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Soul Strut 100: # 60 - Don Blackman (1982)

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
edited March 2018 in The Soul Strut 100
I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)



About


This is one of my favorite 80s funk records. It???s a nice mix of P-Funk, Rick James, and the Dave Grusin-esque smooth jazz that plagued the charts during the time. The album is VERY smooth and tightly recorded making it a highly sought after LP for sample hounds. But??? F all that noise. The music is just pure bliss. Including the heavily sampled ???Holding You, Loving You??? that makes you soar above the clouds upon first listen with it???s soft airy vocals, synth wizardry, and enticing Grand Piano lines. ???Deaf Hook Up Connection??? is a rip roaring P-Funk type jam with scat type vocals and compelling hard rock guitar lines. ???Never Miss a Thing??? has some killer slap bass riffs and of course Blackman???s smooth airy vocals again. All and all, this album is a one-off early 80s modern soul/boogie treasure that should be enjoyed by all.



http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php/reviews/indepth/blackman/

Related Threads

???Nard VS. Don Blackman
Is This TomO? (Don Blackman r)
some more Don Blackman - ???Holding You Loving You???

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  Comments

  • DJBombjackDJBombjack Miami 1,665 Posts
    Quality.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    James gave this to me as a birthday present in 2003.
  • SunfadeSunfade 799 Posts
    Holding You, Loving You is the greatest song about risking 3 to 5 on an underage girl ever made.
  • parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
    I put "Heart's Desire" ahead of "Holding You", but not by much.

    b/w

    This record has always intrigued me because the combination of soul, smooth jazz, scat, synth, piano, slap bass, and falsetto, made in the early 80's, is a near-guaranteed recipe for fromage. But not this record. It soars above all that and has a cross-over sound that goes over well with regular folk and heads alike.

    Kindly,
    parallax
  • edpowersedpowers 4,437 Posts
    Still need this
  • jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
    Shamed to say I've still never heard this.

    I'll be shocked if I don't dig it from what I've heard about it
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    i came to this record several years ago through soulstrut. it's one of may favourite records in any genre.

    special shout out to teh gawd Dennis Chambers who just slays on this record...his drum fills on "heart's desire" are mental..

    also shout out to our very own TomO, who has played with the man:

  • tripledoubletripledouble 7,636 Posts
    jjfad027 said:
    Shamed to say I've still never heard this.

    I'll be shocked if I don't dig it from what I've heard about it

    dont listen on your computer unless you got banging speakers that will do the bass justice. enjoy!
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    my biggest seller's regret(at keast it went to a strutter)
    personal project and production
    amazing record
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts


    Pretty amazing if self produced => it sound like a great Roy Ayers production. Hard to believe Don wasn't listening to him back in the day
  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey,

    It's crazy how this record has eluded me for decades. I would love to add it the collection based upon the tracks I've heard. The search continues...

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak
  • staxwaxstaxwax 1,474 Posts
    This is a white whale of mine too - i never really dug it when i first skipped over it in the 90's - i remember thinking it was too smooth for my tastes at the time. Need to hunt down a copy to sit down with.
  • Bon VivantBon Vivant The Eye of the Storm 2,018 Posts
    This is a great list.
  • Bon VivantBon Vivant The Eye of the Storm 2,018 Posts
    As far as lists go.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    staxwax said:
    This is a white whale of mine too - i never really dug it when i first skipped over it in the 90's - i remember thinking it was too smooth for my tastes at the time. Need to hunt down a copy to sit down with.

    I remember it being pedestrian.

    There was a time when most rock record dealers would not put any value on a record like this.
    While it was hard to find it wouldn't cost much from must stores or dealers in my corner of the country.
    Now with the google it will always be expensive. I do hope to find a copy and listen again.
  • BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
    I'M A HOLD OUT TIL I FIND IT FOR A DOLLAR
  • OligeeOligee 289 Posts
    Major want. Holding You, Loving You is amazing but there are some other really great joints on there as well. Anyone have an extra copy handy?
  • milliondollarsmilliondollars 568 Posts
    found a sealed copy in hong kong in a $-bin last year. i did not know about much about this record but somehow the scary cover attracted me so i took home. very good record. highly recommended...
  • SunfadeSunfade 799 Posts
    milliondollars said:
    found a sealed copy in hong kong in a $-bin last year. i did not know about much about this record but somehow the scary cover attracted me so i took home. very good record. highly recommended...

    It was repressed. Is that what you found?
  • milliondollarsmilliondollars 568 Posts
    Sunfade said:
    milliondollars said:
    found a sealed copy in hong kong in a $-bin last year. i did not know about much about this record but somehow the scary cover attracted me so i took home. very good record. highly recommended...

    It was repressed. Is that what you found?

    i was lucky. it was the first press on GRP...

    wouldn't have posted this if i found a lousy repress
  • mayaluv99mayaluv99 15 Posts
    extremely dope artist, and Dilla made good use of holding you, loving you
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    I don't really get the appeal of this record. But I was glad to find a copy for 50 cents a few years back, and even gladder when I sold it for $85.
  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    The funkyblackmansoul yin to Matthew Larkin Cassell's yang
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,960 Posts
    HarveyCanal said:
    I don't really get the appeal of this record.

    It's in the chords and sound.

    Why Don didn't bat out some more like this is a mystery. I have another of his sets (the other?) on mp3 and it's Meh-City.
  • bboyparkzbboyparkz 549 Posts
    Great record,luckily the repress (boot) sounds nice.
    When I see an OG at the right price I'm in.
  • captainplanetcaptainplanet 626 Posts
    I found my first copy of this in a trash can on 6th ave near bleeker in NYC where all those homeless dudes sell records. Apparently someone had given up hope on the crate. His face was staring at me from the trash can. Had never heard of it til I brought it home. Heart's Desire quickly became one of my all-time classics.
  • eleveneleven 11 Posts
    As a Lenny White fan I love Donald Blackman . Heard Hearts Desire back in 04 on a Conmen mixtape. I lost the mixtape while on deployment and was absolutely determined to cop the record when I got back in the world. Found it a few years later , and jumped up and down like a little kid when I did . Dudes piano skills are sooooooooo freaking dope. So fonky...
  • SunfadeSunfade 799 Posts
    Anyone remember the dude who did the Don Blackman painting on here?
  • TomOTomO 169 Posts
    Eggplant Xanadoo said:
    Holding You, Loving You is the greatest song about risking 3 to 5 on an underage girl ever made.

    It's not about that - Don wrote it about a relative of his.
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