Two Sisters (Part 2)

I just went out and bought this record today. It's "High Noon," on Sugarscoop Records, again from 1983. I was curious about it because on the Two Sisters' album, they only include the "High Noon (Remix)." So this, presumably, is an otherwise unheard original version.

Like the album version, this track is co-produced by Paul A. Rodriguez (who did the whole album) and Man Parrish (who only did this one song). And, yes, this is definitely a different version of the song than the album's Remix.

What's more, on the B-side we have "High Noon (Part 2)!" Now, a lot of times, back in these early disco days, "Part 2" was just an overly-promising way of labeling the instrumental version. But here, "Part 2" is nearly three minutes longer than the A-side. And it's not just an instrumental or another "Dub-A-Pella" (see my last Two Sisters post); it's a proper, complete and alternate version of the song.

So, let's break it all down. First of all, just to clarify: the original mix is a bit over 4 minutes, the album version is about 5 even, and Part 2 is a full 7. Now, the original is naturally the simplest, though the basic elements of the song are the same on all versions... they've all got the same drums, bassline and super fast "dit-a-dit-a-dit-a-dit-dit" keyboard riff playing throughout. And the vocals are all the same, naturally. The premise here is that "high noon" is the critical point in the narrator's relationship with a guy; and they have to decide if they're going to pursue a relationship or move in seperate directions. To wit, "it's too late for me and you, our love has hit high noon!"

Part 2, then, is essentially an extended version of the original. It doesn't really add any new elements, but it features more scratching, more breakdowns, more fun stuttered vocals ("high nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-noon!" And for the sake of laying it all out on the table for you guys, I love that shit!) and more solo'd keyboard elements. There's also a few small bits where they add a stuttering echo effect to the scratches, which is kinda cool. It does feel a bit more natural in this form than on the A-side. To my mind, Part 2 is like the proper version of the song, and the A-side is the forgettable Radio Edit.

The remix (again, that's the one on the album) adds more spacey sound effects and some different scratches. That stuff that sounds like spaceship engines constantly flying by? That's only on this remix. Sometimes this mix xomes off as fresher, but othertimes it feels jumbled and overcrowded, like on the last verse, when they add a new high-pitched keyboard riff just as one of the sisters starts to sing again, and it just sounds noisy, where they're competing for your attention.

So, which version is the best is really going to just come down to personal preference... I think we can safely say that the original mix mostly just boils down to a historical curiosity piece only. But the remix and Part 2 both have their strengths (I think I'm personally leaning towards the latter). But the good news is that the 12" did turn out to have some nice exclusivity, and you can easily find copies of both, so you don't have to choose. :)

B-Boys, Beware; Two Sisters are... Right There

I've had the Two Sisters' album since I was a kid. And to me me back then, the album was really all about the opening track, "B-Boys Beware." It was pretty much the most straight up hip-hop track, and it featured MC G.L.O.B.E. of The SoulSonic Force... after that, for the rest of the album, they mostly sang and I wasn't too interested. But much later, as an adult, this is the single that brought my attention back to the rest of the album.

"Right There" came out on Sugarscoop Records in 1983. It's one of many singles off this album, 'cause back in those days, albums were really just compilations of the artist's multiple singles; and you'd have only maybe 2 or 3 tracks, usually of far lesser quality (read: half-assed), thrown on there as filler.

So, yeah, they sing; but this isn't R&B. You know, it's electro/ freestyle/ whatever else all those funky pop non-rap hip-hop songs get labeled as. You know, like Shannon, Debbie Deb or Connie, except there's two of them, so they have some nice interplay in their stylings.

The song itself is pretty simple (natch), but in that delightfully vague/ accessible pop song kind of way. "Right there" is clearly in reference to the narrator's heart, where her lost love has touched her before he left and where she keeps her secrets. It's also one of those playfully obvious to but still subtle enough to fly over the heads of the naive mainstream double entendres. Lines like "this is where I keep my heat," and "I liked it when you put your love in there" can elicit a sly smile from the guys in the audience, but to our moms, they were still just referring to the heart.

