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Exuma any fans?

PrimeCutsLtdPrimeCutsLtd jersey fresh 2,632 Posts
edited October 2010 in Strut Central
listening to his second album right now...I dig him

  Comments

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Big fan here, although as with Bill Withers, his first four are the best. Everything else shows his sound getting a little too slick. I'd written him off because I'd heard one of the later LP's first; some friends of mine set me straight later.

    (The first four, in order, were Exuma; Exuma II; Do Wah Nanny; and Snake)
  • luckluck 4,077 Posts
    I've only heard the first two, and I'm a definite fan. The woman likes him even more than I do; girl got the Cat Island Voudon whamee.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    its kinda staggering to think that Exuma's first six albums came out on major labels. the industry was markedly different in the seventies
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    I've only ever bought "Life" & it cured me of wanting to check out his other stuff.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    holmes said:
    I've only ever bought "Life" & it cured me of wanting to check out his other stuff.

    You've just proved my point - you bought one of his weaker albums.
  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    Love his first one.
  • mrboogieman88mrboogieman88 74 Posts
    I ride for the first 2 and Reincarnation is pretty good as well!
  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    I wholly ride for the first two, after that I find it gets a bit more patchy though this could also be that, unusually for me, I heard his albums in chronological order and there's not that much that can compete with stuff like this:



    Would be really interested in reading an article or more about how he fitted in to that Greenwich Village scene.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    well, there's THIS: http://www.furious.com/perfect/exuma.html
  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    That's certainly a start thanks pickwick. I guess what I'm looking for is how he ended up becoming part of that scene and whether he was seen as some kind of "exotic" singer or as a twist on the folk being produced in that area or what. It does mention that part of the reason Mercury signed him was to try and cash in on the Dr John style records coming out which makes sense.
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    I've never heard this stuff. Halfway through the second one right now, and it's heavy.

    Soulstrut: I salute you!

    b/w

    what I'm looking at, price/rarity-wise to get at these? And more importantly, where do people file it in the record store? Shit's craze.
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    i googled it for me and looks doable.

    thinking about this too
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    dukeofdelridge said:
    I've never heard this stuff. Halfway through the second one right now, and it's heavy.

    Soulstrut: I salute you!

    b/w

    what I'm looking at, price/rarity-wise to get at these? And more importantly, where do people file it in the record store? Shit's craze.

    (a) If you don't have any Exuma albums, where are you hearing them? Online download?

    (b) In my travels I've never seen one of his albums go for more than $10.

    (c) I've seen Exuma's albums under either rock or soul, depending on the store.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Junior said:
    That's certainly a start thanks pickwick. I guess what I'm looking for is how he ended up becoming part of that scene and whether he was seen as some kind of "exotic" singer or as a twist on the folk being produced in that area or what.

    Good question. As much as I read old yellowed rock mags from the early seventies, I've never seen any articles on the man, or even reviews of his records. You'd think someone as odd as he was would have made good copy.

    It does mention that part of the reason Mercury signed him was to try and cash in on the Dr John style records coming out which makes sense.

    Rock crit Robert Christgau totally gave Exuma's first LP the gas face 40 years ago:

    Jive Dr. John? Yes, jive Dr. John.

    And then he gave it a D. That is the only period reference I've seen to Exuma's work, unfortunately.
  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    Junior said:
    That's certainly a start thanks pickwick. I guess what I'm looking for is how he ended up becoming part of that scene and whether he was seen as some kind of "exotic" singer or as a twist on the folk being produced in that area or what.

    Good question. As much as I read old yellowed rock mags from the early seventies, I've never seen any articles on the man, or even reviews of his records. You'd think someone as odd as he was would have made good copy.

    It does mention that part of the reason Mercury signed him was to try and cash in on the Dr John style records coming out which makes sense.

    Rock crit Robert Christgau totally gave Exuma's first LP the gas face 40 years ago:

    Jive Dr. John? Yes, jive Dr. John.

    And then he gave it a D. That is the only period reference I've seen to Exuma's work, unfortunately.

    Damn, a D? This just makes me even more interested about the whole audience both critical and commercial he was released to. May have to start looking into this a bit deeper.....
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Of course, Christgau was - and remains - a tightass anyway, so his shouldn't be the final word.

    About the only other times I've seen Exuma acknowledged in the media include an appearance on the old PBS television show, Soul! in the early seventies. He's also heard in the 1970 movie Joe - his song "You Don't Know What's Going On" is coming from a radio in the bedroom that Susan Sarandon shares with her drug-dealing boyfriend.
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    pickwick33 said:


    (a) If you don't have any Exuma albums, where are you hearing them? Online download?

    (b) In my travels I've never seen one of his albums go for more than $10.

    (c) I've seen Exuma's albums under either rock or soul, depending on the store.

    1. Yes.

    2. I went last night to a couple local record stores, and didn't see anything for him on cd or vinyl. But I'd spend ten bucks on each of the first two easily. Cool stuff. This is good news for me.

    3. Calypsychrocknfolk.

    I did recognize one song, while walking around with the mp3 player last night. Dude's voice hits me pretty hard sometimes.
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    He's also heard in the 1970 movie Joe - his song "You Don't Know What's Going On" is coming from a radio in the bedroom that Susan Sarandon shares with her drug-dealing boyfriend.

    that's the one I recognized: it's great. I'm gonna look for that soundtrack too, is there more of him on it?
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    dukeofdelridge said:
    pickwick33 said:
    He's also heard in the 1970 movie Joe - his song "You Don't Know What's Going On" is coming from a radio in the bedroom that Susan Sarandon shares with her drug-dealing boyfriend.

    that's the one I recognized: it's great. I'm gonna look for that soundtrack too, is there more of him on it?

    He does appear on the soundtrack (along with Mercury labelmate Jerry Butler), but I think they just used the one song.

    (Not to be confused with the Joe Speaks LP, which I believe was just soundbites of Joe's dialogue from the movie.)
  • luckluck 4,077 Posts
    pickwick33 said:

    Jive Dr. John? Yes, jive Dr. John.

    And then he gave it a D. That is the only period reference I've seen to Exuma's work, unfortunately.

    Ouch. I guess RC didn't have an adequate bass process for when "Dambala" hits. Because, everyone: hearing this on mp3 or CD does not do the LP justice. The bass at about :47 in is just monstrous on vinyl.
  • ElectrodeElectrode Los Angeles 3,130 Posts
    Sure, why not. I have this poster hanging on my wall near my record shelf

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