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By Larry, September 14, 2010 10:30 am

Carlton ‘King’ Coleman

Listen/Download – King Coleman – The Boo Boo Song Pt1

Listen/Download – King Coleman – Freedom

Greetings all.

Welcome to the second – and hopefully the last – installment in the latest string of ‘in memorium’ posts here at Funky16Corners.

I heard of the passing of the mighty Rev. Carlton ‘King’ Coleman literally minutes after I found out about Diamond Joe.

Though I can’t say that I know a lot about King Coleman, what I do know cements his position as one of the great R&B/soul journeymen of the 60s.

He worked as a disc jockey, emcee, and vocalist (he debuted as the vocalist on Nat Kendrick and the Swans ‘(Do the) Mashed Potatoes’) going on to record a series of dynamite 45s.

The greatest of these (at least in my humble opinion) is the positively, unfuckwithable ‘Boo Boo Song’, as powerful and raucous a slab of party power as has ever been committed to vinyl.

The King eventually found his way to the Lord and continued to record religious music that was still soulful and funky, eventually returning to his radio roots hosting a gospel program on WMBM in his native Florida.
I’m going to repost both King Coleman tracks that have appeared here previously, the aforementioned ‘Boo Boo Song’ and the much more serious ‘Freedom’.

Separated from the ‘Boo Boo Song’ by barely a year, ‘Freedom’ (released on Philadelphia’s storied Fairmount label) is a spoken-word civil rights anthem, and quite a departure for the man that spent the previous decade shimmying, hully gullying, and engaging in all manner of madness.

I’m also going to repost the write-up I did about the ‘Boo Boo Song’ back in 2006. It pretty much says all I want to say about that amazing record.

Peace
Larry

_____________________________________________________________________________

Originally posted April 2006

So it’s the middle of 1967, and you just rolled into your job at the local six million watt AM radio powerhouse. You pour yourself a disgusting cup of lukewarm coffee and grab a box of new 45s, to see what might make it onto the air. You work your way through all manner of budding psychedelia, sunshine pop and middle-of-the-road instrumentals, when you reach into the box and pull out something called ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ by a cat calling himself King Coleman. Though you are unfamiliar with the artist, you decide to give it a spin anyway, knowing that despite the suspect title, anything is possible. You unsleeve the record, place it on the turntable and absentmindedly apply needle to wax. The next few second are a blur. All you can remember is that following seemingly innocent opening, female singers chanting;

A hunting we will go A hunting we will go We will catch that fox and put him in a box And will not let him go!

You momentarily figure you have a childrens record on your hands. And then, something happens that causes you to spit out your coffee and jump from your chair like your pants were on fire. There, booming out of the speakers is something that sounds like a bug-eyed madman on a caffeine bender.

Boo bo boo bo boo boo boo bo bo bo bo Bay bay buh baybay bay buh buh bay bay Bo bo bo bo bo bo bo (etc etc…)*

It sounds like the kind of guy, that if a certified lunatic like Screaming Jay Hawkins saw King Coleman coming up the sidewalk, he’d pull the bone from his nose, avert his eyes and cross to the other side of the street, murmuring to himself, “Omigod, omigod, omigod. It’s that King Coleman…PUH-leeze don’t let him see me….”

Suffice to say, that as far as you were concerned, things only got worse. The wild babbling emanating from the grooves builds to a crescendo, a mess of corrupted nursery rhymes, nonsense syllables and wild wailing. You rake the needle across the record, pull it off the turntable and break it into little pieces, run into the next room and tell your secretary that if she ever lets ANYTHING like that through again she’s going to be looking for work. You of course are a tasteless bastard, and this little memory goes a long way toward explaining why you currently live under a highway overpass, grilling pigeons over a campfire.

Now if it were me back then (I’d be 5 years old), I’d have immediately requested several extra copies of ‘The Boo Boo Song’ so I’d have some spares ready as I wore them out. That’s just the kind of kid I was (and am). You see, I think King Coleman was one of the great geniuses of his day, erupting like a rhythm and blues volcano, wrecking the joint with all manner of Mashed Potatoes, Hully Gullys, Loo-key Doo-keys, Alley Rats (and Soulful Mice) and Booga-Lous.

Between 1959, when he moved from his work as an emcee and disk jockey into the world of R&B as the voice on Nat Kendrick & The Swans ‘(Do The) Mashed Potatoes Pts 1&2’ – and the late 60’s, Carlton ‘King’ Coleman laid down some of the butt-shakingest, eye-rollingest, high-stepping soul and funk 45s to ever roll down the pike. Every last one of them** is a guaranteed party starter. ‘The Boo Boo Song Pts 1&2’ is possibly the finest of them all, because it manages to rope in (barely) his explosive vocalizing, pairing it with some booming drums, blaring horns and organ, all of which make it a storming slice of soul evangelism – guaran-freaking-teed to peel off the wallflowers and send those already dancing into a sweaty trance. If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest most vociferously that when you play this track, you loosen your tie, turn the volume way up and let it wail. I would also recommend that if you have any small kids around, you play it for them too. I played it for my two-year old son, and he thought it was a hoot.

