European Digs

ZOO : If You Lose Your Woman & Mammouth
taken from their self-titled album on Bacilus (197?)

B.B. Seaton : Hold On (My People), No More Tribalism, & Brothers Beware
taken from the album “Dancing Shoes” on Virgin (1974)

The Real Thing : Vicious Circle Pt. 1
taken from the 7″ single on Bell (197?)

The DES All Stars : Rub It Down
taken from the 12″ single on Black Joy (197?)

As promised, some of the fruits of my European record digs. Bit of a random assortment, but that’s generally the way it works when you’re thumbing through old crates. ZOO was the only group here that I’d ever heard about before, the rest were guesses. Google searches reveal very little about any of these folks, so I’m gonna have to let the music do most of the explaining.

The Zoo album is an amazing listen all the way through. I’m gradually getting more into the hard psych sound- heavy drums, fuzz, and general aural weirdness. The funkyness of this set is also undeniable, which helps a non-rock head like myself ease into it. I know the group is from France. I know I recognize the intro break on “If You Lose Your Woman” from somewhere, but I can’t place it. Other than that, I’m as clueless as Inspector Gadget.

Dancing Shoes is a funky collection produced and engineered by Mr. Sid Bucknor. Mostly originals, but in addition to this excellent version of Eddie Kendricks’ “Hold On”, he does covers of “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)” and “Any Day Now”. More info about B.B. can be found on his website.

The Real Thing is an American soul group. Pic sleeve 7″ is where it’s at. Copped for 1 euro due to dope artwork. Artwork proved to be a proper representation of the music therein. If anyone knows anything else about these guys (full length album ever?), please school a fellow music lover.

And finally, one of a handful of reggae 12″s that I picked up at a flea market outside of Vienna (Purkesdorf to be exact). The DES All Stars bring the reggae skank to Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar” and flip the title (probably to avoid publishing fees). Again, I know nada about the group, but I love this tune, especially all the breakdowns toward the end that are typical of these extended reggae “disco mixes”.

Enjoy the music, and please share any other info that you might have about the music!