Jul 28, 2021
The start and finish of today's show mirrors the start and finish of the new "Summer Of Soul" documentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-siC9cugqA
We both open strongly with The Chamber Brothers' "Uptown" and, well, the climaxes are identical because we ripped the last 5 minutes directly from the soundtrack. That ending does feature a snippet from a ripping Sly & The Family Stone performance and some wistful, tearful, bemused and resigned reminiscences as to why the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival was forgotten whilst other (lesser) festivals from the same period stole the limelight.
We've not seen a better music documentary for years but don't just take it from us, listen to BBC Radio 5 Live's Mark Kermode sing it's praises.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqg1Oj6uSZk
For more of the back story on the festival listen to director Questlove's interview on NPR's Fresh Air.
And for those who are counting - that's two versions of "Gloria" that have made their way onto the The Joint playlist in just over a month. When we gave an outing to the 1979 Umberto Tozzi original 6 weeks ago we didn't know Angel Olsen was planning to release her own cover in July. You can't keep a good tune down.
And on with the show...
[mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/thejoint/the-joint-24-july-2021/ width=100% height=120 hide_cover=1]
Direct download: The Joint - 24 July 2021
Notebooks out completists, here's the playlist in full...