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By Larry, November 30, 2010 4:02 pm

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

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”.

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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By Larry, November 28, 2010 3:30 pm

Miss Nina Simone

Listen/Download – Nina Simone – See Line Woman

Greetings all.

I return to you, post-Thanksgiving having enjoyed a delightful holiday weekend with the family, despite having thrown my back out the day before the turkey fest.

Fortunately, while I was unable to climb trees or bend down to pick up lucky pennies, I was able to indulge in turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes, so I can’t very well complain.

I got some reading done and we took the little Corners to the symphony for the first time as well, which is always a good thing.

I hope everyone dug last week’s mix, as well as Friday night’s Funky16Corners Radio Show (archived and available for download as we speak).

I’m gonna get the week started with some heat from the mighty Nina Simone.

Though she certainly had funky and soulful numbers in her vast catalog, it’s neither accurate nor fair to refer to Nina Simone as a funk or soul artist.

She preferred to think of herself as a jazz singer (which she was at times) but it’s probably more accurate to see her as a cross between an old school chanteuse, i.e. interpreter of songs and what used to be called a singer-songwriter.

The breadth of her repertoire is both stunning and daunting. During her career, which spanned five decades, Simone recorded for a wide variety of labels, often re-interpreting material many times over. The fact that her records have been repackaged so many times, in so many configurations makes focusing on her art all the more difficult.

Earlier this year I read ‘Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone’, Nadine Cohodas exhaustive, and exhausting biography of the musical giant.

Simone led a troubled life informed by her youth in the segregated south, racial injustice, a chronic inability to find an audience of long standing as well as a mounting struggle with mental illness.

Though Simone is best known for her interpretations of standards, as well as introducing songs like ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ (taken into the pop charts by the Animals), her most far reaching recording (for a few different reasons) is today’s selection ‘See Line Woman’.

A reinterpretation of a southern folk song/rhyme, first recorded in Mississippi in 1939 by a Library of Congress field researcher.

Nina Simone recorded it in 1964, and to say that her version could be described as epic is almost an understatement.

Featuring Simone’s powerful voice over a backing of percussion (and hand claps) and flute, with call and response backing by her band, ‘See Line Woman’ could be almost be described as funky.

I wouldn’t make any assumptions about the lyrics, since they seem to have changed over the decades*, and there appears to be some question as to what they originally were, including the possibility of coded messages from the Underground Railroad.

If you listen to the original field recording of sisters Christine and Katherine Shipp (you can hear a sample here) , it is immediately apparent that the basic framework of Simone’s version was present in 1939 (though much more explicitly as a kind of playground rhyme).

It is also obvious, once you listen to today’s selection that Simone, while reaching back into the warp and weft of southern culture, took the song into an entirely new place, building into it a sense of urgency, drama and perhaps even menace.

‘See Line Woman’ explodes with the power of an incantation.

It is without a doubt, some seriously deep stuff, not to be taken lightly, and a landmark in the long journey of Nina Simone.

Simone’s re-imagination of the song also launched it into the future.

It was covered (quite successfully) in 1967 by the Easybeats, and then again in the 90s (also very cool) by Feist, both versions (which can be heard on Youtube) borrowing heavily from Simone’s.

I hope you dig it.

See you on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

*See this Wikipedia entry for a look at the variations the song has taken over the years.

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By Larry, November 21, 2010 3:03 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.90 – Soul In Harmony

Playlist

Listen/Download 110MB/256kb Mixed MP3

Download 81MB Zip File

Thanksgiving week is here (at least in the US), and this year I have lots to be thankful for, as well as lots to do.

I’ve decided to drop this mix today, and pretty much take the rest of the week off.

There will be a new episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva radio this Friday at 9PM, so make sure you check that out, should you be passed out next to the internet, in a turkey and pie induced food coma.

Funky16Corners Radio v.90 – Soul In Harmony is one of those mixes that has been cooking (in my head, anyway) for a long time.

I’m not sure how much it has been visible here on the blog (anyone have time lapse footage of the last five years?), but my tastes – often spurred on by a periodic excavation in my record room – are always evolving.

Back in the day, when I first started to collect soul 45s, it was all about the rough and ready Southern sound, fast moving and loud.

It would be years before I really started to examine soul ballads, and then I started to dig into funk, and then Northern Soul, then to disco and on and on, hopefully ad infinitum.

The latest spike on the evolutionary time-line popped up sometime in the last year, spurred on by the sounds of sweet soul.

The AM radio of my youth was filled with bands like the Chi-Lites, the Stylistics, Blue Magic and others, and to be honest, it all struck me as a little mushy, but then again I was 10 years old.

As I got older, and started to listen and dig, ever deeper into the sounds of soul, I discovered a fair amount of sweeter, soul harmony stuff, often on the B-sides of more upbeat, aggressive records, and as is often the case, despite the comparative ‘lightness’ of some of these records, I was drawn in by what always grabs me, that being good songs.

The first record in this style that really knocked me out was the Intruder’s ‘A Love That’s Real’ still one of my favorite records.

Thanks to both geographic proximity and the quality of the music, I’ve collected Philly soul for a long time, and one thing the cats in Philly knew how to create was solid harmony soul. Almost a third of the records I put into this mix are by Philly groups, another third from Detroit or Chicago, and the rest spread over the map (including one by my Jersey Shore homeboys the Broadways).

The importance of tight harmony singing has been a hallmark of black music, from the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots in the 30s and 40s, countless groups in the 50s and of course everything in this mix, from the classic soul era.

There’s really something special about harmony singing. Done well, it’s not just an accidental meshing of random voices, but rather an aural tapestry woven from perfectly complementary elements.

