Taking a break from Festivals the week for an appreciation of one of the world's great Soul/Funk geniuses. Curtis Mayfield, live in Concert from Nottingham, England and recorded by The BBC on February 18, 1984.

Mayfield is probably best known for his soundtrack to SuperFly, but his legend goes back way further than that. As a member of the R&B Vocal group, The Impressions, he was responsible for such 60's anthems as Amen, People Get Ready and a string of other hits.

As an artist, writer and producer, he pioneered that combination of Soul, Funk and Consciousness raising that was such am integral part of the '70's and '80's in music.

Here is a rundown of this week's concert:

Curtis Mayfield - 1984-02-18 Nottingham,England
Venue: Marcus Garvey Centre

Setlist:
1. Mighty Mighty, Spade and Whitey (5:58)
2. Gypsy Woman (3:34)
3. All Night Long (6:00)
4. People Get Ready (2:39)
5. Superfly (3:45)
6. Freddy's Dead (4:54)
7. Move On Up (7:05)
8. We Gotta Have Peace (5:27)

Enjoy the long weekend and don't get crazy out there.

Update: Coming into the final stretch and, thanks to a flood of donations the past few hours, we're almost at our goal. It's been incredible, the support and encouragement that's come this way. I can't begin to express my humble gratitude to all of you for your kindness, your generosity and your support of Newstalgia. Sometimes it's difficult, posting day after day, not knowing if anyone besides me is actually listening to any of this stuff or really cares about its existence. Clearly, the past several days have proven you are out there reading and listening and enjoying what Newstalgia has to offer, and that is gratifying, to say the least. It has certainly given me renewed enthusiasm to bring as much interesting, rare and essential material as I can drag out of the Archive. For the moment, we're right at the home stretch, within a few hundred dollars of our goal. If you haven't considered making a donation, please do - no matter how much you are willing to donate. No amount of money is too small that it won't make a huge difference. - it all does. We're getting there - we've almost done it!

Taking a break from sessions this week and diving into no genre in particular. Tonight it's 60's Folk-Pop-Psych icon Donovan and one of the Jazzier selections from his Mellow Yellow album of 1967, The Observation. With the exception of his debut, most of his earlier projects of the 60's were a combination of Folk, Pop, Psychedelia and a nod in the direction of Cool-School Jazz. Usually making for an interesting and somewhat eclectic listening experience, it also tried to deflect from the stereotype that Donovan was presented to mainstream music as a sort of Bob Dylan-Lite, which just wasn't true. But in the world of pigeon-holes, he had to be put in one, and as we all know, Jazz isn't big commercially.

So here's Donovan's nod to Beat-Poetry and Word Jazz from 1967.

These days, when you want distraction from the world in general you can be bombarded by mindless reality shows, mindless talkshows and mindless infomercials. In 1967 the avenues weren't so plentiful (newspapers, radio or non-cable TV), so what was the equivalent of a "media event" in 1967 was a White House Wedding.

Not that much unlike the substance-free Kardashian wedding of recent vintage, in 1967 we had the wedding of Lynda Bird Johnson and Captain Charles Robb. And on December 9, 1967 that was pretty much what the world watched.

The interviews with the Bride and Groom-to-be are quite priceless, only because in a few scant years the social underpinnings from where this interview sprang would come quite unglued. And needless to say, in a few short weeks the madness that would be 1968 would be upon us and this event would seem quaint and distant and from another time.

So if you were curious as to how America got their attention riveted prior to the dawn of Social Media and instant access, this twenty minute capsule of what was at the time one of the most talked about events in America, may prove enlightening.

That was then and this is now and the concept of something being many lifetimes ago seems somehow apt in retrospect.

And in the event you weren't there, or weren't even getting started yet - here is a glimpse of what may or may not have missed.

NBC News with "Candlelight and Crossed Swords" for December 9, 1967.

We're inching closer towards 40% of our goal tonight. Your donations to help keep Newstalgia going and the archives safe are helping. And I am grateful to all of you for your support and kind words. But we're still a ways away and I need your support more than ever. What ever you can contribute to the site, to the cause, would be deeply appreciated. If you can donate a substantial amount, that would be fantastic. But if you can't you're still desperately needed, no matter how much you contribute. Any amount is a crucial step toward achieving the goal and taking care of the impending emergency. You're doing it and you're making a difference. Keep it going.

Since I've been going on a familiarity binge the past few days (with Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Elvis Costello) I thought I would dig a bit deeper and pull up this one. Black Sabbath from one of their earliest surviving sessions for the BBC. Recorded for the John Peel Program on April 26th 1970, this session features the band right at the tipping point in their careers. It's ironic that Black Sabbath achieved a larger following in England and Europe than America, at first. It was around 1970 the U.S. finally caught up with the rest of the world and Black Sabbath became a household name ever since.

Before Black Sabbath came along, there really weren't any bands characterized as Heavy Metal, as least to the extent they explored doom-laden lyrics with dramatic word pictures. Most bands considered Heavy Metal had a basis in blues or hard Rock. Black Sabbath came along and changed all that, and in doing so, carved out their own niche in the annals of music.

