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By Larry, May 7, 2013 10:30 am

The Coasters

Listen/Download The Coasters – Cool Jerk

Greetings all

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well.

The Coasters loom large in the transition from R&B to soul, especially in relation to their work with the mighty Leiber and Stoller.

Their ATCO recordings, stretching from the mid-50s to the mid-60s are unmatchable.

Unfortunately for all concerened, the Coasters had their last taste of chart action in 1964.

The years after they left ATCO were commercially unsuccessful, yet – no surprise here – artistically rewarding.

Though the group bounced between a few different labels (Date, Turntable, King) they continued to work with Leiber and Stoller and their later catalog, though often hard to come by, is quite good.

The tune I bring you today hails from the tail end of the group’s productive years (i.e. making new material as opposed to capitalizing on old ones).

Though I don’t know how they ended up on King, they recorded three 45s and an LP for the label, all released in the early 70s.

The LP contains re-recordings (or possibly remixes) of Date material like ‘D.W. Washburn’, ‘Soul Pad’ and ‘Down Home Girl’ as well as new material.

The tune I bring you today is another cover, but with a very cool twist.

‘Cool Jerk’ first recorded by the Capitols in 1966 is reworked with distinctly Latin touch.

Not only do you get the Leiber and Stoller production, but the arrangement is by Marty Sheller and the orchestra is conducted by none other than Larry Harlow. I’m not sure if it is in fact Orchestra Harlow, but it certainly sounds like it.

The pairing of the Coasters with the boogaloo sound is an inspired one and makes me wish that they’d done more in this vein*. Their King material was released between 1971 and 1973, though it all sounds to me like it was recorded on the earlier end of the time line.

It’s a fantastic dance floor mover, and I hope you dig it.

Keep the faith

Larry

*The LP version of ‘Love Potion Number 9’ sounds like the same band but the 45 labels I’ve seen don’t provide a credit in that regard
___________________________________________________________________________________________

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 5, 2013 11:57 am

Obrey Wilson

Listen/Download Obrey Wilson – Soul Satisfaction #1

Greetings all

Here’s an interesting one.

The last time we discussed Obrey Wilson, it was in the negative, i.e. in relation to having his name (unjustly) appended to the writing credits for ‘(Love Is Like) A Ramblin’ Rose’, the record made famous by Jerry Lee Lewis, Ted Taylor and of course the mighty MC5.

The song was written by Fred Burch and Maryjohn Wilkin, which is how the song was credited until Ted Taylor made his way to Nashville to record his version, where the tune came away from the experience with Wilson’s name stuck to it.

I have no idea why this happened – though the world of soul music in the classic era is packed with similar copyright shenanigans – but it did.

That said, Obrey Wilson was no mere record business suit/copyright pirate, but was a fine singer who recorded a dozen 45s between 1961 and 1973 (thanks to Sir Shambling for the discographical information).

I encountered today’s selection on a list a few years back, dug the sound and grabbed it.

‘Soul Satisfaction #1’, written and produced by another mysterious figure – Eddie Polo – is an unusual late 60s (1969 to be exact) hybrid, of gritty southern soul, gospel and just a touch of funk. Too slow for all but the most lubricated dance floor, but very groovy nonetheless, ‘Soul Satisfaction #1’features a great vocal by Wilson.

The record was recorded in Nashville, where Wilson seems to have been spending a lot of time in the late 60s.

The flipside, ‘Break Away Baby’, also written by Polo, is an excellent, deep soul ballad.

All in all a very groovy record, by an artist I wish I knew more about.

I hope you dig it.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 2, 2013 10:40 am

Richie Barrett

Listen/Download Richie Barrett – Some Other Guy

Greetings all

The weekend is once again upon us, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show. Coming to you this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, we bring you the finest in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. If’n you cannot dig at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab yourself an MP3 copy out of the archive here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is without question one of my all-time favorites, and a 45 that eluded me for quite a while.

This is odd, because Richie Barrett’s ‘Some Other Guy’ is not a crazy expensive disc (between 50 and 100 USD on a good day), but it is in demand, so when copies pop up, the get knocked down rather quickly with a certain amount of competition in the bidding and so forth.

I was lucky enough to get my copy on the cheap side of things, and have probably given it a spin (or a digital play) every day since then.

Thing is, this record is one that loomed large in my musical tutelage for many years, thanks in large part to the fact that ‘Some Other Guy’ became one of the go-to covers for Liverpool bands of certain vintage, that being the heart of the beat era, and naturally, the Beatles.

The song was part of the playlist of the Fabs (it is the song they were playing when they were first filmed playing at the Cavern Club) and it was also recorded by bands like the Big Three, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and a bit later on by ex-Beatle Pete Best.

It was the killer version by the Big Three that caught my ear first and made me want to track down the original.

Richie Barrett is a particularly interesting figure in the history of R&B and soul in that he was not first and foremost a recording artist.