The ‘classic’ soulful blend, with a tenor, or sometimes baritone lead, a bass and often someone capable of singing in falsetto provides a basic sound, but when some (or all) of these roles are filled by extraordinary singers the end result is something magical.

All of the songs in this mix hail from between 1966 and 1970, a period when a certain maturity and creative growth was on the rise in soul music, when the finest groups intersected with great writers and producers to make music of increasing sophistication and depth.

Though there is a general stylistic thread running through this mix, the tempos vary between pure balladry, upbeat, danceable soul and slightly rougher edged sounds.

There are a few songs that have appeared here before, but when I started assembling the playlist, I knew that they had to be included.

Things get started with the truly amazing ‘I Don’t Know How To Say I Love You (Don’t Walk Away)’ by the mighty Superlatives. I have sung the praises of this record before, but it certainly can’t hurt to hear it again. The combination of sweet vocals, heavy drums and that stellar arrangement are truly amazing.

The Broadways, without any question the greatest soul group to come out of the Jersey Shore recorded two solid 45s for MGM. Their ‘You Just Don’t Know’ is a staple of my Northern Soul sets, and while ‘Sweet and Heavenly Melody’ also packs a driving beat, it has a lushness to it (how about those strings) that sets it apart.

I don’t know much about the Hesitations. I’ve seen their records – often packed with covers – for years, but only bought on for the first time a few months ago. ‘Stay In My Corner’ is a marvel, with the singers alternating leads over dynamic backing vocals.

The Ethics recorded a series of excellent 45s for Philadelphia’s Vent label in the late 60s, including the Northern classic ‘Look at Me Now’. ‘Think About Tomorrow’ is a much slower, much sweeter, falsetto-led ballad that was clearly tailored to reflect the sounds that Gamble and Huff were creating at the same time.

One of the rougher sounding, yet oddly pretty songs in this mix is ‘I’ll Be Loving You’ by the Soul Brothers Six. The flipside of the classic ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’, ‘I’ll Be Loving You’ features what is, in comparison to most of the records in this mix, remarkably spare instrumentation, with rhythm guitar, thumping bass, drums and tambourine, all sounding like it was recorded in one take. The real star here, aside from John Ellison’s wonderful lead vocal, is the second guitar, which has a kind of chiming overtone to it that from a distance sounds like vibraphone accents. The more I listen to this one the more I love it.

The next cut is by the Blue Notes (as in Harold Melvin and…). Right before they began their run of hits with Philadelphia International, the group recorded two 45s for the Uni label. ‘Never Gonna Leave You’ (from 1969) was the B-side of the funky ‘Hot Thrills and Cold Chills’. The 45 was reissued a few years later, no doubt to capitalize on the success of their PI hits.

‘I’ll Make It Up To You’ by the Magictones is the bottom half of one of the truly great Detroit soul 45s (the A-side being their epic cover of the Parliaments’ ‘Good Ole Music’). Much like the Superlatives record (also released on Westbound), the Magictones juxtapose their harmonies with a heavy background, including some tasty electric sitar.

Though they’re best known for their early, doowop sides, Little Anthony and the Imperials recorded well into the classic soul era, including and excellent run of 45s for the Veep label between 1966 and 1969. ‘It’s Not the Same’ which features Anthony Gourdine’s unmistakable falsetto, and a classy arrangement (in which the Imperials are often doubled by female backing singers), bears a slight (but not overpowering) similarity to ‘Goin’ Out of My Head’ (also from 1966).

Speaking of Philadephia soul, there are few groups who were as successful – artistically and on the charts – as the mighty Intruders. ‘Everyday Is a Holiday’ (from 1969) is a great showcase for their unique harmonies and a muscular production and arrangement by Gamble and Huff. Listen closely to the bass and drums (almost funky), as well as the horns and staccato piano accents in the verse.

Chicago’s Artistics were reliable hitmakers for the Brunswick label in the late 60s. ‘What Happened’ is another record that seems to run on the outskirts of funk, as well as displaying the influence of the Temptations.

Another group with solid roots in the doowop era, that also made some great soul records was the Platters. Though they had few (if any) original members by the time they recorded ‘Sweet Sweet Lovin’ in 1967.
Featuring a great lead vocal by Sonny Turner, ‘Sweet Sweet Lovin’ is typical of the kind of upbeat, danceable soul the group was making in this period.

We head back to the City of Brotherly Love with the Ambassadors. One of the truly great Philly bands of the late 60s and early 70s, the Ambassadors recorded some excellent 45s for Atlantic before moving on to Arctic records where they would record several outstanding 45s and an LP. They were adept a certain brand of funky soul, best displayed on 1969s ‘A.W.O.L.’.

When I wrote about the Precisions ‘You’ll Soon Be Gone’ back in 2008, I compare the sound of the record with a lot of the later period stuff that the Parliaments recorded for Revilot (it probably featured a lot of the same musicians. It has a much harder sound than their other Drew 45s.

Chicago’s Radiants recorded some of my favorite soul 45s of the 60s. By the time they recorded ‘I’m Glad I’m the Loser’, their lead vocalist Maurice McAlister had departed. I’m not sure who’s singing lead on this one, but he tears it up.

The Originals recorded a string of great records for Motown in the late 60s, their biggest hit being 1969s ‘Baby, I’m For Real’. ‘Love Is a Wonder’ is a brilliant bit of late 60s Motown, mixing tight, tight harmonies and a powerful arrangement. The lead vocalist sounds like someone Daryl Hall probably spent a lot of time listening to.

Another great tune that bears a passing resemblance to a previous success is the Intrigues ‘I’m Gonna Love You’. The Philadelphia group hit the charts in the summer of 1969 with ‘In A Moment’, a song with a similar vibe and arrangement to the tune in this mix. They recorded a number of cool 45s for the Yew label and hit the R&B (and occasionally Pop) charts a few times between 1969 and 1971.

