The music business machine delivered a pretty slick tune last week — Menahan Street Band’s “Make the Road by Walking.” First released on 7″ vinyl in 2007, this is the record Jay-Z sampled for his last hit, “Roc Boys (And The Winner Is).” Menahan Street Band’s debut full-length album is due out on Oct. ’08, so this track is the first single (and the title of the album).
Here’s the the spiel from the PR company that sent me the track:
You’ve heard the hook before – the staccato eighth notes, the warm horn swells, the cry of “speech.” It’s the opening to Rolling Stone’s number one song of 2007, Jay-Z’s “Roc Boys (And The Winner Is).” But those trumpets aren’t coming from some obscure 70s soul sample. Instead, Hova’s production team looked a bit closer to home for the source, finding inspiration in the 45 of “Make the Road by Walking” by Brooklyn’s own Menahan Street Band, one of the many projects of Thomas Brenneck, best known, perhaps, as the guitarist for the Dap-Kings, the Budos Band, and Amy Winehouse…
Don’t let that Amy Winehouse bullshit on the band’s resume throw you, this track is all butter…
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