ART OF SONG
“Way Over Yonder”
Carole King
Tapestry
1971 | Sony BMG

Carole King is widely considered one of the most influential folk-rock musicians, having written a number of ubiquitous classics over her career, including “Natural Woman” and “You’ve Got A Friend.” On her album Tapestry, on which these hits appear, the lesser-known, but equally beautiful track “Way Over Yonder” further illustrates King’s prowess.

King’s sound is an amalgam of rustic grace and gilded grit, drawn from her deft piano playing and bold, lovely voice. Like her fellow female peers Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins, she harnesses her talent in a spirit of sincerity and truthfulness that certifies her individuality. “Way Over Yonder” displays a particularly strong touch of gospel-influenced melody and lyrics. Ruminative and redemptive in scope, it underscores the soulful power of King’s oeuvre.

by Alicia Dreilinger

http://www.caroleking.com/

Way Over Yonder – Carole King

ART OF SONG
“Way Over Yonder”
Carole King
Tapestry
1971 | Sony BMG

Carole King is widely considered one of the most influential folk-rock musicians, having written a number of ubiquitous classics over her career, including “Natural Woman” and “You’ve Got A Friend.” On her album Tapestry, on which these hits appear, the lesser-known, but equally beautiful track “Way Over Yonder” further illustrates King’s prowess.

King’s sound is an amalgam of rustic grace and gilded grit, drawn from her deft piano playing and bold, lovely voice. Like her fellow female peers Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins, she harnesses her talent in a spirit of sincerity and truthfulness that certifies her individuality. “Way Over Yonder” displays a particularly strong touch of gospel-influenced melody and lyrics. Ruminative and redemptive in scope, it underscores the soulful power of King’s oeuvre.

by Alicia Dreilinger

http://www.caroleking.com/

Way Over Yonder – Carole King

ORIGINALITY CORNER
The Yamasuki Singers
Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki
1971 (remastered release 2006) | Finders Keepers

I woke up this new year to the sounds and spirits of tiny Japanese children seeping in under my door. They told me to touch my hands and head to the floor and Yama Yama. They told me that fuzz and funk were rightfully theirs and had Nirvana been as inspired by spirits of Yamasuki instead of Os Mutantes the world would have spun differently. The content of their canorous riddle remains a mystery to me, but I decided that I would follow this Kono Samourai down this Franco-Japanese rabbit-hole.

What really happened, is that back in France, 1971, Jean Kluger, (a French funk, disco, afro-pop, and beat producer) called up Daniel Vangarde, (father of a member of Daft Punk), and together they composed pop songs that a French children’s choir would sing. Part-education and part-cultural-petrie-dish, Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki, began as a dance, and became a European cult wonder. Fuzzy guitars, wah-wahs, 70s organs, bellbottom flutes, and small stone bass compose pop wonders and a children’s choir garner east-sploited melodies. A real black-belt Judo master ululates. Altogether though, they are spirits, no?
More on Originality Corner: TheYamasuki Singers

Legendary soul singer, songwriter, and producer Isaac Hayes passed away Sunday afternoon, August 10, 2008. As both a driving force behind southern soul label Stax Records, and as a recording and performing artist, Hayes was instrumental in the development of soul and funk music.

Two of his records, Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971), were commercial successes and gained the artist substantial recognition. Hayes also composed the soundtrack for the 1971 film Shaft, for which he received two Grammys and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Hayes was awarded a third Grammy for Black Moses.

Aside from his career in music, Hayes has appeared in more than 60 movies and television shows, perhaps most notably as the voice of Chef on South Park. Lady-killing Chef often broke out into song, the most popular of which, “Chocoalte Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You),” was an international hit.

Hayes was found by his wife lying unconscious on the floor in his Memphis, Tennessee home. He was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. The cause of death is believed to be linked to a stroke he endured in 2006.