What Good Is A Castle?

If you are into house music, disco, rap or latin music, or an combination of the above, chances are that some of your favourite artists have been influenced by the godfather of salsoul, Mr Joe Bataan.Still recording today, Bataan is a true legend and has a back catalogue boasting not only one of the first rap records in 1979's "Rap-o Clap-o", but also one of the first New York disco tunes with 1975's cover of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle", and the invention of latin dance music known as Salsoul with the album of the same name in 1974. Without Bataan there would certainly be no Masters At Work which would be enough on its own to warrant mention. But his mastery goes far beyond being just a musical footnote and all true fans of Twelve Bar should take the time to dig in the crates a bit for Bataan's output.

A particular favourite would be "What Good Is A Castle" which i first heard on an unlabelled mixtape 13 years ago. It took me ten years to track it down in full, largely because the track I knew was a souped up piano driven latino funk fest, and the record I though it was, was a slow melancholic number. Until I realised that the tune is in two parts. And so when you do check it out. Makes sure you listen past 3 minutes 53 secs, when the true genius kicks in. You'll then float to Nuyorica with the knowledge that you have unearthed a gem.