* Yeah, I know that isn’t an exact transcription, but if you think I’m going to spend a half an hour, restarting the song 50 times so I can accurately count all the BOBO’s and BAYBAY’s, you my friend have another think coming…

** The only exception – and a track that was omitted (for obvious reasons) from the Norton comp is the fascinating ‘Freedom’, which came out on Fairmount in 1965 or 66. It’s a mostly spoken word, civil rights anthem that is an extreme departure from the rest of his oeuvre. I’ll post it here sometime in the future

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a classic bit of Sunshine Pop

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By Larry, September 11, 2010 5:24 pm

‘Diamond Joe’ Maryland.

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – Fair Play

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – Gossip Gossip

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – The ABC Song

Listen/Download – Diamond Joe – Look Way Back

Greetings all.

Those of you that have been here for a while might remember a time a few years back where there was a period of a couple of months where there seemed to be an obit posted here at least once a week.

I take no joy whatsoever in reporting the deaths of the musicians we revere, but considering the lack of respect many of these artists got during their lives, or are like to get after they pass, it seems only fair that we all stop and take a moment to remember them and the music they made.

A few days ago, I got an e-mail notification that someone had signed the Guest List at the Funky16Corners webzine.

The webzine has been around for a decade, and there’s lots of content there, from feature stories and discographies to simple 45 reviews, and it’s depth and longevity has turned it into a huge Google-net of sorts, in that it sends up results for all kinds of searches, some related, some not.

This has proven to be an interesting by-product, since lots of musicians and their families have gotten in contact with me via hitting the webzine.

Unfortunately, as is the case with all news, sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s bad.

When I went to collect the message, I was struck with an odd mix of sadness and excitement. Sad because it led to an obituary for one of my all-time favorite soul singers, and excitement because I had no inkling of his whereabouts, and at one time had heard that he was homeless.

That man was Joseph ‘Diamond Joe’ Maryland.

The world of 60s soul is filled with stories, many of which are short, bittersweet and ultimately incomplete.
Diamond Joe, a masterful singer and accomplished songwriter, who made two of my Top 10 soul 45s during his very short career, starred in such a story.

What little I’ve ever been able to find out about him has been by and large related to his recordings, made during a period that lasted less than a decade.

He was a New Orleans singer who recorded all of his work alongside the mighty Allen Toussaint, but like a few other artists in that orbit, also wrote some of his own material.

I probably first heard his amazing voice when I encountered his 1966 Sansu 45 ‘Gossip Gossip’ on an old Charly Records CD comp. It was an eye-opening experience in that it was clear from the very first time I heard it that ‘Gossip Gossip’ was one of the truly great soul 45s of the 60s.

What was also clear was that I had never heard the tune, nor its singer before, and as is always the case, its started me on a years-long search for the rest of his recordings.

The first sad marker in this saga was discovering that he had only recorded seven 45s in his short career.
I’ve been collecting obscure music for most of my life, and while a lot of it is good, some of it great, every once in a great while you discover a record that is absolutely brilliant. Diamond Joe recorded two of these records, and his reward was utter obscurity.

This is galling because, as it is with anything in life, when you find something that blows your mind, you’d naturally like to find more of it, and when that something begins and ends with just over a dozen songs, and then trails off into nothingness, it borders on infuriating.

Diamond Joe was, like Eldridge Holmes (who also worked almost exclusively with Toussaint) a singer of great talent, as adept with epic ballads as he was with rough edged, fast moving soul. He was possessed of a gruff baritone that could move from a growl to the most subtle whisper within the few minutes of music on a 45.

As tempting as it is to wonder why he wasn’t more successful, the point is ultimately moot. Whether it was because he was lost in a huge pool of talent in New Orleans (there are TONS of amazing New Orleans 45s that never got heard much outside of the region), or an even bigger pool nationally, or that he was just fated to create great records that few would hear (cruel fate, that), as far as I can tell be never recorded after his last Deesu 45 (both sides of which are included here today).

Until I saw the picture posted with his obit (seen above) I had no idea what he looked like.

The four tunes I post in his memory include both of my favorites, as well as a few other great ones to illustrate the breadth of his talent.

The earliest of these is 1963’s ‘Fair Play’, written by Earl King and Allen Orange. ‘Fair Play’ is an absolutely mid-bending record. In just over two minutes you get to hear Diamond Joe wrap his amazing voice around a heartbreaking melody, all contained within a stunning arrangement (how many soul records have you heard with autoharp??). No matter how many times I hear this one, it still haunts me.

‘Gossip Gossip’, from 1966 is one of those records that in a just world would have been a hit. Once again you combine a great arrangement (I believe that’s Toussaint’s speaking voice you hear at the beginning) that combines rough organ, chopping rhythm guitar and a majestic horn chart, all dwarfed by Diamond Joe’s powerful vocal.

The last two songs here are the two sides of Diamond Joe’s final 45, recorded for the Deesu label in (I believe) 1968.

‘The ABC Song’ and ‘Look Way Back’ were both written by the singer with one side funky and the other side a preaching ballad. He’s great in both styles/

I’d say you should head out there and pick yourself up some Diamond Joe, but as far as I can tell, nothing remains in print. His 45s are not easy to come by.

