The Bar-Kays - Holy Ghost

This morning as I was getting ready to not go for a run, I was looking forward to jamming out at turtle speed to the latest Holy Ghost disc (released in May 2010 on DFA, and is highly recommended). Instead I stumbled across this jam on a Memphis Soul playlist I have stored on my iPod. All I can say is that sometimes the gods shine on you.

In addition to not running, I was hoping the DFA beats would get me motivated for work and whatever fresh hell awaited the day. Nothing James Murphy's crew of euro centric house beat stealing acolytes were spinning could have made the ass drop and heart soar like this band of funk brothers did.

Originally the Bar-Kays were a session band for Stax, playing with Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. They were able to score a couple of hits in the late '60s (Soul Finger) and 70's (Son of Shaft), but this 8 minute workout is probably their crowning acheivement.

On a side note, original bass player James Alexander is the father of Jazze Pha who in addition to being famous for dropping "Ladies and Gentlemen" on numerous tracks, has also produced for 2Pac, Ciara, Bun-B, Usher and many others.

Link: The Bar-Kays - Holy Ghost

Robbie Robertson - Somewhere Down the Crazy River

I was pleasantly surprised when this track recently popped up on my iPod while letting it shuffle. The track is solid all the way around and immediately brings to mind other Daniel Lanois produced tracks of that era (1987), especially his work with Dylan and U2.

On a more nostalgic note, I remember buying this cassette and having no idea who Robbie Robertson was. Even more ironic, I bought this cassette at the same time as a cassette of Dylan & The Band's live "Before the Flood" album. Specifically I purchased the Dylan tape after having just seen Guns N' Roses live where they closed with "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", and I was desperate to find a live version of that track. Little did I know at the time that Robertson was playing on that tape.

Levon Helm excluded, I still maintain that The Band is the best Canadian band ever. Period. Sorry Triumph and Loverboy fans.

Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison

I am sure "Mama Said Knock You Out" would have been a nice leadoff into the new CC07 format, but since it isn't really a comeback I am going with some different flavor.

That being said, during 1996, this UK banger was hotter than Manchester United, yet Mark Morrison's career ended up going the route of the Bolton Wanderers within the same year. Prison tends to do that to a bloke.

In the words of Morrison I am just, "Letting all the people know That I'm back to run the show."

And here it is, post #1 on the new CC07.

Country Club of the Zero Seven v 2.0

It has been a while since I have posted here, and the delay has helped me come up with a new plan of attack for the site. Instead of posting random one off reviews or cramming the site once every other month with extended playlists, I am going to post shorter blasts on a daily basis (we can start wagers now on how long that will last).

The easiest way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, so with that in mind I am going to start posting a "Track of the Day" if you will. One song, a little bit of detail and the link.

Hopefully this will help pick up a little added interest, and make the posts easier for readers to digest. Although I will admit I am already seeing problems. I knew what I wanted post #1 to be, but have 4 others that I am contemplating, so discipline will have to be used on my end.

That being said, welcome to CCO7 v 2.0!

Enjoy!!!