A strange one – but a relatively famous album of wine instruction – and one that's got a great presenation of the material! The record has been famously sampled by the Beastie Boys, on that part of "Check Your Head" where they talk about being in the townhouse of the guy in New York. The sample jumps right out at you, and there's a lot of other goofy passages in here that might be ripe for sampling, too. Plus, you can learn a lil' "culture"! LP, Vinyl record album

Very tripped out work from Melvin Van Peebles – the multi-talented artist who had a huge influence on African American film in the 70s! Melvin's working here in a a mode that combines soul, folk, funk, and lots of the more messed-up sounds that you'd hear on his own soundtracks for his films. And yes, he can't sing – but he has this wild way of muttering while singing, one that makes the album a really compelling document of culture and politics in the early 70s! The overall feel is sort of like Eugene McDaniels' work for Atlantic from the same time – but more messed up, disorganized, and rootsy! Titles include "Superstition", "Birth Certificate Ain't Nothing But A Death Warrant Anyway", "So Many Bars", and "Eyes On The Rabbit". (Soul, Spoken Word) CD