I hope you dig what you’re hearing today and my heart goes out to his family.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg

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By Larry, September 9, 2010 5:42 pm

Listen/Download – Charles Hodges – Daddy Love Pt1

Listen/Download – Charles Hodges – Daddy Love Pt2

Greetings all.

The end of the week has finally arrived and I couldn’t be more pleased, since the several days preceding sucked out loud.

I was sick/recovering, and the new family schedule – an arcane and improbably complicated web of appointments, school buses and the like – has started and is proving to be a little more challenging than I had anticipated.

Fortunately, the schools hereabout closed for Rosh Hoshanah, giving the wife and kids a day off, so we took advantage of it and went to the zoo.

The record I bring you to you today (both sides) is something that kind of hung around in the catacombs of my want list (also arcane and improbably complicated) for many years.

If the title sounds familiar, it’s because another version of this very song appeared as a part of Funky16Corners Radio v.6 more than four (?!?) years ago, sung by a female artist named Gi Gi, about whom I have never discovered a single fact.

I mention her distaff nature only because the version I present to you today is sung by a male, who just happens to be the author of the song, producer and arranger of both records (I’d say ‘versions’ but they both appear to employ mostly the same backing track) and released it on his own Sweet label, Mr. Charles Hodges.

The song in question ‘(They Call Me) Daddy Love Pts 1&2’ is a fast moving, horn driven funk 45 that is worth grabbing in both versions, since neither of them is particularly expensive, and they are just about guaranteed to get even the squares out of their chairs and onto the floor making like Soul Train Line vets.

The basic structure is very – how do they say – James Brown-y, in that what your getting is layers of guitar, drums, bass and horns, all ticking along like clockwork (I really dig the guitar on this one). The vocals, by Mr. Hodges are groovy indeed. According to the man Sir Shambling Hodges was New York based and recorded as a vocalist for a number of labels including Philips, Genuine, and Calla between 1964 and 1973.

After you pull down the ones and zeros on ‘Daddy Love’ make sure you check out the song clips that Sir Shambling has posted, which taken together reveal Hodges to have had Pickett-ian aspirations. He may not have risen to the level of the Wicked one (for that matter, who did?) but he acquits himself nicely.

Now, to the very important differences between the Gi Gi and Charles Hodges 45.

As I mentioned before, they use the same backing track, but Hodges adds on a couple of important layers that bear mentioning, including an improved horn chart (I’d say new, but my suspicion is that the two versions were roughly contemporary, with the Hodges 45 bearing a 1973 date) and an increasingly orgasmic chorus of backing ‘vocals’.

As early 70s funk 45s go, this may not get the uber-deep hipster collectorinos to wet their pants, but it’s good, funky, and of course good’n’funky, which means you will certainly dig listening to it, and were you to slip it under the needle at your next funk 45 and potato chip soiree, the attendees would be compelled to dance.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some moody garage psyche

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By Larry, September 6, 2010 10:40 am

Rufus and Chaka Khan.

Listen/Download – Rufus – Once You Get Started

Greetings all.

I hope that those of you in the path of the hurricane survived.

Up here it was a bust, which is a good thing since I didn’t fancy picking the contents of the back porch out of the surrounding trees and the neighbor’s yard.

We just got some heavy rain, a little bit of wind and not much else.

Fortunately, as is often forecast but rarely comes to fruition, the storm pushed the heat wave out of the way and ushered in some nice weather for my birthday.

Things are getting back to (post-summer) normal around here, with school coming back into the picture, and the possibility of some DJ work on the horizon (which is always a groovy thing).

I have recently scored a couple of very nice 45s, so before long I predict you will either be seeing them here on the blog, or hearing them in some bar or other, spun fresh on the decks.

The tune I bring you today is a blast from my past, in that I remember very clearly when this particular song came blaring from the speakers of my AM radio.

The first time I heard Rufus was in 1973, via their first big hit (given to them by no less a light than the mighty Stevie Wonder) ‘Tell Me Something Good’.

I have a clear recollection of seeing Rufus – if memory serves as part of someone’s TV special, maybe Bob Hope?? – performing the song live from Central Park (I think, it’s been 37 years…) and my parents reacting negatively to Chaka Khan’s orgasmic vocalisations in the chorus of the song.

I, of course, thought it was a riot.

Anyway, that song, and today’s selection fall right around the time that the band founded as Ask Rufus, then rechristened Rufus, was morphing into Rufus featuring Chaka Khan.

The Chicago-area band, which got its start with ex-members of the American Breed recorded an unreleased album for Epic with vocalist Paulette McWilliams, before Chaka Khan (aka Yvette Williams) who had sung with a post-Baby Huey version of the Babysitters, joined the group.

‘Once You Get Started’, from the 1974 ‘Rufusized’ LP was a Top 40 hit in the Spring of 1975.

It’s a great example of the kind of jazzy funk that was moving folks on the (just) pre-disco dance floors of the time.

I’d argue that ‘Once You Get Started’ is – like last week’s ‘Machine Gun’ by the Commodores – still firmly in the ‘funk’ camp, despite the presence of disco/fonk signifiers on its fringes. I have no doubt that were this dropped in a disco, during an otherwise disco set, that ‘Once You Get Started’ would pull the folks onto the dance floor, but I think this would have been as true in 1970 as in 1977 (even though it came out in 74/75, are you confused yet??).