Barrett made his mark as a producer and songwriter for groups like the Chantels, and hadn’t done a ton of recording before he found himself in the studio alongside the mighty Leiber and Stoller in 1962.

The record they made, ‘Some Other Guy’ is a brilliant bit of R&B well on the way to soul, with rumbling bass, electric piano and even a groovy organ solo.

Those widely separated opening notes on the electric piano build a tremendous amount of drama, especially considering what follows.

What ‘Some Other Guy’  also is, is one of the most blatant bits of imitation Ray Charles as has ever been impressed on a lump of vinyl.

‘Some Other Guy’ sounds like Leiber, Stoller and Barrett took a pile of Brother Ray’s late-period Atlantic ish, tossed it into a blender and poured the resulting slop into a microphone.

Not only do you get the rolling electric piano rhythm of ‘What’d I Say’, but Barrett is all but channeling Charles’s voice in every possible way.

It’s positively shocking that they didn’t try to release it under some name like ‘Charles Ray’, or ‘Brother Ray’ or some such tomfoolery.

Of course we are talking about Leiber and Stoller, who managed to kick ass just about every time they entered a studio, so despite any similarities to records living or dead, ‘Some Other Guy’ is epic.

Oddly enough, despite the obvious greatness of this record, L&S didn’t bother to mention it in their autobiography.

Slap this on at your next ripple and potato chip party and watch every last soul tear their way out onto the floor fighting over which part of the rug they get to slice.

In fact, I suggest that you go get lubricated, pop this one on at high volume and tear up the joint yourself, as best you can.

It is – after all – almost the weekend.

Capisce??

Groovy.

See you cats on Monday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 30, 2013 12:13 pm

Listen/Download Delores Riley – Hey Boy!

Greetings all

Welcome once again to the point where all sixteen corners of the musical universe intersect.

One of the busiest corners therein is located in the great city of New Orleans.

I have certainly made mention in this space before of the ‘high end’ of the Instant Records discography.

Instant, which ran from 1961 to 1972 released records by many of the big names in New Orleans soul and funk, from Chris Kenner (their biggest hitmaker) to Ernie K Doe and Huey ‘Piano’ Smith.

Though the overall quality of their roster was excellent, if you were looking for the funky stuff, you’d want to start browsing up around number 3300 in the catalog.

There are of course exceptions – especially Larry Darnell’s ‘Son of a Son of a Slave’ and Curley Moore’s ‘Sophisticated Sissy’ – but before, though quite groovy, things were mostly soulful.

Once that Rubicon is crossed, all bets are off, processes change to naturals and in comes the funk.

Though I have chased many of these post-3300 sides over the years (and caught a bunch), there are a few that still elude me, as well as a number that I’ve never heard.

One of these – at least until a few years ago – was the record you see before you today, Delores Riley’s ‘Hey Boy!’.
I had never heard the record before when a friend suggested I check it out.

It was a nice, hard-driving funky 45, so I set out find myself a copy, and got one in short order (for not a lot of dough).

I have not been able to find anything out about Riley, or the writer of the song Justin James. I don’t see any evidence that she recorded anything else, for Instant or any other NOLA label.

The one familiar name on the label is that of Earl Stanley, of Earl Stanley and the Stereos, aka Roger and the Gypsies.

The production on ‘Hey Boy’ is pretty tight, with a great horn section, some groovy wah-wah guitar and even a little bit of electric sitar in the mix.

The most distinctive part of the gumbo (aside from Delores’s singing) , is – as is often the case – the drums. Whoever was manning the kit was hitting hard that day.

The style is a little bit rough, but full of verve. I’d love to know who it was.

That said, should it tickle your fancy, you ought to be able to grab yourself a copy of this one to stuff into your crates for well under fifty clams.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 28, 2013 2:19 pm

Dave Hamilton

Listen/Download Dave Hamilton and His Peppers – Beatle Walk

Greetings all

Welcome to another week here at the Corners.

The tune I bring you today is – once you get past the title – a cool one.

Dave Hamilton (accompanied here by his Peppers) is a name that should be familiar to both fans of Detroit soul, but also of funky instrumentals like ‘Cracklin’ Bread’.

Hamilton, who was born in Georgia in 1920 (!?!) relocated to Detroit, where he started to record R&B and blues in the late 40s.

Though he started out playing vibes and the xylophone, the guitar eventually became his bread and butter.

Over the years he released 45s for labels like Chess. Fortune and Hi-Q, before eventually starting his own Tempo, Topper and TCB imprints.

Hamilton was one of the original Funk Brothers, but a strong independent streak caused him to part ways with Motown and work on his own.

He produced and arranged for a wide variety of Detroit acts like Little Ann, OC Tolbert and Sugar Billy Garner.

‘Beatle Walk’ which was released in 1964, yet sounds like it could have been waxed half a decade earlier, has a title that was an obvious (if wholly dishonest) stab at the charts.

