Review: Released in 1971 and written and recorded by Dave Hamilton (one of Motown's most prolific and influential session players), Sugar Billy Garner plays the consummate band leader over a relentless groove that rolls with drama. Billy gets sweatier, the guitars get busier, the dynamic gets heavier and heavier... So heavy it rolls into a second part. Primed for the floor, it still hits hard 44 years after its release.
Review: When Jazzman themselves describe a release as 'hopelessly obscure' and 'off the radar to even the most dedicated' you know you've got something special. There's a really raw rusty garage funk to both sides here; both the classic R&B swing, majestic organs and powerful vocals of "Look Out" and the sweaty instrumental frenzy "Mother Duck" instantly enrapture and make you ponder the age-old question... HOW has this gone unnoticed for so long?
Review: The Artless Cuckoo label has done a fine job of showcasing the work of lesser-known German outfit Ghia his year by releasing an album of rediscovered 1980s recordings as well as a special 7". Now Thank You has put together this 12" package with three different versions of 'Don't Leave Me Alone.' The original dropped in 1987 and was an instant euro-pop classic. An OG copy on wax is tough to find these days so often fetches three figures. Soon as you hear the tune though you know why - it's effortlessly catchy with mounting tension and super creative vocals.
Golden Boys - "Segura Na Cintura Dela (O Gaviao)" (2:38)
Silvio Cesar - "Beco Sem Saida" (2:21)
Review: Mr Bongo's essential Brazil 45s series notches up release number 89 via a blast of heavy dancefloor pressure that touches on both Brazilian funk and samba-rock. On the A-side you'll find Golden Boys' 1975 gem 'Segura Na Cintura Dela (O Gaviao)', an irresistible slab of full-throttle, orchestra-sporting, Hammond-heavy samba-funk marked out by strong group vocals and some superb musical arrangements. Over on the flip you'll find another classic from the same producer (Milton Miranda), Silvio Cesar's 1971 carnival masterpiece 'Beco Sem Saida' - an infectious excursion that found fame in the 2000s when Drumagick sampled it on 'Sambarock'.
Review: GrandMagnetto, masters of skanking pop reggae covers,
return with 'Everybody's Talkin' by Harry Nilsson, off of
the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack. Blundetto transformed
the track into a killer deep dubby hit. Both tracks are storming.
Review: A fifth slab of 7" shaped funk live and direct from St. Petersburg arrives with the Great Revivers offering another Funk Night release that will invariably keep themselves busy on the turntables of funk establishments everywhere. Lead cut "Rhino's Walk" should be titled "Rhino's Strut" in truth given the sheer confidence the Revivers display as it progresses along driven by a killer drum break. Flip the Rhino over and Great Revivers are on more of a downbeat funk flex with "Dead Dipping" which is all about that frazzled organ. Big up Frank Raines and the Funk Night crew for this one!
Review: The Great Revivers continue their unassailable 2014 assault on the record boxes of funk selectors everywhere with yet another killer seven for the Funk Night label. Brashly titled "Don't Mess with GR" may be, but this Russian quartet always prefer to let their musicianship do the talking and you can't fault the Great Revivers funk here as three odd minutes of prime dirtiness unfolds driven by a killer drum beat. It's complemented well by the more uptempo jam that is "Hard Way To Go" and lays down a marker for what to expect from the Great Revivers forthcoming album.
Review: Another fine lesson in deep crate curation, Jazzman rediscover the criminally overlooked skills of Virginia troubadour Lenis Guess. Recorded during the late 60s and 70s, many of the cuts on this special triple-7" box set have never been further than the state line. Which is utter madness... Just listen to the lavish, lolloping bass jam on "How You Gonna Do It", the firing JB-style horn drama of "Thank Goodness Gotta Good Woman" and the raw belly-bound blues soul of "Workin' For My Baby" and you'll wonder how he remained an obscurity for so long. Complete with detailed liner notes, this is a must for all funk aficionados.
Review: Longtime fans of Vive La Musique's impressive ability to both catalog old and release new music will find much to love in this one. Here they home in on South African composer and bass player Sipho Gumede's 'Something to Say', a stunning six-tracker flaunting the musician's distinctive blend of Afro-boogie with an 80s-style montage feel. Warm, inviting and dreamy, tracks like 'Bayabizana' and 'Something To Say' are sexual and freeing dirges, as suitable for long-haul flights and penthouse cocktails as they are for shouting about new love from the rooftops.