I’m not even sure that this is an argument worth having, unless you’re a vinyl-sick record nerd, but since so many of us here (myself especially) fall into that category, we’re gonna have it.

Ultimately it’s probably immaterial, since good music is good music, and ‘Once You Get Started’ is good music.
Chaka would record with the band on and off into the early 80s before going solo and hitting the charts on her own in 1984 with her epic cover of Prince’s ‘I Feel For You’, which featured harmonica by none other than Stevie Wonder!

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something cool.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a classic instrumental

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By Larry, September 2, 2010 3:30 pm

Not Freddie Scott…

Listen/Download – Freddie Scott and the Seven Steps – The Thing

Greetings all.

The end of a very busy week has arrived and I feel the need for the freeing vibe of a soulful slab of of wax.

The kids (and the wife, a teacher) have returned to school and the routine hereabouts has been upended once again, with our vast and confusing network of appointments, comings and goings having to be reshuffled for a new season, which, since it only involves about two dozen people is predictably, what the great sages of our time have come to call a clusterfuck.

It’ll all probably settle down in a week or two, but right now my brain is mush.

The tune I bring you today is another hot Florida soul 45 from the mighty Freddie (Freddy) Scott.

Last we heard from Mr. Scott was a little over a year ago, when he and his Four Steps let us have it with the ‘Same Ole Beat’.

At the time, I mentioned that one should not confuse Freddy Scott (drummer and bandleader from Florida) with Freddie Scott, soul singer who recorded for Shout and Colpix among other labels.

Then, while out digging I happened upon the 45 you see before you today, and discovered that Florida Freddy, but a few catalog numbers down the line was rechristened ‘Freddie’, nailed three more Steps onto his band and confused matters all by himself.

Variable spelling aside, I have no doubt at all that this is the Florida-based cat (for a variety of fairly obvious reasons).

As I mentioned, today’s selection ‘The Thing’ is only two catalog numbers further along from ‘Same Ole Beat’, and a quick listen to the song would seem to indicate that the extra Steps were employed in the horn section.

‘The Thing’ is a mid-tempo dancer with enough grease to get he kids sliding on the dance floor, and a refrain that sounds like a not so distant cousin to the soul jazz standard ‘Coming Home Baby’.

If you get a minute you should head over and check out Iron Leg Digital Trip #32, where I included the flipside of this very 45, a swinging organ instro version of Tom Jones’ ‘It’s Not Unusual’ as part of that au go go flavored mix.

So crack open a cold beer, sink your fist into a bowl of chips and stuff you ears full of ‘The Thing’.

I hope you dig it and I’ll see you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for mid-60s LA garage punk

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By Larry, August 31, 2010 5:17 pm

Joe Zawinul

Listen/Download – Joe Zawinul – Soul of a Village (45 edit)

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here, and I may be tired, my nerves may be frayed, my brain may want to shut off, but I have a craving for some of that deep, deep stuff, so here we go.

The record I lay before you today is something I first heard during a long ago Asbury Park 45 Sessions, with my man Vincent the Soul Chef working the wheels du steel.

As I’ve said here many times before, the 45 Sessions are without fail, a DJs paradise, with the selectors slipping 45s under the needle that have the heads running up to the turntables to see what’s going on.

This blog has seen many, MANY sides that I first heard at the Lanes, and of we ever get it back up to speed, this will surely continue.

Anyway, when Vincent pulled this one out of his record box, and I heard the laid back but funky drums, and the electric piano (you know I love me some electric piano), and the spooky strings, my spidey sense started tingling, and when I found out that the music I was hearing had been created by none other than Joe Zawinul, I set out to find a copy of my own.

This took a little longer than I expected, and while I was waiting I pulled down the entire album from which it originated – ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Stream’ – and was surprised to discover that there wasn’t much on that album that resembled the 45 I had heard (though the flip side of this 45, an edit of the track ‘Lord Lord Lord’ has a decided gospel edge).

For those of you to whom the term ‘Third Stream’ doesn’t ring any bells, I’ll tell you that it was affixed to classically influenced jazz in the 50s and 60s by folks like John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet. There’s a lot of string-based action on ‘Rise and Fall..’ but the overall effect is much more jazz than classical.

Zawinul (and the name should be very familiar) was the Austrian born pianist who made his mark in Cannonball Adderley’s band (Zawinul composed ‘Mercy Mercy Mercy’ and ‘Country Preacher’ among others) , moving on to work with Miles Davis (on ‘In a Silent Way’), and then eventually as one of the founding members of Weather Report.

‘Rise of the Third Stream’ was recorded in 1968 and was only Zawinul’s second solo effort in 10 years. It came a year before his work on ‘In a Silent Way’, and echoes of ‘Soul of a Village’ can be heard in his work with Davis.

Though the 45 lists the piece as only ‘Soul of a Village’, the music you’re hearing is actually an edited version of ‘Soul of a Village Pt2’, having been preceded on the album by just over two minutes of prepared piano and strings droning in an approximation of an Indian raga.

