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Marcus Miller once mentioned in an interview that while growing up in Jamaica,Queens,NYC, local musicians like keyboardistEdwin Birdsong and guitarist Ronnie Drayton were doing some serious Funk-Rock and noted that it was like a continuation of the Sly Stone/Hendrix-Band of Gypsies aesthetic. "Rising Sign" from Birdsong's 'Supernatural' album (1973) is a good indication of that. Another one of the 70's great unheralded albums! AMG had this to say about the record:

"If you ever wondered where Lenny Kravitz got his thing, search no further. This album from the early '70s is shockingly ahead of its time; drenched in odd keyboard hues and stinging layers of guitar, this is the blueprint for the black rock that followed. This is a record that works on a whole lot of levels. If you dig Funkadelic and its immediate progeny, this is something you simply need to hear."

Edwin Birdsong - "Rising Sign"








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[Edited 6/18/08 21:16pm]

I appreciate you giving this track a bit of background.

HE ALSO PLAYED W/ROY AYERS BACK IN THE DAY.....
I HAVE HIS SALSOUL 12" OF "RAPPER DAPPER SNAPPER", THAT HAS BEEN SAMPLED A "ZILLION" TIMES!!!!!

woogiebear said:

Yep! That tune, and the Birdsong tune, "Cola Bottle Baby", which was sampled by Daft Punk for "Harder , "Better Faster Stronger", which was in turn sampled by Kanye West,






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woogiebear said:

Yup, especially on Roy's late seventies-early eighties stuff--he co-wrote, co-produced and played on "Running Away" , for example...






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