Review: Mr Bongo's authoritative Brazilian 7" series continues apace with this delightful gem, featuring the magical talents of Guto on the A-side and Tony Nunes on the flip. Guto's 'Transito Livre' is a sweet slice of MPB (musica popular brasileira) which switches time signatures with flair from verse to chorus. Tony Nunes turns the heat up with 'Por Favor', a 1973 cut which sounds like it could jump right off the turntable with its fiery, funky urgency. Another essential purchase for all those who love hidden nuggets from Brazil's abundant musical history.
Review: The King Casuals and were founded in 1962 by the late great Jimi Hendrix and after the guitarist's death, he was in the late sixties replaced by Johnny Jones. He leads them in stomping and high energy fashion and here on the a-side is his interpretation of the Hendrix classic 'Purple Haze.' It's got all the things you need to get steamy on the dance floor and it always used to shake the floor at Wigan Casino. Gene Chandler is a bonafide Northern Soul legend who is well known to fans of the genre and his 'There Was a Time' is a real raw gem on the flip.
Review: James Gallardo & Sol released their collaborative debut album in 1975 in a burst of bright colour and next-level musicianship. There's a fiery, rockist spirit running through the over driven guitar cartwheeling through "Maranatha", but there's equal space for measured grooves and Gallardo's expressive horn playing. Mellower moments like "Patrice" let in a more soulful side of the project, while "El Que Se Fue" nods to the Latin roots of Sol. Expansive, bold and inventive, this is a treasure for jazz funk heads, marking the first official repress since the first copies slipped out many moons ago.
Review: In 1972, Marvin Gaye set to work recording what was scheduled to become the follow-up to his greatest single studio album, the previous year's "What's Going On". In the end, only one single from that mooted set ever appeared - "You're The Man", a weary assessment of that year's U.S Presidential Election - and Gaye's bitter arguments with Motown continued. This intriguing album tries to set the record straight, gathering together work completed for the shelved album with newly mixed songs based around previously unfinished works. There's much to admire throughout, with the material flitting between the kind of lusciously orchestrated, conscious songs featured on Gaye's previous set and more commercial-sounding Motown pop (much of which was produced by Willie Hutch).
Review: No Food Without Taste If By Hunger is the 20th compilation in Analog Africa's Limited Dance Edition series and it also happens to be a mega-rare classic from the world of Edo funk. The Good Samaritans from Benin City, Nigeria released a very small run of the original in 1982. It is an infectious album of hypnotic basslines layered up with trance-like grooves trippy psychedelic guitars that make for an utterly unique kind of funk music. Newly mastered, pressed to 180g vinyl with a silk screen printed cover, and limited to just 2000 copies, this is a rare chance to own such a landmark album.
TB Funk - "Free Blow" (the dub version - G&D edit) (5:01)
Kenny Pierce - "Done Been" (5:13)
Those Good Intentions - "We Know How To Boogie" (6:50)
Sherman Hunter - "Dance To Freedom" (8:12)
Gospel Keepers - "Never Gonna Give You Up" (5:38)
Living Color - "Plastic People" (G&D edit) (4:57)
Roller Disco - "Stone Luv" (4:15)
Carol Meriwether - "Love Ain't Just (A Physical Thing)" (9:35)
William Barlak - "Ain't No Doubt About It" (3:42)
Review: The Grasso is greener in Bologna: home to two of the most well-connected collectors in Italy. Suppliers to the likes of Kenny Dope, Phil Asher and Dimitri, Gino and Federico have carved their crate craft to insane levels over the last 30+ years... As shown on this detailed, widescreen boogie, funk and disco collection for BBC. Splattering the vibrant collection with a handful of their own edits (TB Funk's salubrious struts on "Free Blow", fly-by boogie falsettos on Living Color's "Plastic People"), the Grasso bro's have put together a package that's eye-opening, enlightening and damn fine to party to. See you on the other side.
Review: Heavenly Sweetness has always dealt in music for the soul that is drawn from the worlds of funk, soul and jazz. This new collection of such tunes is another testament to that with a heavily international and world bent. Oodles of Latin, hip hop and Afro vibes pervade the tunes by Guts aka Fabrice Franck Henri alongside a whole host of collaborators. He's a super prolific talent who has put out some ten albums in just over a decade and Estrellas is one of his best. It comes on six sides of delicious wax and takes you on a trip to sunny climates from Cuba to Brazil.
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