And they're also the type of lyrics that you're not meant to pay much attention to. Their voices are essentially just another instrument, and you're only really thinking about how cool it sounds when their pitch rises and falls as they sing, "RiiiIIIiight there!" It's all about the sonic landscape produced by Paul A. Rodriguez, who did a lot of this fresh stuff in the 80's, especially at Sugarscoop, where I believe he was a full time staffer. It's pure new wave 80's: programmed drums, synths, more synths, shamelessly processed vocals, and zany keyboard solos.

And this 12" version is remixed (by industry staple Bill Szymczyk), taking even ore of the emphasis away from the vocals and onto the studio sounds: more keyboards (of course!), transformed drum solos, and even some saxophone. It just takes it one step further "out there." So if you've only heard this song on the album, know that there's an even better version to be had on 12".

Now, the B-side is just the "Dub-A-Pella," but it drew my attention because it's over two minutes longer than the original cut. Essentially, what it turns out to be is the dub (instrumental with some background vocals) version immediately followed by the acapella, with no space in between, so it's like one long track. You didn't see very many acapellas on 12"s back in 1983, though, so that's pretty cool.

So next time you pass a bargain bin, pull this one out and give it a home (as Sally Struthers would say, "for the price of a cup of coffee"). And if you've got the album, give it a listen past track #1. 8)

Who Is Torche?

Well, first of all, I can tell you who Torche is not. He's not the third MC on "Bird's Eye View" on the True Sound Sampler EP like I reported way back in my video on that record over a year ago (and I've recently added an annotation to that video correcting that). SupHerb recently contacted me and corrected me that it was in fact him on that record. And if you're not sure why I take his recollection over Danny Halloway's, who told me it was Torche in the first place... well, if you listen closely, you can actually hear someone in the background say SupHerb's name right before his verse (but Danny's info was still very enlightening, and I thank him for taking the time to answer my questions). So, that wasn't Torche.

But Torche (a.k.a. Gumby) was from around that area and time, who did introduce those guys (Meen Green to Vooodu & Bird, the other artists on "Bird's Eye View"). I believe this is his only record: "The Distance," which came out on Wild West Records (which SupHerb was also on) in 1991. It's more of a positive message (of the"you can do it if you try" variety) song, so he doesn't really get to show off his skills, so it's a little hard to judge him just based off this one record. It's not bad, though. The instrumental, produced by Stevo, is essentially lifted wholly from 3rd Bass's "Words of Wisdom," but with a little Jungle Brothers percussion mixed in. The hook is sung by Melody, who's sort of in that house/techno diva kinda mode, intoning, "If you can go the distance and bring a rhyme to rhythm , there'll be no resistance; just bring a rhyme to rhythm." She gets a big showcase moment on the breakdown.

Then you've got the Wild West Version. It's essentially the same as the Radio Edit, though they add some serious sleigh bells to the beat. But otherwise it's the same until you get to the breakdown. Instead of letting Melody flex, Wild West label mates B.O.X. and The First Brigade (even though I don't think either actually wound up putting out any records on Wild West) drop guest verses. B.O.X. sounds pretty good and First Brigade have some fun interplay.

Finally there's the Jungle Mix, which drops the whole "Words of Wisdom" sample set and instead brings in more elements from "Sounds of the Jungle." It's ok; but the original instrumental is better. And fortunately, that's the instrumental version they opted to include.

So, that's who Torche is, I guess. It's a kind of fun, bit of rare west coast history. But I wish we could've heard another, less pop-oriented record from him that tested his skills a bit more.

And the Initials of the Name are D.E.F.

(Youtube version is here.)

Kam's Face Lift

So, just like Werner's blog just got a little fact-lift, so did one of Kam's records. "Pull Ya Hoe Card" is a single off his second album, 1995's Made In America. It features an exclusive remix (as well as the album version), which is the mix they used in the music video etc.

