Extended Revolution

When I first saw the release of "Extended Revolution" during one my CD searches on ebay and the like, I didn't think much of it. I already had the Revolution single and I figured this was just a repackaging of that content with maybe another remix of the song on there. But I ended up looking into it anyway- mainly to figure out why it was selling for $30+ on the site. So, looking at the contents, clearly this was much more than a "Revolution" single- in fact, there was only one remix of "Revolution" on the album.

So what is on the set? Obviously one can look at the track listing and see for themselves, but what exactly is a "Perfect Mix" or a "Pirate Radio Mix"? Well, I wasn't prepared to spend $30+, shipping, and all of that at the time, so it would have to wait. But eventually I did come across a more reasonably priced CD and found out first-hand what was included on the album. What you have is basically an excellent collection of remixes, many of them ones that I have not found anywhere else. Here is a track-by-track breakdown:

1- Mr. Wendal (Perfect Mix) 5:43- Kind of a European-sounding dance mix that manages to not suck! I'm not really a fan of those kinds of mixes- you do not want to see me on a dance floor, so making a song more "danceable" usually doesn't do much for me- and yet it somehow works for this song. Good start to this collection.

2- People Everday (Metamorphosis Mix) 4:57- The classic remix that was a hit single and included on later pressings of the 3 Years... album. If you somehow missed acquiring that version somewhere along the lines, well, here it is. I love this one of course, although the chanting vocal at the end drones on a bit too much for my liking. Oh well.

3- Tennesse (Pirate Radio Mix) 6:10-- This is OK, but there is a bit of DJ scratching on some of the vocals where certain lines are being played back that doesn't work as well as probably intended.

4- Ease My Mind (Another Perspective Mix) 4:13- Really nice, laid back remix to the first single from "Zingalamaduni." Apparently exclusive to this set.

5- United Front (Noises In My Attic Remix) 4:43- Another nice mix of a Zingalamaduni song.

6- Fishin' For Religion (Remix) 4:42 - Love this. One of my favorite AD songs and I really enjoyed this mix- it seems to highlight elements already in the song with a different perspective. I'm not sure, but it almost sounds like a different take on Speech's vocals as well.

7- Revolution (Another Perspective Mix) 4:18 - This mix is included on the single, and it's a good mix that hews pretty closely to the original mix.

8- People Everyday (Maroon Mix) 3:38- This is OK, but we've already had the far superior Metamorphosis remix. Kind of slows things down and reggae-fies them, so to speak.

9- Tennessee ( Back To Roots Mix) 5:19 --Really good mix of AD's first classic. Mixes in some sounds from "Children Play With Earth" as well.

10- Mr. Wendal (Hip Hop Drum Attack Mix) 5:16- If you've ever thought "gee, it would sure be a good idea to mix a happy, upbeat song with the paranoid, schizophrenic sounds of "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" then this is the mix for you! Actually, while the "Black Steel" sample during the chorus is a little jarring at first, this is a good remix.

Final analysis: I am happy with the purchase, it's a nice way to play some of my favorite songs while getting a little different vibe from them. Is it worth $30+? Well, that's your call.....

Finally, here is a little background on the disc. It was released in 2003 by a company called Stateside Records, and my copy has a sticker that says "Made in England." According to the blurb on Amazon, one of the Mr. Wendal mixes (Hip Hop Drum Attack) and the "Ease My Mind" Remix are exclusive to this set and the other songs are found on promos and so forth.

As time allows, I will post some of the harder-to-find remixes up, if anyone is interested.

Strong Cuts

If you are an AD fan and don't subscribe to the Vagabond Record and Tapes feed on Youtube, you really should. If you're not familiar with that feed, then chances are you are not familiar with some of the songs that did not make the cut for "Strong," (AD's latest album) for whatever reason- sample clearances, just not good enough, etc. But the good people at Vagabond were nice enough to post these cuts on their feed so that we could hear them. And to save you the trouble of looking for them, here you go!

First one is "Happy". I really like this one, nice positive song that follows the AD tradition of making songs that can snap you out of a bad mood.



Here is "One Way or Another". I like this one too, kind of reminds me of "Down and Dirty" from "Since the Last Time".



