Happy Holidays Everyone And A Great 2014!

Hello everyone!

The Flagship For Funk would like to thank everyone who has committed to funkiness over this year and kept it real in these homogenised times!

To celebrate the end of the year, I've added a huge 18 track mix of "90s Funk" on my new mixcloud account. I'll probably be posting more mixes there as opposed to this blog, but you never know, I may alternate between one platform and another...

Enjoy everyone, and have a great 2014!!!

http://www.mixcloud.com/TheFlagshipForFunk/1990s-funk-mix-end-of-the-year-celebration/

Review: Aurra - Satisfaction

It took me a while to get this one through the post, but it finally arrived! The mysterious fifth album of Aurra, which has only surfaced in the record world this year!

There was a cloud over the whole matter of Steve Washington's departure from Aurra during the mid 80s, after the "Live And Let Live" album. Steve Washington recorded a solo album from 1984 called "Like A Shot", but I had no idea or couldn't have imagined before that he recorded an Aurra album in the same year. 

So the basic story of this album, according to the liner notes in this album, is that Steve Washington wanted to go beyond the relationship with Curt Jones and Starleana Young. He wanted to sell the rights of the performing name, "Aurra" to Starleana and Curt, but they felt that they shouldn't be sold something they believed they created in the first place. Steve Washington then met the singer for The Brides Of Funkenstein, Sheila Horne, soon to be Sheila Washington!

The liner notes also said that "Aurra" was created initially to be a more vocally based funk group, as opposed to the more instrumentally and musically based Slave. Steve Washington opted for a softer sound as opposed to Slave's harder sound. But in this particular album, Steve Washington deliberately went for basslines and grooves that evoked the memory of Mark Adams and his playing style. Without a doubt, this album generally leans to a more "harder" sound than the other Aurra albums. Washington also recruited the legendary Mark "Drac" Hicks, a fellow former Slave member for the guitar work on this album, and also recruited session musician A.C. Drummer, whom worked previously on other Aurra albums and Mark Stevens: brother of Chaka Khan.

The album has a total of eight tracks on it, but I'll go through what I think are the highlights of the album .(of which there are plenty!)

The first song, "Turn The Lights Down Low" has a really nice squelchy synth bass (Poly-6?) laid down throughout the groove, along with Washington's bass playing. This song has a very nice  atmospheric spookiness about it, which is a perfect way to start this "mystery" album, giving it even more charm! One of my favourite songs on the album, easily, and it's obvious to see where this song represents the way that later 80s funk would be shaped; it's important not to forget that Steve Washington was actually very important for shaping late 80s funk, via his role on George Clinton's "R&B Skeletons In The Closet" album from 1986. 

"Satisfaction" was a song where Steve wanted to bring out the style of Mark Adams! Stevie definitely gave justice to The Hansolor's pioneering and unique style of bassing on this track! 

"Never Met No One Like You" has some really nice keyboard work on it; Steve Washington uses the Prophet and other synths to give this song the classic spacey/sci-fi synth-funk sound that Slave heavily opted for from the time of "Visions Of The Lite" onwards. 

"My Lovin' Is For You" is a nice slow soul song that is more typical of what Aurra did, but Sheila Washington definitely gave that song a quality in its own right that's very different than Starleana and Curt! One to ride in the sunset with, definitely!!  

"Perfect Date" was released previously this year as a 7 inch, and has a more disco/boogie feel to this track than the previous four - more similar to the early Aurra albums. Really classy track here!

...."Hello World!!" The sixth track on the album is called "Something Tells Me", which also is in the style of the early 80s boogie. Beautiful uptempo soul song, and Sheila really sets the song alight with her awesome vocal work!

"Maybe I'm Wasting My Time" is possibly my favourite track on this album; the synths in the background of this song are golden - this song sounds more like the material on the solo album by Steve Washington in the same year as this album. 

The last track on this album, Steve and Sheila do a slightly 80s P-Funk sounding groove, with lots of insane vocoders, vocals spinning here, there and everywhere, and Drac giving his gritty and hard guitar riffs in the background! 