It's a tight, G-funk record produced by the experts, E-A-Ski and CMT, but with hard enough beats and quality samples to appeal to hip-hop fans who usually cringe at the term "G-funk" as well. Of course, a majority of the credit for that east and other coast appeal also goes to Kam himself, with a tough, serious flow and lyrics that range from politics, The Nation of Islam, to the streets. "Pull Ya Hoe Card" is a little less message-oriented than some of his previous singles, like "Peace Treaty"... the subject matter's pretty self-explanatory from the title:

"So will the real O.G.'s please stand up?
Swearin' you a gangsta, but got the wrong hand up.
'I put that on the hood!' That's your favorite line;
Quick to chump a gang sign and say, 'I'm down for mine!'
...
I took a lotta shit, even in my own town.
'All them Muslim niggas is marks!' Now how that shit sound?
You better ask around before you come up missin'...
We got ways to handle people who don't wanna listen;
With respect from the streets to the cell blocks,
Somebody might find your tongue and your ears in a mailbox."

...Interestingly, the clean version edits out the phrase "your tongue and your ears," and on the album version he says "and now I gotta get down" instead of "even in my own town." Personally, I prefer the latter.

Now the remix isn't too drastically different. It's the exact same beat and rhymes. But producer G-One (who's a regular DJ Quik collaborator) has added some new, smooth skatting on the hook (singing "da da da dah da" etc), that's surely a signature element of the song for people who remember hearing it on the radio, and were surprised not to hear it on the album, where they just let the beat ride in silence for the hook. He also adds a very subtle but perfect piano behind the hook (and a few other points). I could see the casual listener not even noticing the differences, but the changes are a real improvement for those who care enough to catch the differences.

If you look at the label, you'll also notice there are versions that specify being "w. samples." Those versions feature a bunch of vocal samples taken from movies, speeches, television, etc. They sound dope, and add to the song, so to my mind they're the definitive version, I wouldn't bother with the mixes without 'em. But it's up to you, 'cause the 12" gives you both options.

Now, this last part is important. The version I've pictured is the promo version, with the white label and red sticker cover. The official single version has the typical, dark East/West label and a purple sticker cover. You need the promo version, because that's the only one that features the dirty version of the remix. The proper single stupidly only features the clean edits of the remix. The promo version also includes both instrumentals - the regular one only has the remix instrumental - and the acapella, which is absent from the proper single. So the promo version is essential for this one.

Werner's Face Lift

Hey, guys! Sorry updates slowed down for the past couple of days... but those of you who've been dropping by my site regularly (as opposed to reading my stuff via RSS or whatever) have probably noticed I've been tweaking and redesigning my blog's layout lately. Things have been moving up and down the right column, features have come and gone; but I think I've finally settled on it now. So, you'll notice like the blogger bar is gone, but I've added a spiffy new nav bar... I put up a contact/profile... cleaned out some clutter at the bottom of each post... removed those ugly orange RSS sub buttons 'cause I figure everyone just grabs 'em from the URL now anyway (though if you do need the link, there's still the "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" link at the very bottom of the page)... and other tiny, little tweaks. So I think we've wound up with something with a little more functionality, a faster loading time, and a sharper look. Nothing major, but all win. :)

InstaRapFlix 20: Beef 3

"Beef, beef, BEEF! Back in the Duh-hayz!" ...To quote Chubb Rock. Yeah, it's back on with Beef 3 (Netflix rating: 2 stars), this time narrated by DJ Kay Slay.

The first beef, Bang Em Smurf & Domination Vs. Fifty Cent pretty much sets the tone for this declining chapter in the series. First off, Fifty doesn't even bother to comment; they didn't get him on this DVD at all (though he appeared on the previous discs, and actually has two "vs" segments on this one). So it's just these other guys, basically sounding real ignorant, pointing guns at the camera and bragging about stupid shit like throwing chairs at Summer Jam.

Chingy vs. Nelly was just a pair of bickering bitches whining about each other for no good reason. And that segment went of forever... it felt like it was never gonna end.

