{"id":7560,"date":"2019-02-17T12:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-02-17T17:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=7560"},"modified":"2019-02-17T12:00:31","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T17:00:31","slug":"best-of-f16c-the-mad-lads-no-time-is-better-than-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=7560","title":{"rendered":"Best of F16C – The Mad Lads – No Time Is Better Than Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Example\"The Mad Lads<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"
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Listen\/Download – The Mad Lads -No Time Is Better Than Right Now MP3<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Greetings all.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tale of \u201csometimes a record just sneaks up and knocks you on your ass\u201d is one as old as time (and one that has been told in this space many a time).<\/p>\n

That said, it bears retelling with every new incident because, a. a new record is involved, and b. that feeling of discovery\/gratitude is such a gas.<\/p>\n

The record in question this fine day was brought to my attention by my man Tarik Thornton<\/strong> (a giant among collectors\/selectors and a righteous dude in all other ways) who included it in his guest mix \u2018To Russia With Love\u2019, right here, last September.<\/a><\/p>\n

The song was \u2018No Time Is Better Than Right Now\u2019 by the Mad Lads.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can remember vividly my feelings the first time I heard this song, starting with the usual \u201cWhere has this been all my life?\u201d, followed by \u201cWhere can I get my own copy?\u201d and then \u201cHoly shit, what a cool tune!\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018No Time Is Better Than Right Now\u2019 \u2013 written by Stax bassist Allen Jones<\/strong> and produced by no less a light than drumming master Al Jackson, Jr.<\/strong> (who had quite a sideline producing artists like Albert King, The Bar-Kays<\/strong> and Johnny Taylor<\/strong> for Stax), is a remarkable mix of heavy beat (which presages the feel of New Jack Swing), brilliantly applied harmony vocals (the way the Mad Lads soar into falsetto during the chorus is a thing of beauty), horns and funky piano.<\/p>\n

That this wondrous song languished on the B-side of a minor R&B hit (Whatever Hurts You) and was never included on one of the group\u2019s albums is criminal.<\/p>\n

I mean, what were the folks at Stax thinking? Surely 1967 was a banner year for the label, and sometimes even great records get lost in the shuffle, but honestly, \u2018No Time Is Better Than Right Now\u2019 is so different, so tuneful, so artfully arranged and produced, so joyful a representation of where Memphis soul was (and was going), its obscurity boggles the mind.<\/p>\n

The Mad Lads were formed at Booker T Washington High School in Memphis by John Gary Williams, Julius E. Green, William Brown<\/strong> and Robert Phillips<\/strong> and recorded for Stax\/Volt between 1964 and 1973.<\/p>\n

This record features a different lineup of the group – Sam Nelson, Quincy Billups, Julius Green<\/strong> and Robert Phillips<\/strong> \u2013 that recorded when John Gary Williams was in the Army.<\/p>\n

I have no idea who did the arrangement, though I would be shocked to discover that it was anyone but Jackson on the drums (that swinging, sock soul sound was like no other).<\/p>\n

The group released more than a dozen 45s and three LPs during their first incarnation.<\/p>\n

None of the group\u2019s records are terribly expensive (though their debut 45, and their LPs, especially the second one can be pricey), with this one usually gettable for around 20-25 bucks.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a killer 45, and I hope you dig it as much as I do.<\/p>\n

Keep the faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners<\/strong> on Instagram<\/strong><\/a>, Twitter<\/strong><\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keep the faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

________________________________________________<\/p>\n

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget!\u00a0Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Example\"<\/a>
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The Mad Lads Listen\/Download – The Mad Lads -No Time Is Better Than Right Now MP3 Greetings all. The tale of \u201csometimes a record just sneaks up and knocks you on your ass\u201d is one as old as time (and one that has been told in this space many a time). That said, it bears […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[129,14,100,12,18],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-7560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-of-funky16corners","category-funky16corners","category-memphis","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-45rpm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-1XW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7560"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7564,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7560\/revisions\/7564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}