The 45 version of ‘Soul of a Village’ has such a perfect, self-contained vibe that I’m torn as to whether you need to hear both parts. The album is overall a much more challenging listening experience than the 45, but if serious jazz is your bag, I’d suggest you seek it out.

That said, the 45 version of ‘Soul of a Village’ (roughly one and a half minutes shorter than the Pt2 on the LP) is a slice of groove perfection. It opens (again) with the drone, before Zawinul comes in with the electric piano, followed by funky drums (either Roy McCurdy or Freddie Waits), Jimmy Owens’ muted trumpet, and even more strings, and the really groovy thing is that the string section actually swings along with the drums.

The tune was written (like almost every track on the album, save one) by saxophonist/arranger William Fischer, who as far as I can tell was first and foremost a classical composer/musician, and as a result ‘Rise and Fall of the Third Stream’ must be considered a  collaborative work between Fischer and Zawinul (a prolific composer in his own right).

This is serious ‘head’ music, in that it both spins around the inside of the cranium for full, mystical effect, but also compels the head to nod with the rhythm. I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest that anyone not sufficiently intoxicated might get up to dance, but it’s not entirely out of the question.

A truly unique and captivating record, and I hope you dig it.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a cool Nilsson cover.

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By Larry, August 29, 2010 3:22 pm

Ray Barretto

Listen/Download – Ray Barretto – A Deeper Shade of Soul

Greetings all.

I hope everything’s groovy at your specific GPS location, and anywhere else you choose to roam.

Summer is winding down, slowly, and while the weather is still warm (some might say hot) the days of summery freedom are also coming to an end, with the wife and kids headed back to school, and the rhythm of life changing once again.

To present a brief ‘state of the Corners’ address, things are mainly cool hereabouts. The Funky16Corners Radio Show has developed into something more satisfying (at least for me, hopefully for you all too) over the summer, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.

The DJing opportunities around here have, for a variety of reasons (some that I am not privy to), all but vanished, but I will be heading down to DC again toward the end of September to spin with my man DJ Birdman (more details to follow soon), so hopefully I’ll be able to touch base with some of the Capitol City heads who have always been so cool.

Other than that, things should continue on a steady course, with new mixes (regular old Funky16Corners and Soul Club) coming, as well as a steady stream of funk, soul, jazz and rare groove to soothe your troubled mind (and mine too, if I’m lucky).

The tune I bring you today is something I came to in a roundabout way.

The first time I had any inkling of Ray Barretto’s ‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ was back in 1989, when I heard it sampled by the Dutch group Urban Dance Squad in their song of the same name. Of course even though I knew it was probably a sample, I had no idea who it was, and pretty much left it at that.

Flash forward a few years and my buddy Haim lends me the CD reissue of  Barretto’s 1968 ‘Acid’ album, and I’m listening to it (wishing I had an OG) and all of a sudden ‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ comes pouring into my ears and I’m all WTF?!? and the lightbulb goes on over my head, and then (of course) blows up.

Now these many years later, and I’m all hip to Ray Barretto and all of that good mid-to-late 60s Latin soul and funk, and while I had a couple of his 45s and LPs, an OG of ‘Acid’ (possibly THE essential Latin soul LP) had still eluded me.

Well, another one of those Asbury Lanes garage sales rolled around, and it was a particularly rewarding one, and I’ve just about run my way through all my ready cash, and then some dude I’ve never seen before sets up a table full of LPs, and before I know it me and about a half dozen other heads are pulling all kinds of OG Latin LPs out of his crates. As I mentioned, I was just about tapped out, and when I discovered that these LPs (while affordable) were not cheap I had to put back a couple of very nice things, including an OG Lat-Teens LP, but I walked away with a nice, clean copy of ‘Acid’.

While I still dig the Urban Dance Squad tune (it has a kind of stoney groove that I like) there’s just no comparison with Barretto’s original.

‘A Deeper Shade of Soul’ is an absolutely perfect slice of soulful boogaloo, with prominent piano, percussion (natch…) and a horn chart that digs into ‘Knock On Wood’ for inspiration. The arrangements were handled by none other than Harvey Averne, so you know it’s good.

‘Acid’ was Barretto’s first LP for Fania, following his earlier chart success (on labels like Tico and UA) with tunes like 1963’s ‘El Watusi’.

If you haven’t heard ‘Acid’ (which also includes ‘Soul Drummers’, ‘Mercy Mercy Baby’, and ‘Teacher of Love’ among others) you should grab yourself a reissue (or an OG if you can find it) since it’s a great album from start to finish.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll be back in the middle of the week.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a cool Nilsson cover.

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By Larry, August 26, 2010 4:37 pm

The Commodores

Listen/Download – The Commodores – Machine Gun

Greetings all.