The release of this album has been a real highlight to the year for the world of funk! It has all the makings of becoming a classic 80s synth-funk album in time which will be highly regarded by everyohne, so it definitely should not be slept on! Get it now if you haven't!

Bedroom Glamour

Here is the sixth mix by the Flagship For Funk! A nice way to start an approaching Winter; while many people are potentially housebound by the coming snaps cold weather and possibly snow (depending on where you live), this mix will add some spice and glamour straight to your bedroom! A nice collection of late 70s, early 80s boogie, funk, disco and others - all pure quality. Enjoy!

1) Air Power - Be Yourself (1979)
2) Trilark - Love You Up (1982)
3) Chanson - All The Time You Need (1978)
4) Chic - What About Me (1979)
5) Tony Chambers - Rocking Me In Your Arms (1981)
6) Stacye Branche - Precious And Special (1983)
7) Sir James - Sho' Is Good (1981)
8) Sister Sledge - Easier To Love (1979)
9) Faison - Talking Bout Love (1981)
10) Sweetness - Get Yourself Together (1983)
11) Sky - Love Is Forever And All (1979)

Review: The O'Jays - Emotionally Yours

Back to the 1990s again!!

Musically, the 1990s was far kinder to soul than it was to funk. After traditional 70s soul took a bit of a hit in the mid - late 80s, the 1990s felt a nostalgia and affinity towards the old soul groups of the 70s. The most prolific example of this was the legendary Barry White, whom completely resurged himself from this tide of old soul nostalgia. Because of this nostalgia, the traditional soul groups had slightly more license to be what they wanted to be, and not tow the line of the current musical trends. They were able to get away with more of a fusion of old and new.

That's exactly what The O'Jays went for in their 1991 album, "Emotionally Yours". This album did very will in the R&B charts at the time, getting up to #2 both as an album, and the single from the album called "Don't Let Me Down".

This album is a beautiful mix of everything in the black musical world, made ultra-fresh by the mighty O'Jays! A mix of old school 70s Philly soul, jazz, swingbeat and even funk! One of the main songwriters on this album was a man called Dwain Mitchell, who was very active on the indie funk tip in the 80s. When reading the liner credits for this album, many familiar names can be seen: Dunn Pearson (Of Dunn Street/Dunn & Bruce Street), Najee etc. Not to mention the fact that they recorded a gospel choir cover version of Bob Dylan's "Emotionally Yours" recruiting all kinds of legendary vocalists like Evelyn "Champagne" King, Keith Sweat, Fonzi Thornton, James "J.T." Taylor, Phyllis Hyman, Gerald Levert, Will Downing and others.

Basically, this is a very fine, fine soul recording that you really ought to check out, but there's four tracks on this album to date that absolutely blow me over:

"Something For Nothing" is the second cut on the track; a smooth blend of everything with some nice, righteous lyrical messages for post-Reagan America, condemning the "something for nothing" mentality of people in the modern world. A nice James Brownish feel to the lyrics, and the nice soul fusion with funk resembles The Pasadenas' style. (Unfortunately I don't think The Pasadenas broke through in the US, so the similarity is most likely unintentional!)

"Love And Trust" is the sixth song on the album, and combines beautiful string melodies with a nice swingbeat drum machine and some light New Jack Swing production. Written by the O'Jays with Dwain Mitchell, this song really brings out the best of both worlds and highlights the artistic freedom these cats had!

The third song I adore on this is a KILLER funk hit, "Don't You Know True Love", also written by the O'Jays and Dwain. Predictably, this one wasn't released as a single at the time but the bass on this one slams the hell out the speakers! The song structure on this one is pretty unusual as well, as the chorus shifts gear several times with some very seductive synth work in the background. A really well layered and structured masterpiece. Play this beauty whenever you can!!

And finally, a really, really beautiful song called "That's How Love Is" is the fourth song on this album that absolutely grabbed me. If there was such a thing as an uptempo slowjam, this song may be the nearest thing to such a contradiction! Again, written by the O'Jays & Dwain, and it somehow manages to perfectly blend smooth, laid back guitars, synths and smooth, seductive vocals with a quick drum machine rhythm. Absolutely stunning songwriting, and the O'Jays absolutely crack it with their gorgeous vocal harmonies on the chorus and verses.

