There are obvious benefits to working in a record store and getting turned on to new music when youre in your late teens is prolly at the top of the list. The first time I ever heard classic albums like Funkadelics Maggot Brain were during closing sessions on Sundays. Another album I might never have listened to was Super Session by Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills. I dig the album but theres one track Ive listened to more than all the rest combined, a cover of Donovan’s Season of the Witch.
Many people have covered Season of the Witch but this 11 minute version from a jam session in 1968 is quite different and theres a forever-cool feel with the groove that made for perfect cruising in my lowrider at the time. I think another reason it instantly became a favorite of mine was because at the same time Pharcydes Bizzare Ride II was in HEAVY rotation around LB and each time I heard the organ pop in, I couldnt help but think of Ya Mama. Thanks to Universoul Productions you can download a (mighty large 212mb) zip of original samples from Bizzare Ride II.