If you’re a regular visitor to Funky16Corners, you’ll already know that the mighty Volcanos are one of my all time favorite soul groups. Led by singer Gene Faith (born Eugene Jones), the Volcanos recorded some of the finest soul singles to come out of Philadephia in the 1960s for the Arctic and Harthon labels. They had the instrumental backing of the core of the famed Philly rhythm section and material from some of the best songwriters around. ‘You’re Number One’ is a bright, fast moving dancer with lots of sweet background harmony lifting Faith’s lead. Many of the Volcanos went on to form the core of the Trammps who went on to much success in the 70s.

The Vontastics (who took their name from Chicago’s black radio powerhouse WVON) recorded a couple of truly amazing 45s for a variety of Chitown labels (mostly St. Lawrence) between 1965 and 1969. ‘You Can Work It Out’ sports a stylish arrangement (dig those horns!) and some razor sharp vocals in a song that sounds like a tip of the hat to the Miracles ‘Shop Around’.

I first heard the Unifics a few years back when I scored a copy of their monumental 45 ‘It’s a Groovy World. A product of Washington, D.C.’s Howard University (like Roberta Flack and the Blackbyrds) the Unifics hit the charts a few times in 1968 and 1969, their biggest hit being ‘Court of Love’. They recorded some 45s and an excellent LP for the Kapp label under the guidance of songwriter and producer Guy Draper. The amazing ‘Which One Should I Choose’ was co-written by Draper, lead singer Al Johnson and yet another Howard alumni, the mighty Donny Hathaway (who also plays piano on the track).

The Formations were another Philadelphia group with a Northern Soul classic – ‘At the Top of the Stairs’ – to their credit. ‘Love’s Not Only For The Heart’ shows a harder edged side of the group that went on to perform and record as the Corner Boys (for Neptune), the Silent Majority (for Hot Wax) and Hot Ice (for Atlantic).

The next track is a personal favorite of mine. One of my earliest ‘cool’ Philly 45 scores, the Producers 45 (on Gamble and Huff’s short lived Huff Puff label) is a very solid two sider. ‘Love Is Amazing’ (the only tune in this mix with a female lead, provided by Mikki Farrow) is one of those records that should have been a substantial hit, yet never really (as far as I can tell) made a dent anywhere, even in Philly). It does have it’s partisans in the UK, but remains (unjustly) obscure.

The Parliaments, led by George Clinton are best known as the group that started the Parliament/Funkadelic empire, but recorded some of the finest soul 45s to come out of Detroit in the 60s. ‘Time’ (from 1968) was the upbeat flipside of the psyched out breakbeats of ‘Good Ole Music’.

The Four Sonics – another Detroit group – had connections to Nolan Strong and the Diablos. The unusual, bass-heavy vocals of ‘It Takes Two’ (not the Marvin Gaye song) appeared on the B-side of their epic version of Dusty Springfield’s ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’.

I recounted the tale of the Masqueraders in this space not too long ago, but I couldn’t very well do a mix dedicated to soul harmony without including their incredible ‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Lead Me On’. A group of Texans, who relocated first to Detroit, and then ended up recording their best stuff in Memphis, the Masqueraders ought to be much better known. This song was also covered by the Dynamics.

This edition of Funky16Corners Radio closes out with the only white group in the mix, Pennsylvania’s Magnificent Men. ‘Peace Of Mind’, written by lead singer Dave Bupp and trumpeter Buddy King, which hit the R&B charts in 1966 is an outstanding example of the influence of Curtis Mayfield specifically, and Chicago soul in general. Bupp has been quoted as saying that the song was written with Walter Jackson in mind, and it’s not hard to imagine the master balladeer doing a fine version of the song. The Magnificent Men were one of the few white soul harmony groups to have success with black audiences in the 60s, though there must have been something in the water in Pennsylvania, with folks like Len Barry, Billy Harner and the Temptones (featuring a young Daryl Hall).

As always, I hope you dig the sounds, and have yourselves a great Thanksgiving.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: This past weekend I installed software that allows users who view the blog via a handheld (iPhone, Android, Blackberry etc) to see a new theme that allows easier navigation in the small screen size. If you have one of these devices, check it out and let me know what you think.

Thanks – Larry

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By Larry, November 18, 2010 3:54 pm

Toots and the Maytals

Listen/Download – The Maytals – 54-46 Was My Number

Greetings all.

I sit here at the heart of the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcasting Nerve Center, while the biting winds of autumn howl outside the window.

I was outside waiting for the littlest Corner to get off the bus, and I was reveling in the cool breeze, bright blue sky and wave upon wave of bright yellow and red leaves blowing around the neighborhood, digging the fall-ness of it all, though dreading that the leaves must eventually be removed, lest the neighbors soil themselves in a rage.

Such is life in the suburbs, where one side of the walls is wailing leaf blowers, and the other is heaps of warming vinyl, providing protection from the elements.

It behooves me to pause here and remind you all that this Friday night at 9PM you should all gather around your computers for warmth for another episode of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio. I promise you that if funk and soul is your bag, then you will not be disappointed (on account of that’s how we roll).

I will now return to our regularly scheduled post and unleash a killer record for your delectation.

It’s reggae time again (thanks go out to my youngest sister for the inspiration).

If you are not hep to the mighty Toots Hibbert and his faithful Maytals, then I have something for you that will surely be a nice surprise.

I’ll spare you my usual reggae = soul boilerplate*, since of all the soulful singers from that particular genre, none is more so than Toots Hibbert.