Funk & Soul Promotional Batch Vol. 1

I'm now going to start a miniature collection of promotional photoshoots, posters and magazine articles from back in the day of various funk/soul artists! Here's the first batch for the blog!!

Cassette-Funk, Swing And Rare R&B Reels Vol. 1

This is the fifth Flagship mix on this blog, and the beginning of a minature project for this blog. The world of indie 70s and 80s soul is well documented, well regarded, well known and well represented. At the moment, none of those things can be said for 90s soul, and part of the reason is that most of it is on cassette. There is no "popsike" dedicated to cassettes, nor is there specialist sites for cassette sales, and consequently, most of it gets ignored. Here, I'm going to try and represent as much of the cassette only releases as I possibly can, by a series of mixes. Some of these are from unreleased demo tapes, but most are from cassette singles or albums at a time when vinyl releases were becoming outdated, and CD production was exorbitant in price. This is the first volume of the mixes, which I hope you'll enjoy!

*NOTE: The audio quality of the songs in this mix will vary greatly, because of the age of the tape*

1) Elektrikk Sparks - Mo' Bounce (1994)
2) Bill Scott - Midnight Tease (1993)
3) Fonte - Boogie Bang (1998)
4) Iron Horse - Peace In America (1991)
5) Andre Williams - I'll Wait For U (1991)
6) Sterling G. - Special Occasion (1993)
7) Kim Washington - Can't You Tell (1995)
8) T.R. McRae - All About Me, All About You (1990)
9) The Uptown Crew - All I Want To Do (199?)
10) Candell - We Can Work It Out (1990)
11) Mel Strong - Kiss U All Over (1991)

80s Funk Vol. 1

So here The Flagship For Funk presents its first mix for October: 80s funk. Trying to do a mix on eighties funk might not be easy, given the very wide variation and different styles at the time, but here we've compiled the first volume of eighties funk that captures the general sound. Clean and polished throbbing basslines, smooth guitar work and some nice synths and drum machines...we've got the lot here!

1) Tease - Tingle (1988)
2) The Deele - Stimulate (1985)
3) Klymaxx - Love Bandit (1984)
4) Howard Johnson - Older Girl (1985)
5) Cool'R - Here's To You (1989)
6) Crystal - Forever Us (1984)
7) Pleasure - What's It Gonna Be (1982)
8) The B.B. & Q. Band - Stay (1983)
9) Sleek Elite - I Just Want Your Love (1986)
10) Tutt Band - Procrastinator (1988)
11) Zapp - Cas-Ta-Spellome (1985)
12) Lakeside - Relationship (1987)
13) Chill - Lady Seduction (1985)

Review: Mutiny - Funk Road

So here we have it! Mutiny have broken their 17 year silence, and have finally released their 5th album to us!

Actually, this CD was in fact, recorded in 2011, only just released on "Catbone Unreleased" this year. It's odd to think that Mutiny would hesitate on releasing this album, or that it could possibly be considered something that wouldn't be released. The awesome artwork on this cover was done by none other than my mentor and legendary soul guru whom I fill in for, The Funk Priest!!

Mutiny were, of course, a mutiny from Parliament/Funkadelic in the late 70s, fronted by P-Funk drummer Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, whom felt disillusioned with the management of Parliament/Funkadelic under George Clinton. Turning a negative into a positive, Jerome Brailey splintered off and produced some many fine albums under the name "Mutiny". This album is no exception!

