Missionaria Protectiva

  LEON & MARY RUSSELL  Make Love To The Music  (Paradise,1977) - Rock,Soul,Funk             Mary "is a convincing individual singer, but her soulful wailings have yet to mix naturally with her husband's own brand of rambling boogie fever.       A little messy and all over the place but not a complete disaster; more in keeping with Leon's own solo work during the period and definitely worth a spin. TRACKLIST : Easy Love                        Joyful Noise                        Now Now Boogie                        Say You Will                        Make Love To The Music                        Love Crazy       ...

  ASHFORD & SIMPSON  Is It Still Good To Ya  (WB,1978) - R&B/Disco       The keystone of  ‘Is It Good To Ya’ – which topped the US R&B albums chart back in 1978 and was the duo’s second Gold-certified album – is undoubtedly the set’s lead off track and chief hit single, ‘It Seems To Hang On,’ a brilliant, lush, groove ballad whose hypnotic chord sequence established a stylistic template for soul music that was deeply influential in the 1980s (a whole raft of soul records used the same chord sequence during that decade). Utilising the talents of top session players like guitarist Eric Gale, bassist Franco Centeno, keyboardist Ray Chew, drummer Steve Jordan, and percussionist Ralph MacDonald – not forgetting superb strings and horns charts by ex-Motown arranger, Paul Riser – Ashford & Simpson created a sumptuous soul masterpiece spiced up with a little bit of piquant funk and disco seasoning. Other highlights include the dreamy, mirrorba...

        Born in 1955, Johnson appeared on the Los Angeles music scene as a professional bass player in the 1970s. Alongside his brother George, the two played with both Bobby Womack and the Supremes before joining Billy Preston’s band in 1972. After working with Preston on Music In My Life and The Kids and Me, the two left the band and ended up working with producer Quincy Jones on his project, Mellow Madness. This led to a unique partnership with Jones, as he started producing The Brothers Johnson’s records, beginning with Look Out for #1. The following Brother’s Johnson releases, Right On Time, Blam!!, and Light Up The Night, all faired well on the Billboard charts and featured funk and disco grooves with a heavy emphasis on Louis’ slap style bass playing.       In addition to working with the Brothers Johnson, Louis was an in – demand LA session player from the mid 1970s through the late 80s. Quincy Jones enlisted him to play on Michael Jackson’s re...

  MAINHORSE  Mainhorse  (Polydor,1971) - Progressive rock       Mainhorse is a one-off proto-prog band best known for being the starting point for Patrick Moraz's fascinating career. The sole album reveals a Deep Purple Mark I/The Nice fixation, both in terms of Peter Lockett's lead vocals and the kind of keyboard-driven storming hard rock (although there's a hint of the Hocus Pocus bridge at one point) on offer.   TRACKLIST: Introduction                      Passing Years                      Such A Beautiful Day                      Pale Sky                      Basia                      More Tea Vicar                      Go...

  EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND  Wasa Wasa  (Harvest,1969) - Psychedelic rock       Establishing themselves as an unholy collision between the still-nascent  Pink Fairies  and the legendary  Fugs , the debut album by British free-festival favorites the Edgar Broughton Band almost literally re-created the spirit of their natural territory -- a muddy field full of sunbaked hippies -- with eight more or less epic tracks that, though their inspiration has long become the stuff of ancient history, remain essential listening to all but the most jaded ears.  TRACKLIST : Death Of An Electric Citizen                        American Boy Soldier                        Why Can't Somebody Love Me                        Neptune                ...

  PFM L'Isola Di Niente  (Numero Uno,1974) - Progressive rock         The magical intro of the title track, thanks to such a stunning chorus created by some mellotrons and, naturally, the fantastic song "La Luna Nuova", characterized by some special and complex guitar scales by Mussida and his terrific interplay with a special Mini-Moog, is alone well worth checking out; but don't forget also the sweetest ballad "Dolcissima Maria" and the catharsis of the last instrumental track "Via Lumiere", which is the tasteful conclusion of an unforgettable album, whose unique defect is as usual the production, unfortunately sometimes uneven. TRACKLIST : L'Isola Di Niente                        Is My Face On Straight                        La Luna Nuova                        Dolcissima Maria...