Gnarls/Lavender/Air/Rotary Connection

This was my attempt to rub up on some Zeitgeist (the Zeitgeist ain't so bad; just watched the entire first episode of Lost on DVD. OH MAN!). I'd been iffy on Cee-lo despite Killough's enthusiam. The Perfect Imperfections was just too bragadocious for me. But Danger Mouse has had my respect since The Grey Album, and the hype on St. Elsewhere proved irresistble. Bravo, hype! This album is deep, soulful, catchy, sad, funny... I could do without the Gone, Daddy, Gone cover, but Crazy is irresistble, Hey Ya for a country in a quagmire.


As Blade likes to remind me I'm not colorblind (so there's no excusing my so frequently dressing entirely in green). But I am color ignorant, so when Jeffrey at Wall of Sound pointed at a wall of...sounds...and said, "The lavender one," well, he had to come over. This is lushly gorgeous orchestral folk with a female singer Vashti Bunyan wouldn't kick out of her peat bog. Real strings! I'm guessing bigger things for these guys. I mean, "bigger" as in the world where Joanna Newsome is big. This was a new one but only six dollars and an ep, so it doesn't count, right?


My used disc of the week. I didn't like these guys when the movie came out and Vegh was listening to this soundtrack (and I didn't love the movie either), but I like 'em now. Not an exciting purchase, sure, but just the thing to put on when your stuck working an overnight shift and your sweet wife brings you sushi.







So my deal is one new and one used per week, but if I have to special order something then that's just gravy. Vegh put "I am the Black Gold of the Sun" on a mix disc a few months ago and it blew my mind. I had to hear more Rotary Connection. So I got on-line and scored Songs, Hey Love, Alladin, Dinner Music, and Peace used and cheap. Imagine a mix of Fifth Dimension, Mamas and Pappas, and Sly and the Family Stone, and you've got some idea of Rotary Connection. The son of the founder of Chess Records put this act together in the late '60's and must've thought he's struck gold. He should've but he didn't. Minnie Riperton went on to legend status on her own, but RC didn't have any hits. In a perfect world everyone would know "I am the Black Gold..." and be as excited as I am for Christmas so they can play Peace, the best Christmas album to have both a Fugs meets Funkadelic Silent Night and a song advancing the argument that Santa is "smoking that misletoe." After all, "if he was cool he'd come through the door." Indeed.