Back in the olden days, when I was first becoming wise to the sounds of Jamaica via the Two Tone-rs, the name Toots and the Maytals was one frequently invoked by those in the know. Their songs were covered by the likes of the Clash (Pressure Drop) and the Specials (Monkey Man) among others**.

My first exposure to their music was via comps of ska originals, but the record that really pulled me in was their 1980 live album.

Recorded at the Hammersmith Palais in London, ‘Toots and the Maytals Live’ is as ass-kicking a reggae album as you’re ever likely to hear, with the band at the top of their game, feeding off of the energy of an audience that was clearly in love with their music.

It was on that album that I first heard the song ’54-46 Was My Number’. The tale of Toots being framed and jailed for possession of the lowly collie weed***.

It is a remarkable bit of stomping, danceable skinhead reggae, one of Toots finest, and an all around masterpiece of Island soul.

The original version was released in 1969 on Beverlys (in Jamaica) and Pyramid and Trojan (in the UK), and as far as I can tell did not have a contemporary US release.

Which is where today’s 45 (credited only to the Maytals) comes into play.

Despite some diligent searching I have not been able to find out how this song (and no accompanying LP) got issued as a 45 by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell’s Shelter Records.

Founded in 1970, Shelter had a discography that tilted heavily in the direction of gospel-tinged roots rock (Russell) , blues (Freddy King), pop (Phoebe Snow’s ‘Poetry Man’, probably the label’s biggest hit) and by the mid-70s the proto-New Wave/power pop of Dwight Twilley and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

As far as I can tell, aside from this hard to find 45 (in 1972) , and a two-sider of Funky Kingston and Pressure Drop (which I’ve never seen a copy of) a year later, Shelter never released another reggae 45 or LP in their decade-plus history.

Though I haven’t turned up any specific info on how Toots and the Maytals hooked up with Shelter, my best guess is that is has something to do with Denny Cordell.

Cordell, who hailed from the UK got his start working for Chris Blackwell at Island Records in the mid-60s, and was certainly exposed to the sounds of Jamaica. Whether bringing Toots and the Maytals to Shelter was his idea of a way to test the waters for further reggae releases on the label (which never materialized) I can’t say for sure, but Island would release the ‘Funky Kingston’ LP (an amalgam of tracks released a few years earlier in Jamaica) in 1973, in the US.

Either way, it is indeed a mighty record, and as an object, an unusual footnote to the history of reggae in the US.

Dig it, and I will join you all again on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*Laid out in detail a number of times previously

** 54-46 Was My Number was later covered by Sublime

***Based no doubt on Hibbert’s actual arrest and jailing in 1966

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By Larry, November 16, 2010 3:22 pm

Popcorn Wylie blasts off in his leisure suit…

Listen/Download – Richard ‘Popcorn’ Wylie – Funky Rubber Band

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is upon us, and in response to the cold, gray skies, falling leaves and various and sundry major and minor irritants, I come to you with something upbeat and funky so that we may all be warmed (at least spiritually) and forward motion may be maintained.

Before we get started, some news, that being that all of the mix archives have been updated, with 14 mixes in the Soul Club, 28 episodes of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, another 14 in the Guest Mix Archive (haven’t done one of those in a while), and 96 mixes in the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive. That’s 152 mixes stacked neatly awaiting delivery to the pleasure centers of your fevered brains.

If you haven’t heard them all, and you need something to do…

Today’s selection is another entry in a relatively small, yet not insignificant dance craze movement, centered around the lowly rubber band.

Naturally, the assumption here is that the rubber band in question is not the object, but rather a dance named after it.

Over the years, I have found ‘Rubber Band’ 45s by the mighty Eddie Bo (under his own name with the Soul Finders and under the rubric of Curley Moore and the Kool Ones), the mighty Meters and Atlanta DJ Alley Pat.

I’m sure there must be some others that I have yet to hear and/or excavate, but they currently escape me.

The record I bring you today is 1971’s ‘Funky Rubber Band’ by the legendary Richard ‘Popcorn’ Wylie.
Wylie, a Detroit pianist, singer and arranger was an important part of the early years of Motown as a recording artist (with Popcorn and the Mohawks), arranger and pianist and leader for a time of the Motortown Review.

Though his own discography is fairly short for a cat who worked all through the 60s and 70s, the more you dig, the more you discover he was a very busy man.

He left Motown in the early 60s, recording a number of 45s under his own name for Epic, and working as a producer/arranger for artists like Edwin Starr and JJ Barnes on labels like Ric-Tic and Golden World.

He also founded the short-lived, but legendary Soul Hawk label, where he recorded Jimmy Soul Clark, the New Holidays (who Wylie also produced for Westbound), Eric and the Vikings and the Mighty Lovers among others.

Among his freelance work were recordings with the Fabulous Counts (producing the classic ‘Jan Jan’), Jerry-O (he co-wrote ‘Funky Football’), Jamo Thomas (he co-wrote ‘I Spy (For the FBI)’) and co-writing the Northern Soul classic ‘With This Ring’ for the Platters.

Following his last Epic 45 in 1964, he only recorded sporadically under his own name through the 60s, laying down 45s for the Karen and Carla labels in 1968, and then ‘Funky Rubber Band’ for Motown’s SOUL subsidiary in 1971.

‘Funky Rubber Band’ without any question delivers on the ‘funky’ part of the title, as well as the classic ‘dance craze’ framework in that the lyrics are composed largely of dance step instructions. You also get funky guitar, Wylie’s own clavinet, hard hitting drums and a tight horn section.

It’s a very solid – and affordable – funk 45.

Wylie had a revival of sorts in the 80s and 90s when he discovered his popularity with the Northern Soul crowd in the UK.

