Smokey + Temptations + Airto

Smokey Robinson, Big Time OST (Tamla 1977)
I've had this for a while now but I didn't recognize how hot it was until until I heard the title track on this great mix (which you can still grab for yerself if you navigate the abandoned underbrush of the ilx sandbox). This track starts out like typically slick disco-funk from '77 but the long breakdown has more in common with the stretched-out psychedelic soul of Norman Whitfield (see the Temptations below).

Smokey Robinson - "Theme From Big Time"


Temptations, Cloud Nine (Motown 1969)
Hard to believe a 9-minute soul epic with long instrumental passages and samples of screaming kids was a No. 1 R&B hit. The drums on these records are so huge.

Temptations - "Runaway Child, Running Wild"

Temptations - "Cloud Nine"


Airto, Fingers (CTI 1973)
Airto Moreira collaborated and recorded with everyone from his wife, Flora Purim, to the Dead, the Weather Report and Return to Forever. This Airto LP on CTI has a great cover designed by the label's longtime art director Bob Ciano (see Wax Poetics #11). And the music's nice too.

Airto - "Parana"

Airto - "Fingers (El Rada)"