The Hand of Time
The Perfect Circle
Classic Funk 3, 1995
(original release date possibly 1977)
I bought this compilation for $2 at Academy last summer and was blown away by the above track. I mentioned it in a mass email saying that I was hoping to track down the original. Well, a year (on a tight budget) later, I’ve decided that it’s time to be at peace with the compilation version, until my fateful day comes.
If I was more into record pricing and knowing how rare records are etc., I might be extolling the vinyl prowess (I pretty sure I just made that phrase up) of this compilation. Record collecting and record collectors are funny in that away. The culture is so obsessive that obsession itself seems to frequently replace the quest for hearing music. I’ve heard stories of reissued albums that were pressed in small enough batches that after they disappear from stores, they become almost as expensive and/or sought after as the original albums. Then you find people who aren’t satisfied with one or the other, they must have both. That’s why, when record shopping, I try (not always successfully) to stick with the important and somewhat simpler questions like, “is it scratched?” and “how’s does it sound?”
This record, of course, passed both of those tests and every time I hear it, I feel glad that I don’t trip on having only original pressings! Ok, I trip a little bit, but at least it doesn’t stop me from enjoying myself.
Be sure to check for the following:
:27, 1:38 – the vocals that sound like shouting until they turn into a surprisingly tight harmony
1:12 – the cascading horn harmonies
3:50 – the vocals, the vocals
4:43 – the false ending
>> songs are available for two weeks [9.1 MB]
