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!!