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

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, November 14, 2010 3:30 pm

Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band

Listen/Download – Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band – (I Gotta) Hold On To My Love

Greetings all.

I never thought I’d say this, but thank heavens for Mondays.

I come to you having weathered a truly weird weekend. Yours truly and all the local Corners are groovy like gravy, but we have intersected with some odd shit this past weekend. There is definitely something to be said for having the dark hand of misfortune brush past you instead of crushing you like a walnut (for a change), but it still carries with it the stink of dread, and naturally sympathy for those who have not been spared.

That said, I am most definitely in the mood for some upbeat, forward moving, nay storming soul sounds.
The record I bring you today was one of several I adopted from the archive of my man Mr Luther, my guide for all things Mod who just happened to be paring down his crates, while I happened to be (perpetually) stuffing mine.

Naturally, I did the only correct thing, and gave some of those hard earned records a good home where they would be surrounded by others of their ilk (and quality), spun for good folks like you, and of course blog-i-mo-fied, like this.

I’ve known the name Geno Washington for a long, long time.

He was the most prominent example of US ex pat-GIs, who went overseas and found themselves part of the music scene across the pond.

Some – most – of these cats did their thing as patrons of the R&B scenes in the UK and on the mainland, but some, like Mr Washington stepped into the picture and made their own sounds. Washington and the Ram Jam Band had two huge hit LPs in the UK, which both happened to be live albums (both composed almost entirely of covers).

As I mentioned, I knew his name, which appeared frequently in histories of the UK scene, where he was namechecked by many of his contemporaries, however, I never heard a note of his music until I pulled some green from my pocket and traded it for the 45 you see pictured above.

This was done solely on the recommendation of Mr Luther – who has never steered me wrong in matters musical- who said, though the A-side had caught my eye (a nice cover of the C.O.D.’s ‘Michael (the Lover)’, which was a hit in the UK in 1967), I needed to hear the flip.

Good call sir, since – as I was forewarned – ‘(I Gotta) Hold On To My Love’, a soul banger by any means, also happens to sport a chorus which includes a tip of the hat to one of my fave soul records, Chris Clark’s ‘Love’s Gone Bad’, not to mention the Lord Buckley quote (which was also the title of their second album) ‘Hipsters, Flipsters and Finger-Poppin’ Daddies!’

The reference is fairly subtle, and kind of sneaks up on you, but eventually reveals itself in the horn and guitar lines leading up to the title lyric. It is by no mean overpowering, and the song as a whole goes its own way, but it makes an already groovy record a little bit better, and honestly, how can that be a bad thing?

It most certainly is not.

So take a moment to pass this one onto the MP3 delivery device, sneak away from your desk and cut a rug in one of the conference rooms.

See you on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, November 11, 2010 4:30 pm

Listen/Download – Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers – Searching For Soul Pt1

Listen/Download -Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers – Searching For Soul Pt2

Greetings all.

The end of the week is upon us and I don’t know about you kids, but my head is in a deep funk place right about now, so hows about some’o that (deep funk, that is)??

First – there’s always a ‘first’, isn’t there – it behooves me, as proprietor of the Funky16Corners Radio Show, to remind you all that if it’s Friday (and it almost is) it’s time for my latest excursion into the ether. This week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva radio (Friday’s at 9PM) is an all distaff affair with the finest in funk and soul as interpreted by the ladies. There’s lots of fine sounds, from lots of fine ladies, so make sure to fall by and fill your ears up with some of the good stuff.

That out of the way, now is being the time for the aforementioned deep funk.

Back in the olden days, where I was first being introduced to the niceties of old school funk via the UK ‘Sound of Funk’ comps, the songs that blew my mind immediately (on Volume One if memory serves) were ‘Iron Leg’ by Mickey and the Soul Generation, and ‘Hector’ by the Village Callers, both still huge favorites and mainstays of my record box.

There were several burners on that comp, but one in particular evaded me for a long time, so much so that it was pushed into the recessed of my fevered mind, where it would be pried loose many years later when the mighty DJ Prestige dropped the needle on it at an edition of the late, lamented Asbury Park 45 Sessions.

That record was ‘Searching for Soul’ by Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers.

Naturally, once it got it’s hooks into me, I set out in search of my own copy.

Of course, as soon as I did I discovered (not at all surprisingly) that this was not a cheap record (unless you’re lucky enough to spend a lot of your vinyl digging time in and around Detroit).

As is often the case, I looked and looked, was outbid a number of times, and then, like a bolt out of the blue, on a day when I had a big fat wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket, I opened up a record box of the dealers “good stuff” at a records show, and BING, BANG, BOOM, as if placed there by the benevolent hand of the gods was a mint copy of this very record, along with a nice fat stack of other items from the old want list.

I will not deceive you my friends, this record did not come cheap (though a lot of it’s box-mates did, softening the blow somewhat) but I think once you pull down the ones and zeros and stuff it into your ears, you too – if infected by the vinyl disease – will want to get one of these for your very own.

The info on Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers is – as they say – slim pickings, but the few scraps drifting in the breeze are indeed interesting.

‘Searching for Soul Pts 1&2’ (gotta include part two on account of the heavy git-tar) was released on Inkster, Michigan’s (suburb of the Motor City, home to the Marvelettes) Mutt label circa 1970.

Owned and operated by Nate Dorr (a bail bondsman by trade), the Mutt imprint released a variety of Detroit-area sounds, including soul by The Two Fellows, The Majjestees and Carol Jones (the two radically different versions of the sought after ‘Don’t Destroy Me’), garage punk by the Ruins*, rock by the Dale Jones Trio and of course the unspeakably deep funk of Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers.

