I just listened to "Free the music" (from 1994, I think?), and suddenly I recognized the sampled voice...

Do you know who it is, and where it's taken from?
I do...

RealMusician said:

No - I'd always just thought it was a loop of Mayte saying 'Free The Music' - is this the part you mean?

booyah said:

it is

No, I mean the voice that comes in about halfway through the song, along with a guitar. It says something like "just come in strong...just keep that steady rhythm pounding...do all your little things, just go mad..." and some other stuff like that.

Also, there's a conversation with another voice, and if you can identify that one you're really good...

So tell.

Now I am curious. Is it worth knowing?

GooeyTheHamster said:

Well...to me it was kind of surprising, since I actually have the record where it comes from...and I don't think there's many people who have heard it.

I'll give you a clue - Prince has sometimes been compared to this person...

Can we establish what sample you refer to exactly?

It is a voice sample or a musical sample?

GooeyTheHamster said:

It is one voice talking (giving musical instructions, actually - see my earlier post for some examples), and another voice making a couple of short comments. There's also a guitar playing some short licks. All of this is sampled from the same source, and comes in about halfway through the song.

k









































I give up

GooeyTheHamster said:

Ok...but you know which one I'm talking about?

RealMusician said:

The songs from 1993 - it was released on 'The Good Life' maxi-single clocking in at just under 2 minutes (states 1'47" on the single itself).

I've listened through it now and here's a transcription:

Free The Music

Exodus

Free the Music

Get Wild

Free the Music

Get Wild

Free the Music

Exodus

Free the Music

Baby, I count the days

Free the Music

Cherry, Cherry

Exodus

The return of the bump squad is coming your way

Exodus

Exodus

Get freaky, let your head bob (Big f..)

Free the mus..

The exodus has begun

The music

The music

The music

The exodus has begun

The music

The music

The music

Exodus

Exodus

Free the music

Good life

-----

I can't trace any sign of the voices that you are describing on the CD single version.

Are you listening to source material, or have you downloaded a copy from somewhere which is could either be an alternative version (I'm unaware there is more than the one released version) ... or has had other samples added subsequently?

-----

langebleu said:

Yeah, there's a longer unreleased version that realmusician is talking about (clocking in somewhere around the 3:23 mark, IIRC). I always thought these directions/samples were just Sonny T joking around, since that fits the style of recordings from this time, but sounds like it's from something else.

OK, I'm ready for the answer...

And the guitar comes in at around 1'14" on the single ... does this and the above timing (1' 47") tally with the version to which you are listening?

.

Aahh .. I'll go and dig that one out then!!!!

.

langebleu said:

Yeah, the version I have is about 4 minutes, and these samples come in after about 2 minutes or so.

So I guess that explains it...

And it's not Sonny T.

Another clue: The sample is from 1956 (or maybe 1957).

RealMusician said:

Thanks

Found it clocks in at 3'24"

Listening to it now

Mmmmm

I'm guessing ... do you think it's James Brown?
.

1956 ... then I suspect it's Little Richard.

.

langebleu said:

Yep, right! It is Little Richard, some studio conversation from an album of alternate takes, released sometime in the 90's, I guess. The other voice is probably producer "Bumps" Blackwell, and I don't know exactly who the guitar player is.

James Brown was an ok guess, too!

RealMusician said:

I doubted it was James as I listened on because:

a. I expected James to be a lot more directional rather than just say something like, "Then you all come in and do your thing"

b. Even though I suspected it could be a youngish James, the voice doesn't sound raw enough. In fact the voice sounds a bit too smooth, even feminine, which was my first thought of Little Richard ... then I saw you had mentioned 1956.

Thanks for all the info.

langebleu said:

I thought it was kind of interesting - not just that Prince sampled Little Richard, but also that he didn't use one of Richard's well-known recordings, but a very rare studio outtake, the kind that only die-hard fans would even know about...