Hello, kiddies.

As promised, The Snack Bar is officially open for business… I hope you enjoy it. I was on the fence for quite some time as to how to go about this venture and then in a flash, it dawned on me that I had no other choice but to launch another blog. The primary goal here is to offer bite sized portions of some really tasty treats that in most cases are just too good to keep. Now I can only call that a personal opinion, because it’s also here where I’d like to share some of the more eclectic pieces that have really grabbed my attention over the past few years. Some of these tunes have been featured in previous Fufu Stew posts while others are seeing the light of day for the first time. I will stress that sometimes it may not taste so good to you, but it’s all about trying something new (thankfully Snap.com makes it easier to take a bite before you take some home)… I can remember trying eggplant for the first time as a young kid. My mother told me it was french hamburger and I just devoured it… until I found out what it really was. Needless to say now that I am not a meat eater, I have broadened my tastes in so many ways with so many different foods. I feel the same way about music too. Anyway, on to the inaugural post…

The first selection submitted for your approval is one that has been a mainstay in my personal collection for decades. Anybody out there remember when Otis Redding’s sons, Dexter and Otis III tried their hand at the music business back in 1980 along with their cousin Mark Locket? To refresh your memory, their breakthrough single was “Remote Control”, an ode to the glory days of radio. The song did manage to get a substantial amount of airplay as well as a nice position on the charts (#6 R&B and #89 Pop), but I am partial to the flip side. This is the title track of the Redding’s debut album, and a fine piece of instrumental fun. The song’s focus is on the maniacal bass playing of Dexter. I can’t swear to it, but my brother and I had a childhood friend who was loosely related to these guys (surprisingly enough, her name is also Carla, notice the spelling), more distant than a first cousin if memory serves me correct. I honestly can’t confirm or deny that information as I have long since lost touch with her, so it will forever remain a mystery. Hopefully it could spark a reunion of sorts if she should so happen to read this post. It would be great to see her again after all these years. Nevertheless, this is a truly amazing record which deserves to be heard.

Please download and enjoy “The Awakening”, an .mp3 file, 5 MB.

Here’s another cherished nugget from the pantry. This one is really sentimental, in that when I purchased the disc some thirty years ago, I was forbidden from playing it. My mother didn’t understand my obsession at the time, so she took the 45s away from me that I bought that day. The other two being Prince’s “Soft And Wet”, and if I am not mistaken, Change’s “A Lover’s Holiday”. Two weeks later, they were given back to me, only to discover that the disc was defective! What a bummer. As you can see from the label scan, I still played the hell out of it. Thanks to a good friend, I was able to replace it and subsequently share it with you. I am thankful to see that there is a decent bio on this long forgotten group, so I’ll let them tell the story.

Please download and enjoy “You”, an .mp3 file, 5 MB

I hope that you kids enjoy the sancks as much as you enjoy Fufu Stew. I will do my best to post here on a regular basis, but since there really is so little time to hear so many records, I can only try… Be that as it may, I will be cleaning up and subsequently pulling out records to share so until the next time,

Peace and blessings.