Artifacts - That's Them 2xLP

Big Beat / Atlantic (1997)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I missed the boat of Artifacts back in the 90s.  Their first album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, came out in October of 1994.  That's a time were I was definitely starting to put more focus and energy into punk and indie rock than hip hop, so it's not entirely surprising it flew under my radar.  But I found it later on in life and adored that album by some of New Jersey's finest.

Their second album, That's Them, didn't come out until 1997.  That is typically far past the expiration date for a hip hop album being released that still appeals to me.  At least, that used to be my stance; that the Golden Era ended in 1994.  I still feel that is true, but I have learned over the years that there we some sneaky records released after 1994 that still hit the way I want a hip hop record to hit.  Chalk up That's Them as one of these exceptions.

While I can't say I love it the same way I love their debut, there is still a lot to like about what Tame One and El Da Sensei put together for their sophomore effort.  Lyrically, I would never be worried about these two, but the typical production of a 1997 record is suspect at best.  I'm happy to report that the vast majority of the album still retains a similar vibe to what Artifacts captured on their debut.  We've got hard hitting kick and snare, rolling bass lines and a warm, full sounding array of beats that feels right.  There's a few trappings of later 90s era sounds popping up here and there, but those are sounds mostly utilized in the burgeoning indie scene of that time.  There's no jiggy, puffy nonsense here.

Smoke On records put out a fancy reissue of this in 2018 with a few bonus tracks.  I really wish that was the version I was able to track down, but the prices on that guy make it just out of reach for me.  Luckily I was able to find an affordable copy of the original pressing from 1997 in wonderful condition.  It'll have to hold me until there's another repress or the costs come down on that version with the extra tracks.

Artifacts - That's Them:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m_KgMXFv0VIadddRWqZQthJbMxsf8-bZI

Record Store Day Haul #1: K-Solo - Tell The World My Name LP - Yellow Vinyl (/1800)

Real Gone Music/Atlantic (2023, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Calling anything Record Store Day related a 'haul' this year is a pretty misleading.  I only added two new records to my collection this year and only got one of them in a store.  The one I'll post about on Friday had to be mail ordered the day after.  But this K-Solo record is the one I wanted the most and was the one I was able to pick up at Factory Records in Dover on the big day.

When I was younger, I only had K-Solo's second record, Time's Up.  It wasn't until many years later that I was able to backtrack and pick up a copy of his debut.  And I'll be honest, the copy that I picked up wasn't in the best condition in the world, so it was nice to see that it would finally be reissued.  It's definitely a fun record to listen to, especially as the bulk of the production was handled by Parrish from EPMD, aside from a song handled by Erick, so it was an all Hit Squad affair. For 1990, the beats are great and doesn't sound old the way some other records of that era do.

K-Solo can also handle his own on the microphone.  If anything, I think the main issue is he's in a crew with some pretty incredible MCs.  EPMD are great, Das EFX are completely insane and few can hold their own with Redman, so K-Solo probably was going top be a little overshadowed being surrounded by talent like that.  So maybe this isn't a must hear classic in comparison, but it's still a great listen that can hang with all but the most elite hip hop albums that came out in 1990.

K-Solo - Tell The World My Name:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lW2MJ0vsQ5lEIIkCkqqDcxg5CK-K1vD34

The Blues Brothers - Made In America LP - 40 Years Old

Atlantic (1981)

On December 5th, 1980 the third and final Blues Brothers album was released (not counting best ofs and various compilations). This past Saturday marked 40 years since its release and I thought this was an appropriate time to write a little bit about this record.  I did purchase this LP this year, I wanted to upgrade my existing copy so I picked up one from eBay that was still sealed (this record was a Super Saver/cutout bin stalwart). It sounds so great and I'm happy to be able to replace the copy I had picked up in the early 90s.

Made In America is sort of the forgotten Blues Brothers album.  It's never been reissued.  None of the songs on it were 'hits' and it's not really ever discussed with the same sort of reverence most fans have for Briefcase Full of Blues or for the movie.  Even me, I didn't have this record as a little kid.  I had Briefcase, the soundtrack and Best of The Blues Brothers.  That best of, released in 1981, did contain one track off of Made In America, so "Going Back To Miami" is absolutely the song on here I've spent the most time with.

