Less Than 1,000 Spins is a Micro-Chop side project, Spotify and YouTube playlist, daily newsletter, and a place to find great songs with less than 1,000 spins. You can support the project by sharing the newsletter, the playlists, and/or music from the playlists with other people.
Nimbus was known on the Detroit circuit in the late-1970s for playing a blend of jazz and soul at local bars. At the end of the decade, they recorded material that eventually became their self-released record Children Of The Earth. The group pressed up fewer than 1,000 copies of the album in 1980 and never recorded a follow-up effort.
It’s a very nice listen - a smooth blend of funk, jazz, soul, and other genres. It sounds great for such a small budget independent effort. Children Of The Earth was first reissued by Tokyo’s P-Vine Records in 2008 and most recently from Paris-based Providenciales Records in 2019. According to a writeup on Providenciales’ website, the group’s bassist Bill Capsalis received emails from record collectors all over the world expressing interest in obtaining a copy. After playing the album through it’s easy to understand why.
I’ve enjoyed listening to Children Of The Earth a few times but the song that grabbed me right away was “Heaven & Love.” The band’s chops shine here, with Bill Capsalis on bass, Pat Emerine on drums, Mark Gover on keyboards, piano, and vocals, not to mention production, and Greg Masteller on sax and percussion. The song has such a strong groove - I love the subtle background bassline and how it blends with the Gover’s keys and vocals. The final product is sublime.
I have to be honest, when I first added “Heaven & Love” to Less Than 1,000 Spins I didn’t fully appreciate how great it was until Kenan Bell added it to his exclusive Less Than 1,000 Spins mix right around the 6-minute and 15-second mark. The way he incorporated Nimbus into his mix made me appreciate the track on a whole new level. I hope you’ll appreciate it (and Kenan’s mix) as much as I do.
Listen to “Heaven & Love” on any platform here. Make sure to check out Less Than 1,000 Spins on Spotify and YouTube. You can also check out Formerly On Less Than 1,000 Spins on Spotify and YouTube.
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