Back to the Beat

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Two staples of nearly all the Sugar Beats' albums are the fine production qualities and song selections that go into each. Back to the Beat is a prime example of how Sugar Beats records sound and how friendly their kid-friendly sensibility really is. Spanning four decades of music, Back to the Beat features side-by-side covers of Little Eva's "Locomotion" and Kool and the Gang's "Celebration." In between there are such dance nuggets as "La Bamba," "Mony Mony," the old Kinks' tune "You Really Got Me," and others such as Johnny Nash's early pop-reggae hit "I Can See Clearly Now" and the Monkees' I'm a Believer." In some cases, the ballads are even better than the originals, especially on "Shower the People," sung originally by James Taylor and Carly Simon but given a more soulful and heartfelt treatment by the Sugar Beats. Ditto for "Mockingbird," an old folk song covered a million ways but with scarcely this much wholesome sweetness. --Martin Keller

Tracks:

Bailemos - Termits
Abrazame Baby - Los Yorks
Tema De Los Golden Stars - Golden Stars
Stone - Texao
Pasos En La Luna - Los Mutables
Holys Psicodelicos - Los Holys
No Te Puedo Encontrar - Los 007
Los Extranos - Pina Y Sus Estrellas
Pa Pa Pa - Hot Butters Sound
You Gotta Try - Ringers
Glue - New Juggler Sound
Wiched Man - Smog
Eleva Tu Mente - Los Comandos
World Full Of Nuts - Laghonia
Mi Cueva - El Polen
Una Bruja En El Cuzco - El Opio
Tookie Tookie - Telegraph Avenue
Funky Man - Black Sugar
Candela - Zulu
Exorcismo - Pax
Meshkalina - Traffic Sound
Sonido Amazunico - Los Mirlos

Album Description

A collection of truly rare grooves from Peru. We have come with the rare of the rarest and the strange of the strangest. You'll find Crazy Garage Stompers (Los Saicos, Shain's, Pina & Sus Estrellas), Space-Drugged-Rock (Pax, El Opio, Holy's), Latin-Funk (Black Sugar, Zulu, EL Polen...), Groovin' Soul Movin` Hits (Golden Stars, Mutables, Los 007...) and even Chicha-Sound (from Los Mirlos), the new 'old' sound everybody's gonna dance all over the world. Includes detailed notes, biography details and pictures of most of the bands. Vampi Soul. Digipak. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

Peruvian Pleasure.......2003-08-19

Finally, the Incas' leading position within Peruvian "high culture" is history. This compilation must be the foreseen return of the gods.

However, if the track listing is correct, 13 songs are missing from the LP version, where the astonishing number of 35 tracks are available for the immense masses of Peruvian undergound fans. As far as I can see on the list here, not only the slightly boring songs are cruelly torn away (for they do exist, yes, but not in annoying proportions), but even the jewel of global rock history; los Saicos' brutal "Demolición", where a liking of blowing up train stations is screamingly confessed (in spanish), plus the hilarious "la Pitita" by Snacks, and "Te Amo" by Los Silvertons.

Nevertheless, some goodies are obviously left, although those of you who are expecting strange, strange music will probably be a little disappointed. Most of the tracks are quite normal rock melodies, some are in english and some are even covers. Anyway, El Gran Finale, "Sonido Amazúnico" by los Mirlos, is doubtlessly worth purchasing the CD for if you do not already own the LP.

Peruvian Pleasure.......2003-08-19

Finally, the Incas' leading position within Peruvian "high culture" is history. This compilation must be the foreseen return of the gods.

However, if the track listing is correct, you ought to do your best to find the LP version of the masterpiece, where the astonishing number of 35 tracks are available for the immense masses of Peruvian undergound fans. As far as I can see on the list here, not only the slightly boring songs are cruelly torn away (for they do exist, yes, but not in annoying proportions), but even the jewel of global rock history; los Saicos' brutal "Demolición", where a liking of blowing up train stations is screamingly confessed (in spanish), plus the hilarious "la Pitita" by Snacks, and "Te Amo" by Los Silvertons. It must be a mistake, made either by Amazon.com or by the record company.

Anyway, the 2LP version has all you need for a happy life, and it's distributed by vampisoul.