‘Searching for Soul’ is, aside from being a remarkably heavy, ass-kicking slab of funk, works on a number of levels.

First and foremost, there’s that break. Sweet Mother Macree that’s some wild shit right there, from the slick, opening hi-hat, to the extremely ‘hot’ bass drum and snare, both of which can be heard ringing after the sticks hit.

Then there’s that wobble-legged guitar, which bears the mark of an axe-man who might have heard a few Meters 45s in his time.

But it’s all rendered (temporarily) meaningless when the bass falls in.

The Mutt 45s that I’ve heard all have a certain, how do they say, raw sound, but it doesn’t ever get any raw-er than the bass guitar on ‘Searching for Soul’ which when it first comes in sounds like every mike in the studio was pointed at the bass amp.

It THUNDERS, so much so that raising the volume above a certain point would likely put your speakers at risk.
This is, without any doubt, the kind of record, were you asked to define ‘deep funk’ for an uninitiated listener, that you could slap on the turntable, drop the needle and sit back and watch as their mind was good and truly boggled.

You also get the extra added bonus of a dual sax attack, which kicks things up a notch about two thirds of the way through side one.

When you flip the platter over, side two sees the band re-stating the break, ladling on a little bit of heavy, wah-wah guitar, and a tasty sax-o-mo-phone solo, including a very groovy moment when the guitar starts to feed back a little and the sax starts to mimic it and things get just a little bit psychedelic.

Interestingly, at the time that Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers were rattling the walls of any number of Detroit area clubs, there was a duo recording for Motown’s Rare Earth subsidiary by the name of Stoney and Meatloaf (yes, that Meat Loaf). When they went on the road they took Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers with them as their backing band.

Small world, indeed.

Solid.

Have a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: If this record sounds eerily familiar, it was sampled a few years back for the Beyonce cut ‘Suga Mama’.

*Check out the detailed story of the Ruins at the fantastic Garage Hangover site which includes an anecdote about Dorr saving the day by using his day job to get a truckload of impounded equipment released so a gig might continue.

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By Larry, November 9, 2010 11:22 am

The Temptations (above), Norman Whitfield in the studio (below)

Listen/Download – The Temptations – Masterpiece

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here, and despite nagging fatigue, I have returned.

This is no doubt an indicator of advancing age, but whenever daylight savings time comes in, or out, I always get knocked for a loop. Maybe my circadian rhythms are especially delicate (probably the only delicate thing about me), but it takes me a week to get my shit together, i.e. feeling sleepy when I’m supposed to, and not sleepy the rest of the time instead of all bombanootz (my own misspelling of my mother-in-law’s Italian slang, which roughly translates to life akimbo) which is how I feel now.

In spite of that fact, I hunkered down on Monday and got a stack of rekkids digi-ma-tized for the blog, including a couple of hot new finds, one of which I’m itching to drop, but I have to do some more research on it before I do.

The tune I bring you today is yet another mile marker on the long journey that is my Norman Whitfield obsession.

A while back, while digging in what turned out to be a largely non-rewarding location (with a few marked exceptions, including today’s selection), I happened upon the Temptations 1973 LP ‘Masterpiece’.

As soon as I got it home and dropped the needle into the grooves on the title cut, I knew I’d heard the song before, but until I played the whole thing I had no idea what I’d been missing.

As has been said elsewhere, ‘Masterpiece’ marks the onset of an artistic period where the group itself had almost become incidental to Whitfield’s creative process. I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, since Whitfield clearly enjoyed creating music with/for the Temps, but once you give ‘Masterpiece’ (the song) a listen, it becomes clear that at least in this case the group were secondary to the recording.

If the music itself didn’t make this clear, take a look sometime at the back cover of the album where the Temps are dwarfed by a huge, godlike  picture of Whitfield’s head, looming over them.

The group isn’t heard from until the four minute mark, and then only sporadically for the next two minutes, after which they disappear into the background again.

What you’re getting is a whole lot (about 13 and a half minutes worth) of Whitfield atmosphere, but what atmosphere it is.

There are dark washes of strings, subtle lead guitar, echoed trumpet (shades of ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’) and electric piano snakes in and out of the arrangement.

The effect is cinematic, without sounding entirely like a blaxploitation soundtrack.

Unfortunately, the divide that came from Whitfield overpowering the group caused the pairing that had made so much great music to split. The Temps did one more LP with Whitfield, after which he left Motown and had success with Rose Royce.

That all said, ‘Masterpiece’ is a very groovy, late-night bit of ‘head’ music and I dig it a lot.

I hope you do too, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Peace

Larry

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Comments (3)

By Larry, November 7, 2010 3:55 pm

Ken Munson

Listen/Download – Ken Munson – Fly Robin Fly Pt1

Listen/Download – Ken Munson – Fly Robin Fly Pt2

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.

The tune I bring you today is something I tracked down in my seemingly never ending search for funky flute forty-fives (never have to look far for alliteration…).

Ken Munson has appeared in this space a few times, with tracks from his modestly named 1973 ‘Super Flute’ LP.

Despite trying, I have never been able to track down anything but circumstantial evidence that would illuminate the history of Mr. Munson.

The two non-LP 45s I have seem to indicate that he worked in the New York metropolitan area, but other than that, not much comes up.

If you recall Funky16Corners Radio v.87- Wind of Change, you’ll already know I dig the sound of the flute, especially when utilized in a jazz or funk setting. This is certainly an acquired tast, but it should already be obvious that I have acquired it.

Today’s selection is a cover of the 1975 hit by the Silver Convention. The Munich, Germany based disco group (basically producers Silvester Levay and Michael Kunze) had hits with both ‘Fly Robin Fly’ and ‘Get Up and Boogie’, both of which have a certain, oddly laid back (I say oddly because these were dance records) feel that is at once very ‘70s’, and also a little bit disconcerting. Perhaps they were tapping into some kind of Quaalude consciousness, but one expects a certain amount of propulsion in a record intended for the dancefloor.

