Listening to sounds from the past

The great thing about spending holidays at home is that it gives the harassed worker a chance to check how many dust bunnies lurk in your nooks and crannies and to discover treasures buried under the detritus of everyday existence. I did that during these past two weeks and I am happy to say that the house cleaning yielded some treasures I missed listening to earlier and I’m so glad I found them.

The title of the album escapes me at the moment but one of last year’s best releases was an all-star tribute to the music of Latin legend Sergio Mendez produced by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas. Well, I enjoyed that one and glad I found another one. Also a tribute to a great musician and just as star-studded, it is entitled Different Strokes by Different Folks and features the music of Sly and the Family Stone as performed by various artists.

Fronted by Sylvester Stewart and one of the biggest selling acts of the late ’60s, Sly and the Family Stone are credited with putting the soul into psychedelia. Stewart gave funk to the dreamy, positive messages associated with flower power and his innovative approach resulted in a succession of hits that lasted up to the ’70s. He is also the producer of Different Strokes and I am glad to say that he has successfully updated the songs. Truth to tell, it feels as exciting as before and recalls the first time we got up to groove to the group’s Dance to the Music.

That song performed by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas opens the album. Unfortunately some of the biggies like Hot Fun in the Summertime and Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin) are not included. Still I am sure you will still find the 14-track CD an enjoyable experience that will make you realize that Sly and the Family Stone is very good indeed.

The other cuts are Everyday People by Maroon 5; Star by The Roots; Runnin’ Away by Big Boi featuring Sleepy Brown and Killer Mike; Family Affair by John Legend and Joss Stone with Van Hunt; You Caught Me Smilin’ by Scar, Cee-Lo Green, Big Boi and DJ Swift; If You Want Me to Stay by Devin Lima; I Get High on You by The Wylde Bunch; Love City by Moby; You Can Make It if You Try by Buddy Guy and John Mayer; Sing a Simple Song by Chuck D’Angelo and Isaac Hayes; I Want to Take You Higher by Steven Tyler and Robert Randolph; Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey by Happy Roots and Martin Luther; and Thank You Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson and DJ Reset.

If you can afford to get only one Johnny Cash album for your collection or if you simply want to have an idea what made the music of The Man in Black so awesome, then this is the album for you. Entitled Ring of Fire The Legend of Johnny Cash, it is made up entirely of original recordings. It also includes most of the hits like Ring of Fire, Walk the Line, Jackson, Folsom Prison Blues, A Boy Named Sue, Big River, Get Rhythm, Cry! Cry! Cry! Hey Porter, A Thing Called Love, Guess Things Happen That Way, San Quentin, Man in Black, Highwayman, The Wanderer by U2 starring Johnny Cash, I’ve Been Everywhere, Rusty Cage, Personal Jesus, Give My Love to Rose and One and Hurt.

The Love Collection by Marvin Gaye claims to present the soul star’s romantic side but it is clearly more than that. While it has his great duets, You’re All I Need with Tammi Terell, It Takes Two with Kim Weston, You are Everything and Stop, Look, Listen with Diana Ross, I also see the album as a brilliant showcase of his best work during his career. Aside from the duets, it also has the solo hits for Motown like Let’s Get It On and those he produced and recorded himself later in his career for Columbia, like the Grammy-winning Sexual Healing.

The other songs are I Want You, How Sweet It is (To be Loved by You), Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing with Tammi, Wherever I Lay My Mat, What’s Going On, Trouble Man, Mercy Mercy Me, Got to Give It Up, Too Busy Thinking About My Baby, That’s the Way Love Is, You’re a Wonderful One, Abraham, Martin & John, Your Precious Love also with Tammi, If I Could Build My Whole World Around You again with Tammi and I Heard It Through the Grapevine.

Just in case you are too young to know, Marvin and Tammi both met tragic deaths. Tammi died of a brain tumor while at the peak of her career while Marvin was shot in the heart during a disagreement with his father on the eve of his 45th birthday.