I probably got my first copy of this album on CD when I was a young teenager.  I liked it, but it didn't foster the same sort of emotional connection that I felt for the other albums at the time.  But over the years I developed a much deeper appreciation for this record and today I love it just about as much as the others.  

Side A is particularly great.  Starting off with "Soul Finger" as an introduction (never a real replacement for "Can't Turn You Loose," but still a good track to back Elwood's wacky intro) the album blasts through several great tracks.  "Who's Making Love" is a rousing rendition of the Johnnie Taylor classic with the horn section giving it that extra gusto to really drive things home.  Then we move on to "Do You Love Me." This is probably one of the lesser tracks on the album and I feel like the band doesn't really sink their teeth into it the way that they do with some lesser known songs.

They close out side A with something of a trilogy of songs.  First up is "Guilty." This is a slower song sung by Jake that is essentially supposed to be the "Shotgun Blues" of this record.  It lays down a story about loss, depression and drug use that is slightly marred by the audience wildly cheering the song's mention of cocaine.  I think they would have been more subdued had they known the tragic fate awaiting John Belushi just a couple of years later.  

After pleading 'guilty,' we move to the next phase of law and order with the "Perry Mason Theme." This is mostly an instrumental with a little Elwood dialog about needing to find Jake a lawyer and some unnecessary humming (?) along with the melody of the song.  It is a little goofy, but it still makes for a nice transition into "Riot In Cell Block Number Nine."  This is a real highlight of the record telling a slow moving, edgy story about a prison break.  I love the way the song builds into each chorus and the the climax provides a nice break into the B side of this album.

While not as strong as side A, side B does have its moments.  The inclusion of "Green Onions" as yet another instrumental with Elwood talking over it is completely unneeded at this point.  That makes three tracks like this on the album and while I like the "Green Onions" tune just as much as the next guy, it's just not needed on an album that already has "Soul Finger" and the "Perry Mason Theme."  "I Ain't Got You" is great with the start/stop music background over which Jake breaks down all of the things he does have, but are essentially meaningless without the person he cares about.  "From The Bottom" is lyrically sparse, but has a fun repetitious beat to it.

Lastly is album closer "Going Back To Miami." This is my favorite song on the album, though I'll never know if it is because it is legitimately the best, or if it is because it's the one song on the record I've been listening to since I was a kid due to its inclusion on the aforementioned Best Of. Regardless, it's a high octane, horn fueled blast of a song with one of the better closing breakdowns that I've every heard.

I wish that Made In America was remembered more fondly than it is.  While it is admittedly not quite on the same level as their two prior records, there's a lot to love over the course of the album.  I wish I had gotten it much younger, so I could have had the time to connect the same sort of nostalgic emotions to it as I did the others, but forty years later, it really is a hell of a record that deserves to be revisited.

The Blues Brothers - Made In America (YouTube full album playlist):
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kgqI3U6KlD43sonyPiIMRniCrW9pYhOHg

The Blues Brothers - Everybody Needs Some Body To Love 7" (French Version)

Carrere (1992)

I managed to track down one of the very few picture sleeve Blues Brothers 7"s that wasn't already in my collection.  This one came out in France in 1992.  I'm not entirely sure why 7" of this would be released as late as the 90s, but based on the year and the artwork, it's obviously in conjunction with the 1992 Atlantic records collection album, The Definitive Collection.

I remember when that CD came out when I was in high school.  I bought it right away even though I had all of the songs on it already.  I think one of the main reasons I got it was so I could write a review of it in my high school newspaper, which I did.  I remember it vividly as one of the editors suggested using the word "amongst" in it.  I loved it and added that word to my writing toolbox immediately.

The B side on this 7" is "Gimme Some Lovin'" and like "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" it's from the Blues Brothers movie soundtrack.  There's not going to be much that this record does other than sit in my 7" collection.  But I am now one 7" away from having every Blues Brothers picture sleeve variant.  I need a version of Soul Man from the Netherlands, but once I have that it'll just be a matter of upgrading a couple of sleeves that have condition issues.

