Betty Davis, “Crashin’ From Passion” (Light in the Attic)
Good news: On September 8, Light in the Attic Records is reissuing four albums by the late funk diva Betty Davis (1944-2022). (I’ve written about Davis in some depth here and here.) Betty Davis (1973), They Say I’m Different (1974), and Is It Love or Desire? (recorded in 1976, not released until 2009) have all been reissued before, and, to be sure, they should perpetually stay in print. The big revelation is the release of Crashin’ From Passion, derived from Davis’s final 1979 studio sessions, which only has been issued on CD in the US back in 1996. (The LP isn’t even on $p0tify.) LITA is giving Crashin’ its first vinyl release.
The least-known work among Davis fans, Crashin’ finds the groundbreaking singer-songwriter exploring some atypical styles while backed by guests such as fusion-drummer deity Alphonse Mouzon, first-call session bassist Chuck Rainey, Motown star vocalist Martha Reeves, guitarist Carlos Morales from Davis’s disbanded group Funk House, and two Pointer Sisters. “She’s a Woman” and “You Make Me Feel So Good” are uncharacteristically slick R&B, sans Betty’s patented XXX-rated growl; “No Good at Falling in Love” recalls the contemporaneous, uptempo pop-funk of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”; “I’ve Danced Before” dabbles interestingly with calypso; “Hangin’ Out in Hollywood” and “Tell Me a Few Things” slip into elegant jazz mode; “All I Do Is Think About You” innocuously dips into disco.
“Quintessence of Hip” is one of two cuts that hark back to Davis’s prime-time funk workouts. The other is “Crashin’ From Passion,” which is wisely the lead single from the reissue. Surging with barely controllable lust and regret, the song exemplifies a familiar Davis scenario wherein the protagonist gets hurt because her heart and libido burn too powerfully to sustain a relationship. “Crashin’ From Passion” is six minutes of nonstop emotional turmoil and physical pleasure.
LITA’s previous wave of Betty Davis reissues in 2007 helped to elevate her profile; let’s hope this new campaign draws even more new fans to this empowering icon who possessed more creative autonomy than most women artists in the ’70s.
Steven R. Smith, “Arroyo Tree Complex” (Eiderdown Records)
In late July, Seattle electronic musician Andrew Crawshaw underwent emergency heart surgery to repair a malfunctioning bicuspid valve. As he is the self-employed co-owner of Broken Press screen-print studio and SFI Recordings and his surgery and recovery will prevent him from working for a few months (the busiest of the year, painfully), he and his wife/business partner Danielle Skredsvig have found themselves in a financial hole—a very common story in America, where medical bills can quickly bankrupt you.
So, Skredsvig launched a GoFundMe, and to further aid the couple during this difficult time, Seattle’s Eiderdown Records has uploaded a benefit compilation to Bandcamp. HeartMend is a high-quality collection of guitar-centric experiments, drone excursions, and psych-rock tracks. As a musician, label boss, and event organizer, Crawshaw has given so much to the local and national music scenes, so he’s earned much good karma, of which this album is a component.
Eiderdown honcho Adam Svenson has assembled a strong, 23-track sampler of his label’s heady aesthetics. A major equation here is spangly folk guitar + drones = beautiful desolation, as evidenced by Nick Jonah Davis, DWLVS, Matthew Rolin, Aonghus Reidy, Jon Collin, and Old Million Eye. Other highlights include Altaat’s minimalist pulsations and distress signals, as austere as a Scandinavian Folke Rabe homage; Ecstatic Cosmic Union’s spine-tingling space-rock that balances broodiness with tranquility; German modular-synth guru Guenter Schlienz’s amalgam of many sci-fi-film soundtrackisms subtly arranged to wring maximum eeriness and pathos; and Mirza’s shiver-inducing shimmer of guitar sorcery that evokes the Doors’ “The End” in all of its simmering portentousness… until it explodes into Comets on Fire-style rock fury and density.
The album’s peak by a plectrum is by prolific guitarist Steven R. Smith (Mirza, 43 Odes, Thuja, and many other projects). “Arroyo Tree Complex” is a low-flying mirage of meditative psychedelia that I would like to shoot into my veins. US post-rock groups such as Tortoise and Ui were doing this sort of thing in the early-mid ’90s, but Smith’s song is on a whole other level of beatific. Buy the HeartMend comp, help out a great Seattle dude, and put this song on repeat. (Crawshaw’s GoFundMe page is here.)