The week is at an end, and if I’m lucky, by the time you’re reading this the fam and I will be away on the vacay, as it were (thus I’m canning and vacuum sealing this one a few days in advance).
I meant to drop this one a while back, since I picked up the 45 last year when I was spinning with DJ Birdman down in DC. Unfortunately, which is often the case around here as my mind deteriorates more rapidly each day, I neglected to take a picture of the 45, then I filed it away in the giant heaving mass of vinyl that sits behind me while I type this. However, recently, while I was pulling some records for to be digimatized, I happened upon the Commodores Greatest Hits LP, so in essence what you’re hearing is the 45, what you’re seeing is the LP, but since it’s all the Commodores, you’ll have to bear with me.
I have to admit that I wrote the Commodores off for years, thanks in large part to the lame, middle of the road and largely un-soulful solo career of Lionel Richie.
No matter that ‘Brick House’, the official funk song of elderly relatives (which they all dance to at weddings), is actually quite good, it all blended together for me into one big, unpleasant heap.
My bad.
Years back, I’m sitting there watching the movie ‘Boogie Nights’, and all of a sudden a very groovy song comes on the soundtrack in a discotheque scene, and I’m all ‘What’s that?” and then the credits rolled around and I was all “The Commodores, eh?” and therein lies a minor re-evaulation thereof.
That, and the fact that a cursory listen will set your ears a-tingling when you recognize the sample from the Beastie Boys ‘Hey Ladies’ pop in.
All that aside, ‘Machine Gun’ is a badass number packed end to end with enough clavinet to blow your mind, some very tasty wah-wah guitar and – if I might – not a single note of Lionel Richie’s melodious voice to screw things up.
The Commodores came together in the late 60s at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and signed to Motown releasing their first album (also titled ‘Machine Gun’) in 1974. The title track (written by guitarist Milan Williams) was a hit in 1975, and despite the presence of synthesizers (or maybe because of it) ‘Machine Gun’ manages to be solidly funky, and eminently danceable (without being stereotypically disco-ey, though it was clearly a hit on the dance floor).
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday.

Peace

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg for some groovy mid-60s pop.

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By Larry, August 22, 2010 1:18 pm

Earl King

Listen/Download – Earl King – Tic Tac Toe

Greetings all.

I’m sitting here, and it’s early. No one (except the kids, natch) has had enough sleep, but it’s relatively quiet so I figured I’d better get some writing in before the day gets rolling.
The summer – bracketed by Memorial Day and Labor Day – is almost over, and that, surprisingly enough, is a good thing.

Labor Day is approaching, and with it comes the exodus of the tourists. This glorious occasion is followed by a month of great weather, a serious drop in traffic and crowds, and with it the gradual restoration of my peace of mind (which seems in constant danger of extinction).
The tune I bring you today is a kicking slice of New Orleans funk, with as solid a pedigree as these things ever have.

The artist in question is the mighty Earl King.

You do not know him?

I say ‘au contraire, mon frere!’, because while Earl King may not have had any big hits, he was directly or indirectly responsible for many great pieces of music, including Professor Longhair’s legendary ‘Big Chief’ (which King wrote and sang on), the blues/soul standards  ‘Come On’ (which Jimi Hendrix covered on ‘Electric Ladyland’) and ‘Trick Bag’, in addition to being an indispensable part of New Orleans music in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

One need only dip into their New Orleans crates (you can substitute theoretical boxes of New Orleans 45s if you don’t have real ones) and see how many great records were either recorded by King, or bear the mark of his pen and/or performance (often under his real name, Earl Johnson).

The tune I bring you today is one of the few vinyl remnants of a 1970 King session, helmed by no less a light than Allen Toussaint and backed by a certain local combo called the Meters. This conglomeration recorded an album’s worth of material, but since a satisfactory deal never materialized, all that ever saw the light of day at the time was a few 45s.
One of these, ‘Street Parade’ (on the hard-to-find Kansu label) was featured in this space back in ought-seven. As Mardi Gras tributes go, they don’t get much better (or funkier) than ‘Street Parade’.

‘Tic Tac Toe’ which hails from the same sessions is lyrically uninspiring (pretty much standard issue dance craze boilerplate) but King is in fine voice, and the backing band featuring most of the Meters (Dan Phillips at the mighty ‘Home of the Groove’ noted previously that Art Neville’s keyboards seem to be MIA) is tight.

There’s a great, repeated bass guitar riff that kind of pushes the rhythm, Zig Modeliste’s snappy drums, and a nice horn chart riding in the background.

Despite the uninspired lyrics, it’s always great to hear King’s voice, and in the end what you are supposed be doing with this record is dancing, not parsing the meaning of the words, so take it all as a very groovy whole, and shake your thing a little bit.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something mellow.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for a Lennon/McCartney tune.

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By Larry, August 19, 2010 6:44 pm

Ivan Joseph Jones aka Boogaloo Joe

Listen/Download – Boogaloo Joe Jones – Right On

Greetings all.
I hope everyone has had themselves a nice Funky16Corners Radio kind of week, filled with the dulcet, flute-y tones of this weeks mix.

I was going to double down on the flute-stravaganza and post a funky flute 45, but I couldn’t find the label pic, so it’ll have to keep.

Instead, may I request that you all get your hot pants on and your get-down shoes zipped up, because the track I’m going to whip on you today requires both.

I don’t suspect that those among you not enrolled in the crate digging or jazz collecting fraternities know the name Ivan ‘Boogaloo Joe’ Jones (how could you forget a name like that if you had?) but once you pull down the ones and zeroes on this one you shant soon forget it.