The Blues Brothers - "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love": 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkvuxjccLA

The Blues Brothers - "Gimme Some Lovin'": 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_r37wVxrbA

Otis Redding - The Soul Album LP (From Definitive Studio Albums Box Set)

Atlantic (2017)

Over the next few months, I will be writing about each of the individual albums in the Otis Redding Definitive Studio Albums box set. It would be far too daunting a task to try to summarize so many great albums into one review for the entire set. Otis Redding is one of my favorites and each album deserves to be savored.

The fourth album in the Otis Redding Studio Albums box set is The Soul Album.  Originally released in 1966, this album has not gone on to have quite the same level of notoriety as some of Otis' other records, but one listen through, it's easy to see the quality of the songs on here is just as high as anything else he released.  It may be lacking that one signature hit single, but with songs like "It's Growing," "Chain Gang" and "634-5789" it's certainly not lacking in incredible songs.

Like the other albums in this box set, the sound quality is quite nice, with everything sounding crisp and clean.  While this may not be my favorite Otis Redding album, it's certainly an integral part of his discography and one that I'm happy to give more attention to as a result of this box set.

Otis Redding - "It's Growing":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mguc9TSFwBQ

Otis Redding - "Chain Gain":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFYit7O-4Ek

The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full Of Blues LP - Japanese Version

Atlantic (1978)

I made mention of this record in the 40th birthday tribute to Briefcase full of Blues I wrote a few days ago.  Unfortunately this Japanese version didn't show up in time for the group portrait.  Since it's here now, I figured I'd take a picture and write up something really quick.

I won't spend too much time talking about this record again.  It's great.  You probably know that already or at the very least, you know that I think it's great.  This version has the super cool Obi strip that's the standard for Japanese releases.  It also has liner notes that include the lyrics to every song in English and Japanese.  They even transcribed Elwood's speech thing during the "Can't Turn You Loose" introduction.  The little things like this are what fascinate me and make me collect multiple versions of certain records.

Sound quality wise, it sounds great.  It sounds a little bit crisper than most of the other versions I have.  I won't go so far as to say it's drastically different from any of the other pressings, but there is a clarity on this Japanese version that probably moves it to the front of the line.  That said, It was mostly the artwork that made me pick this up.

The Blues Brothers - "Soul Man":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQZI0VIKmj0

The Blues Brothers - "Rubber Biscuit":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofMxF39E9-c

The Blues Brothers - "Messing With The Kid":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPzOBMKawPc

Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul LP (From Definitive Studio Albums Box Set)

Atlantic (2017)

Over the next few months, I will be writing about each of the individual albums in the Otis Redding Definitive Studio Albums box set. It would be far too daunting a task to try to summarize so many great albums into one review for the entire set. Otis Redding is one of my favorites and each album deserves to be savored.

The third full length album from Otis Redding in this box set is the classic Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul.  I already have another version of this LP, but I'll probably let that one go now that I have this box set.  Otis Blue is pretty much nonstop hits from start to finish.  Whether it's on his version of "Respect" (quite different than Aretha's, but just as good) or the undeniable energy of "Shake" or Otis' take on the Rolling Stones classic "Satisfaction" every song on here is just amazing.

I would be hard pressed to pick my favorite Otis Redding album.  He has so many songs that are all so incredible, but if you wanted to argue that Otis Blue is the best, that's an argument that I would take seriously.  It's definitely one of my favorites.

Otis Redding - "Respect":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEgKSj1VHZ0

Otis Redding - "Shake":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrhyowoI9Y

Otis Redding - "Satisfaction":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHNDkZX-Om8

The Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full Of Blues - 40 Years Old Today

On November 28th in 1978, the Blues Brothers album Briefcase Full of Blues was released.  Today marks forty years since this album came out.  I was still a week away from my second birthday, but this album being released still ranks as one of the most important events of my life.  Now, as a not-quite two year old, I have no memory of the day this was released.  I also don't know exactly how long it was before I heard the record for the first time, but I can say that by the time I was three, the Blues Brothers were my favorite band in the world.