Those who listen to Mutiny's albums and expect Funkadelic have come with the wrong approach entirely. Sure, the zaniness of P-Funk is present in Mutiny, and the bold edge, but there are noticeable differences. There's an indescribable mellowness and a laid back attitude about Mutiny that Funkadelic don't quite have. I'm not saying that's a better or worse thing, but it's a noticeable difference. With Funkadelic, you can never quite just sit down and relax when listening to it; you're absolutely compelled to get off your ass and jam! With Mutiny, you can sit and chill to their sounds much easier, even when they're rockin' hard. Another difference between Mutiny and Parliament/Funkadelic is Mutiny/Jerome Brailey's bigger tendency to experiment. Their previous album from 1996, "Aftershock 2005" was an unusual fusion, adding a lot more rock to the funk than usual, and a lot of 80s synths to nicely even out the grooves. This album, however, has tracks that take funk right back to the 60s and early 70s. Perhaps the most startlingly convincing is the track "What?.YEAH!!!" on this album, which even sounds retro in its audio production. Had it not been for the raps and some of the vocals, you would almost think this song was from back in the 60s. Another nod to the 1960s is a really nice cover of Wilson Pickett's "Ninety Nine And One Half", which almost has a slight "glam" feel to it, and the James Brown type riffs on the track "Ouch".

It's not all rooted in the 1960s, though. There's a really nice spacey synthed out track called "Something Better To Do" which evokes the classic zany P-Funk styles of the mob back in the early 80s. Also we have a nice sequenced instrumental funk hit to start off the album, called "Thought Patterns" with some wicked drum loops, which could possibly be my favourite track on the album. "Delta Dog" is a re-make of George Clinton's "Atomic Dog", done in a blues version with a 90s-style drum machine. "Diggity Don Dotta" brings some very heavy rock onto this album, and "Lights, Camera, Action" has the feel of a late 90s midtempo groove! I could go on, but the bottom line is that this album, "Funk Road", is delightfully versatile, and should undoubtedly whet your appetite in some form, whatever your personal taste is in funk & soul.

Buy this album soon and get listening to it!!

Retro Love!

Here is the third Flagship Funk Mix to celebrate the Autumn creeping in. A mix of 70s and 80s funk and soul ballads that set the mood like none other!

1) The Isley Brothers - Hope You Feel Better Love (1975)
2) Con Funk Shun - Secrets (1977)
3) Slave - For The Love Of U (1981)
4) Pictures - I'm Gonna See You Through (1981)
5) Breakwater - No Limit (1978)
6) Midnight Star - Open Up To Love (1981)
7) Elusion - Show And Tell (1982)
8) Dunn Street - Even A Fool (1986)
9) Fredi Grace & Rhinstone - Won't Cha Give It To Me (1982)
10) Aurra - One More Time (1983)

Review: Cameo - Real Men...Wear Black

Alright, I know I've been single-mindedly concentrating on 90s funk recently, and haven't even begun to do anything about the 60s or 70s on this blog, but while I'm on the subject, I've just got to give a review about this album. In my humble opinion, this Cameo album is the very best of their discography, and one of my top 10 albums of all time.

This album, "Real Men...Wear Black" was released in 1990, two years after the "Machismo" album in 1988, and four years after their worldwide smash hit and album "Word Up!". Cameo have made a lot of changes in their sound, since they started out as a huge disco-funk collective from New York. (They originally wanted to call themselves "The New York City Players") However, Cameo usually changed to their own liking and not to what the trend dictated; this album pretty much proves it. When New Jack Swing came on the scene in 1988, many of the funk acts went straight to that sound, some of whom even ditched their funk sound entirely for the NJS trend. Cameo could have made a very convincing jump to New Jack Swing, as Teddy Riley's sound was arguably similar and influenced by Cameo's "Word Up!" style. But they didn't, and instead produced this album, which only incorporated the loosest of New Jack Swing influences that compliments the style of funk that Cameo are so renowned for.

The term, "All killer, no filler" gets bandied about a lot these days, but with this album, it's absolutely correct. Not one single track on this album is a dud for me.