One might assume that he attached the ‘Boogaloo’ to his extremely common name merely to separate himself from the drummers Papa Jo and Philly Joe (both prominent Joneses) and that’s probably true to an extent, but if anyone ever deserved to be referred to as ‘Boogaloo’-anything, Ivan Joseph Jones was the man.

‘Right On’, one of my favorite Prestige jazz funk 45s (and they are legion) is as close to an all-star session as you’ll find with these things, plus you get that bad-ass, iconic Prestige blue-label 45 to stare at.

It’d be all groovy gravy if it was just Boogaloo Joe burning it up on the gee-tar, but you also get Charlie Earland on the Hammond, Pretty Purdie socking the shit out of his drums, Rusty Bryant on the sax and Jimmy Lewis on the bass.

And you REALLY have to dig the guitar. Boogaloo Joe winds his way in and out of the rhythm like a Ferrari on a race course.

All star-power aside, ‘Right On’ is an ass-whooper of the first order, with the head nod, and the hip slip, and all the rest of the involuntary anatomical expressions that go along with records that are this funky.

Funky, right, tight and outta sight, with enough chops for the jazzers and enough groove for the dancers, ‘Right On’ is a frequent flier in my DJ box, and though it’s a little on the crackly side (I tried to diminish the sound of sizzling bacon fat  as much as I could), this record is so hot you forget about it pretty quickly, unless you’re some kind of Hi-Fi hobbit nestled in the shire alongside a million dollars worth of audio equipment, in which case this isn’t for you anyway, so go have an herbal tea and come back when you’re feeling funky.

I know you’ll dig it, so do so, and I’ll see you all next week.

Peace

Larry

PS Make sure to hit up the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio Friday night at 9PM. Your ears will thank you.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some hippie rock with a Native American twist.

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By Larry, August 15, 2010 1:58 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.87 – Wind of Change