I've asked my parents how I got into The Blues Brothers and neither one of them really seem to remember.  My mom thinks she was the one who bought the record as she liked them on Saturday Night Live, but the actual music they are playing is more in line with the sort of music my dad liked a bit more.  Neither one of them view the moment as life altering as I do and I wish they had been paying a little more attention to the events as they unfolded.  However this record came into my life, its impact has never waned and while I've said it many, many times in the past, I don't think I would be the same person and I'm not sure I would have ever gotten so into music if it weren't for the initial spark that the Blues Brothers provided.

Over the years I've listened to this album countless times.  I've bought it repeatedly to have different versions on colored vinyl, remastered reissues and various singles that were released from it.  I even recently bought the Japanese pressing of the LP, but it didn't show up in the mail in time to take a picture of it for today.  I've reviewed this record several times on this site in the past.  You can read those if you want more of a song by song account and further details of how important this record is to me.  For today, I just want to make mention of this milestone and say how thankful I am to everyone that played a part in putting this record out.  It means more to me than I could ever articulate.

The Blues Brothers - "Soul Man":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQZI0VIKmj0

The Blues Brothers - "Rubber Biscuit":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofMxF39E9-c

The Blues Brothers - "Messing With The Kid":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPzOBMKawPc

Otis Redding - The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads LP (From Definitive Studio Albums Box Set)

Atlantic (2017)

Over the next few months, I will be writing about each of the individual albums in the Otis Redding Definitive Studio Albums box set.  It would be far too daunting a task to try to summarize so many great albums into one review for the entire set.  Otis Redding is one of my favorites and each album deserves to be savored.

Next up is Otis Redding's second full album, The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads.  It's a lengthy little album title and it does seem a little presumptive to be calling Otis great on just his second album.  But by the time the album ends, there's just no doubt that he richly deserves that moniker.  Incredible song after incredible song reveal themselves as the record plays.  I think the most famous song from this album is the classic "Mr. Pitiful," and it's a classic for a reason.

That's just one of so many great tracks on this album. "That's How Strong My Love Is," "I Want To Thank You" and "Home In Your Heart" are easily on par with "Mr. Pitiful" and show just how much Otis grew from his first album to this one.  You can tell already that he's something special and is every bit as great as the album title suggests.

Otis Redding - "Home In Your Heart":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6XXKSamVpw

Otis Redding - "That's How Strong My Love Is":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySvRbV3_C6g

Otis Redding - "Mr. Pitiful":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba5cNmXA-W8

Wilson Pickett - The Sound of Wilson Pickett LP

Atlantic (2014, Reissue)

This is the last of the Wilson Pickett Reissues that I've added to the collection over the past year.  It doesn't seem that the reissue campaign extended past The Sound of Wilson Pickett.  I'm not exactly sure why (not being as familiar with his non-Greatest Hits output as I would like to be), but I'm definitely going to be looking around for decent condition copies of The Midnight Mover and I'm In Love.  I can't imagine his work falls off a cliff over the span of a year.

Back to The Sound Of Wilson Pickett.  First off it has one of my absolute favorite Wilson Pickett songs on it, "Funky Broadway."  When I was a little kid, there were times that my dad would take my brother and I to a little lake where they had a pseudo 'beach' and swimming.  He'd set up at a picnic table with his little hibachi-style grill that could cook two hamburgers at a time and break out one of his three mix tapes on his little portable tape deck.  One of those mixes had "Funky Broadway" on it (Another had "All I Need Is A Miracle" by Mike & The Mechanics, but we'll not talk about that one).  "Funky Broadway" always felt like a missing Blues Brothers song and I truly feel that had John Belushi not died, they would have eventually recorded a version of it.  I just love this song.

The rest of the album is just as great if I'm being honest. From slower crooning jams like "I Found A Love" (both Parts I and II) to uptempo hits like "You Can't Stand Alone" there's no filler on this album.  I'm not sure it's ultimately quite as strong as some of his other full lengths like The Exciting Wilson Pickett or The Wicked Pickett, but it's pretty damn great.