Here is a rundown of what they play tonight:

1. Black Sabbath
2. Walpurgis
3. Fairies Wear Boots
4. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
5. Evil Woman

This should give you a good introduction of what the band were capable of. You may have missed some of these the first time around. The sound is a little strange in places. But the band certainly weren't.

Anyone who has even a remote interest in 60's Pop-Psych will know who Status Quo are, and have probably heard one of tonight's tracks at least a thousand times.

It was that popularity that became their undoing for the rest of the 60's. Pictures Of Matchstick Men became something of an anthem and they were hard pressed to duplicate its Instant Classic status for the rest of their Psychedelic period. It wasn't until they re-invented themselves in the early 1970's as a quasi-Hard Rock/neo-Heavy Metal outfit that they regained their appeal and dumped the notion they were one-hit wonders until their eventual breakup in the 1980's.

But tonight it's going back to the "Matchstick Men" period, as a struggling band who finally had a hit single after five years of trying, first as The Spectres, then as The Status Quo and finally as just Status Quo. Here they are during one of their Top Of The Pops appearances from March 29, 1968. Starting off with an interview by Brian Matthew, playing Matchstick Men, and then following it with Things Get Better.

A familiar song, heard in an unfamiliar version.

Probably one of the most gifted and baffling singer-songwriters of the 1960's. Fred Neil made a huge impact on the Folk scene in the late 1950's and early 1960's. As a songwriter he was responsible for such acknowledged classics as "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a massive hit for Harry Nilsson and figured prominently in the iconic film Midnight Cowboy. So much of his material was covered by other artists that his own versions of his songs were often overlooked by the mainstream audience. But by his peers, his was a unique and indelible voice in the music world. And just as he was hitting the crest of a popularity wave, he turned his back and quietly faded from view, only resurfacing briefly until his untimely death in 2001 robbed the music world of one its most distinctive and unique voices.

Tonight it's a track off the Everybody's Talkin' album he recorded for Capitol Records in 1967. That's The Bag I'm In is very much in the mold of Neil's style - a somewhat cynical and dark view of the world, filled with irony and excess. It was a world Fred Neil knew quite a bit about.

If you aren't familiar with him, but may be familiar with some of his material, here's a good chance to hear it from the Man himself, as only Fred Neil could do it.

One of my favorite bands tonight and one of my favorite tracks. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and their 1966 classic East-West, from the album of the same name.

Butterfield, for all intents and purposes, spearheaded the genre of "Blue-Eyed Chicago Blues", with their debut release in 1965 on Elektra Records. By 1966 they had gained a substantial word of mouth and FM airplay and East-West, their second album, has been considered essential by many critics as well as collectors.

Tonight it's the title track off that legendary album. East-West, all 13 minutes worth.

Sit back and enjoy.

I will admit it was somewhat tragic when Kevin Ayers split from Soft Machine and the two forces went their separate ways - Ayers to continue in a sort of Psychedelic Singer-Songwriter vein, while Soft Machine explored experimental and Progressive Jazz. Both became potent entities in their own right. Ayers' solo career took many interesting turns and established many legendary associations along the way and he has always had a solid following of fans which continue to this day.

But while the dust was settling after the Soft Machine split, Ayers assembled a band and cut several great albums for the then-newly established label Harvest.

Tonight it's two sessions done for the BBC; one in 1970 and the other in 1972. Here's the track lineup:

1. Gemini Chile
2. Lady Rachel
3. Whatevershebringswesing

1-2: recorded May 20, 1970
3: recorded May 17, 1972

The early days of Prog and long before Alternative.

Getting back to basics.

The Benitez Sisters got their start in their native Cuba. Fashioning themselves after the more popular singing groups around Havana at the time. However, as the times dictated Hermanas Benitez found themselves settling in Mexico in the early 1960's where their recording career took off.

Tonight it's a track from 1960 and an early stab at a Girl Group rock n' roll sound. Pepito has none of the trappings of the Havana singing groups of the time. Rather they tried to emulate a modified Doo-Wop approach. The result is . . .well . . interesting.

I would imagine you probably haven't heard this track before - I don't think it's been reissued on any of their compilations, and if you can get past the Accordion that plays a prominent position in the song it's rather catchy.

But don't take my word for it.

Ending up the week on a high, soulful and moody note.

Bettye Lavette has been going at it since she was 16. In the five decades since, she's hit highs, lows and a lot of neglect in between. Primarily a singles artist, she didn't get her first album released until 1982, which would actually be her second as a first album was recorded by Atlantic in 1972 and shelved until 1997. Between that time there was a lot of bouncing around from label to label and a lot of almost's-but-not-quite's. Same old story - great material, incredible voice but something didn't click. But rather than pack it up and call it day, she persevered and it finally has paid off. In fact, she has released a new album which you are urged to check out. I think it's safe to say she's finally getting the recognition that has eluded her for so long, judging by the positive press she's been getting lately.

But tonight it's a classic she originally recorded for the Cala label. This one, Let Me Down Easy, is a gut-wrenching, brooding masterpiece that did very well on the charts (hitting #20 for R&B) and holds its own even to this day. It's become something of a signature song for her and she's re-recorded it a few times since. But this is the first one.

Like I said, ending the week on a high note.