Tony Cody – Walk On By
Producer Tony Eyers
Listen/Download – Tony Cody – Walk On By MP3
Greetings all.
The end of the week is upon us, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops as a podcast each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile devuice via the TuneIn app, check it out on Mixcloud or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.
I first heard Tony Cody’s ‘version’ of ‘Walk On By’ a while back thanks to the Funk For the People blog, and I was blown away.
First and foremost, because it is undeniably a straight up lift of Isaac Hayes legendary arrangement of the Bacharach/David classic from the 1969 ‘Hot Buttered Soul’ LP.
Cody’s take on the song boils it down to its essence, from Hayes epic 12-minute reading into a much more (45RPM) manageable 4:27.
Who was Tony Cody, and how did this happen?
There’s really not much to say in that regard. Cody is a fairly anonymous figure, with only this record to his credit.
Interestingly enough, the backing track originated on a UK exploit LP called ‘The Hits of Bacharach’, credited to the ‘Singers and Chorus of Manhattan’. That version (which you can hear on Youtube) featured a female singer. The cash-in aspect of the LP makes it easy to understand the copying of the arrangement.
That album was produced by the same guy who produced the Tony Cody single, a cat named Tony Eyers, who had a long history of cranking out similar albums for the UK/Euro market through the 70s, with a couple of more legit projects along the way.
The Cody 45 takes the Hayes arrangement and softens the edges a little bit, but not enough to ruin the overall effect, and Cody’s voice – while not possessed of the depth of Isaac Hayes – gives the record a kind of fuzzed out, lounge vibe.
Oddly enough, this 45 charted in Thailand (and nowhere else) in 1972!
It is groovy, indeed, and I hope you dig it.
See you on Monday
Keep the faith
Larry
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