Wilson Pickett - "Funky Broadway":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RAUoUD0uak

Wilson Pickett - "You Can't Stand Alone":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSwNSa_URE

Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour LP - Red Vinyl

Atlantic (2013, Reissue)

This reissue of Wilson Pickett's first album for Atlantic came out a few years ago.  This particular version came out on Red Vinyl and while it wasn't my absolute first choice for reissues (there was a 180g version from 2014 that I had my eye on), I was happy to discover that this red vinyl one was also a repress of the original mono mix.

This album has many more Wilson Pickett songs that I was previously familiar with than the last one I wrote about, It's Too Late.  First of we have the absolute classic title track.  That is one of songs that's just been ingrained in my brain as long as I can remember.  As a kid getting my musical education from The Blue Brothers, songs like this immediately jumped out at me when I heard them back then.

But this album's greatness is not limited to its most famous single.  Other incredible, soulful songs like "Take A Little Love," "That's a Man's Way" and "Don't Fight It" make this album an absolute treat to listen to.  It's a record that sounds so fresh and exciting even though it's fifty three years old.  The real insane thing to think about is that when I first heard these songs in the early 80s, they were not even 20 years old.  That's less of a time gap than if I go back and listen to Pavement records now.  This music (like the music of Pavement) is simply timeless and no matter how far in the rear view the release date gets, it is still as impactful as it ever was.

Wilson Pickett - "In The Midnight Hour":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVGFfj7POA

Wilson Pickett - "Don't Fight It":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A47uNen5-Q

Aretha Franklin & The Blues Brothers Band - Think 7" (Australia)

Atlantic (1983)

I'm actually just about through all of the Blues Brothers 7"s that I have.  At this point all that is left are a few that are kind of weird and of course the handful that I haven't tracked down yet.  This one is a Blues Brothers 7" although if anything it's kind of like a split 7" with Aretha Franklin.

Aretha gets top billing with her version of "Think" from the Soundtrack of the Blues Brothers movie.  Always a longtime favorite of mine, Aretha's pipes are on full display here as she careens through an incredibly energetic version of the song.  It's one of the most memorable scenes in a movie that has its fair share of memorable scenes.

On the B side is the Blues Brothers version of the theme from "Rawhide."  Again, from an iconic scene in the movie, the whole section from Bob's Country Bunker is one of my very favorites and I've always been partial to the song, even though it's from the soundtrack and is a slightly different and longer version than what is played in the movie.  I think that I like "Rawhide" so much because it is one of the few songs out there that Elwood sings.  And since he's always been my favorite Blues Brother, I've just dug this since I was a little kid.

This is definitely one of the more unique Blues Brothers 7"s I have, it has unique artwork with pictures that miraculously have not been recycled from other releases.  It's even got a funny, fake newspaper clipping show review of the Bob's Country Bunker show by the Good Old Blues Brothers Boys Band from Chicago.  Quality stuff.

Aretha Franklin & The Blues Brothers Band - "Think":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELVZIlv5fbE

The Blues Brothers - "Theme From Rawhide":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y55zpYfFAE

The Blues Brothers - Who's Making Love 7" (Spain)

Atlantic (1981)

This week's Blues Brothers 7" is essentially identical to the one I posted two weeks ago.  It has the same songs and the same recycled picture from the Made In America album cover.  The only real differences are that it's from Spain rather than France and the font that they chose for the title on the front of the sleeve is different.  This time out they opted for a boxier font rather than the bigger more cartoony one of the French version.

I'm still not exactly sure why the American version of this 7" didn't get a picture sleeve, but then again I'm also still trying to wrap my head around why there are so few images available to be used for all of these different releases.  Regardless, it's another fun one for the collection.  I'm definitely getting close to having gone through all of these.  I keep hoping some of the ones I'm missing show up on Discogs pretty soon.  We'll see.

The Blues Brothers - "Who's Making Love":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ7U8ahPerc

The Blues Brothers - "Perry Mason Theme":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0BG240I5JU

The Blues Brothers - Who's Making Love 7" (France)

Atlantic (1981)

Here we are, talking about singles from the very last Blues Brothers full length album, Made In America.  As a whole, that album is one that I don't quite have the ties to like I have with Briefcase Full of Blues or the soundtrack to the movie.  I never had Made In America as a kid, it didn't get added to my collection until I was a teenager.  I'm not sure why, especially considering how much I loved the Blues Brothers at the time, but for whatever reason, I just never had it as a kid.