'70s Preservation Society Presents Disco Fever: 40 Top Hits
Average customer rating:
'70s Preservation Society Presents Disco Fever: 40 Top Hits
Various Artists , The Hustle (Van McCoy) 2. Turn The Beat Around (Vicki Sue Robinson) 3. If I Can't Have You (Yvonne Elliman , Wind & Fire/Emotions) 5. In The Bush (Musique) 6. Never Knew Love Like This Before (Stephanie Mills Boogie Wonderland (Earth , Kool & the Gang) 8. Ring My Bell (Anita Ward) 9. Bad Luck (Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes) 10. Car Wash (Rose Royce , Another Love Like Mine (Lou Rawls) 15. Boogie Oogie Oogie (A Taste Of Honey) 16. Born To Be Alive (Patrick Hernandez , Inc.) Rock Freak) (G.Q.) 18. Shame (Evelyn "Champagne" King) 19. Boogie Fever (The Sylvers) 20. Funkytown (Lipps , Bee Gees) 2. Got To Be Real (Cheryl Lynn) 3. I'm Your Boogie Man (KC & The Sunshine Band) 4. Love Hangover (Diana Ross , More, More (Pt. 1) (Andrea True Connection) 7. Fly Robin Fly (Silver Convention The Nightlife (Disco 'Round) (Alicia Bridges) 6. More , Let Me Be Misunderstood (Santa Esmerelda) 9. More Than A Woman (Tavares) 10. Heart Of Glass (Blondie) 11. Disco Inferno (The Trammps) , and A Fifth Of Beethoven (Walter Murphy) 19. Right Back Where We Started From (Maxine Nightingale) 20. I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Disco | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000MZ6ROQ

Product Description

Includes: DISC ONE: 1. The Hustle (Van McCoy) 2. Turn The Beat Around (Vicki Sue Robinson) 3. If I Can't Have You (Yvonne Elliman) 4. Boogie Wonderland (Earth, Wind & Fire/Emotions) 5. In The Bush (Musique) 6. Never Knew Love Like This Before (Stephanie Mills) 7. Ladies Night (Kool & the Gang) 8. Ring My Bell (Anita Ward) 9. Bad Luck (Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes) 10. Car Wash (Rose Royce) 11. Don't Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston) 12. Y.M.C.A (Village People) 13. Take Your Time (Do It Right) (S.O.S. Band) 14. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (Lou Rawls) 15. Boogie Oogie Oogie (A Taste Of Honey) 16. Born To Be Alive (Patrick Hernandez) 17. Disco Nights (Rock Freak) (G.Q.) 18. Shame (Evelyn "Champagne" King) 19. Boogie Fever (The Sylvers) 20. Funkytown (Lipps, Inc.) DISC TWO: 1. Night Fever (Bee Gees) 2. Got To Be Real (Cheryl Lynn) 3. I'm Your Boogie Man (KC & The Sunshine Band) 4. Love Hangover (Diana Ross) 5. I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round) (Alicia Bridges) 6. More, More, More (Pt. 1) (Andrea True Connection) 7. Fly Robin Fly (Silver Convention) 8. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Santa Esmerelda) 9. More Than A Woman (Tavares) 10. Heart Of Glass (Blondie) 11. Disco Inferno (The Trammps) 12. Knock On Wood (Amii Stewart) 13. Boogie Nights (Heatwave) 14. Disco Lady (Johnnie Taylor) 15. Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1) (Marvin Gaye) 16. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now (McFadden & Whitehead) 17. T.S.O.P. (The Sound Of Philadelphia) (M.F.S.B. Featuring The Three Degrees) 18. A Fifth Of Beethoven (Walter Murphy) 19. Right Back Where We Started From (Maxine Nightingale) 20. I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)

Average customer rating:

Classics Explained: Rite of Spring
Stravinsky , Rahbari , and Brt Po Brussels
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Classics Explained: Pastoral Symphony
An Introduction to Ravel's "Boléro" and "Ma mère l'oye"
Symphony 9: Introduction to Dvorak
An Introduction to Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2
Classics Explained: Brandenburg Concertos 4 & 5

ASIN: B00007FPFN
Release Date: 2003-07-15

Average customer rating:

Sugar Beats Rocks!
It should be called the Sugar Bores
I liked it, but my son thought it made a better frisby.
Once you hear them you'll be a fan!!!!
The whole family loves it!

