The Poets – Devil’s Den Pts 1&2

By , November 30, 2010 4:02 pm

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James Brown – tickling the ivorys (or whatever organ keys were made out of)

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Listen/Download – The Poets – Devil’s Den Pt1
Listen/Download – The Poets – Devil’s Den Pt2

 

Greetings all.

How – as they say on the streets – is it hanging?

I am, once again, nursing a bad back, which is a fucking hoot.

It’s not really all that tragic. I’ve known people who have real, serious problems with their back (like my Pop) who make my problems look insignificant, but it is uncomfortable, and inconvenient, so to paraphrase the man we come to discuss today, ‘Let a man come in and do the “Oh shit my back hurts”.

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Before we get rolling, I should note that the all new, all fabulous Funky16Corners stickers have arrived. If you wish to obtain one, and you live in the US, send me a self addressed stamped envelope (to Funky16Corners c/o Grogan, 80 New Brunswick Ave, Brick, NJ 08724 USA) and I’ll shoot one your way. If you live elsewhere in the universe, send me a self addressed envelope (I’ll cover the postage since I don’t want to get into any crazy stuff with postal coupons or foreign currency) and you’ll get one too. You folks have all been so groovy with your continued support of the Funky16Corners organization, it’s the least I can do.

The 45 I bring you today is another one of those records I knew of for many years before it and I came together at a record show.

I mean, how can you not be intrigued by a record by the Poets, named ‘Devil’s Den’?

I was, and when I pulled it out of a big box of cheap 45s, and saw the James Brown-y markings on the label, my interest was further piqued and I took it home.

At first listen, I was a tiny bit confused, since for some reason I recalled hearing that ‘Devil’s Den’ was a funk 45 (perhaps someone making a JB conflation), which it is not, but since it is an old school organ burner, I dug it all the more.

Some years back I did a longer piece about James Brown’s dalliance with the Hammond organ (you can read it here), but at the time I had no idea that the Poets 45 was part of the legacy.

I use the word ‘dalliance’, because the Hammond was clearly a sideline for JB, and just as clearly, while his playing had a certain loose charm, he was no virtuoso.

That said, given the right material, the mighty Mr. Brown was able to make the gigantic box of wood and wires sing, and ‘Devil’s Den’ is an example of such a piece.

Recorded in 1963 (a few years prior to his organ sojourn at the Smash label), ‘Devil’s Den’, had its labels not carried the writing and producing credits to James Brown, might not indicate that the Godfather of Soul had any involvement, were it not for a telltale scream at the 1:08 mark in part one, and a few interjections after that point.

The tune is a slow swinging blues with a beefy horn chart that has a serious late night, smoky bar feel to it. The backing band is the Famous Flames, and on some reissues the song is credited to the JB pseudonym ‘Ted Wright’.

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

Peace

Larry


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Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg

2 Responses to “The Poets – Devil’s Den Pts 1&2”

  1. david wykoff says:

    larry, i hope that your back gets better soon.

    what address for the self-addressed stamped envelope?

  2. Larry says:

    D’oh!! I just edited the post and included the address.
    Thanks for the good wishes and the correction!

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