Sari and the Shalimars

Listen/Download – Sari and the Shalimars – Too Anxious MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which drops each and every Friday with the best in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via Stitcher, TuneIn and Mixcloud, or grab yourself an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com.

We close out the week with a 45 by one of those groups that is fairly obscure, with a painfully brief discography, yet the records they did manage to make are all fantastic.

Sari and the Shalimars (aka the Shalimars) recorded three 45s between 1966 and 1968 for Verve and Veep, and then pretty much vanished without a trace.

Their first 45, released on Verve in 1966 as the Shalimars, ‘Stop and Take a Look at Yourself’ is revered as a Northern Soul classic.

Their two 45s for Veep, released in the Spring and Summer of 1968 are both marvels of high quality songwriting and arranging, and are a great window into that transitional period when things were just starting to get funky.

I haven’t been able to discover anything about the members of the group, though Sari, the lead singer was great.

Their two 45s are both produced by George Butler and arranged by Richard Tee.

‘Too Anxious’, written by Ronnie Savoy (who co-wrote Al Kent’s classic ‘Where Do We Go From Here’) and Rose Marie McCoy (who co-wrote one of my all time favorite songs ‘Our Love (Is In the Pocket)’) was the b-side of Sari and the Shalimars last 45.

It starts out with just voice and conga drums before exploding into a booming, funky arrangement, with loud bass, drums and guitar, that build, layer on layer until it verily explodes. The instrumental breakdown, with strings, horns and vibes is a thing of beauty.

That this record wasn’t a hit is kind of mind boggling.

I don’t think either of their Veep 45s have been comped. You can expect to see them all appear here at some point.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all next week.

Keep the faith

Larry

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

One Response to “Sari and the Shalimars – Too Anxious”

1. John says:

   March 19, 2017 at 7:00 am

   According to John Manship (https://youtu.be/88KX0gh1JSM) they were
   “A 3 girl New Jersey group consisting of Sarah Sari Green, Pearl Richardson (who one lead the KODAKS) & Bunny Perritt”
   which would mean that Pearl Richardson was formerly known as Pearl McKinnon when with The Kodaks.