Vinyl, 1 LP – Record Store Day 2023 reissue

One of the weirdest, coolest records ever issued on HAIR composer Galt MacDermot's Kilmarnock label, Ghetto Suite (1972) is a selection of songs and poems by Harlem school children, set to music by Galt, and sung by vocalist Angela Ortega.

Given that Galt and his friends Bernard Purdie, Jimmy Lewis, and others from NYC's '60s session scene are handling the music, you can bet that there's plenty of nicely funky touches at the bottom, supported by rolling bass, snapping drums, and Galt's groovy organ. But the real charm of the tunes comes from the lyrics, which have a simple and to the point way of dealing with issues of racism, poverty, drugs, and other issues of the time. There's nearly a Schoolhouse Rock vibe here at times, except that the lyrics are pointed, and sadly relevant after all these years.

Consider this a great companion piece to Now-Again's The Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop album.

Mastered from the original studio tapes and includes extensive sleeve notes. 180g vinyl edition. Limited to 1000 copies.

Read: Galt MacDermot, 1928-2018