The album starts out with the longest jam: a song over six minutes called "Close Quarters" - possibly Cameo's most mellow groove of all time. It has a really nice swingbeat drum machine working alongside with some really nice guitar grooves by Charlie Singleton, but ends up showing more and more layers and event to the song. At 1:48 in the song, Larry Blackmon gives a very brief and loose rap accompanied by a classic Cameo hard-clap drum, where Larry Blackmon once again shows his brilliantly comical and goofy nature by giving a very tongue-in-cheek piece of self-aggrandisement. After this very brief rap ends, the unusual mood of the song is set with some vocal echos and synths. Then at 2:57 the song briefly heads into an ultra-mellow and soulful vocal hook by Tomi and Larry with some great atmospheric synths, followd by another of Larry's loose raps. My favourite part of this song however, is the ultra smooth and mellow piano solo at 4:11 that just totally comes from nowhere and is completely unexpected. A lot is going on this song and shows how Cameo's writing talents can often dig very deep into some very unusual and powerful territory.

The next song, "I Want It Now" is a more uptempo and speedier groove, which became the hit for this record. This song features the sound of record scratching; at the time, this technique was pretty much unique to New York, and New York hip-hop at that. Cameo were possibly one of the first funk groups to include record scratching into their songs. The keyboard work in this song really makes this song; the very quick orchestral piano jabs that are indicative of the small New Jack Swing influence and the classic Cameo style synths which are unusually unique to them and their funk.

This next track is an absolute belter. The third song on this album, "Me" comes with an insanely hard drumbeat comprised of Cameo's synthesized clap sound, a loose bass drum swingbeat rhythm and some quick screams from the Cameo horn section by Nathan Leftenant. Cameo's lyrical styles are on full form here as Larry Blackmon sings with a very direct and sincere message about being who you want to be and getting on with life. ("What you think of me, won't mean that much you see!") This song is funky as hell, but then goes into deep soul once again with a beautiful vocal hook on the chorus by Larry and Tomi, along with some smooth synth work. Cameo bassist Aaron Mills also does some nice work on this song, reinforcing the groove in the background. At a time when the R&B music scene was rapidly becoming shallow and stereotypical, Cameo took funk to its deepest level with this highly moving and beautiful song, but keeping it hard-hitting at the same time.

The fourth song "Attitude" is one of Cameo's classic 80s style funk jams and comes with some very infectious claps in the background. This song features Cameo's more crazy side with Cameo's usual provocative lyrics about an egomaniacal partner. ("All the people are laughing but you don't know why! If you could figure it out, you'll know just what it is, but you're too busy looking at yourself to know that shit!") On this song, this time Tomi Jenkins delivers a rap with Larry Blackmon's rhythmical shouts in the background to strengthen the groove.

The next song, "Get Paid" is slightly new territory for Cameo. Cameo have thrown their weight into politics for quite some time, but this is the first time Larry Blackmon raps for the entire song at an incredibly fast pace, talking about "The United States of Denial", and the many issues facing the average American public, and how they differ with the priorities of the overbloated establishment figures such as the incumbent president of the time, George Bush Sr. and others. This song differs from the other songs on the album, in the sense that this song is quite a stripped down, minimalistic sound compared to the rest of the album, which is full of highly layered sounds. The great thing about Cameo in this particular song, was their ability to comment on the political issues but not preach, which differed from their hit song from the Machismo album "Skin I'm In", which felt just a bit preachy. (Great song, nonetheless.) Near the end of the song, they changed the subject into the classic party style lyrics, ("Let's change this subject for one moment, if you're ready to party let's get on it! We'll get back to this in a minute, and when we do, we'll get with it!") which shows a sense that Cameo deep down recognise political "issues" for what they really are: guff. ("No explanation needed!")

Cameo then go into a really soulful groove with "Am I Bad Enough"; this is a really, REALLY nice fast paced love song with some absolutely stunning vocal work by Larry and Tomi. Some really nice keyboard work again on this song, with the mellow synths in the background and foreground. The New Jack Swing orchestral piano jabs are used in this song as well, to keep the pace nice and quick. Aaron Mills and Charlie Singleton are working in the background again with guitar and bass. This song is a very beautiful song by the funky New York group, and shows the very elegant side of their nature.

