na: os mutantes, mc5, andrew bird

What to put above the cut on a new arrivals post? One of life’s great mysteries. Click on through, though, where MC5 and Os Mutantes await.

Top of the list, A#1, King of the Hill: My must-have picks for today are Mutha Funkin’ Sonofabitch and The Uplook Records Story. The Funkadelphia label, if you haven’t yet discovered it, is some kind of awesome; they manage to dig up Philly soul super-rarities, record them straight from vinyl and deliver them to you, the people. These two comps might be the best yet. MFSB is straight grizzled blaxploitation funk, full of bleary organs and big-bottom basslines. Sample the first two tracks and tell me you don’t want to immediately download the other fourteen. All of these tracks were recorded between 1968 and 1973, and all of the musicians featured on it went on to become members of the Sigma Sound House band, and were featured on classic Gamble & Huff soul tracks. If you have even a passing interest in labels like Stones Throw or Jazzman, you need this in your life.

As far as The Uplook Records Story: this is a little less hard-funk and a little more smooth soul. Uplook was a regional imprint in Philly, and most of these tracks come from the mid-60s — prime era for great soul music. Extra bonus note: the compilation features early recordings by that obscure soul singer Teddy Pendergrass (whose name I can no longer think of without hearing the fantastic Twista verse from Kanye’s “Slow Jams”). Listen to :30 of Charles Mintz’s “Give a Man a Break” and tell me with a straight face you can live without this. It’s barnburning, I tell ya. And we didn’t even have barns in Philly.

MC5, Babes in Arms
The origins of punk rock — this collection features outtakes and alternate recordings of some of the 5s seminal numbers (”Kick Out the Jams” is one of them, though most are versions of songs from Back in the USA). My pick: “Looking at You,” which is deliciously druggy and messy. It sounds like a Love song, with all the varnish sandpapered off.

Those who like a little more varnish might be interested in Os Mutantes Live at the Barbican, 2006. This morning Yancey offered the indefensible opinion that Os Mutantes were not a very good band, and that their classic recordings (compiled here) were likewise subpar. This, obviously, is lunacy, but I will say that I’m less-than-psyched about the post-reunion Os; you may want to approach this live set with caution. To me, The Mutants’ most charming quality was their unhinged lunacy — the way their songs were falling apart at the seams. This is Os Mutantes at a dinner party in a tux, talking about marzipan and the works of Proust.

And speaking of polish: James Taylor, One Man Band arrives today. It’s a collection of Taylor’s most beloved songs taken from his recent solo tour. Barney Hoskyns sez:

“We all mellow as we “ripen and rot” — to quote Annie Hall — and what sounded wimpily self-satisfied in 1975 now soothes and even moves. A stripped-down performance from the old Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, One Man Band has local boy Taylor revisiting 19 of his greatest songs. JT’s pretty picking — backed by keyboardist Larry Goldings and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus — is perfectly caught by the crystalline recording, which beautifully frames his honey-smooth voice.”

Skatalites, Stretching Out. Awesome. A live recording of a rehearsal gig for their 1983 reunion show at Jamaica Sunsplash, these 22 tracks find the band in top form. The version of “El Pussy Cat Ska” outruns the original by several thousand miles, and “Guns of Navarone” is just as bleary and sneaky as ever. Truly terrific.

Kiln, Dusker
This album has apparently been getting some good press lately; buzzy ambient with super-large beats and organic instruments distorted beyond recognition (I picked out a bit of guitar in “Templefrog”). I’m also getting a weird “Sounds of the Rainforest” vibe from this. Do with that what you will.

Quick capsules:
Ali Lohan, Lohan Holiday. I mostly just wanted to point this out.

Anarcho-punks Propagandhi turn out a totally incendiary concert album. I love this stuff: fast, brutal, nasty, and even more spirited since it’s live. There’s a song on here called “With Friends Like These, Who the F–k Needs COINTELPRO?” I think that’s all you need to know.

On the same tip, blipvert rock group Helen Love offer revved-up synth songs that whip keyboards into double-time and force them to obey punk’s speed laws. Fans of Stiff Records will cotton to this instantly. The cover art makes it look like one of those shady re-records we all love so much, but don’t be fooled: this is prime original material.

David Gray, Greatest Hits. Does not contain his breakthrough “Babylon,” but does contain a song called “Babylon II” that sounds suspiciously like it.

A reissue of the first Black Moth Super Rainbow record sounds just as dreamy and delirious as Dandelion Gum. Perfect music for floating in space.

Early Andrew Bird; Music of Hair, his first record, is a bit more fiddly-Appalachia than the Bird we know and love today, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth hearing. Ballad of the Red Shoes is a collaborative project between Bird and his mother, who’s an artist. The physical version of this record comes with illustrations she designed to accompany each song. We have no such luxury, I’m afraid, but the music is still lovely.