a bunch of records + cds gone, cash in my hand + these:

1. the ramsey lewis trio - upendo ni pamoja - i've always shied away from ramsey lewis _trio_ records because i don't know. but i've heard this one is good, and so i picked it up. starts w/ two classics, 'slipping into darkness' and 'people make the world go round'. 'concierto de aranjuez' has a nice open bassline, and then with drums. side 2 opens with two nice groovers. this version of 'put your hand in the hand' is a shuffle, rather than a nice break like the ocean version (which i have, nyah!). 'collage', on the other hand, has a pretty wierd intro before becoming a slow groover. strange ending, too.

2. rare earth - one world - this is what i've been feeling, this rock guitar + latin percussion + heavy bass just going after it. i'd call it 'danceable rock' but humorless balding hipsters would tell me that's gang of four or some other nonsense. it ain't classic rock, it's got too much of a beat (although it's definitely close). the first track is 'what'd i say', the ray charles classic with a few breakdowns, the second one allowing the horns to get theirs, and the third w/ a vocal+percussion thing slightly reminiscent of titanic's 'macumba' (now there's a record i need to track down!). it of course has a huge ending that segues into a nice percussion outro. 'if i die' has that classic rock vocal sound. 'the seed' has an ill struttin intro which turns out to be the best part of the track. 'i just want to celebrate' has a nice neck snap to it, then things get a little overblown and then get dubbed out, and only _then_ do we get the dope break. damn, that's a nice one. side 2 high points include the breakdown in 'someone to love' and the drum + vocal bits in 'any man can be a fool'.