"Time, Fire & Space" is the only slowtempo song on this album, and even for Cameo's standards, it is really, really unusual. I've absolutely no idea what they had in mind when writing this song, or how they did it, but it is absolutely stunning. Listen to this song, and you will get a trip to another dimension!! I can't even describe the mood of this song accurately, to be honest, but the title perhaps says it all. On the surface, it's a slowjam/love ballad, but I suspect Cameo were trying to do something else with this song. The synths on this song are highly spooky and unusual, and along with the vocals of Larry and Tomi, this song just does something else.

The next song "Nan-Yea" brings a fierce and tough groove with some nice guitar licks from Charlie Singleton, great bassing from Aaron Mills and some really funky lyrics. Some classic funk brought with a very high quality to it by the legendary Cameo.

And finally, Cameo end with a slowjam song "Just A Broken Heart". It would be hard to describe this song as a slowtempo song, as Cameo chose a very unusual and lively drumbeat with this song. Some really smooth synths, guitar and bass work on this song, with Tomi Jenkins taking over for the vocals on the verses. The classic and unique vocal harmonies of Cameo stream in on the chorus, making this song a beautiful end to a beautiful album. This album was undoubtedly Cameo's finest hours, and they had many, MANY fine hours throughout their discography!!

Hidden Treasure!

Here is the second Flagship Funk mix which is guaranteed to be good to your earhole! This mix is dedicated to the hidden and hard to find songs of some of our favourite bands; discography hunters of various funk/soul groups often think they've got the lot by the artist, only to find a hidden 12" single not assigned to an album, or an extra song hidden on what appears to be just another compilation! Here, I've compiled some of these hidden treasures in this mix. Enjoy!!

1) Kleeer - Oooh With You (1993)
2) Enchantment - Feel Like Dancin' (1985)
3) Con Funk Shun - Throw It Up, Throw It Up (1996)
4) The Deele - The Only 1 (2007)
5) Bar-Kays - Put A Little Nasty On It (1993)
6) Steve Arrington - No Reason (1991)
7) Slave - That's The Way I Like It (1984)
8) The Dazz Band - My Little Princess (Unknown Year)
9) Richard "Dimples" Fields - Baby's Got It Goin' On (1994)
10) Brick - That Button (2009)

Review: The Dazz Band - Here We Go Again

This is second of the three comeback albums released by The Dazz Band, released between the mid 90s and the early 2000s. This album, "Here We Go Again" was released back in 1998, and without a doubt, this album has to be one of the top five finest 90s funk albums; you might not think that's much of an accolade, given the general lack of funk in the 90s, but trust me, this album is SUPERB.

The Dazz Band first started out as "Kinsman Dazz" throughout the late 70s, then became The Dazz Band from the start of the 80s and onwards. The Dazz Band will always be noted for their wacky, uptempo energetic 80s funk sounds with lots of fuzzy guitar work by the brilliant Marlon McClain, so the fact that this album follows the trends of the late 90s slow/midtempo may not appear to be in line with their usual work and styles, but this album is so good that it doesn't matter. Many funk bands made the transition from the uptempo 80s songs to the slower mid/late 90s R&B sound, and for many of them, it didn't work out, but The Dazz Band brilliantly worked this one and made this great album as a result.

One of the things that ought to be noted carefully about this album is that one of the participants of this project was none other than the mothership connection legend himself, George Clinton!! P-Funk and many of its spinoff projects went a bit silent from 1996 to the turn of the millennium, so having George on the scene for this album was a huge bonus!

Okay, let's start with the tracks. I'll only go through the ones that absolutely grab me, but bear in mind,  I'm likely to warm to even more as I continue listening to this album.

