Released in 1972, the sole document between Rochester, NY vocalists The Darling Dears and backing band Funky Heavy resulted in one of the most unique sweet soul 45s in existence. As original copies have been known to fetch $3000, it is getting the full reissue treatment from Now Again and Orivious Records, it’s inaugural release. It took seven years for Orivious founder David Griffith to track down the master tapes, which were officially licensed from the band; lacquers were cut directly from the original master, and test pressings were discarded until perfect sound quality was achieved. A true labor of love available now at the Stones Throw shop.

Darling Dears – I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Love Another by Now-Again Records

Darling Dears – And I Love You by Now-Again Records

Bibleway: Thank You Lord and A New Song
From Tears (BWC, 1977)

I want to apologize for the lack of updates recently. For those of you that don’t know, my wife and I recently became parents to an amazing baby boy, so not surprisingly, most if not all of my energy has been spent away from the computer. As crazy as things are, I’m trying desperately not to let this site fall to the wayside, as I’ve seen many of my favorite blogs fall victim to. I still get excited coming up with post and mix ideas, which seems as good a sign as any to keep on going, so hopefully I’ll be able to contribute more regularly once things settle down a bit.

Just a quick post here highlighting one of my recent finds, a gospel record I picked up from Chris over at Groove Merchant a couple of weeks ago. Now, I’m not a gospel guy by any means – actually, I think the only other gospel record I own right now is the T.L. Barrett LP – but Chris threw this on for me when I was over at the shop and I immediately fell in love with the track “Thank You Lord.” Recorded in 1977 in Gary, Indiana, it’s kind of a mix between sweet and modern soul, and while the religious leanings aren’t really my thing, the music was enough for me to pick it up. As far as I know, this record is fairly under the radar so I wanted to post it up for anyone that may be into this kind of thing. Big thanks to Chris for putting me on to this record.

Hopefully this will tide you over for a little bit while I continue doing the daddy thing and pull records for my next mix, which should be really really good! Stay tuned….

If I had the time and talent to run a record label, I’d like to think it would be something like Chicago’s Numero Group. Dedicated to the preservation and general awareness of some of music’s most treasured, lost, and forgotten musicians, the amount of care and craft that Numero puts into each of their releases shows just how much they love music. And honestly, I don’t think there are many labels that come close to their level.

Their latest labor of love is the Boddie Records box set, a sprawling collection of Thomas and Louise Boddie’s record label that operated from 1958 to 1993 in Cleveland, OH. During that time period the label released over 300 albums and 45s, and recorded 10,000 hours of tape spanning everything from kitchen-sink eccentric soul, fuzzbox funk, shoestring doo-wop, and haunted, eerily hook-laden spirituals.

Five years in the making, this looks even more impressive than their immaculate Syl Johnson box from last year. Pre-orders are now being taken, and like always, Numero is making it worth your while with either a replica of Mod Squad’s one-of-a-kind LP acetate or a 21-song bonus disc, depending on what format you order. Shipping in early October, this is about as close to a must have as you can get.

Gotta plug this mix from Forty Fivan (formerly DJ Ferrari). His mixes are always on point, and his latest is no exception – a carefully curated selection of obscure soul and funk 45s including some incredibly rare cuts like the Scorpio & His People and Stone Coal White. Can’t help but be a little jealous.

You can download it here.

I don’t envy the guys over at Stones Throw for having to pick the winner of their recent video contest. Some pretty incredible entries spanning their entire catalog. Here are just a few that stood out to me.

J DILLA “LAST DONUT OF THE NIGHT” directed, written and edited by Tuomas Vauhkonen and Jeremias Nieminen.
Cast: Juha Ilmari Laine, Markku Laitinen, Rami Rusinen, Petra Lumioksa / Director of Photography: Jeremias Nieminen / Camera Operator: Antti Savolainen / Camera Asst: Sofia Palillo / Sound Engineer: Tuomas Vauhkonen / Sound Recording: Ilkka Kunttu / Gaffer: Jeremias Nieminen / Best Boy: Tuomas Peltonen / Runner: Petra Lumioksa / Catering: Petra Lumioksa. J Dilla’s “Last Donut of the Night” is taken from the album Donuts (2006)

J DILLA “LIGHTWORKS” by James McMillan.
Illustration, design and animation by James McMillan / james-works.com / Music includes J Dilla’s “Lightworks” from the album Donuts (2006) as well as an excerpt of Percee P’s Throwback Rap Attack (Acapella).

QUASIMOTO “BUS RIDE” by Vincent Longhi.
Director, Editor: Vincent Longhi / Actors: Charles Nogier (Old Willie), Vincent Longhi (Quasimoto), Paul Rey (Madlib) / Decor: Vincent Longhi, Nicolas Courgeon, Yann Grolleau / Production: European School of Visual Arts (EESI) / Quasimoto “Bus Ride” produced by Madlib, from the album The Further Adventures of Lord Quas (2005).

JAYLIB “The Heist” by  Rory Gamble and Demetrios Katsantonis
Jimmy Joey & Frankie Productions, Winnetka CA / Camera Operator, Animator, Editor: Rory Gamble. / Jaylib – J Dilla and Madlib – “The Heist” taken from the album Champion Sound (2003)

MADVILLAIN “STRANGE WAYS” by Jean-Yves Blanc.
Great work here from Jean-Yves, and it was a one-man show: “I did everything by myself, modeling clay figures, stage set, accesories, sketches, animations, photos and video montage.” More of his work can be seen over at hiphopsculture.com. MF DOOM & Madlib’s “Strange Ways” is from the album Madvillainy (2004).