In the US, they did release "Who's Making Love" as a single, but it didn't come out with a picture sleeve domestically.  This week's entry is from France.  Artwork wise, they reuse the cover artwork from the Made in America LP, and just added some text about the songs on this 7".

"Who's Making Love" doesn't pop for me quite the same way that other Blues Brothers songs do, but that's not to say it isn't still a pretty rousing version of this song.  As usual the band is firing on all cylinders and Jake's vocals are fiery and on point.  The B side they chose for this is a little bizarre.  It's essentially an instrumental cover of the theme song to Perry Mason.  I say primarily instrumental because for some strange reason, Elwood kind of mumbles along with the melody, occasionally spitting out a word that can be understood.  It's totally fine in the context of the record as a brief interlude.  But as a focused on B side, it makes less sense to me.

The Blues Brothers - "Who's Making Love":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ7U8ahPerc

The Blues Brothers - "Perry Mason Theme":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0BG240I5JU

The Blues Brothers - Theme From Rawhide 7" (Europe)

Atlantic (1980)

When I started digging into information about Blues Brothers singles, this was definitely one of the more surprising discoveries I came across.  I didn't expect to find that "Rawhide" had ever been released as a single from the soundtrack album.  I could see it perhaps making an appearance as a B side, but not as an A side picture sleeve.  Yet here we are.

I've always loved this song, mostly because it gave Elwood a showcase; something I always wanted when I was a kid.  Elwood was my favorite and yeah, he drove the car in the movies, but he wasn't as in the forefront on record.  "Rawhide" was one of the rare instances where he took center stage, never mind that it was just a theme song to a TV show I had never seen.  The B side on this one is "Jailhouse Rock," which I'd really expect to be the A side.  That song will get its chance next time.

The artwork on this is interesting.  Again, they are pulling from the same batch of stock photos that keep turning up, though this time they've taken the Briefcase Full of Blues album cover, split it in half and then switched Jake and Elwood to the opposite side.  The film strip imagery cutting down the middle is a nice touch.  I don't mind the recycling of photos as much when they do something interesting with it.

The Blues Brothers - "Theme From Rawhide":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCRae5mRoRE

The Blues Brothers - "Jailhouse Rock":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plaDFJpOfMs

The Blues Brothers - Jailhouse Rock 7" (Netherlands)

WEA (1980)

This is one of my favorite Blues Brothers 7"s.  This version of the "Jailhouse Rock" single comes from the Netherlands and has "Sweet Home Chicago" as the B side.  It has completely unique artwork and doesn't look anything like any of the other Blues Brothers singles I have.  Even though it's a little weird that the image is chopped off at the ankles, that oddness only makes me love it more.

Even the way I obtained it was somewhat strange.  A seller on Discogs in The Netherlands had it listed.  I tried to buy it from them directly and they wanted to charge an astronomical shipping fee.  I think it was close to $60.  For one 7".  Crazy.  Anyway I came up with a plan and with the help of the wonderful Scott from Brassneck, we had the 7" shipped to the UK and then it was sent over with some stuff from Brassneck (I buy records there, so should you*).  Scott told me the seller shipped this in a gigantic box, so oversized for one 7" that it was ridiculous.  

Anyway, it's really cool addition to the Blues Brothers collection and I thank Scott for helping me obtain it.

*Cheap, but heartfelt plug

The Blues Brothers - "Jailhouse Rock":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plaDFJpOfMs

The Blues Brothers - "Sweet Home Chicago":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vCiXg3njY 

The Blues Brothers - Jailhouse Rock 7" (France)

Atlantic (1980)

This version of the Jailhouse Rock 7" comes from France.  The B side is "Sweet Home Chicago," though I personally feel like "Chicago" should be the A side and "Jailhouse Rock" should be the B side.  It's semantics really, I could play whichever side I wanted to first.  Both are great songs, but to me, "Sweet Home Chicago" feels like a Blues Brothers song and "Jailhouse Rock" feels like a cover.  I know all of the Blues Brothers songs are covers, but I guess it's mostly about when I first heard the song.

