Artiste: Roy Ayers
Album: Africa, Center Of The World
Spotlight Track: Land Of Fruit And Honey
Label: Polydor
Catalog: PD-1-6327
I’m forever a jazz funk fan, and there’s no greater champion in the realm of jazz funk than Mr Roy Ayers, the champion of grooves, the don of the vibes! I love all his work, as much as I love my Marlboro Lights, they’re timeless, and I truly mean it, you hear it on the radio now and it’s still fresh as it was 30 years ago.
I’m spotlighting Land Of Fruit And Honey from the album Africa, Center of The World, release in 1981 just for the pure disco funk vibe it possesses. I can’t help but to get up and dance every time I hear this song. It’s absolutely mad!!! The lyrics declare Africa as the magic land, the land of fruit and honey, the destination motherland. It’s true, it all began in Africa, all of us. We really need to assess the world situation now, and realize what a crap place we’re living in.
Roy Ayers is loved throughout the whole world and his library is huge, from classics like Everybody Loves The Sunshine to unreleased material in his recent Virgin Ubiquity releases (check out Mystery Of Love in Virgin Ubiquity 1, oh shiTTTTTT!!!!!!), there’s no end to his genius! Reviewing this track alone is not doing him justice, for those who are interested, here’s a list of tracks you cannot sleep on: We Live In Brooklyn, Sweet Tears, A Tear To A Smile, Time And Space, The Memory, Running Away, Searching, Can’t You See Me, Love Will Bring Us Together, Our Time Is Coming…etc. He also produces for artists like RAMP and Slyvia Striplin on his label Uno Melodic, Slyvia’s You Can’t Turn Me Away is sampled heavily in recent hiphop hits. On a side note, I prefer to buy his re-mastered CD’s than the original Polydor vinyl presses, somehow the sound quality on Polydor just isn’t that good.
Please please please please, get yourself familiarized with true greats of soul, because it’ll be too late once they’ve passed on.
Here’s a fantasic live version of Everybody Loves The Sunshine on YouTube. Check it out!
Just bees and things and flowers… styleee.
Tangkap This!!!
-Kenny