Playlist

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

How are the closing days of summer treating you?
I know we’ve got lots of good weather ahead, but it’s only a few weeks until the mass exodus of the tourists, when I will once again be able roam free amidst traffic that is just ‘bad’, not mind-bogglingly so.
The mix I bring you today is a continuation of a minor series of sorts, in which the Funky16Corners Radio thingy takes time out to focus on a specific instrument. We’ve already surveyed the vibes and the electric piano, and I’m sure that there are a few more such collections huddling in the crates awaiting release.
This time out we take a look (listen) to the much maligned, but very groovy sounds of the (mostly) jazz flute.
As I said when I wrote about the vibes, there are those among us for whom the sound of the flute is too ‘cool’, which naturally is why I dig it so much.
I love the sound of the flute in the hands of a great musician, and what you’re getting in this mix is 15 examples of that very thing.
Of course, not every single cut contains a virtuoso performance, on account of that would be boring and a few steps away from the prog sound of my teenage years that I have come to despise.
The vast majority of the players here (although one of them is anonymous) are at least tangentially connected to the world of jazz, with a few having crossed over into pop and rock and one (yes, you know the one…the one who’s name sent a shiver up your spine when you saw it, unfairly I might add) solidly camped out in rock and roll.
This one took a while to assemble, if only because a few of the artists in question have appeared in this space frequently (Koffman, Steig, Wess, Mann), their dulcet tones gracing other Funky16Corners Radio playlists.
Things get off to a serious start with Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s epic reading of Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’. Kirk, a master on many wind instruments – often simultaneously – had a pronounced influence on two of the other players in this mix, namely Jeremy Steig and Ian Anderson (more on him later). His frequent use of ‘overblowing’, and vocalizing through the flute make him one of the most dynamic stylists the instrument has ever produced.
Paul Horn is best known for his pioneering new age recordings like ‘Inside’, but in the early to mid-60s he was still working a straight ahead jazz style. The Eastern-influenced ‘Paramahansa’ (which he re-recorded years later) appeared on his 1967 ‘Monday Monday’ LP, alongside a number of contemporary pop and rock covers. The tune sees Horn playing over a big band producing something that sounds like it’s from the soundtrack to a spy thriller.
Moe Koffman, who has been featured here a number of time is one of those cats that started out as a pretty ‘straight’ jazz player and as the 60s progressed he got further out. In addition to the flute Koffman was a proponent of the electrified saxophone (like Eddie Harris and Sonny Stitt) and he made some very cool, au go go flavored stuff during the era. His take on Bob Dorough and Ben Tucker’s “Coming Home Baby’ has a relaxed swing to it, sounding once again like something lifted from era-specific TV or movie soundtrack.
Bobbi Humphrey’s ‘Sad Bag’ has a mournful sound, with some very nice, reverbed flute.
David ‘Fathead’ Newman is better known for his sax playing, especially in his association with the mighty Ray Charles. I first heard ‘The 13th Floor’ on an early-90s comp called ‘Heavy Flute’, shortly after which I grabbed myself a copy of the 45. The tune originally appeared on Newman’s 1968 ‘Bigger and Better’ LP and is a great illustration of that fact that he certainly knew his way around the flute.
‘Teenage Chase’ is a Keith Mansfield penned cut from the KPM sound library album ‘Beat Incidental’. Like many of the cuts it was intended to be used as a ‘theme’, and so it is relatively short. I have no idea who the flute player us, but it sure as hell sounds like the same cat blowing on the Hawkshaw/Parker tune ‘Hot Pants’ (also a KPM selection).
Hubert Laws went on to great success with radio friendly R&B in the 70s with the CTI label, but in the mid-60s he was recording powerful soul jazz sessions for Atlantic. ‘Bloodshot’ is the opening track from his 1966 ‘Flute By Laws’ LP, and is driven by Laws’ flute, powerful brass and spot on Latin percussion.
Jerome Richardson is best known as a prolific studio musician, but he spent decades playing bop and soul jazz. His take on Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ is from his 1968 ‘Groove Merchant’ album, which features Richardson on a variety of wind instruments, including a few different kinds of flute (more than one on this track!). Aside from an odd, intermittent chime, this version of ‘Ode…’ is pretty cool, including some well placed harpsichord.
Like many of the players here, Joe Thomas doubled (tripled) on a variety of wind instruments. ‘Big Heart, Giant Soul’ from his 1970 Cobblestone album ‘Comin’ Home’ is indicative of the high quality of that funky soul jazz session. You get to hear Thomas (who also played in Rhoda Scott’s trio) vocalizing on what sounds like a Varitone (maybe attached to the flute), and then playing it straight. Thomas went on to record funkier stuff (even disco) in the 70s.
Ernie Fields’ ‘Watch Your Step’ is one of my favorite 45s, period. I’ve never been able to find out much about Fields, but ‘Watch Your Step’ is so high-concept, so soulful yet psychedelic and well-arranged, that you can only hope that he did more stuff like this.
If you were to put together a list of cats with serious jazz chops who spent most of their career trying to reach a mass audience (and sometimes succeeding) Herbie Mann would have to be at the top of the list. Mann started out working in a Latin bag, but went on to record a serious grip of soul jazz and even pop through the 60s and 70s. The title track of his 1971 ‘Push Push’ album shows that Mann was very comfortable in a funky bag (where he spent most of the early 70s), eventually having his biggest hit with 1975’s ‘Hijack’.
Jeremy Steig is beloved by crate diggers/beat heads for his track ‘Howling for Judy’ which was the main sample behind the Beastie Boys’ ‘Sure Shot’. Steig’s late 60s/early 70s stuff for Solid State and Blue Note is generally pretty far out, and skipping right along the border between funky and ‘out’. ‘Alias (ALi’as)’ (named for drummer Don Alias) features a wild performance by Steig over bass, drums and percussion., is from the same 1969 LP (‘Legwork’) as ‘Howling…’.
I’ve featured a number of very cool tunes from Frank Wess’s 1970 ‘Wess to Memphis’ LP on the Stax subsidiary Enterprise. Once again I must recommend this album highly, since it’s one of those great sessions where a jazz cat (Wess was well known as a tenor player as well as his work on the flute) really got into a more popular vibe with excellent results. The album, which includes a number of covers is well played and produced, and one I go back to frequently. He wails on his version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed Sealed and Delivered’.
I can’t remember where I first heard of Tim Weisberg’s ‘Streak-Out’, but I know I was surprised because it was the very same Weisberg who had a mid-70s chart hit alongside Dan Fogelberg! ‘Streak-Out’ from 1974 (which he apparently performed on the ‘Midnight Special’, so it must have been a minor hit) is a nice bit of funky rock, with a little bit of a break at the beginning.
This edition of Funky16Corners Radio closes out with what no doubt seems like the oddest of artists, Jethro Tull. All 1970s prog/hobbit-isms aside, when Tull got started in the late 60s they were a jazz inflected heavy blues band, not unlike Cream. The song presented here is, to bring things full circle, a Rahsaan Roland Kirk tune called ‘Serenade to a Cuckoo’. It was reportedly the first song Ian Anderson learned on the flute (Kirk being by far his strongest influence), and he and the band acquit themselves nicely.
I hope you dig this little survey, and I’ll be back later in the week.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PPS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg for some freakbeat supreme!

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By Larry, August 8, 2010 3:18 pm

F16C Soul Club Presents – Vincent the Soul Chef – I Learned It By Watching You

Playlist

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

I hope the new week finds you all well.
The mix you see before you is the newest installment in the groovy juggernaut known as the Funky16Corners Soul Club.

The name of the mixer should be familiar to fans of soul and funk blogging, that being the mighty Vincent the Soul Chef of Fufu Stew. I’ve known Vincent for a few years now, and can tell you from personal experience that he knows his shit, can handle a couple of turntables with the best of them, and has exquisite taste in music (which when you get down to it is really the bedrock).

What the Soul Chef has cooked up for us is over an hour of tasty funk  – a bouillabaisse if you will – composed of breaks, beats, thumping bass, wah wah guitar and vocals, with ingredients foraged in New Jersey, DC, San Fran, Memphis, New Orleans, Chitown and many points in between.

Vincent uses only the freshest funk, prepared with skill and whisked to your table so you might fill up on the good stuff.

I’ve given this one a couple of spins, and I’m sure you’ll dig it.

So fix yourself a plate, and make sure to head over to Fufu Stew.

See you later in the week.

Peace

Larry

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PPS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg for something unexpected.

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