bub, Da Click, Pimp C, Keyshia Cole, Thelma Houston, Slum Village, Paul Kalkbrenner, Iron Sheiks, Digital Underground, Sunrize, Slick Rick, South Central Cartel, Pudgee <insert another breath> Osymyso, Double D, Miguel Migs, Born Jamericans, Samir Maslo and Mikey G.

'Never Too Much' gives us "H" as the first song for the next post...

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Said my name repeatedly, repeated me Like Tony Toni Toné Tony, Tony I know, I know, I know I said two too many Tony's

Andre 3000 from ‘Looking For Ya’ [Jedi Mix], Big Boi featuring Andre 3000 & Sleepy Brown, 2010

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A is for... 'A Fifth of Beethoven' [The Reflex Revision] by Henri-Pierre Noel

From 'The Reflex Revisions EP', 2016, Wah Wah 45s

Today we're showcasing one of the four songs that comprise the exciting new 'Reflex Revisions' EP which is something of a perfect marriage from three different heavyweights within their respective fields...

First, we have the London-based Wah Wah 45s record label, famed for producing new and exciting names within soul and jazz like Lea Lea and Colman Brothers; then we have the unearthed recordings of Henri-Pierre Noel.  Hennri-Pierre Noel - originally from Haiti, he moved to Canada and then released his first album, 'Piano' in 1979, promptly followed by 'One More Step' in 1980.  Having repackaged these for new audiences in 2012, Wah Wah continue to spread the good word by recruiting the production wizardry of The Reflex for this EP.  With an ever-growing list of Revisions including his work for legends Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder, Henri-Pierre Noel is now added to the list for a series of gems you'd be doing yourself a disservice to pass up.

'A Fifth of Beethoven' is actually a song that didn't find a home on either 'Piano' or 'One More Step' and was discovered in 2012 from Noel's previous recordings.  Thankfully, nearly 40 years later, Noel's cover of Walter Murphy's disco number has not only seen the light of day... but also the distinct pleasure of it's very own "Revision".

'A Fifth of Beethoven' gives us "N" as the first letter of the next song's post.

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M is for... 'Magnolia' by Lee Fields

From the album 'Emma Jean', 2014, Truth & Soul Records

Lee Fields’ job of securing his spot as the marquis act for Truth & Soul Records could be argued to be an increasingly difficult task bearing in mind the label’s ever-growing popularity and achievements: aside from being the production team behind Aloe Blacc’s mega-selling ‘Good Things’, the label also boasted an unexpected overnight sensation with the trans-Atlantic pairing of Terri Walker and Nicole Wray forming the group, Lady.

Well, as difficult as the aforementioned task may be for 65 year-old Lee Fields, he completes it with an incredible ease that his last three albums with the Daptone/Truth & Soul super-group – ‘The Expressions’ – as backing, steadily secure coveted spaces among any worthwhile ‘best of the year’ lists amongst soul music releases.  ‘My World’, ‘Faithful Man’ and 2014’s ‘Emma Jean’ – while serve to direct keen fans to celebrate and explore his older catalogue – show Fields as practically as good as it gets for soul music today.  I amuse myself by imagining that being a comment that would make him smile, considering how hard Fields admittedly tried earlier in his career to emulate the unabashed funk-ness of the legendary James Brown [see Fields’ release ‘Problems’, recorded in 2002 where he showcases what’s now known as the signature James Brown style, even going as far as covering ‘Get on the Good Foot’].

Funk’s loss was soul’s gain as currently exemplified by ‘Emma Jean’ (named after Fields’ late mother) with production handled by Leon Michels.  Much like Charles Bradley’s incredible ‘Victim of Love’ album from 2013, Fields comfortably opts not to play it safe and stick to traditional fare, even though – through all the musicians involved – it would result in sure-fire success.  What we’re left with though is genuinely something special and, with twinges of country soul throughout as epitomised by our feature song today, 'Magnolia', originally by JJ Cale.

I’ll conclude with a statement I made earlier and that’s that Lee Fields & The Expressions are genuinely as good as it can get in today’s contemporary soul market so if you’re yet to board the bandwagon, then ‘Emma Jean’ could be as good a place as any to start.