The artwork on this picture sleeve is pretty cool.  It's a still from the Palace Hotel Ballroom scene at the end of the movie and is one of the few 7"s out there that isn't recycling a picture from another release.  I especially like that you can see a bit of Cropper and Duck Dunn in the background. The nerve center of a great rhythm and blues band. Good stuff.

The Blues Brothers - "Jailhouse Rock":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plaDFJpOfMs

The Blues Brothers - "Sweet Home Chicago":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vCiXg3njY 

The Blues Brothers - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love 7" (UK)

Atlantic (1980)

Up next in my bi-weekly Blues Brothers 7" review we have the UK version of the Everybody Needs Somebody To Love 7".  This time out the B side is "Jailhouse Rock," which makes sense to me and is a solid B side choice since it's actually a song that The Blues Brothers sing.

This 7" is sporting some of my favorite picture sleeve artwork featured on any Blues Brothers 7".  It appears to be a picture from the same photo session that yielded the movie one sheet poster, but it's a different picture.  Plus, the Bluesmobile is in the shot.  That's a big bonus for me as I think that the car is one of the most important characters in the movie.  I also like the way they used the logo at the top, sort of like a heading or way to file the 7" at the record store.  Good design choices.

Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture, my copy is pretty beat up.  I'm kind of going with the mentality that this is just a place holder for now until I can find a better condition copy.  But as this seems to be one of the scarcer Blues Brothers 7"s out there, it made sense to me to pick one up now.  Hopefully I'll come across another one at some point.

The Blues Brothers - "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkvuxjccLA

The Blues Brothers - "Jailhouse Rock":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plaDFJpOfMs

The Blues Brothers - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love 7" (Belgium)

Atlantic (1980)

This Blues Brothers 7" is from Belgium and it's one of the more interesting picture sleeve 7"s that was released.  It contains two songs from the Blues Brothers movie soundtrack, "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" and Jailhouse Rock."  Both of which are great, of course.

Where things get interesting is the artwork.  At first glance, it seems like brand new, unique artwork (a rarity for Blues Brothers 7"s).  But in actuality, the two images are from the same picture used as the cover for the Made In America full length.  It seems odd to me that a picture from a record that came out after the soundtrack would be used as the image for a single that is from the actual soundtrack.  All I can think of is this single just came out after Made In America was released for some reason.

Regardless of the reason, I still think it's pretty cool as I always tend to favor the Blues Brothers singles that at least make an attempt at having interesting artwork.

The Blues Brothers - "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkvuxjccLA

The Blues Brothers - "Jailhouse Rock":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plaDFJpOfMs

The Blues Brothers - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love 7" (Europe)

Atlantic (1980)

This version of the Everybody Needs Somebody To Love 7" also comes from Europe, though this time there's a different B side.  Like with the last version I reviewed that had "Think" by Aretha Franklin as the B side, this one also has someone other than the Blues Brothers on the flip.  "Minnie The Moocher" by Cab Calloway makes an appearance here and while I do love the song, it still seems weird to me not to treat this more like a split 7".

Sure, the Blues Brothers band is Cab's backing band on this excellent version of "Minnie," but I think Cab deserve his name on the marquee a bit more prominently.  It's impossible for me to listen to "Minnie The Moocher" and not picture the movie scene where Jake & Elwood are sneaking around outside of the Palace Hotel Ballroom in time with the horn section.  It's just a classic moment in my very favorite movie.

As I've said before, the soundtrack version of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" has never been my favorite version of the song because of the backing vocals mixed in that aren't in the actual movie.  Oh another interesting thing, this vinyl itself on my copy has been dinked.  Dinking is the process where someone makes a big hole in a 7" that was pressed with a small hole.  Typically done so it can be used in a jukebox.  If I ever am able to get my jukebox out of the garage and into somewhere that's usable, I'll probably be doing a bit of dinking here and there.  Plus it's just fun to say.  Dink.

The Blues Brothers - "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkvuxjccLA

Cab Calloway - "Minnie The Moocher":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ogK_unbqM