Foster Sylvers – Misdemeanor
Foster Sylvers
Listen/Download – Foster Sylvers – Misdemeanor
Greetings all.
I come to you this midweek with something groovy.
Last year during one of my DJ trips down to Washington, DC the mighty DJ Birdman was gracious enough to take me hither and yon, over both hill and dale for some of the best digging I’ve done in a long time.
Though the District of Columbia is the capitol of our great country, it should also be rechristened the Cheap Used LP Capitol of the East Coast. Though 45 come ups were few and far between – albeit quite rewarding when I did find them – the DC metro area is awash in bargain basement used LPs. When I finally got back to Jersey and opened the back of the Funky16Cornersmobile, I was almost (not completely, just almost) embarrassed by the huge stack of albums wedged between my duffel bag and my flight case.
In addition to a bunch of longtime wants, and a grip of stuff that Birdman was kind enough to turn me on to, I also brought back a couple of records I might have passed on, were they not priced between twenty-five cents and a dollar, rendering them all but irresistible.
One of these was the disc you see before you today, a record jammed into my digger’s memory bank by its constant appearances on other people’s finds lists.
Though I knew of the Sylvers (their ‘Boogie Fever’ was a huge AM radio hit back when I was a kid), I had no idea that Foster Sylvers had recorded – and had hits – on his own. The tune I bring you today was a hit (Top 10 R&B, Top 40 Pop) back in the Spring of 1973, eventually becoming an especially ripe bit of sample bait years later when it would be chopped and looped more than a dozen times for folks like Big Daddy Kane, Heavy D and eventually Aaliyah, which is likely why those in the crate digging set were sweating it so heavily (and why the LP often changes hands for between 30 and 40 bucks, the 45 sometimes going for more than that).
Now, I’m all over a sweet break when I hear it, having spent some time punishing a drum set in my youth. I’m not sampling or flipping anything myself, but there’s something magical about a great sample, even more so when the song it comes from is especially nice.
Such is the case with Foster Sylvers’ ‘Misdemeanor’. Taken at face value, ‘Misdemeanor’ is a pleasing bit of sweet sounding kiddie funk (Foster was all of 11 years old when the song hit the charts, come to think of it, so was I…). Affix your headphones and dig a little deeper into the track and I think you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised, since wrapped around Sylvers’ boyish vocals are all kinds of groovy sounds.
First off, the drums and bass are cracking, but close your eyes and sink into the arrangement and all of a sudden you’re digging the wild lead guitar snaking around the track, bits of celeste and percussion here and there, and a hypnotic rhythm guitar track that kind of rises and falls as the song progresses. The arrangement by Jerry Peters (who also co-produced the album) is really something else.
There are a few other interesting tracks on the album, but overall you have to remember that it was probably assembled for sale to whatever passed for ‘tweens’ back in 1973.
I hope you dig the track (give it a couple of close listens and see how it sneaks up on you), and I’ll be back later in the week.
Peace
Larry
Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press
PS Head over to Iron Leg for a couple of tunes by an interesting Scottish band
PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook
You can also follow Funky16Corners on Twitter
Digging, Funk, Funky16Corners, Soul
| 
Funk, Funky16Corners, Soul
Themocracy
Larry
I’m jealous!! After hearing “Misdemeanor” on a K-tel comp a year ago it came back as something I remembered growing up. You know the feeling I’m sure. I need this record.
thanks for the flashback. I was 10 when this came out, and it still makes me feel great. and thanks for the blog!
…as i often look in your fantastic corners & learned soo much things on here, i never said thank you…
today i have to do it
Thank you for the best site in Soul-things on the world!
one week ago i bought a 12″ from the “CB`s” called misdemeanour from JamCity rec 2009.
i loved the sound & was wondering where this might come from.
today i was searching for some old Louisiana-stuff on your site and my second click was this post…
as i did not know the original you gave me (once again)
a big surprise.
thank you very much for all that stuff!
hold on please!
Leon Sylvers played some serious bass licks on that joint! And can’t forget Harvey Mason, drummer extraordinaire, for laying down the groove!!!!
The production/arrangement on this is so reminiscent of the Sylvers #2 album — which I’ve loved for ages without knowing anything about them, masterpiece from beginning to end. Love this track, thank you!
I was enjoying this and then something hit me. We aren’t the only ones who enjoyed the bass licks on this record.
Listen to “It’s Funky Enough” by The D.O.C.