Next is "Bio". This covers the same subject matter as "Greener" from the album, but in some respects I like this one better.



Lastly is "Push It Up". Flipping the old Roger Troutman sample made famous on EPMD's "You Gots to Chill".

When It Feels Right

In case you missed it, what a great video for Speech's "When It Feels Right" from his "Grown Folks Table" album. I like seeing people doing more with less instead of spending millions on a video that won't even air on TV any longer.

Hoopla - Speech

Welcome to part 2 of 3 of the Speech Japan vs. US series. We've already covered the debut album, of which the differences were pretty easy to identify: the import version had two bonus tracks. It gets just slightly more complicated here, and in this case, the US made out with the better deal as there are 19 tracks on the US release as opposed to 14 on the Japanese version (which is called 1998 Hoopla). If I had to guess why there are such big differences, this is because the US version was released a year after the import However, there are two tracks on the import version that didn't make it to the US release: "I'm Just an MC" and "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child."

The US version has 7 tracks not on the import: "Our Image," "Which Radio Station Has the Guts" (a skit), ""Are You Still With Me" (another skit), "Yeah Yeah," "Shut Down Our Mind Machine, (another skit)" "Redemption Song," and "If Life is a River." There are some fantastic songs in there and three skits, so it was worth waiting a year or so.

For the US fans, here are the songs we didn't get. I particularly like "I'm Just an MC" which samples an old Schoolhouse Rock song if my ears are not deceiving me (which could also explain why we didn't see it here):

I'm Just an MC

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

I'll have to listen to see if there are any differences between the songs as I don't recall- I know on "Spiritual People" there are some different mixes of songs on each album, so that one is a bit more complicated to figure out the differences. Eyeballing things it looks like "Mountain of Lonely" is longer by a minute or so on the import version.

Ease My Mind- Director's Cut

Here's a nice little find on youtube- the director's cut of the "Ease Your Mind" video. This was apparently posted by the director of the video, who had some interesting background on the video.

One of my most favorite groups I'd ever have the pleasure of directing.

Speech + family, and I, reunited for this clip from their second album, "Zingalamaduni". He decided on the same hairdo from our stint together on "Mr. Wendall". Worked perfectly.

If you look closely, there are a few "soon to discovered" celebrities - actor Dorian Missick ("Two Weeks Notice", "The Manchurian Candidate", "Lucky Number Slevin" and "Premium"), Phokus (musician/illustrator extraordinaire...), Nadirah Shakoor (an amazing songwriter and vocalist..., and dance instructor Terri Ajile Axam.

Another Dream Collabo

So preceding the dream collaboration of Speech and Organized Noize, we had another dream team: DJ Premier remixing "Ease My Mind". This was allegedly a bonus track on one of the import versions of "Zingalamaduni." (I can't find that version anywhere.) "Ease My Mind" was one of my favorite tracks from their sophomore set, and this is a worthy remix- check it out if you've never heard it, or even if you have:

Egg Beaters

Most AD fans have probably heard this already, but here's the bonus track on the Japanese release of "Zingalamaduni." (I can actually spell that album title without thinking now- that 5th grade spelling bee championship comes in handy.) It fits in pretty well with the style of the album. This is actually a version taken from the "Since the Last Time" mixtape that was on their website a while back, so there are some shout-outs at the end of the song from the group. Egg Beaters

The other song from these album sessions that has appeared in a number of different places, "Southern Friend Funk," is one that DEFINITELY should have been included on the "Zingalamaduni" album.

Like Marvin Gaye Said...

Aw, CD singles. The land of remixes, b-sides- and often rarely heard gems. One of my favorite b-sides is from the "Crossover" single by EPMD called "Brothers from Brooklyn L.I." Still not sure how that one didn't make their album that year.

Anyway, AD and Speech seem to feature a lot of remixes on their singles, and usually they're pretty good. But the one problem inherent with the remix is that you take a good song and usually face an uphill battle on trying to improve it- for every "Shut Em Down" Pete Rock remix you've got a million remixes that lose whatever charm the original song had.

