THANKFUL N' THOUGHTFUL

Listen to THANKFUL N' THOUGHTFUL by Sly and the Family Stone.

One of the best offerings from "Fresh." Enough said. Can I haz turkee, etc.

Photo: New York detail (4).

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BE MYSELF

Listen to THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BE MYSELF by Maceo and All The King's Men.

Maceo Parker, his hot hot James Brown backing band, covering one of Sly's funkiest offerings, what more can you ask for? To all of you, safe travels and Happy Thanksgiving!



Photo: New York detail (3).

THE THANKS WE GET

Listen to THE THANKS WE GET by Junior Byles.

One thing about these "themed" weeks is you get to pick songs you might not otherwise pick. I've always loved Junior Byles, but if I had a free hand to pick any of his sides, it might not be--probably wouldn't be--this one.

The Thanks We Get is a Black Ark production, which means it's likely to be awesome, but also it might be pretty weird. In that regard this is a typical Lee Perry offering. The oddest feature of all is that Lee has his young son Omar toasting over the top of Junior Byles's vocals. And "toasting" is a pretty generous description of what's going on! At one point little Omar just kinda babbles "Poppa! Poppa! Poppa!" squarely in the middle of the mix. It's kinda cute, kinda annoying, just like Double Dutch Bus, but even stranger.

Photo: New York detail (2).

THANK YOU...

Listen to THANK YOU... by Sveti.

No prizes for the theme of the songs this week. First off is an offering from Sveti's release "Where I Come From," which we mentioned earlier this year. Our friend Marko is rightfully proud of this record and has been touring it hard all year. A couple of us caught him Saturday night in the neighborhood and the band sounded great, and Marko was as gonzo as ever.

It was a long day Saturday. First, drinking out of grief, then out of celebration, and finally because the Blue Note requires it. As a result I took a short nap just before Sveti's last song, then nearly got lost on the five minute walk home....



Photo: New York detail (1).