Eugene Blackwell - We Can't Take Life For Granted (Ubiquity - 2007)

Oh yes this guy and his band could play tight and hard. Born in Oakland, Eugene Blackwell created his band in high school and showed nearly every club available in the Bay Area what raw funk was and what can be done with a guitar in that area. He recorded a handfull of singles but stayed a local celebrities and never made it at a national level. His 7" became collectible among funky heads and rare groove diggers and it became a matter of time before his work get the proper recognition it deserved. Ubiquity gathered all the recordings Eugene Blackwell made on We Can't Take Life For Granted, with a few radio spots and live clips. Nice work and probably one of the best funk compilation of my collection. Break heads, there is plenty as well  for you here.



Download => Eugene Blackwell - We Can't Take Life For Granted

Philippe Sarde - Flic Ou Voyou (MCA - 1979) / Le Guignolo (MCA - 1980)

Jean-Paul Belmondo... Nobody knows him outside French boundaries but the guy used to be French most popular actor, specialized in action movies and comedies that met a huge success throughout the 70's and 80's and were largely played on French TV, especially the sunday evening. Everybody in France aged beyond their 30's grew up with that guy. The movies were not always good, even if Jean-Paul Belmondo has a few masterpieces in his huge filmography (for the details, go to his Wikipedia page: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Belmondo ). Flic Ou Voyou or Le Guignolo are definitely not among his best movies. I enjoyed them while a kid but watched them again recently and I must admit that those two action comedies didn't aged well. But the soundtracks stay absolutely relevant. Both were made by Philippe Sarde and are completely different. For Flic Ou Voyou, Philippe Sarde enroled not less than Chet Baker, Hubert Laws, Ron Carter and Billy Cobham for a jazz soundtrack. The first track, Flic Ou Voyou, is brilliant: it starts like a baroque music track then morphes into jazz. For Le Guignolo, Philippe Sarde made the choice of orchestrated music inspired by traditionnal French operetta. Both soundtracks were reedited as a double package by Universal in 2000. And it's always a huge pleasure to give away Universal music for free.

Download => Philippe Sarde - Flic Ou Voyou - Le Guignolo

Jack Arel - Les Jeunes Loups (Riviera - 1968)

Marcel Carné is one of French greatest filmmakers. In 1968, he realised Les Jeunes Loups mixing French classic literature (the characters are inspired by the writings of Balzac) and Nouvelle Cinema with the burgeoning flower power and sexual liberation movement. Released just before the revolution of may 1968, it was announcing the events to come. The shooting is known to have been a nightmare and Marcel Carné rejected his film when it was over, even refusing to assist to the preview. Sacked by critics, Les Jeunes Loups were a flop and were even never released as VHS or DVD. In fact, nobody has seen this movie. The soundtrack is much easier to get. It was signed by French library maestro, Jack Arel. He mixed deep soul and British Invasion influences with a cool French pop vibe full of killing hammond organ licks. The vocals are credited to Tuesday Jackson, aka French MOR singer Nicole Croisille.

 Download => Jack Arel - Les Jeunes Loups