With so much wonderful music knocking around here in the Abstract studio, we thought we'd take the opportunity to showcase a few very special items that are close to our hearts. Our choices for Tune of the Week may be fresh through the door, or decades old - our aim is that they will always epitomise the ethos of AbstractRadio...
why not have something from the vaults instead?
Bettye Lavette
- Let Me Down Easy - Calla 102
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Though recorded prior to her signing with Motown, "Let me down" stands as probably Bettye's biggest hit. That said, it carries many of the hallmarks of a typical Motor City production from that era, with lush strings, stripped percussion and an absolutely huge vocal presence, packed with drama and longing.
Apart from being a rather phenomenal slice of sultry soul, we've chosen this as our latest tune of the week for a couple of other reasons. Firstly, the original release is 50 years old this year (2015), which deserves a mention in dispatches at the very least - of course, some sort of party would probably be a more appropriate gesture. And despite celebrating its golden anniversary, we think "Let me down" has aged rather well over the years, especially when compared to Mary [expletive deleted] Poppins and The Sound Of [expletive deleted] Music (both also from 1965).
The second reason, admittedly a rather tenuous one, is related to one of a number of gorgeous disco edits that have been keeping us happy here, deep down underground in the Abstract Studio. The track in question is, rather unsurprisingly, also called "Let Me Down Easy", by 78 Edits, and features a similar version of Lavette's classic, stretched out with beefed-up percussion and bass, a discrete bit of looping and the occasional judicious use of a subtle filter or two. All pretty simple stuff, but it works like a dream, like quite a fair number of Mr Edits' recent cuts.
More of them on page 94...
| Here's the 1965 original |
| And here's the excellent 78 edits version |