Well, on the "Like Marvin Gaye Said (What's Going On)" single you have what should be a marriage made in heaven- Speech, leader of Arrested Development, the first group to really break from the south, and Organized Noize, the producers of so many OutKast classics. And they do a pretty good job with this, though I would be hard-pressed to say that it's better than the original. But it has a really nice, laid back sound to it and if you haven't heard it before, I think you'll like it. There's also a Drumapella mix that flips it a little differently with a focus on the drums, and the album instrumental. The single also features "Impregnated Tidbits of Dope Hits" with a slightly different intro than the album version, included here as well. I still can't wrap my head around that song title, though I really like the song!

Organized Noise Remix

Org. Noise Drumapella Mix

Album Instrumental

Impregnated Tidbits of Dope Hits

Speech Interview from 2006

Here's a really interesting Speech interview from 2006 that I ran across when looking for something else. If you've ever wondered where the name of the group comes from, here you go:

SPEECH: We looked at the whole situation in the black community, and saw it as a case of arrested development, and that's where the name came from. And so, in essence, the group's purpose is to wipe out the state of arrested development.

Here's the link.

How Did I Miss These?

I'll tell you what, I will just about move heaven and earth to uncover new AD or Speech music (or have it shipped from Japan, same difference), but when it is sitting right under my nose, I miss it. Not sure as to how long these have been available, but there are two new projects available for download on the Vagabond Records site. One is called Unreleased Jewels and the other is The Life Music Remixes. I have just downloaded both, so I will be commenting on them after giving them a good listen. Meanwhile, download them yourself at the Vagabond site, $14.98 for both albums, or $9.99 for the Unreleased album and $4.99 for the remixes (of which there are 9 songs): Vagabond Store

Eyeballing the tracklists, I believe the "Inner City" remix is the only thing I have so this is exciting.

Revolution

Here's a look at the b-sides to the "Revolution" single from the "Malcolm X" soundtrack. Arrested Development was so big at the time that they were chosen by Spike Lee to write this for one of the biggest movies of the time. It seemed like everywhere you went, people were wearing X hats and African medallions- yes, even here in Omaha, Nebraska (which is actually where Malcolm X was born for those who don't know, although his family did not stay long due to the horrific racial conditions). So needless to say, this was a big deal at the time and I loved watching the video on TV. I remember checking out the soundtrack from the library a few times just to listen to this song.

So would this song go on to become as big as another Spike Lee chosen song, "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy? Well, no, but there's no shame in having the second biggest Spike Lee film-influenced song when "Fight the Power" is number one. "Fight the Power" is arguably the greatest hip hop song ever made so no shame in falling a little short of that standard. In short, this is a classic.

As far as what was included on the single, it's pretty loaded. "Another Perspective" is a remix, "The Revolution Broadcast Live on 'Da Airwaves" is a fancy way of saying "radio edit," and "The Drums of Change" is an instrumental of sorts- when I bought it I was hoping it was an unheard song, but it's kind of a jam session instrumental featuring strongly, yes, the drums. And of course the last song is the Instrumental version. Anyway, great song, and this single is a great way to delve deeper into it. I have yet to see the movie though..... I think I'm going to make a point to do that soon.

Of course, a radio edit for AD doesn't mean the same thing it does for most rap artists, meaning there are no words mixed backwards or erased, it just cuts down the introduction to make it a little more radio friendly. Here are the b-sides:

Another Perspective

The Revolution Broadcast Live on 'Da Airwaves

The Drums of Change

Revolution (Instrumental)

Hit Me Baby....

Here it is, their winning performance from the short-lived reality show "Hit Me Baby One More Time." This song would go on to appear on their album "Since the Last Time" as most of you probably know. And the live version sounds pretty close to that one. Too bad this didn't kick start an AD comeback- America's loss I guess!

Speech- Import Version Bonus Tracks

So what is it that Japan does to deserve bonus tracks on a lot of their music releases? As somewhat of a completist, it drives me crazy- I'll buy an album only to find out that another version released overseas has 2 or 3 more songs on it. And don't even get me started on the new trend of itunes-only bonus songs....

Along the same lines, one of the hardest things about following Speech and Arrested Development is that the majority of their music gets released in Japan first and is then often followed by an American release with different songs, remixes, track orders, and often even different mixes of the same songs. But this is also a good thing, because that means there is more music released, and if you have the extra cash to track them all down, it can give you access to a lot of quality music. But it's hard to remember what's different about each release and which one you should go to when you're looking for a certain song.

