"How Time Flies" by MUGO
A gorgeous take on an O'Jays classic via Kenny Dope's Kay Dee Records label.
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In the summer of 1971, eight students at McKinley Technology High School in Washington, D.C. united to form MUGO, which stood for Music, Unity, Guidance, & Organization. The band worked hard to hone their sound and ready themselves for recording and touring. Despite big plans for the future, their single “Organize” b / w “Space Travel” was their only release before they disbanded in the 1980s.
Thankfully the group recorded additional material to master tape before breaking up. In 2010 DJ, edit master, and producer extraordinaire Kenny Dope resurrected some of their recordings to bring them to a modern audience. Titled United, the collection starts with an excellent Kenny Dope edit of “Organize” before moving into “Space Traveler” and seven other cuts.
One of my favorites is their beautiful cover of The O’Jays classic “How Time Flies.” Though it has been sampled a few times, I was surprised to see that no one else (at least as far as I can tell) re-did the original. It seems like such an obvious song to remake.
MUGO does a great job respecting their source material. Their cover will be familiar to fans of the original, but they bring a sound and style all their own to their rendition. A strong backing track that includes a soft and subtle organ and some nice hand drums gives the members of MUGO ample opportunities to show off their vocal prowess. The harmonies and solos sound great.
There’s also an extended breakdown around the 2:25 mark where one of the vocalists riffs before he sings call and response style with the other group members singing back “yeah.” The incorporation of a flute brings this section to another level. It gives the song a surprising but welcome injection of funk before returning to the softer tones from earlier.
MUGO successfully set a high bar when they decided to cover The O’Jays. If anyone else decides to re-do “How Time Flies” they’ll have their work cut out for them if they want to match the quality of this version.
Listen to “How Time Flies” 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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