Twista gave a good interview, but in his segment (vs. Bone Thugs N Harmony), it basically just came out that they didn't have beef and never did. So, umm, ok. What did we just spend 10 minutes on it for? And there's more interviews, too, where rappers just talk about how hard it is to break a record or something in the South, the mix-tape game or rappers' frustration with the police, and don't have anything to do with beef. Clearly, the filmmakers just had some interviews that didn't fit anywhere and so they just padded this film with every random film clip they had. Even the film's final moments are Snoop Doggy Dogg talking about how the west coast is gonna make a comeback or something. Then, boom, cut to credits. What? Why was he even on camera? He didn't have anything to say about anything in the movie.

So, basically, Beef 3 is a big, fat let down. Half this movie has nothing to do with beef and just flounders around, boring and directionless. Then, the other half is just stupid. The squabbles are lame and the rappers are childish.

And it looks like this may be the last Beef write-up for me. I've just read that the final installment, Beef 4 is out to prove "that rappers aren't the only folks who have beefs" and instead "explores the battles brewing between ball players, skateboarders, comics, actors and more." As one commenter asked, "going from the first beef which featured the likes of biggie smalls vs tupac and 50cent vs murder inc to Ethan Hawke vs Will Smith and Dave Chapelle vs Comedy central. Whats next Burger king vs McDonalds?" This is a hip-hop site, so I think this is where we get off. And after what I just watched, I'm only to happy to.

Happy 4th, Everybody! American and Proud!

Big Scoob dropped this anthem in 2002 on the underrated label, Fully Blown (they did a full run of 12"s with Scoob, plus Chubb Rock's last 12", PRT's last 12", etc). It's produced by a DJ by the name of L. Supreme, who also produced Scoob's "The Way They Go" single. He does a good job, but really it'd be pretty hard to screw this one up.

The concept is pretty simple... it changes James Brown's epic tune "I'm Black and I'm Proud" to "I'm American and Proud!" The hook is basically the same, with a chorus of children shouting it out, and the instrumental liberally takes from all its elements - the funky horns, etc - from the original. This is hardly the first time that song has been used in this way - think Tragedy or Kool Moe Dee - but since when has cribbing from James ever been a bad look? It's not breaking any new ground (even slightly) but like the "Impeach the President" breakbeat; it still works perfectly every time.

And this is well after the period, thankfully, where he was doing that high-pitched B-Real knock-of voice... here he's back to his natural, engaging voice and flow. His rhymes are witty without being punchliney, clear, and they move at a consistent pace but without ever spilling into "fast rap" (not that I mind fast rap at all; but it ain't mainstream if soccer moms can't rap along) Honestly, I think Big Scoob is like the second Jay-Z who just never got that big break. You see it somewhat here, but not quite as strongly as on some of his other records, since he's a kinda tied down to the stars and stripes talk here.

There's nothing else here besides the song and the instrumental on the flip, but it's a good song. If Fully Blown was larger and had wider distribution, I could easily see this being one of those records DJs break out at the same time every year; and when they did, it would get the crowd open.

The Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff Transform Together

Now, you might be reading this title and thinking, "no shit, Werner. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were platinum superstars who recorded five albums and tons of hit singles and videos. Your title telling us they worked together is meant to come as some sort of surprise or news to somebody?" No, no. But stick with me here for a moment.

"A Touch of Jazz" was Jazzy Jeff's solo cut on their debut album, Rock the House (sometimes people confuse it as their second album... but that's because it was re-released in 1988 after the duo blew up). And it truly is jazzy, classy, smooth and probably the most important DJ record since "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On the Wheels of Steel." Pop audiences may only remember the album for "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble;" but for the real heads, this was the stand-out track. There's some scratching, yes; but this is more about smooth blends of phat jazz loops, Marvin Gaye, soul mixed into a seamless rhythm. It's everything DJ Shadow's Entroducing was, only twice as def and a decade earlier!

And that classic (I may be guilty of overusing this word, but it applies here in the truest sense) album version is present on the 1987 12" single, but so is a lot more, starting with the "Extended Re-Touch." Now, at first this essentially plays out the same as the LP mix, except with a deep vocal sample declaring "A Touch of Jazz!" every so often, which I could just as easily do without. But a quick look at the label shows us that this version is over a minute and a half longer, and soon Jeff is blending in new records, with new sounds and scratches. Every aspect you loved from the original has been retained, and the new material fits in perfectly and the quality is still top notch.

