A Sweet Serenade - 'Lots Of Lovin'' Beat Deconstructions

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - 'Lots Of Lovin'' & 'Lots Of Lovin' (Remix)'
taken from Lots Of Lovin' 12'' (Elektra, 1991)

Ohio Players - 'Players Balling (Players Doin' Their Own Thing)'
taken from Pain (Westbound Records, 1971)

Ohio Players - 'What's Going On'
taken from Climax (Westbound Records, 1974)

Don Covay & the Jefferson Lemon Blues Band - 'If There's A Will There's A Way (Southside)'
taken from Different Strokes For Different Folks (Janus, 1970)

[Got to give a special shout out to my brother Tim on this post who not only loves this track, but who has also just joined the blogging game with a site devoted to his primary passion: Arsenal FC. P-Zone representin' to the fullest!]

Given that I am now precisely 49 hours and 32 minutes away from seeing Pete Rock live in London (but who's counting), it will probably come as little surprise to you that I've spent the best part of the last week revisiting his vast discography with butterflies of excitement taking up full-time residence in my belly. Hyped? The word doesn't even come close. However, in the interests of avoiding another lengthy 'I love Pete Rock' rant, let's get straight into some beat deconstruction: sticking to what you know best is always a winner.

In some ways, 'Lots Of Lovin'' was an anomaly on Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's towering full length debut. In the midst of all the uptempo, neck-snappin' madness, Pete still found time to smooth the groove out a little, and the result was nothing short of extraordinary. A hip hop love song of the highest order, few other artists have been able to pull off a style that verges so dangerously on the corny with such class and finesse: 'Lot's Of Lovin'' is a certified banger.

One of Pete's trademark beat skits precedes the song on the album, a straight jack of about five or six bars from the Ohio Players' track 'Players Balling (Players Doin' Their Own Thing)' from their 1971 LP Pain. A funky little riff with tinkling keys and hand claps is the perfect appetiser for the beat that drops at the 0.22, which incidentally finds its main theme from the same band's cover of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On'. The two bars in question can be found at the 5.42 mark, and as well as sampling the melody from this glorious four seconds, The Chocolate Boy Wonder keeps the skipping drum track in as well to form the percussive spine of 'Lots Of Lovin''. There's an exceptional glow to the break itself that translates perfectly into its newfound audio environment, generously providing a smooth, sumptuous, soul-enriched pedestal on which C.L. Smooth can deliver his proclamations of love and desire for the lady in his life. I'm not sure where the other layer of samples comes from, but the combination of keys, flute and vocals extends the scope of the song significantly, only to be masterfully stripped away during the verse sections. It's rare that you can state that a hip hop song is beautiful in such a traditional sense, but 'Lots Of Lovin'' is just that.

The remix is a treat as well. With signature remix adlibs firmly in place, the cut has a more traditional Pete Rock vibe about it which, of course, is no bad thing. The break can be found on the song 'If There's A Will There's A Way (Southside)', performed by the equally extensively named Don Covay & the Jefferson Lemon Blues Band. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no knowledge of the artists in question, but the song has encouraged me to dig a little deeper into Covay's back catalogue as the song is excellent. It's the first couple of bars to check for in this case, a silky blend of electric piano, guitar and drums that serves the remix well, although for me, it could never surpass the original. It's interesting to note that C.L.'s lyrics are decidedly more raunchy in the first verse here than at any point on the original: I guess the remix brought the beast out of him.

47 hours and 57 minutes. Yea, I'm still counting.