"The Bottle" excerpt
I joined the DIME network to see what I could bring across to the blogosphere, and the first score is this wonderful show (in FLAC and MP3) from Mr Gil Scott-Heron in Berkeley, California in 1978. Thanks to Scott for pointing me at it.
This comes from an FM broadcast. An MP3 recording of it was posted at Sounds From the Edge of the Universe earlier this year by Miles from Birds With Broken Wings.
Essentially we've got the same band - minus one percussionist - that I wrote about in the 1977 Bottom Line show post. Six months after that, it's a pretty similar tracklist, but they're playing with formats and structures a little more. Allan Barnes' synthesiser lines are coming more to the fore, but without sacrificing Brian Jackson's jazzy rhodes tones.
"Home is Where The Hatred Is" excerpt
Gil characteristically opens with local issues, attacking recent cuts to the Afro-American Studies program at Berkeley, seamlessly swinging between polemic and poetry in a spoken piece called "Them Other Niggers". This leads straight into "The Spirit of the Drum", with Gil leading call-and-response vocals with the band, most of whom are on percussion.
From there on it's all-out latin, funk and jazz with not a moment of filler. 73 minutes of joy, hope you like this one!
Tracklist
01. Intro
02. Gil's Opening Speech
03. The Spirit of the Drum
04. Hello Sunday, Hello Road
05. 95-South (All of the Places We've Been)
06. Racetrack in France
07. We Almost Lost Detroit
08. Home is Where the Hatred Is
09. Band Introductions
10. Song of the Wind (aka Blow Wind Blow)
11. Band Introductions / The Bottle
12. Johannesburg
The Midnight Band
Gil Scott-Heron (Vocals, Guitar, and possibly Piano)
Brian Jackson (Keyboards, Flute)
Allan Barnes (Saxophone, Synthesizer)
Delbert Taylor (Piano, Trumpet, Congas, Flugelhorn, Vocals)
Barnett Williams (Congas, Percussion)
Siggie Dillard (Bass)
Reggie Brisbane (Drums)
Also at 'Never Enough Rhodes'
Gil Scott-Heron - "Live at the Bottom Line" (1977)
Gil Scott-Heron - "Live at the Village Gate" (1976)
