Tower Of Power Corner

[Jim R]

Funny to see this thread- coincidentally I just listened to all of LAILC yesterday for the first time in a long time and was amazed at how great it STILL sounds. Burning band!

The reason I bumped it was because I was listening to their FM broadcast at WLIR (Ultrasonic Studios?), Hempstead NY, from May 1974 (PRIME time). If you haven't heard this... well, use the internet. I think most of it can be heard on Youtube, btw.

...City!!!

Nice finish.

[JSngry]

The Ultrasonic stuff is GREAT.

For those so interested, there is an incendiary Herbie/Headhunters date from that same series:

PERSONNEL

Herbie Hancock: keyboards

Bennie Maupin: reeds

Paul Jackson: bass

Mike Clark: drums

TRACKS

01. Actual Proof (9.37)

02. Butterfly (12.47)

03. Sly (17.48)

04. Chameleon (15.41)

Once again, the interanet is your friend.

[Shawn]

I listened to the self-titled TOP record a few days ago. I really liked the harder funk numbers, wasn't that enamored with the ballads. I plan on investigating their stuff further.

[JSngry]

I listened to the self-titled TOP record a few days ago. I really liked the harder funk numbers, wasn't that enamored with the ballads. I plan on investigating their stuff further.

I know where you're coming from, I think..it took me a while to hear those too. The thing that clicked for me on those was that in a lot of ways, those songs are lyrically just updated/throwbacks to doo-wop and vaious other "sweet" forms of soul music, not the uber-hip urbanisms of the up-tempoer stuff. War (who I know you were checking out recently) was into a bit of the same thing, a real foot in the doo-wop-ish type sweetness. Once you figure it out (and it took me a while to do so, to not just hear it but feel it, the whole "sweet innocence of love" thing translated to adulthood is something I didn't intuitively grasp, ya' know...kinda had to have it learnt upon me...), it makes for a nice balancing of flavors.

Funny to see this thread- coincidentally I just listened to all of LAILC yesterday for the first time in a long time and was amazed at how great it STILL sounds. Burning band!

The reason I bumped it was because I was listening to their FM broadcast at WLIR (Ultrasonic Studios?), Hempstead NY, from May 1974 (PRIME time). If you haven't heard this... well, use the internet. I think most of it can be heard on Youtube, btw.

...City!!!

Nice finish.

Speaking of bumps (and the possibility of maxing out on same...):

[Bill Nelson]

Here's TOP doing 'Squib Cakes' on Letterman -- back when Paul Shaffer still had hair.

(Before Shaffer's band got lazy doing warmed-over Booker T & the MG's hits every night.)

[Shawn]

I listened to the self-titled TOP record a few days ago. I really liked the harder funk numbers, wasn't that enamored with the ballads. I plan on investigating their stuff further.

I know where you're coming from, I think..it took me a while to hear those too. The thing that clicked for me on those was that in a lot of ways, those songs are lyrically just updated/throwbacks to doo-wop and vaious other "sweet" forms of soul music, not the uber-hip urbanisms of the up-tempoer stuff. War (who I know you were checking out recently) was into a bit of the same thing, a real foot in the doo-wop-ish type sweetness. Once you figure it out (and it took me a while to do so, to not just hear it but feel it, the whole "sweet innocence of love" thing translated to adulthood is something I didn't intuitively grasp, ya' know...kinda had to have it learnt upon me...), it makes for a nice balancing of flavors.

I discovered War as a teenager (via Cheech & Chong actually), though I appreciate them more now than I did at the time...hearing it on another level I suppose. The TOP ballads might hit me at some point, only time will tell. The sequencing kind of reminds me of the late period Grant Green albums where there would be several funky tunes with a few "politely sweet" ballads to round out the album.