With Speech's first album it wasn't too hard to tell the differences between the two releases- the Japanese import release only had two extra songs tacked on to the track order: "Just Another Day" and "RU Just an Illusion." Both of these are listed as "Main Mix" on the cover, although I am not aware of any alternate mixes commercially available. "Just Another Day" is an instrumental piece- kind of a laid back song. Not bad. And then there is "RU Just An Illusion," which appears to be a demo and a work in progress- there are long stretches without any lyrics. It seems that it would've been a pretty good song as it was fleshed out, and is certainly worth a listen or two.

It actually took me some time to track this down reasonably priced, so to avoid you the hassle, here are the bonus songs:

Just Another Day

RU Just An Illusion

Rationing

For anyone who has stopped in and checked this blog out- if anyone has!- thanks, and stay tuned. I have tons of AD and Speech material that I plan on rationing out as time goes on (nothing that you can actually buy commercially in stores as I don't want to hurt their sales or get shut down or anything like that), but I don't have the time to throw it all on at once. Plus, I would hate to run out of stuff in a week. So I will ration things in due time.

The reason why I want to do a blog on AD and Speech is simple- they deserve it. I don't really think I can do anything to help their popularity, but best case scenario I find a few fellow AD fans and we help support a group that truly deserves it.

Anyway, I am going to give this a go and if you have any advice or suggestions, please let me know!

Speech's Coke Commercial

Well, I haven't heard Cee-Lo's version to compare, but I think if I was Coke, I would've just went with both. Scratch that, this song is too good to be a Coke commercial. It also reminds me of Speech's line about "hip hop legends reduced to selling Sprite." It's a sad state of affairs for hip hop, but Speech, do what you have to do. Actually, placing music in ads has been a successful route for many musicians to have their music heard, it's just too bad this effort wasn't picked up by Coca Cola.



OK, here's Cee-Lo's version. Guess they both have basically the same backing track. Have to say I prefer Speech's version (I am biased), but Cee-Lo is the more current star I guess.

Bloody

Man, this song has been out for a year now and it still blows me away. It kind of has the same feel as much of the Nas/Damian Marley album, but this hits me a little harder than the songs on that album. Here's the regular version and a great live version as well.

Bebe's Kids

A few years ago I was in the process of picking up just about every Speech or Arrested Development recording I could find. After picking up every "proper" release, I was pleasantly surprised to find they had an inclusion on the soundtrack of the long-forgotten early 90s animated film "Bebe's Kids." So I looked it up on amazon, found it used for $.75 or something, and bought it. My hope was that I had unearthed a song that didn't quite make the cut to "Three Years..." but was still a worthy song, looking for a home (soundtracks in the 90s are filled with such songs).

Well, the good news is that it was an Arrested Development song and not a misprint. But the bad news is that it's basically an instrumental piece- no verse from Speech. I would've liked to have seen what Speech would've done on this track but such is life. I've never seen the film, but I assume it was used as some music for the actual score of the film.

Anyway, here it is for those of you who would rather not spend the $.75 at Amazon, plus shipping: Oh No.

By the way I stink at this whole blogging thing if you couldn't tell. I can't even get links to show up properly, so I apologize for the cut-and-paste job required to get this song. EDIT: I did it, I'm coming up in the world.... Made it way harder than it is, nothing new for me!

AD on Sesame Street

So a few months ago my wife bought my now two-year old daughter the 40th Anniversary Sesame Street DVD set. Well, much to my surprise I look up one day and find her dancing to Arrested Development on the show, singing a song I had never heard before called "Pride." It's actually pretty catchy and would've fit well on the second album. The DVD is filled with other guest appearances on it, and for the most part the artists just tweak their hit songs to fit on Sesame Street, so credit to AD for bringing original material. Anyway, here's the video (I love the old dude in the sweater dancing in this. Video proof that someone dances worse than me.):

New Blog- Under Construction

This will be a blog on Speech and his group Arrested Development, but as you can see, it is under construction and just getting started, so bear with me!