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Pure Essence..2 songs only?

Hoosier_DaddyHoosier_Daddy 141 Posts
edited May 2008 in Strut Central
Pure Essence-Wake UpPure Essence-Third Rock From The SunAre those the only 2 songs they released?Both are incredible funk jamsWasn't L.A. Reid the drummer for this group?I haven't found much info on this group on the netMaybe WAX POETICS will do a story

  Comments

  • coolchriscoolchris 301 Posts
    Top of my 7" Wants.I'll go large for clean copy of Wake UP!
    Shit is the business.
  • rookrook 357 Posts
    The Pure Essence was a previously unknown Cincinnati, Ohio ensemble until collectors Dante Carfagna and DJ Shadow turned up two copies of the band???s supremely rare 45 ???Wake Up??? on the microscopic Mantra label a short year ago. Since then, the pair of DJs have played their two copies the world over, and have made the soul and funk scenes flip their wigs trying to turn up extras.

    Now, the search is over, as Soul-Cal has edited together parts 1 and 2 of ???Wake Up??? and paired it with another Pure Essence song from the same year ??? ???Third Rock.???

    The huge talent in the band is evident from the opening drum break of ???Wake Up??? ??? four bars of airtight hi hats, kicks and snares lead the way into the overdriven space bass of the verse. This same drummer and bass player would go on to play in The Deele with future star Babyface. In fact, the drummer in question is none other than L.A. Reid ??? yes, the same L.A. Reid that co-founded LaFace Records, discovered Outkast and helmed Arista.

    ???Wake Up??? unfolds over six minutes into an epic jam of plaintive guitar licks and urgent soul vocals. On ???Third Rock,??? the lead singer???s vocal stylings suggest a Sly Stone influence??? until the huge chorus, when it becomes evident that Pure Essence definitely have their own bag.

    Steve Tucker of Pure Essence

    ???Wake Up??? Pts. 1 & 2 written by Steve Tucker and Jerome (Mouse) Richmond (Pure Essence Music - BMI); recorded 1976 at Counterpart Studios, Cincinnati, Ohio. ???Third Rock??? written by Steve Tucker (Pure Essence Music - BMI); recorded 1976 at Recording Workshop, Chillicothe, Ohio.
    Produced by Pure Essence.
    Originally released in 1976 on Mantra Records 2477, Cincinatti, Ohio.
  • rookrook 357 Posts

    ^
    from stonesthrow.
  • LempoLempo 22 Posts
    There is a nice bit on information on their myspace:

    Pure Essence
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Exactly how rare is this 45?
  • luckluck 4,077 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21Exactly how rare is this 45?
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21It's pretty damn hard to find. I know of only three people with a copy, but then again, I don't know very many people. Heh. The solitary copy on Popsike is VG and pulled $300 with shipping. If it was a better-known song, it would have gone for more.b, 21b, 21For those who know, is the "Hurdy-Gurdy" reference in the licensing related to the eponymous label with Lou Courtney and Donald Height?b, 21b, 21img src="http://www.popsike.com/pix/20070701/270140176999.jpg"1
  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21For those who know, is the "Hurdy-Gurdy" reference in the licensing related to the eponymous label with Lou Courtney and Donald Height?
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Was wondering this as well.b, 21b, 21Also - is the radio station comp the only way to get "Third Rock" or did it also come out as a 45?
  • Hoosier_DaddyHoosier_Daddy 141 Posts
    I have a hard time believeing they recorded JUST those 2 songs..b, 21b, 21Seems like someone in that group has to have some unreleased joints hidden in a vault,haha.b, 21b, 21I mean,if they recorded just 2 songs and nothing else,i would find it hard to believe..b, 21b, 21I don't believe any group just records 2 songs,and calls it quits.b, 21b, 21Especially 2 funk bombs like those 2.
  • DCarfagnaDCarfagna 983 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21For those who know, is the "Hurdy-Gurdy" reference in the licensing related to the eponymous label with Lou Courtney and Donald Height?
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Actually, "Wake Up" is a Donovan cover.b, 21Or maybe Hurdy Gurdy was just Shad O'Shea's publishing company.b, 21I'll leave it to you to decide.b, 21b, 21And yes, just one 45 and one radio comp appearance.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
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    h, 21
    b, 21I have a hard time believeing they recorded JUST those 2 songs..
    b, 21
    b, 21Seems like someone in that group has to have some unreleased joints hidden in a vault,haha.
    b, 21
    b, 21I mean,if they recorded just 2 songs and nothing else,i would find it hard to believe..
    b, 21
    b, 21I don't believe any group just records 2 songs,and calls it quits.
    b, 21
    b, 21Especially 2 funk bombs like those 2.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Um, isn't the entire rare 7" market built on groups that did exactly that?b, 21b, 21And moreover, for every one group that managed to record even one single, there were probably 50 that never recorded anything.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21
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    font class="small"1Quote:
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    h, 21
    b, 21Exactly how rare is this 45?
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21It's pretty damn hard to find. I know of only three people with a copy, but then again, I don't know very many people.
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Gotcha. I was wondering if a box of 'em had turned up recently since two copies have appeared on eBay in less than a week, albeit from very different locations (the one I got was from Nashville, and there's another one from Germany still up right now).
  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21the one I got
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21dude
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    /font1
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    h, 21
    b, 21
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    font class="small"1Quote:
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    h, 21
    b, 21the one I got
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1
    b, 21
    b, 21dude
    b, 21
    b, 21
    h, 21
    font class="post"1b, 21b, 21Well, hey, my curiosity isn't purely academic.
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