I'm Heavy Duty!

All the ingredients, and the players, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, McKnight, Shider, and more are here, but R&B Skeletons in the Closet (1986) is not the most vital piece of George Clinton’s body of work. Some of songs are perfect and some are down right grating. The two I like the most are “Hey Good Lookin” and the semi-hit “Do Fries Go With That Shake!?”

The album cover art alone is worth the price. I wish you could see it better, but I’m feeling too lazy for detail shots. In a nutshell the whole thing is a commentary on black artists that sell out to “cross over.”

Check out his “ObamaNation” at MySpace. It reminds of that blast from the past: “Paint the White House Black.” Look how many celebs are in this video!

I got to see Mr. Clinton, George that is, live somewhere between this album and that video. Maybe I’ll dig out the t-shirt I got and post that later.

Read more about George Clinton’s R&B Skeletons in the Closet at Wikipedia

Nine singles, 18 songs on 18 sides, did I play them all? Damn straight. See the complete track listings below.

I won’t comment on Michael Jackson himself other to say that the song titles visible in this picture pretty much sum up his life. Everyone has their own definition of “enough.”

This package came out in 1983. I was working at a small chain record store a few years later when I saw a couple copies collecting dust in our seven inch singles bin and decided I must have it. How could I resist such a fantastic package, of songs that I like, printed on glorious red vinyl, with an employee discount? Well, I couldn’t.

Each sleeve and record was produced just for this set, “MJ1,” and they are numbered and labeled accordingly. Most songs are from the mega hit albums “Off the Wall” and “Thriller.”

MJ1-1:
1. Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough
2. I Can’t Help It

MJ1-2:
1. Off The Wall
2. Working Day And Night

MJ1-3:
1. Rock With You
2. Get On The Floor

MJ1-4:
1. She’s Out Of My Life
2. Push Me Away

MJ1-5:
1. The Girl Is Mine
2. Can’t Get Outta The Rain

MJ1-6:
1. Billie Jean
2. It’s The Falling In Love

MJ1-7:
1. Beat It
2. Burn This Disco Out

MJ1-8:
1. Wanna Be Startin’ Something’
2. The Jacksons – Rock With You – Live

MJ1-9:
1. Thriller
2. The Jacksons – Things I Do For You – Live

New Wyclef Jean coming out next month, Carnival II (Memoirs of an Immigrant), December 4 to be precise. This single “Riot” is intense, with more riffs and breaks than most albums. And if you can believe this, it features Serj Tankian (System of a Down)… rapping. Listen to it.

Wyclef.com

• Artist: Sam and Dave
• Title: The Very Best Of
• Year: 1995
• Format: CD
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 2006 – Christmas gift!
• Keeper: Yes

I love the Stax stuff. When I was teenager I couldn’t get enough early soul music, and spent as much time listening to that as I did punk rock, arty stuff, and metal. Despite that, there are some big holes in my collection. Mary helped correct that by getting this Sam and Dave collection for me. “The Very Best Of” is, of course, excellent. Who in his right mind doesn’t like “Hold On! I’m A Comin’”? Other well-known classics include “Soul Man”, “Wrap It Up”, and my favorite “I Thank You.” ZZ Top also had a hit with “I Thank You.” It’s even one of my favorite ZZ Top songs, but they had to sleaze it up bit by replacing “me” in the lyrics a few times with “it.” For example:

You didn’t have to squeeze me but you did

And so on…

• Artist: Freda Payne
• Title: Band Of Gold
• Year: ???
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 ? – Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA

Mary bought this record in the mid to late-1980s. There’s no year anywhere on the label, and I know it was originally released much earlier. The story on this one is that Mary and her friend Alice Hawkins were at the original 9:30 Club to see Let’s Active. Apparently Mitch Easter himself was either DJing or making requests when Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold” came on. Mary and Alice loved it and were the only people dancing. Everyone else was too cool to get excited by some old Motown stuff. Mitch came over to the ladies and said “this is a great song!” Mary knew then she had to get the record.

The flipside something completely different: “She’s Not Just Another Woman” by The 8th Day. This number is a more funky tune. I dig it, but I never heard of the band before now and I don’t know anything about them.