Then we flip this record over to the B-side, and here's where the title comes into play. We get the "Collapsed In the Street Mix" (as well as a shorter "Collapsed In the Street Edit") that turns Jeff's instrumental masterpiece into a vocal track featuring The Fresh Prince. There's some new scratches, drums, etc... but obviously the inclusion of several rap verses is what stands out the most in this mix. Fortunately, there are still extended instrumental periods giving Jeff a chance to flex both his cuts (this time adding a lot of "Good Times" over the classic "Rapper's Delight" bassline) and his innovative blends... it doesn't follow the verse/hook/verse formula of the typical record, so it manages to keep the mood of the original pretty well intact. And The Prince doesn't try to distract with comical stories or battle rhymes, he just raps enthusiastically about the music:

"Making a record
Is similar to baking.
You need ingredients
If you plan on making
It come out correctly
And in a second,
I'm gonna give the recipe
We used on this record:
A quarter cup of rhymes
And a cup of beats,
A half cup of clubs
And dash in the streets;
A piece of the present
And a pinch of the past;
Throw in Jeff and the Prince
And a touch of jazz!"

The song winds up being almost 7 minutes long! And that's where this 12" really gets it right... with each increasingly different mix, they don't replace anything, they just keep adding onto what they have and building up. So they never sacrafice anything - the album version was less than half the length of this mix.

All that and a colorful picture cover? In this day of rarities going for record-breaking prices, it's nice to know that some of the crate digger's shiniest gems are still in plentiful abundance.

InstaRapFlix 19: Beef 2

Woot! Netflix returned the Beef sequels to their Instant Viewing List, so it's back on. As you may remember from InstaRapFlix #11, I was pleasantly surprised by the original outing. So now we're going to find out if Beef 2 (Netflix rating: 2 stars) holds up to its predecessor.

It starts out with a skippable "history of rap" kinda opening... the last one also had a skippable opening, but this one's closer to 90 seconds, so it's no big deal. The film's narrated by Keith David (of John Carpenter's The Thing, etc) this time around. Anytime anyone takes the opportunity to replace Ving Rhames with Keith David, I'm all for it; so this movie already has me on its side.

It's starts of with the infamous "Roxanne" wars... It features interviews with Roxanne Shante (I seriously question her claim that there were over 55 response records to her), Kangol, Marley Marl, and more; so it's fun. But considering you could fill several full-length documentaries trying to adequately cover the Roxanne saga, it feels more than a bit rushed. In only about two minute's time, it's already segued into "The Bridge Is Over." And in another minute, it's already onto "Big Mama;" and that gets literally just one and a half sentence's worth of coverage.

And that's basically this entire film summed up. It's fun, because it interviews the artists and covers cool records. But it's so involved in trying to be a comprehensive overview, of both diss records and hip-hop's history in general, that it never digs in and gets really compelling. It also has some hammy, preachy (in the writing) narration, and at times you start to feel like you're watching some ultra-corny Cops knock-off on Fox. But you'll enjoy hearing the Priority Records employee talk about the time Ice Cube (and friends) came in and assaulted one of its CEOs... you'll enjoy hearing Parrish Smith talking about pulling up to his house while it was being broken into by Erick Sermon's boys... You'll definitely get a kick out of K-Solo taking a lie detector test to prove that he wrote "Spellbound!" So it's a no-brainer recommendation.

But you'll be like, "what? It's over already!?" after every single segment - especially the old school ones; they really get put in the backseat behind the contemporary (at the time... now they're all old) dramas. This was a decent, definitely-worth-a-watch movie. It just could have been a really great documentary (or several great documentaries) if they'd taken their time with it.

