An esoteric collection of American Funk
Dr.D.Treharne | Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom | 08/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For some reason it seems to be left to Europeans (and Brits in particular) to collect together "lost" soul and funk nuggets from the USA, and provide a coherent set of sleeve notes to place the said items within a context. This excellent collection as well as containing some of Warners biggest hits ("Clean Up Woman"/Betty Wright, "Rock Steady"/Aretha Franklin,"Right Place,Wrong Time"/Dr John) contains some neglected gems that ought to be heard.In particular "Stanga" by Little Sister is a belter, little sister being Rose Stewart part of Sly's extended band/family. There are two Family Stone covers, a magnificent version of "Everyday People" by Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band,and a version of "Sing a simple song" by The Noble Knights-led by King Curtis, but with all the Atlantic House band luminaries in attendance as well. Then there's a remake of a Watts Band backing track dubbed by Society's bag, 1 minute 25 seconds of a track called "Stroke 75" by Tower of Power and a stunning track called "Kissing my Love" by Cold Blood. There's no room to mention the Bobby Byrd track, or the one by Allan Toussaint, but I ought to give a big shout for "Somebody in the World for you" by The Mighty Hannibal which somehow managed not to get much airplay first time around. Sure, a lot of this stuff is obscure, but it's GOOD obscure, not just padding to the hits contained herein, and it rattles along in a joyful urgent way. Looking for something from left field that makes you feel good? Get those flares out!This could be worth investing in."