Back to the Beat
Sugar Beats
Manufacturer: Sugar Beats
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

21 Really Cool Songs
Everybody Is a Star
Wild Thing
How Sweet It Is
Car Tunes

ASIN: B000000FW3
Release Date: 1999-12-14

Tracks:

Locomotion
You Really Got Me
Celebration
Shower The People
Do You Love Me
Mockingbird
Bad Boy
I Like It Like That
Iko Iko
La Bamba
Mony Mony
I'm A Believer
I Can See Clearly Now

Product Description

These fresh versions of '60s & '70s tunes for kids will have both children and adults singing and dancing! Songs include: Locomotion, You Really Got Me, Celebration, Shower the People, Do You Love Me, Mocking Bird, Bad Boy, I Like It Like That, Iko Ik

Amazon.com

Two staples of nearly all the Sugar Beats' albums are the fine production qualities and song selections that go into each. Back to the Beat is a prime example of how Sugar Beats records sound and how friendly their kid-friendly sensibility really is. Spanning four decades of music, Back to the Beat features side-by-side covers of Little Eva's "Locomotion" and Kool and the Gang's "Celebration." In between there are such dance nuggets as "La Bamba," "Mony Mony," the old Kinks' tune "You Really Got Me," and others such as Johnny Nash's early pop-reggae hit "I Can See Clearly Now" and the Monkees' I'm a Believer." In some cases, the ballads are even better than the originals, especially on "Shower the People," sung originally by James Taylor and Carly Simon but given a more soulful and heartfelt treatment by the Sugar Beats. Ditto for "Mockingbird," an old folk song covered a million ways but with scarcely this much wholesome sweetness. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

Sugar Beats Rocks!.......1999-09-23

My three kids ages 1, 5, and 9 all LOVE the Sugar Beats. So do I! There's no other group that pleases ALL of us. I have two of their CDs now and I'm going to buy the rest of them when we tire of these. Get this CD! You won't be sorry. It rocks!

It should be called the Sugar Bores.......1999-07-14

My kids thought the CD was "old fashioned" as they put it. They listened to about half of side 1 and got very antsy. They said it sounded like music that Grandma and Grandpa like. I thought it was a cute record. A lot like the slick cover bands that we used to see in college. Just so so.

I liked it, but my son thought it made a better frisby........1999-07-08

after one listening...the voices seemed kind of ordinary. unfortunatly the songs are better by the original artists too. Though I do like cover groups. and this one is really polished. oh, and famous parents makes it fun to listen to! yet something's missing. i thought it was ok. but maybe my kids are ready for real songs & original rock because they wanted me to turn the radio back on.

Once you hear them you'll be a fan!!!!.......1999-03-02

You'll be so happy that you discovered the Sugar Beats. All of their tunes are upbeat. Your kids will love it and think they discovered some NEW music!!! It's one the whole family will love!!!!

The whole family loves it!.......1998-10-12

I saw a preview on the Rosie O'Donnell show and bought it soon after. Not only do my husband and I enjoy the songs, my one-year old and three-year old have a blast. The toddler runs and get his play guitar so he can sing and play along. The baby "dances" up and down. Mom and Dad tend to join in and dance, too. Great "on the road" tunes, as well. We actually know all the words to the songs!

Average customer rating:

psychobilly romper room stomp
Meh.
Clever, smart, interesting music

Cemetery Shoes
Johnny Dowd
Manufacturer: Bongo Beat Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Pictures From Life's Other Side
Temporary Shelter
Cruel Words
Last Days of Wonder
Chainsaw of Life

ASIN: B00062IEKA
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Tracks:

Brother Jim
Garden Of Delight
Whisper In A Nag's Ear
Rest In Peace
Wedding Dress
Shipwreck
Dear John Letter
Easter Sunday
Christmas Is Just Another Day
Dylan's Coat
Rip Off

Customer Reviews:

psychobilly romper room stomp.......2006-06-05

I have been listening to the "cemetary shoes" album. Okay now be warned before you rush into Johnny he is considered to be in the Genre of "PSYCHOBILLY" so if you do not have at least a passsing appreciation of Rockabilly, punk, goth, and alt country. So don't blame me if he scares the hell out of you or you just don't get it, but if you can get past any prejudices or dislikes you initially have of the music and really listen to the man, he has something to say and a very unique way of saying it. you can hear a few samples of Johnny on his website at www.johnnydowd.com Here are the lyrics to one of his songs that I really like the words to,

Billy Blu

A crooked little man / lives in the underground
Sometimes he goes up / but mostly he stays down

People call him Billy / William is his name
In the coming darkness / he's the keeper of the flame

He repairs radios / with alien transistors
Cosmic commnication / between brothers and sisters

He has information / unavailable to most
He converses with angels / and sleeps with ghosts

Silence is a sadness / a bird with a song
Billy is a sailor / between right and wrong

A world of light and promise / is beyond his memory
In the present he is occupied / preparing for eternity

Lucifer is coming / don't let the children hear
The devil's in the wood pile / judgment day is near