Ken Munson remedies this by pushing up the tempo a little bit, as well as dialing up the funk just a tad. The addition of brass that doubles the flute leads, as well as some groovy electric piano (I’d love to know who the pianist is) and guitar add some soul jazz flavor as well.

Make sure you stick around for Part 2, since there’s a cool flute/drum breakdown where Munson really tears it up.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something cool.

Peace

Larry

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Comments (6)

By Larry, November 5, 2010 7:10 am

F16C Soul Club Presents: Funky16Corners Live In DC, 9/25/10

Playlist

You can check out this mix in the Funky16Corners Soul Club Archive

As previously stated, at the time you’re reading this, I will be away on vacation with the wife and the little Corners, releasing this post in a timely fashion from a remote location.

I figured this would be a good time to drop the set I recorded at Marvin on my DC trip back in September.

Marvin is a very cool place, but with a decidedly different vibe than I’m used to, i.e. I can’t rock the house with a stack of vintage funk 45s. This is not to say (as you’ll see above) that funk 45s cannot be rocked, just that the mix has to be peppered with things from a little later on the timeline.

The records are – as always – aimed to please the dancers with a taste of disco blended into the overall flavor.

I actually dig doing this, especially since I get to expand the palette as it were, spinning records that don’t fit inside the context of a vintage funk/soul night.

I’m not making a claim to be breaking any new ground, just mentioning that I dig flexing those muscles a little bit now and then.

It took me a long time to warm up to (read, ‘understand’) disco, and the more I dig into the good stuff, the more I wish I knew, and of course, had more of it on vinyl.

That said, pop this one in, and shake it up a little.

Don’t forget to tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday at 9PM at Viva Radio. This week is an hour-long tribute to the late Weldon McDougal III and the Harthon sound or Philadephia soul.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, November 3, 2010 7:21 am

Curtis Mayfield

Listen/Download – Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up

Greetings all.

Welcome back to the house with sixteen funky corners.

I’m writing this prior to the Election, since the fam and I are heading out for a few days of much needed rest and relaxation.

The crispness of Fall is in the air (along with lots of leaves), so hopefully all of us will be able to get outside, clear our heads and have a good time.

Because this is being written prior to any voting or the results thereof, and since realism does not allow me the luxury of optimism, I’m just going to go ahead and assume that come Wednesday morning, I’m not going to be happy, and a whole new set of challenges will lie ahead for this country, and progressive causes in general.

That said, what better time for a positive message, from the man that I (and I’m sure a lot of other people) consider to be the greatest of the socially conscious soul masters, the mighty Curtis Mayfield.

I’ll go ahead and assume that you all know something about Curtis – and if you don’t, step out into the day and read up on your read ups – via his hits with the Impressions, his stellar solo work or the countless amazing records that he either wrote, arranged, or produced (or all three) for others.

Among his finest ‘message’ songs, is today’s selection ‘Move On Up’ from the brilliant 1971 ‘Curtis’ album.

I’ll let Curtis Mayfield speak for himself, with the added note, that if the lyrics below are not words to live by, I don’t know what else to say.

Move On Up

Hush now child,
and don’t you cry
Your folks might understand you
by and by
Move on up
towards your destination
You may find
from time to time
Complications

Bite your lip
and take a trip
Though there may be
wet road ahead
You cannot slip
Just move on up
and peace you will find
Into the steeple
of beautiful people
Where there’s only one kind

So hush now child
and don’t you cry
Your folks might understand you
by and by
Just move on up
and keep on wishing
Remember your dreams
are your only schemes
So keep on pushing
Take nothing less –
not even second best
And do not obey –
you must have your say
You can past the test

Move on up!

I’ll be back later in the week with my Marvin set from my DC trip back in September, and of course this Friday’s Funky16Corners Radio Show, which is dedicated entirely to the Harthon sound, and the memory of Weldon McDougal III.

See you then.

Peace

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg

Comments (25)

By Larry, October 28, 2010 9:14 am

Funky16Corners Radio v.89 – Things Got To Get Better (Get Together)

Playlist

Funky16Corners Radio v.89 – Things Got to Get Better (Get Together)

As first hinted at, then promised, and finally warned about (for those of you who are diametrically opposed politically), Funky16Corners Radio v.89 – Things Got To Get Better (Get Together), aka the ‘election mix’ has finally arrived, been posted at the top of the blog, where it will remain until the election is over.

I know I normally run Halloween themed posts this time of year, but we have real things to be scared about.
There is a Halloween set in this week’s Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio (Friday night at 9PM) so you can get your fix there.

As far as I can recall, I haven’t approached the readers of the Funky16Corners blog with anything sociopolitical since the ‘Two From the Stonewall Jukebox’ post back in July of 2009, and before that the posts about the Presidential election of 2008.

Though I think most of you have some idea of my political orientation, it’s not a frequent subject here, because ultimately Funky16Corners is about music.

However (big however coming here)…

We are currently in the midst of a very dark time, not just in the US, but worldwide.

The rise of the ultra-right and the ensuing anti-immigrant, anti-gay and ultimately anti-intellectual wave that is poised to wash away decades of important social gains in this country is the single most important issue at hand.

Having grown up in the 1970s, I find the idea that this great country would ever descend again into a maelstrom of religious lunacy, open hatred of immigrants and homosexuals, demonization of organized labor (especially teachers) and hateful, empty Rand-ian ‘libertarianism’ is beyond insane.

