Search - Mother Earth :: Stoned Woman

In 1991 Acid Jazz owner Ed Piller and his room-mate Bunny entered a tiny studio in North West London with the idea that they would see if the could make an album. Eight months later, what emerged was a new band and one of the lost classics of the early 90s - a combination of hip hop beats, rock guitars and soulful voices that really put the band Mother Earth on the map. The recording process saw an ever-changing set of personnel pass through the studio, including Leftfield's Paul Daley, the Brand New Heavies' Simon Bartholomew and James Taylor. As they did so, a permanent line up of local musicians started to coalesce into a band that would be able to play the album live. The result was an LP with a blaxploitation soundtrack feel converted to a contemporary sound. By the time that Stoned Woman was released the band was a touring outfit, and the album's cuts such a Riot On 103rd Street and Stoned Woman became live favourites. The NME lauded the album as a masterpiece in a 9/10 review by Ian McCann. Our CD contains the original 9-track album plus a previously unreleased cover of George Harrison's My Sweet Lord. It also includes the three tracks featured on the group's debut single: a version of Santana's Hope You're Feeling Better, and an unreleased funky instrumental from this session, Grandma's Hooch. Best of all is an astounding, newly-discovered, full band recording of Stoned Woman made at the Acid Jazz Studios during the People Tree sessions, allowing us to see how the band had developed the album's title track over a period of two years. The booklet contains detailed sleeve notes that contain a retelling of the album's genesis by Ed Piller, and some rare illustrations, as well as a note from Matt Deighton with a fictional account of the same story.