Things that seem simple / are extremely complicated
When you scratch the surface / of things gold-plated

© Johnny Dowd

I hope the more adventurous of you take a listen and give him half a chance and those less adventurous look at all the pictures of his pretty face (well at least that was the one good thing one young lady could find about him). On another interesting note about Johnny he didn't record his first album until he was 50 years old. Well guess I can't complain I didn't put out my first book until I was 34, and I had twenty odd years of material back logged. Which we can really blame on Bob because I really didn't think much of the "bits" I wrote until I heard SBR and I thought man I want to make statements like that. I look at Johnny's lyrics and it so often reminds me of the ways that I string words together. So take a listen, check out what he says, and always keep an open mind, remember don't judge a book by it's cover (or a book of poetry by it's title).

Meh........2004-11-12

Man oh man...you know I love JD, but this album is sort of making me question me faith. I question whether two stars is really fair, but I gave three to The Pawnbroker's Wife, and this is definitely inferior to that one, so that's what it's getting. The most obvious disappointment here--and I think most fans would agree with me on this--is the absence of the immaculate Kim Sherwood-Caso's vocal talents. This was always a big part of the appeal of any Dowd album; she made good songs into stunning songs, and I suspect that, even if the ones here aren't as good as usual, she could have partially redeemed some of them. I certainly hope the two of them haven't had some sort of falling out, and that we'll hear more of her in future Dowd recordings.

Here's what's good about this album: the frenzied 'Garden of Delights.' I would say that this is the one song here that approaches classic status; an unnervingly intense tale of murder/suicide. Also pretty good: 'Wedding Dress,' with its entertaining southern gothic lyric (maybe Dowd should write books). That and 'Brother Jim' have a gospel feel to them (even if one's about a crossdressing butcher and the other a clerical murderer). 'Whisper in the Nag's Ear' might be okay on its own, but it just seems pointlessly overdone compared to the spare original version on Pictures From Life's Other Side.

But...most of the songs are just kind of there. Not unpleasant to listen to, but not exactly exciting either. I expect a lot more from the guy who wrote 'Worried Mind' and 'Hell or High Water.' Better luck next time.

Clever, smart, interesting music.......2004-11-09

Johnny Dowd makes me appreciate having ears to hear with and a mind to think with. Here is a man who, in a just world, would enjoy the success that more commercial musicians do today; that he does not is a real crime (then again, the world's loss is his fans' gain). His music is deep, dark and thoughtful, but well crafted, like an Alfred Hitchcock film. The tunes take some getting used to, as does his voice, because they cover material not usually associated with today's homogenized and emasculated pop and radio scene. But like most acquired tastes, you wonder how you ever got along without it. He writes music like the moon casts shadows, makes you look over your shoulder, and consider your fate. His albums, including his recent, Cemetary Shoes, deal with topics from the seamy side of life, a portion of the world that is anathema to the Britneys, the Jessicas, and the other pop tarts of music. If you appreciate artistry, thought and challenge, check out the Dowd catalog. Stretch your imagination a little. Take a chance on his music and experience an enveloping warmth that is cognition and emotion melding.

Average customer rating:

Back to Funk
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Beat Goes Public
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1968-1974, Vol. 1
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ASIN: B000003L95
Release Date: 2004-12-27

Tracks:

Back To Funk - Robert Lowe
Hicky Burr - Caesar Frazier
Monkey Hips 'N' Rice - The 19th Whole
Pain - Houston Person
Rainy Day Fun - Donald Austin
Stone Thing (Part 1) - Alvin Cash
Gettin' Off - Bill Mason
Slippin' Into Darkness - The 19th Whole
Whip! Whop! - Melvin Sparks
Kaleidoscope - Gary Chandler
Stone Thing (Part 2) - Alvin Cash

Product Description

1. Robert Lowe - Back To Funk
2. Caesar Frazier - Hicky Burr
3. The 19th Whole - Monkey Hips 'n' Rice
4. Houston Person - Pain
5. Donald Austin - Rainy Day Fun
6. Alvin Cash - Stone Thing(Part 1)
7. Bill Mason - Gettin' Off
8. The 19th Whole - Slippin' Into Darkness
9. Melvin Sparks - Whip! Whop!
10. Gary Chandler - Kaleidoscope
11. Alvin Cash - Stone Thing(Part 2)

Format: CD

Back to the Beat
Average customer rating:
Back to the Beat
Pete Band Best
Manufacturer: Phantom Sound & Vision
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000DERFZ
Release Date: 1996-11-21