So ‘Magnolia’ gives us “A” as the first letter of the next song’s post...

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I'm a good man, food on the table Working two jobs, ready, willing and able... Good man, up having fun Got no kids and I love the Lord... Good man, I'm monogamous Never did time well, maybe just once... Good man and I puts it down Wanna say it twice but I puts it down

Raphael Saadiq, ‘Good Man’ from the album ‘Stone Rollin’, 2011, Columbia Records

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O is for... 'On My Way to Harlem' by Gregory Porter

From the album 'Be Good', 2012, Motema Records

Before Gregory Porter hit the super big time, signed with Blue Note Records, won a Grammy and sold bucket loads of records, he was the darling on independent world jazz label, Motema Records.

Motema Records have not only released excellent music from the likes of David Murray, Renee Marie and Lakecia Benjamin, but they were also the home of Gregory Porter's first two album releases: 'Water' (most famously known for housing the 12-minute powerhouse single, '1960 What') and 'Be Good', which is the release that features our showcased song today.

'On My Way to Harlem' would be the standout track for any album or compilation you want to place the song on.  The fact that it also shares that distinction on 'Be Good' with the album's title track means that 'Be Good' is really an album you should definitely be owning.  While the title track is an exquisite ballad, 'On My Way to Harlem' is an uptempo and energetic jazz number with a brilliant energy.  Seven minutes just isn't long enough.

So 'On My Way to Harlem' gives us "M" as the first letter of the next song's post.

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H is for... 'Hello' by Joe

"Hello, it's me..."

Words uttered by millions of people everyday but forever more now intrinsically linked to the opening line of Adele's mega-anthem that she can now add to her ever-expanding list of mega-anthems.

It's a song that not only became so ingrained in popular culture seemingly within minutes of its release, but also saw itself open to interpretation.  A lot.  By many artists.  Andy Allo and Chrisette Michele were two R&B artists who tackled the song but the version we're showcasing here today is Joe Thomas's.  He was so proud of his efforts - as he should be - that he actually even made a video for it which you can peep below...

'Hello' gives us "O" as the first letter of the next song's post.

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Y is for... 'You're Makin' Me High' by Toni Braxton

From the album 'Secrets', 1996, LaFace Records

'Secrets' may very well be the album best remembered for releasing the massive-selling 'Un-Break My Heart' into the world - along with its accompanying video featuring Tyson Beckford's 18-pack abs - but that single was actually preceded by the Grammy-winning single we're showcasing today.  

From Braxton's celebrated years as a part of LaFace Records - the powerhouse label releasing records from Usher, TLC, Donnel Jones and OutKast - her union with Babyface was as strong then as it is now.  (The two having just won a Grammy for their collaborative effort, 'Love, Marriage & Divorce'.)

Produced by Babyface and Groove Theory's Bryce Wilson, the pair delivered a timeless piece of mid-tempo R&B as the double A-side to 'Let It Flow'.  The song would later be given a new lease of life in 2001 when Redman & Method Man slyly sampled the "High" in Braxton's chorus to imply... well, it's fairly obvious what Red & Meth would want to imply with the word "High".

'You're Makin' Me High' gives us "H" as the first letter of the next song's post.

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S is for... '(Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay' by Otis Redding

Released in 1968, Stax/Volt Records

In a September 1990 interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Steve Cropper (co-writer of the song) explained its origins:

Otis was one of those the kind of guy who had 100 ideas. [...] He had been in San Francisco doing The Fillmore. And the story that I got he was renting boathouse or stayed at a boathouse or something and that's where he got the idea of the ships coming in the bay there. And that's about all he had: "I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again." I just took that... and I finished the lyrics. If you listen to the songs I collaborated with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. [...] Otis didn't really write about himself but I did. Songs like "Mr. Pitiful," "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)"; they were about Otis and Otis' life. "Dock of the Bay" was exactly that: "I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay" was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform.

'(Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay' gives us “Y” as the first letter of the next song’s post...

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2 plus 2, it equals 4

Snoop Dogg, ‘Let’s Get Blown’ from the album ‘R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta) The Masterpiece’, 2004, Geffen Records