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Galt MacDermot
Up from the Basement - Unreleased Tracks Vol. 1
Kilmarnock
A perfectly-timed release of previously unreleased material from the legendary Galt MacDermot. Best known as the composer for the 60's Broadway musical HAIR, MacDermot is responsible for several huge hits of that era including "Aquarius," "Let the Sunshine In," and "Easy to Be Hard." He's essentially provided beats for everyone from Nas and Rah Digga on down to J-Live and Ol' Dirty. His film score "Woman is Sweeter" is a highly sought-after piece that was used for Busta Rhyme's classic "Woo-Haa." Pete Rock borrowed many grooves from MacDermot in order to create his seminal Mecca and the Soul Brother LP, and Run-DMC's "Down with the King" is taken directly from the original Broadway cast recording of "Where Do I Go?"
That brings us to this release of juicy, "never before heard" funk instrumentals recorded between 1968 and 1973. Up from the Basement was compiled by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt, a renowned beat digger from Mr. Dibbs' APSO crew and Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw Records. As the back cover will tell you, Egon discovered these tracks on reels, master tapes and acetates (literally) in the basement of MacDermot's house while working for Kilmarnock Records.
The album opens with a different version of "Ripped Open by Metal Explosions," a cut that should be familiar to heads as the Artifacts' "C'mon with the Get Down." This version was recorded by a simpler group that included legends like Idris Muhammad and Jimmy Lewis. "Duffer in F - Version Two" is one of several Judge's picks off this one, and "Never Die, Desire Not" is apparently in heavy rotation at J-Sun's More Dusty Than Digital on Ponce De Leon.
A clever flute arrangement on "Come Away Death" closes out side one, along with two unbelievable bonus tracks. The bonus cuts are from a crispy acetate of the Shakespearean Festival "Hamlet" recordings of 1967-68. The second, "And He Will Not Come Again," is only 41 seconds long, which is a shame, considering I could listen to that groove for two straight years without tiring of it.
Side two's pearls are the "Rhinoceros" Main Theme, "DD-2-01," and yet another version of "Let the Sunshine In." The first is one of the few good demonstrations of string arrangements in funk, the second sounds like a stellar cousin to "Space," and the third can never be played enough.
"Up from the Basement" is well-tailored to the large hip-hop following that MacDermot has amassed, and Kilmarnock should be commended for its acknowledgement of out community. (In other words, go buy it, herb.)
Judge Mills Lane
from Elemental