Customer Reviews

Blue Break Beats 3

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All the Blue Break Beats records are essential listening in my book. Sure, end to end listening can sometimes get a little afghan coat, but these albums have pure gold nuggets in amongst the beardy filler. Standout trax here are Gene Harris' funky, funky, funky version of "Don't Call Me Nigger Whitey" and Joe Williams utterly SMOKIN' "Get Out My Life Woman"....what an awesome groove, pool 'o' chocolate voice and a horn section that are so tight they must be underage. Alone , these two tunes are worth the price of admission. A wicked set.

The only reason to have this disc is if you have no other way to get the following must-have tracks:

* Ode To Billy Joe - Lou Donaldson (used by Mary J. Blige)
* Mystic Brew - Ronnie Foster (used by the Tribe Called Quest for Electric Relaxation)
* It's Your Thing - Lou Donaldson
* Dominoes - Donald Byrd
* Get Out Of My Life Woman - Joe Williams (used by Biz I think)

I'd add Walk Tall by Cannonball Adderley, but it's *not* the version I think people have heard of, which was fantastically used in Brand Nubian's Concerto In X Minor. For this, you need Walk Tall/Mercy, Mercy, Mercy from Adderley's 1975 Phenix album.

I was really happy to get Mystic Brew, Ode To Billy Joe, and Get Out Of My Life Woman, as I had never had them before. The Lou Rawls is a good slow groove. The Shirley Bassey is a good soul groove.

The songs I haven't mentioned don't do anything for me; I'd never really heard them before this disc either.

Blue Break Beats was compiled by Blue Note Records, giving any hip-hopper or R&B fan a crash course in songs where their favorite artist "got that beat from" (for example, many folks will recognize "It's Your Thing" as the "Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down" groove by Brand Nubian). This volume has its standouts like "Dominoes" by Donald Byrd, "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Lou Rawls, and a great rendition of "Light My Fire" by Shirley Bassey. But that song called, "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey", throws the album off course a little bit. Still get the album for the other songs, though, and once you listen to this volume, you're gonna want to get the other volumes, too.

This is the 3rd installment in the Blue Break Beats series.

As the previous reviewer say's - It is not a samplers record, it is a chance to hear the original tracks.

This series started life on double LP's - compiled by Dean Rudland and Eddie Pillar starting back in 1992 in the UK.
If you remember Acid Jazz, then these names will mean something to you, along with Gilles Peterson.

The proper title was "Blue Break Beats (You Gotta Hear Blue Note to Dig Def Jam)".

The idea of the collection was to draw peoples attention to the really excellent Blue Note tracks being sampled in the Hip Hop records everyone was listening to ('92).

This was way way before all the CD re-issues of the Blue Note Archive - we had to buy imports of the Japanese King re-pressings or go to Ray's Jazz shop and buy the originals.
The success of this compilation, lead to the Straight No Chaser re-issue selection, more compilations, the re-awakening of people's love of Jazz and the general re-availability of the Blue Note catalogue.

You can thank Acid Jazz for that.

if you are a Beastie Boys fan you'll hear some sources -- be sure and check and out "Put on Train" by the Three Sounds -- its pure dolomite!