The economy is in terrible shape, and is unlikely to get better any time soon, and those that have been able to return to work often find that the salaries are lower and the benefits non-existent.

How have some of our countrymen reacted to these challenges?

Not well.

An increasingly angry minority, funded by the mega-rich have become a political force, eager to build fences (literal and figurative) to keep those they consider ‘undesirable’ from participating fully in our democracy.

The rise of these deeply ignorant ‘patriots’ (they love to wrap themselves in the flag, unable to embrace its true meaning), marching alongside religious ideologues and plutocrats has woven together a rancid fabric, its warp and weft rife with xenophobia, racism, class warfare, homophobia and various and sundry fringe hatreds.

You may step back and see these negative forces as smaller, separate issues, but the truth is that they are all part of the same, ugly reaction.

When the going got tough, the right got nasty.

Those institutions tasked with keeping us informed have collapsed under the collective weight of corruption by and collusion with those that have the most to gain by a population ignorant of the truth.

I still have a basic faith in the goodness of the human race, but it is being sorely tested.

I want my children to grow up in a world where they are indifferent to the color of a person’s skin, the language they speak or their sexual preference, but we are surrounded by those that would deny them that future.

This includes people of supposed deep religious faith who forget that their own freedom to worship and express the tenets of their faith includes the freedom of others to find their own path. These are the people who continually fight to deny gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans their civil rights.

These are the people who want to rewrite the textbooks in our schools to cleanse them of science and fill them with creationism and revisionist (racial and political) history.

This also includes a lot of people, many of them radicalized after the attacks of 9/11, who have turned against American citizens of Muslim faith, and stoked fears (alongside similarly radicalized anti-Muslim forces in Europe and Scandinavia) of all Muslims, as well as immigrants in general.

These are the people who allowed 30 years of Republican propaganda to turn them against organized labor, while simultaneously building an obscene faith in big business that allowed massive deregulation and tax cuts, as well a cheering our way into two insane wars.

This is the same big business that – thanks to a bizarre Supreme Court decision – is now allowed to flood the political system with piles of cash (anonymously) to attack those that would put a stop to our slow (but seemingly inevitable) march to plutarchy.

Please don’t mistake this as an endorsement of President Obama specifically, or the Democrats in general.
Despite promises to the contrary, the President has continued to fight the right of gays to serve in the military, and has stated that he opposes the idea of gay marriage.

Many of those that serve with the (D) next to their name have also thrown their lot in with the ‘whatever big business wants’ crowd as well.

There may be something “trickling down” onto the middle class and the poor, but it’s not money.

However (another big one here), the alternative is people like Joe Miller in Alaska, Sharon Angle in Nevada, the execrable Rand Paul in Kentucky, deeply ignorant Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, Ken Buck in Colorado, Marco Rubio in Florida and countless others who have embraced the insane ideas of the radical right.
These people are only the larger public face of this movement.

While they run for national office, their foot soldiers are poised to fill seats in state legislatures, county and local office, and worst of all, school boards.

There are those that would have you believe that the system is utterly broken, and that an appropriate response is not to vote at all.

This is insane.

Is there any among you that really think that the way to right a staggering democracy is to withdraw from it?
Not only should every one of you exercise your right to vote, but you should do what you can to convince your family and friends that they should as well, because one thing the forces of the radical right do, religious or otherwise, is vote.

These are the people that are counting on apathy to help them get their hooks into the government where they can start to punch holes in the Constitution they ironically wave like a battle flag.

So what does this have to do with Funky16Corners?

Like the mighty James Brown says:

People, people we got to get over before we go under!

Tell’em Godfather!

The majority of the soul and funk music we celebrate here was created during a time when the forces of the right were attempting to tighten the screws of the status quo, while the forces of peace, racial equality and sexual liberation were battling in the streets (and the ballot box) to upend it and seize their rights.

Soul and funk are the sounds of struggle and liberation. Not every number here has an explicit political/social message, but the music of black America, created in the 60s and 70s in its core rarely says anything else.
Funky16Corners Radio v.89 is an attempt to string some of the more powerful musical statements of the time together, along with spoken intervals by important thinkers.

Things get off to a depressing, yet wholly realistic start, but work their way up through anger, defiance and ultimately (hopefully) triumph.

Not every number here carries an explicit message, but taken together they make an important statement.
The voices heard between the songs include some very well known (civil rights figures like Dr Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Jesse Jackson), and some lesser known (Dorothy Day*), and in a few cases dreadfully misunderstood and demonized (Saul Alinsky**, Noam Chomsky), but their words all have in common is their relevance to the world we live in today.

I’m not saying that things are going to be fixed if the opponents of democracy are defeated in this election (since many of them clearly won’t be), but rather (to borrow an old saw) the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, and stepping into the voting booth and making yourself heard is that step.

Far too many Americans take a pass on that important responsibility, and if they continue to do so, they’ll have no one to thank but themselves when the world around them gets worse.

So, once again in the words of James Brown:

Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved.

Educate yourself.

Educate others.

Don’t allow hatred and disinformation to go unchallenged.

Don’t be afraid.

Peace

Larry

*Dorothy Day is an especially important figure in the history of social justice and charity. If her name is unfamiliar, dig a little deeper and read about this great woman.

**Saul Alinsky has been demonized by the right to the point where his name has become a kind of shorthand (with just the tiniest bit of anti-semitism attached to it) for leftist subversion. I doubt most of the people that throw his name around as an epithet have read anything about him. His voice – like most of those in this mix – was an important one in the struggle to transfer power from the haves to the have nots (which goes a long way to explaining why those that shill for the mega-rich hate him so). If all you’ve ever heard about him are bad things, do yourself a favor and read up on his life (outside of right wing web sites).

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