SOUL MAKOSSA : How many covers ?
PapaFluck
10 Posts
Classic bomb Manu Dibango's SOUL MAKOSSA still makes me wanna dance years after years.Exist, to my knowledge, the Lafayette Afro Rock Band cover and Mandingo one,curiously re-titled "the Headhunter".Both are 
.Anybody knows others, Dope or shit...?
.Anybody knows others, Dope or shit...?
Comments
Pulled this when we unearthed the CES basement. Tons of weird island/CA shit if anyone is interested.
Afrique;
Bill "Ravi" Harris & The Prophets;
The Gaytones;
Lafayette Rock Band;
Spiers;
Rod Hunter;
Jablonski.
Peace
And the Pickwick Soul Makossa album version is pretty good.
I asked about this on here but obviously there aren't enough Real Headz (it was another of my zero respnse thraed classics)
I have similarly scratchy copies of both 45s, I played them together and they are identical apart from the EQ. Can anyone confirm that this is just a Winley boot of a DJ classic?
2 x makossa
45s:
AFRIQUE
Soul Makossa/Hot Mud (Mainstream 73)
I???ve been looking for Afrique???s LP so I was happy to find this 45. As you can tell, it???s a cover of Manu Dibango???s Soul Makossa which was something of a hit the year before. Afrique???s version is a little faster than the original and a nice cover. Hot Mud has a nice funky beginning but the keyboard is turned up too much in the mix for my liking and distracts from the song.
JABLONSKI
Soul Makossa (Part 1 & 2) (Randys)
I thought I???d heard the best of Soul Makossa, but I think the Jablonski???s version takes the cake. None of the covers that I???ve heard really change the original music that much, so it???s really the little things that make the difference. On this version, there is a funky female chorus chanting ???Do it, Soul Makossa??? and other added ditties that make this stand out from the rest. There???s also a little conga beginning and a little more emphasis on the second part of the main versus that give it a little Latin feel as well.
MIGHTY TOM CATS
Soul Makossa/Tom Cat Reggay (Winley)
The Mighty Tom Cats were the house band for the infamous Paul Winley and his Winley Records. The A-side is a cover of Manu Dibango???s Soul Makossa played pretty straight forward. The flipside, despite the name, sounds more like a calypso song than a Reggae tune. It???s not very good, but it does start off with some drum hits.
NAIROBI AFRO BAND/JAMAICA PLAYBOYS
Soul Makossa (No. 1)/Makossa Reggae (Town Hall One Stop)
Nairobi Afro Band???s version of Soul Makossa starts off with a light percussion beat and a flute holding down the main melody. While sticking mostly to the original arrangement, the band adds a flute solo and some heavy percussive guitar and organ work surrounding it to finish off the song. The flip by the Jamaica Playboys is a Reggae takeoff of Soul Makossa with some nice horn work.
STATLER RECORDS
Light Up The Town Medley/Soul Makossa Medley (Statler)
Statler Records apparently released this 45 to be used for dance instruction purposes. Light Up The Town Medley is made up of pop tunes. There???s actually a drum break followed by the bass in the middle that shows the band could get down. That???s followed up with a drum break at the beginning of Soul Makossa that???s given a much more spacey take than usual. The one draw back is the female-male vocals during the chorus are off key.
LPs:
Afrique - Soul Makossa
http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/crates/list.php?category=A&page=3
Fania All Stars - Latin-Soul-Rock
http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/crates/list.php?category=F
Ghana Soul Explosion - Soul Makossa
http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/crates/list.php?category=G&page=3
Babatunde Olatunji - Soul Makossa
http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/crates/list.php?category=O
Doc Severinsen - Rhapsody For Now
http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/crates/list.php?category=O
Superdudes - Super Bad!
http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/crates/list.php?category=S&page=13
Ventures - Only Hits
http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/crates/list.php?category=V&page=3
K.
By "played pretty straight forward" do you mean "identical instruments, tempo, and echo FX such that you can play it side by side with the Manu 45 and achieve perfect phasing?"? Coz that's what it sounds like to me.
Where does it say that the Mighty Tom Cats were a house band with real people in it?
K.
as for me, the only version you need is manu dibango's because there's a high-pitched lick he plays on the sax at one point. in the other versions, the sax guy always fucks it up.
The All Dyrections were Samm Culley, Ervan Waters, and the drummer George Bragg. The interesting thing is that these guys are....are...the SKULL SNAPS and recorded that version of Soul Makossa when they were also the SKULL SNAPS.
As an aside, Samm Culley and Erv Water from the SKULL SNAPS are also of the Diplomats. They cut their first funk cut "She's The One" before disbanding and becoming the SKULL SNAPS.
The Skull Snaps will be playing live for the first time in over 30 years at the Knitting Factory NYC on December 9th. More info can be found at http://www.ten12records.com
Quite honestly, I gotta throw my two point one cents in... The track annoys is one of my all-time favourite tunes and it's story is one of my all-time favourite stories about the history of dj-ing.
johnny zamot
Like you, I actually just thought Winley ripped the track and renamed it, but then someone argued with me and said there's actually some differences so I took a step back. Better to be safe I thought when writing the review.
As for the Mighty Tom Cats, I heard they were just studio musicians.
BAN!!!