Tuesday 27 January 2009

D'Angelo - Lady 1996

Cooltempo Records 7243 8 82914 2
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OK Family, major props to the lovely Kymba who has provided not only both parts of this 2 CD release but also, all of the artwork, scanned full size so all the dodgy small print can be read. Great work Honey, looking forward to the YD 12".

The Brown Sugar album finally got some recognition when Lady made the charts a year later in 1996. Although Cruisin' and Brown Sugar were superb releases, Lady was always lauded as a great album track, way before it's single release.

The first CD features a superb Live rendition which proves that D'Angelo is no studio creation. The musicians and backing are all top notch (assuming the band is live too, of course). Track 3 is subtitled Just Tha Beat Mix and features a rap from AZ. It is a straight up street mix. For a short while in the early 90's, this sparse production style was referred to as Drum & Bass, anyone else remember that?

The last track on this CD is what the fuss is about really, Carl McIntosh, no relation to CJ, provides his own remix of Cruisin' and a great job he makes of it. This would have been an essential track had the Wet Mix wasn't already perfect. It doesn't matter though because, what the Wet Mix does in the bedroom, this will do on the dancefloor. Try not to get arrested guys.

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  • CJ Mackintosh Radio Edit
  • Live Version
  • Just Tha Beat Mix
  • Cruisin' (Carl McIntosh Mix)
The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: D'Angelo - Lady (CD1).rar Filesize: 26.71 MB

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Cooltempo Records 7243 8 82913 2 3
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The second part of the single release features the full length CJ Mackintosh Mix but also has the Radio Edit which always annoys me. Why put the edit on both releases? For those who are unaware of the UK's ridiculous guidelines, a single release was only allowed to have a certain amount of minutes on it otherwise it would not be counted for chart inclusion. To further complicate matters the release was only allowed to be made in three (I think?) formats. This was a serious problem for awhile (pre-CD ghettoblasters) because, the emergence of CD Single made the format choice awkward. The 7", the 12", the Cassette Single & the CDS were all important for a few years. The missing format could affect sales and kill a release. By the mid 90's though, it was all a marketing ploy to enable the record companies to bleed the record buying public dry.

The Clean Street Version is remixed by DJ Premier and features a rap from AZ. Premier is not credited on the Just Tha Beat Mix which is strange because that what this is, with a bit of extra production. I think maybe he laid a bit of extra atmosphere over it and they added him to the credits, his name pulled in extra sales. The mix works though, so who cares.

Track 3 is remixed by 2B3 who had a quirky style that was popular for a couple of years. Anybody know what happened to them? The Shake Dat Ass Mix works for me but it takes a bit of getting used to.

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  • CJ Mackintosh Radio Edit
  • Clean Street Version
  • 2B3 Shake Dat Ass Mix
  • Album Version
  • CJ Mackintosh Mix
The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: D'Angelo - Lady (CD2).rar Filesize: 32.58 MB

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Lady
(Wiggins, Rapael, Archer & Michael)

You're my lady
You're my lady
You're my lady
You're my lady

Don't think I don't see them looking at ya
All of them wishing they could have ya
And as a matter of fact, uh
A bunch of them are itchin'for you to scratch'em
I'm tired of hiding what we feel
I'm trying to get with the real
And I'm-a gonna make it known
'Cause I want them to know

[CHORUS]

You're my little baby, my darling baby
I swear you're the talk of the town
And everybody wants to know what's going down
Babe, I know they've seen us before
Maybe at the liquor store, or maybe at the health food stand
They don't know that I'm your man

[CHORUS]

I can tell they're looking at us
I pick you up everyday from your job
And every guy in the parking lot wants to rob me of my girl
And my heart and soul, and everybody wants to treat me so cold
But I know I love you and you love me
There's no other lover for you or me
You're my lady

[BRIDGE (AD LIB)]

You're my lady
My divine lady
You're my lady
Such a wonderful lady
I can tell they're looking at us.
A great post and maximum respect to Kymba for making it possible.
Toking

4 comments:

  1. You've really got the knack of conjuring an excellent write-up out of thin air, haven't you Mr P?

    You know, I've got so many beloved tracks from this blog that I either never managed to get my mitts on first time round, or lost when my house was burgaled, I'm really pleased to be able to give something back.

    To that end, would you be interested in Loose Ends' excellent "Love's Got Me" CD single from 1990? As good as Hangin' on a String, in my humble opinion, and helped in the funky stakes by cheeky sampling of the ace drum break from Alyson William's Sleeptalk. And, oh my gosh, Carl McIntosh really does sound like he's chanelling Marvin Gaye on the vocals. No bad thing, obviously!

    Kymba x

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  2. Answered on the wrong comments page?

    Yes Kymba, save me a rip...

    :-)

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  3. Still great post, Mr.Mickey P !!
    My first time to listen Carl Macintosh Mix of Cruisin'.
    Thank you sooooo much!
    Cheers!

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  4. Absolutly great. I have this 12" but this set contains some versions that i didn't know. Thank you both for this work.

    Greetings

    ReplyDelete