Rare Groove I

**no_place_like_motown** · 03-23-2013, 05:11 PM

**splanky** · 03-24-2013, 06:53 AM

Lot of good stuff there, no place, though I don't really think of Isaac Hayes Do Your Thing as
rare. But skip that, I really was taken back by the music on Younghearts, that 70's sound, and
that Marlena Shaw's release featuring that Woman Of The Ghetto is not available on a cd
after all these years is a freaking crime to me. I don't do itunes and I want more than just the one song which I see is on a compilation. The instrumentation on it is crazy!!!
BTW, Felix Hernandez is the only radio dj I know who plays Curtis's gorgeous Kung Fu,
love that tune....

**no_place_like_motown** · 03-24-2013, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by splanky

Lot of good stuff there, no place, though I don't really think of Isaac Hayes Do Your Thing as
rare. But skip that, I really was taken back by the music on Younghearts, that 70's sound, and
that Marlena Shaw's release featuring that Woman Of The Ghetto is not available on a cd
after all these years is a freaking crime to me. I don't do itunes and I want more than just the one song which I see is on a compilation. The instrumentation on it is crazy!!!
BTW, Felix Hernandez is the only radio dj I know who plays Curtis's gorgeous Kung Fu,
love that tune....

Glad you enjoyed the tracks, Splanky. One of the highlights for me is listening to Maurice White playing the kalimba on "Woman Of The Ghetto."

I've never seen the studio version of WOTG by Marlena released in the U.S. I do have her live 1973 version issued here on her "Blue Note Years" CD, although I prefer the original version. The studio version was released on the "Out Of Different Bags"/"Spice Of Life" CD issued in 2000; and on "Anthology" also released in 2000 - both were imports.

Amazon has the Anthology:

http://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Marl...shaw+anthology

**splanky** · 03-24-2013, 10:31 AM

no place said:

One of the highlights for me is listening to Maurice White playing the kalimba on "Woman Of The Ghetto."

Do we know for a fact that it was Maurice playing on this recording? I've never been able to
find out just who were the musicians on it. Not even on the internet. I have a special
fascination with kalimbas, in fact the entire family of that instrument and their players all
around the world. I always thought Maurice's use of the kalimba was an original idea of his
but I just found out last year that he got idea from a musician in Chicago's AACM...

**no_place_like_motown** · 03-24-2013, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by splanky

no place said:

One of the highlights for me is listening to Maurice White playing the kalimba on "Woman Of The Ghetto."

Do we know for a fact that it was Maurice playing on this recording? I've never been able to
find out just who were the musicians on it. Not even on the internet. I have a special
fascination with kalimbas, in fact the entire family of that instrument and their players all
around the world. I always thought Maurice's use of the kalimba was an original idea of his
but I just found out last year that he got idea from a musician in Chicago's AACM...

Here's what the liner notes on the Anthology state:

"We start this anthology in 1968, the height of the civil rights movement in the States with the epic "Woman Of The Ghetto," an all time classic with poignant lyrics powerfully sung by Marlena. The song is backed by a driving bass and Maurice White introducing the kalimba sound with which he achieved great fame with Earth, Wind & Fire in the 70's."

**splanky** · 03-24-2013, 12:14 PM

Okay, I'll accept that it was Maurice on the Marlena Shaw track but like I said it's been
revealed in print that he got the idea of using kalimba from this man, who also told a
little "white lie" himself about inventing the instrument, it appears about something
that was created in Africa over a hundred years ago some scholars say, twice!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wyQOnCj00

**no_place_like_motown** · 03-24-2013, 01:17 PM

I also recall reading some tiime go that the instrument originated in Africa.

That's whats the liner notes say, they may or may not be true. We've seen many things said in print that proved to be false. To Maurice's credit we do know that he was a musician working with Ramsey Lewis at Chess Records which was the label Marlena was also signed to at the time.

Either way I enjoy listening to the sound of the kalimba, always have, not just on WOTG but also on some of those EW&F tracks that still blow me away - "Evil", "Power" and "The Kalimba Story" come to mind.

Here's a little more info on the kalimba and African History:

http://www.kalimbamagic.com/newslett...nhistory.shtml

**splanky** · 03-24-2013, 03:16 PM

Noplace, I hate to say this but you're preaching to the choir...I get kalimbamagic's newsletter
in my inbox every month and probably know more about the instrument's history than
anyone on this site. I even own a few of the dang things, including the Hugh Tracey, Goshen
and Catania models and traditional pieces from Kenya, Tanzania and mbiras from Zimbabwe
but that's another story...