The first track on this album is one that would get totally ignored and shunned by the average funk fan, but would be really lapped up by the Funkology experts and the heads. The first track is called "Bop Gun", and as the Funkologists will already know, the "Bop Gun" is a part of P-Funk mythology - the secret weapon which fills up the people it shoots with funk. The Dazz Band hilariously, and very cleverly brought the "Bop Gun" fresh into the 90s with this song, by turning the subject matter into what can only be described as a light hearted parody of the violent gangster rap of the time, the chorus of which goes: "What ya gonna do if they refuse to move?! Gonna shoot them in the ass with my bop gun!". The tone of this song is so convincing that a listener not in the know would almost believe that this was some type of gangsta rap tune. The drumbeats on this song are really nice, as provided to us by Raymond Calhoun of Sunfire, whom also threw his weight into this album. It's nice to hear in this song that The Dazz Band still kept their light-hearted goofiness from their heyday. The song features a female rapper doing a rap, which is the only aspect of the song that I could have gone without; it's understandable in the era of rap-overkill that the Dazz Band would add a rapper on, but I think the song was contemporary sounding enough without the rap. The rap wasn't a bad one particularly, and it featured no offensive lyrics, but I think it just slightly detracted from the tone of the song, which wasn't meant to be serious in any way. Other than that, a great song.

The next song, "Sho Ya' Right" is a really unusual one, and shows that The Dazz Band are able to get with the times without being clones or copycats. Marlon McClain gives a sequenced riff on this song that absolutely sets this groove alight, accompanied with an organ-like keyboard sound given by funk legend Kevin Kendricks and Michael Norfleet. Raymond Calhoun again gives us a really nice late 90s bass heavy drum beat and Nathaniel Phillips gets down with a nice funky bass. Some really nice vocals on this track as well, which totally fit in line with the late 90s.

The third track on the album is a really nice and unusual late 90s midtempo soul hit called "Girl Got Body", with some really great harmonies in the lyrics. Again, totally contemporary, but The Dazz Band are always able to take it that bit higher. One thing I also like about this song is the occasional spacey synth introduced in the background of this song.

Now, the fourth song on this album has GOT to be my favourite. "Do Popppa Do" is a really, REALLY slick fusion of late 90s bass heavy swingbeat, funk, R&B and soul. The vocal hook on the chorus is absolutely stunning - one of their best harmonies, and vocal harmonies were always one of The Dazz Band's strongest points. This song is just the perfect song to ride to on a quiet Summer evening with a full sunset, and it just totally captures the better aspects of the late 90s. I also love the way the talk-box is utilised throughout this song; not overused at all, and doesn't detract from the harmony whatsoever. And as always, Marlon McClain's subtle guitar work on this song is excellent.

One of the bloody coolest 90s funk songs of all time, and on this album is the song "Ride". The beat on this song is so hard-hitting and fly that it absolutely surpasses and puts many of the hip-hop producers of the day to shame. The guitar and bass on this are just PERFECT! And on this song, the legendary George Clinton's vocals can be clearly heard on this playing over The Dazz Band's harmonies, like it's a separate entity altogether.

Another really cool late 90s style song is "The Things I Do". The mood of this song is very down in the ghetto with some very provocative and suggestive lyrics; a bit like something Cameo would have done, had they recorded in the late 90s.

In conclusion, this album is a MUST HAVE. Once people finally start to dig 90s funk (which they will, let me assure you) this song will be at the top of the respected 90s funk albums.

Street-Funk Special (One Helluva Drug!)

 


This is the first mix for the blog, dedicated to one particular type of funk: Street-funk. Street-funk, sometimes referred to as "punk funk", is Rick James' type of funk, crafted and popularised by the Motown legend himself. Street-funk is often quick paced in tempo, and features mid-high pitched synth melodies embedded in the song structures. Street-funk is often a sorely overlooked subgenre of funk that doesn't get its dues, despite its strong influence in the early 80s. This mix includes various street-funk grooves over the years as follows! Enjoy!!

1) Rick James - Ghetto Life (1981)
2) Ozone - Strutt My Thang (1983)
3) The Stone City Band - Feel Good Bout Yourself (1983)
4) Bar-Kays - Hit And Run (1981)
5) Rick James - Doin' It (1983)
6) Black Diamond - I'm Just A Freak (1985)
7) Robby's Hobby - Nasti Kinki (1986)
8) Q.T. Hush - Dangerous (1985)
9) J Rainey - See Me Again (1989)
10) The Stone City Band - Telephone (1983)
11) Rick James - Cop N' Blow (1979)
12) Jakky Boy & The Bad Bunch - Eye To Eye (1985)
13) Teena Marie - Call Me (I Got Yo Number) (1987)

Review: Prophet - Right On Time (A Reissue Right On Time!)