Whistle and Jazzy Jeff Transform Together

Disappointingly, this is the only single off of Whistle's second album, Transformation, that features any rapping (there were two other singles: "Falling In Love" and "Right Next To Me," but they were pure R&B). It's a genuine double A-side - the picture cover is flippable, so whichever side you face out shows one track on the bottom and one on the top. It's also in keeping with the album's gimmick, where one side is straight R&B and the other straight hip-hop. So, being the site this is, let's start with the hip-hop.

"Transformation," is of course the album's title cut. It's a fun song, but certainly feels like an unlikely choice for the lead single. It's an up-beat, party style track, co-produced by The Hitman Howie Tee and Whistle, with Jazz and Kool Doobie kicking various short verses, which seem loosely (at best) tied to a common theme (additional lyrics credit is given to Kangol, of UTFO, who worked a lot with Whistle over the years). Perhaps most memorably, for such a typically G to PG rated group, this song features a very unexpected verse about S&M group sex in the middle of the song:

"Pay attention, people;
Kool Doobie is speaking.
There's a lady
That I've been seeking.
I see her over there
And I'ma ask her her name;
And if she's with it, yo Jazz,
Bring your whip and your chain!
(I got a rope!)
Bring your rope so we can tie her down!
(And handcuffs!)
Handcuffs so she won't move around!
(I got a radio.
I'll bring it down to your room.)
What for?
(When she screams, we can)
PUMP UP THE VOLUME!"

I'm sure it's all meant in good fun and not intended to be taken too seriously, but it sure does... stand out. Still, if you can get past that, there's a lot more to this song that one outlandish rhyme. Silver Spinner cuts up Rakim's classic "pump up the volume" vocal sample for the hook, while some girl sings "traaanns... formation!" in the background. Silver's cuts are dope and, appropriately, he throws in a bunch of nice transformer scratches.

But that's just what was on the album. On this 12" is a surprisingly undervalued "Transformation (Swing Beat Mix)," which is remixed by none other than DJ Jazzy Jeff (and engineered by Joe the Butcher). Bear in mind, this was 1988; and Jeff was not working with anyone outside of his LPs with The Fresh Prince. Yeah, he did a few underground tracks beforehand, and has done plenty after; but I believe this is the only outside production/remix he did during this era. Anyway, it features all new transformer scratches (I guess by Jeff this time, though Spinner proved himself just as capable on the previous mix), and a bunch of new samples - some vocal samples, some instrumental, giving the whole song a more chopped up, wildly varied feel. And if that wasn't enough, it's a vocal remix, too, with all new rhymes from Doobie and Jazz, mixed in with the old ones... some verses start off with the old stuff, then switch to new lines, and vice versa (but don't worry, they all include the S&M part lol).

Then, there's another remix, called the Street Mix (at least, I'm pretty sure this is the Street Mix and the other is the Swing Beat Mix... the sequencing on the label is screwed up; so this is my best guess), which is again substantially different. There's new scratching again on the hook, this time primarily cutting up Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real," and the instrumental has been replaced with a classic, funk breakbeat - the same breakbeat and bassline The UMC's used for "Invaders of My Fruit Basket" the following year. That's right, you wouldn't normally think of these guys as being the first to any classic breaks; but Whistle had this ultra-funky groove first. And it's impressive how much naturally funkier the rhymes sound over this break. This one's also got an extended breakdown at the end with some more classic, old school samples; and also uses the new 12" remix rhymes.

Finally, is the other A-side, "Still My Girl." Like I said about their other R&B songs on this album, they went pretty classical on this. It's co-produced by Kangol and Whistle, and while it isn't acapella (in fact, the Instrumental version is included here... think long, drawn out synth lines), it really puts all of the emphasis on the singing rather than the music, which is put in a pure backdrop role. This isn't the sort of new jack pop style R&B you might've expected, but pure ballad. Still, these guys were capable singers (if a bit bland when you take out the 80's studio tricks). And, unfortunately, that's the direction they took their career after this album, sadly giving up on hip-hop.

By the way, it's interesting to note that on their next album (Always and Forever), Whistle took another stab at this song and recorded "Still My Girl (90's Version)." I'm not really sure which I prefer. It's all about The A side,anyway. Or, umm, side 1.