Spaced Out

It seems that in between those moments when you discover a really great record, listen to it a thousand times, and memorize every stop, start, break, and cut it has to offer you there's those days when you're at a loss for something to listen to. You might wander into Kim's Mediapolis looking for something to jump out and powerslam you by the ears or you might even *gasp* tune into Hot 97 or some other corporate megamonster radio station to give you the 411 on the latest Timbaland creation or whatever northside/southside hyphy-crunk collabo is topping the charts these days. And sometimes it's really great, honest. Throw Some D's is definitely more fun than anything I've heard coming from Lil' Jon's camp in like, a year, and whatever old NES games Timbo has being playing while blazed (though if you believe the dude at this forum, he steals his tracks from C64 nerds) must be pretty obscure because they're sure not in my collection.

So you end up spending your downtime in between great records trying to find the next great record, but it seems that the harder you look, the lamer the records get. For example, last week after hearing a great spacey italo track by the name of "Spacer Woman" I decided to devote a little extra time to finding some nice lost italo. Unfortunately after hours of intense research I came up with barely a dozen tracks that were worth mentioning, and even fewer worth tracking down the original. So now you're not only frustrated that you're not spinning the sickest most unbelieve slab of vinyl, but now you think it's hopeless and there's no more awesome records left to find. From now on it's just Ying Yang Twins and 4th-wave indie pop. It's like the sequel to 1984 only it's called 2007 and instead of Big Brother it's fucking shitty music.

But then finally that record comes around at 2am on a cold night and you're feelin' it so hard that you start a BLOG with the intention of sharing that record. Other records too but mainly that one that made you want to start a BLOG in the first place.

To wit, the 1976 space-disco masterpiece, Atmosphere Strut (zip file). This one is arranged, fronted, and produced by Patrick Adams under the name Cloud One and features some of the most blissed out Moog solos every committed to vinyl. Add to that P&P's trademark funkiness (see first post) and lush yet understated vocal arrangements and you've got the stuff of disco legend.

Tracklisting:

1) Spaced Out
2) Charleston Hopscotch
3) Dust To Dust
4) Atmosphere Strut
5) Disco Juice
6) Doin' It All Night Long

Now as a note to anybody who might be interested in purchasing a copy, this is actually tricky to find in almost any format. While original Cloud One 12"s sell for well into the hundred dollar range, just finding a reissue can be problematic. There's a barebones CD release without any bonus material which is starting to get scarce and there are a few vinyl reissues available for DJs on a budget. Probably the most desirable is an expanded 2CD compilation called The Very Best of Cloud One which includes the Atmosphere Strut LP, the 1978 follow-up Funky Tracks Of Cloud One LP, and a second CD of P&P productions including a rare remix of "Atmosphere Strut" from 1979 and the hypnotic "Patty Duke" which is Cloud One at its most carnivalesque. Sadly it's out of print but you might poke around ebay or your local record shop. I found mine in a Kim's used bin about a year ago. It's definitely worth tracking down, but you're probably better off just asking me for a copy.