So the legendary "Right On Time" album has finally been reissued! Those of us who don't have a few hundred shares in the stock market or a wealthy inheritance to live comfortably for the next twenty years can finally buy a copy of this beauty! I think I was possibly the first to buy a copy this gem on Earcave. I'd just gotten an email update from the Earcave mailing list and as soon as I opened it, a high resolution image of the Prophet cover came staring at me right in the face! On pure impulse, I rushed to their page and bought a copy. It's not been the first time I've made such a rush to buy something on Earcave, but it doesn't happen often, that's for sure!

When looking at the world of privately pressed funk and soul, sometimes it can be hard to distinguish quality from hype. Record sellers (understandably) have a vested interest in making any rare record they find the "holy grail dope shit million dollar boogie" record of the week. Record buyers, as a consequence, react to this kind of advertisement and consequently shelve their critical and balanced judgement skills. This record, however, is the real deal. I'd previously heard all the tracks from the vinyl rip posted on A Pyrex Scholar's blog, and was well impressed with what I heard. Now that I've got it on vinyl the listening experience is even better than before!

This record is a 7 track 1984 boogie-funk album by the Californian artist "Prophet". As far as we know, no other releases have come from Prophet either previously or subsequently, and no single accompanied this album either. Prophet released this album on what appears to be his own label in San Francisco. The immediate thing to notice about this album is its bedroom style production techniques and DIY grooves that give it an irresistible charm. The idea that someone actually went out of their way to write and produce their own music back from a time when recording anything wasn't straightforward automatically gives a record a degree of integrity, and boy, does this album have integrity! The front cover backs this up, too. A fantasy like image of the artist Prophet amongst the stars radiates the "bedroom production" feeling and shows the vision behind this record.

The songs on this album are all highly charged, stripped-down early 80s synth funk/boogie songs. The unusual thing perhaps about this album that there isn't one single slowjam/downtempo soul song, which is unusual and rare for a funk LP full stop, let alone a private pressing! This LP starts with an absolute bomb, which is the title track "Right On Time", where we're brought to Prophet's world with some insane synth sweeps and Prophet's explosively high vocals. This song makes a fantastic boogie track that's totally in a league of its own. Many people would point to the Prince influence in the Prophet LP, but without a doubt, Prophet has totally entered a new realm with his sound, making him quite unique and distinctive from Prince.

The next track, "So Excited" was a track which flew over my head until I heard it on vinyl. Something suddenly just "clicked" as to how good this track was. Let me put it this way: the title, "So Excited" does perfect justice for this song. This song makes you so excited, and Prophet also sounds very excited in this original and creative arrangement.

For those who love really strange and off-the-beat-and-track indie soul songs, the third track "When I Fell In Love" ought to hit all the right notes. But perhaps the most funkiest track on the LP is the fourth song, and the last one on the A Side: "Tonight". The smooth guitar work along with the synthesized handclaps make this song a real groove. Along with the odd pitched synths that kick in, this song is possibly the spookiest and ghostly of the songs on this album. For me, it certainly has the most intrigue of all of them.

Onto the B Side, we begin with the funky song "Strong And Mighty"; a nice seductive little groove that was slightly before its time. And then we move onto the quickest paced of the songs, "Stick Around", which just features fancy guitar work, bassing and drum machines along with Prophet's vocals - a nice little jam to ride to! The last song, and possibly most people's favourite, is the synth groove "You Really Turn Me On". Despite the absence of a slowjam on the LP, this song more than makes up for that. The melodies within the synths on this are just heavenly and Prophet's vocals too are a beautiful combination alongside it; his vocals are slightly different on this song compared to the rest, which makes for a really interesting contrast. ("You know why babe?! I've gotta have ya!") Those who think that DIY production detracts from the harmony of a song are forced to think again with this track, as by all accounts, this is a beautiful tune.

This album is a stunning album, and despite the fact that it has been digitised, well documented and reissued, there will always be a mystique and a factor X about this album. That, I'm convinced.