I’m not saying that the Fabs themselves wouldn’t have dug ‘Beatle Walk’ but rather that the vast majority of their audience, some of whom might have purchased this 45 because of the title, would have flipped out.

You can just imagine some teenybopper in her maryjanes picking this up at the local record store, coming home, slapping it on the Victrola and passing out.

Instead of the jangly guitars, yeah yeah yeahs and moptops, what you get here is the kind of straight-ahead R&B you’d hear cranking out of any urban strip club or tavern. The production on the sax and the drums is plenty raw, and the guitar has a lot of bite as well.

Plus, you get that classic Fortune Records label design.

It’s a nice, gritty workout, and I hope you dig it.

See you on Wednesday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 25, 2013 11:16 am

Bob Theile, Steve Allen and Oliver Nelson

Listen/Download Steve Allen/Oliver Nelson – Son of Preacher Man

Greetings all

The end of the week is coming up fast, which means that the Funky16Corners Radio Show is too. You can tune in this and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, or subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 at the blog.

Now,I hope that those of you old enough to remember who Steve Allen was are still here. Any familiarity with the late funnyman might have been enough to scare you away, but I assure that once you pull down the ones and zeros, you’ll be happy you stayed.

Steve Allen was a funny dude, in many ways the precursor to guys like David Letterman.

He was also an accomplished songwriter and musician.

Along with arranger Oliver Nelson (who can probably be credited with any musical power herein), Allen recorded three volumes of ‘Soulful Brass’ LPs for Bob Theile’s Flying Dutchman label, with the initial volume being the first LP released by the label.

I sought out ‘Soulful Brass Volume 2’ because I’d heard that it contained a groovy version of ‘California Soul’ (which it did) but was also very pleased to see that it also included covers of ‘Soulful Strut’ and today’s selection, ‘Son of a Preacher Man’.

Allen’s main contribution to the efforts here seem to be a combination of (mostly) name recognition and the occasional electric piano solo.

‘Son of a Preacher Man’ is an excellent, funky, brass-driven take on the Dusty Springfield hit, with hard-hitting drums by Jim Gordon, funky bass by Max Bennett and guitar by David Cohen.

The brass arrangements by Nelson are – of course – top notch.

The combined results make this the only Steve Allen record you ever need to buy.

I hope you dig it, and that you have a great weekend.

I’ll see you all on Monday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, April 23, 2013 11:50 am

Gary McFarland

Listen/Download Gary McFarland – Fried Bananas (45 edit)

Greetings all

It has – by and large – been a chilly, gray Spring so far.

It has always been thus here in NJ, but you can’t blame me for hoping that the door into summer would swing wide, just this once.

It is in that spirit that I bring you a 45 that is the very essence of summery warmth.

Gary McFarland was one of the preeminent vibists and arrangers of the 1960s working extensively with others as well as building a fairly substantial catalog of his own work.

He was, with Gabor Szabo and Cal Tjader one of the founders of the short-lived (but excellent) Skye label, and died, not yet 40, when someone mysteriously poisoned his drink in a New York bar.

As a performer, McFarland had a style that seemed light on the surface, but always had a lot of complexity running underneath.

He also had some idiosyncratic tendencies as a performer, that were occasionally transcendently groovy, and sometimes annoying.

The track I bring you today falls on the groovy side of things.

Released on his 1966 ‘The In Sound’ LP, ‘Fried Bananas’ is a laid back, sexy Latin groove, featuring a nice guitar solo by Szabo, trombone by the great Bob Brookmeyer, and flute by Sadao Watanabe.

What it also features is McFarland’s wordless singing (a weakness on some of his other records).

The version heard here is the slightly truncated single edit, with the LP version running about 90 seconds longer.

If you get a chance to grab a copy of the original album, do so. It features a number of excellent tracks, but also one of the coolest pop-art covers of the era.

Cal Tjader covered ‘Fried Bananas’ on his 1968 ‘Solar Heat’ album, which featured arrangements by McFarland.

As far as I can tell none of McFarland’s Verve LPs are available in reissue, though much of the Skye catalog can be purchased on iTunes.

I hope you dig the tune (and warm up a bit) and I’ll see you on Friday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, April 21, 2013 2:58 pm

Vince Montana

Listen/Download The Volcanos – Storm Warning

Listen/Download The Ethics – Think About Tomorrow

Listen/Download Georgie Woods – Potato Salad Pt1

Listen/Download Brothers of Hope – Nickol Nickol

Listen/Download The Family – Family Affair

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes

Listen/Download Montana Sextet – Heavy Vibes (Club Mix)

Greetings all

It was with great sadness that I heard last week of the passing of the mighty Vincent Montana Jr.

Unless you’re a Philly soul or disco head, that name might not be familiar, but the music he helped to make over a career that lasted more than 50 years most certainly is.

Montana, known first and formost as a vibraphonist, but also a busy arranger and percussionist was one of the most important instrumentalists in the history of Philadelphia soul and funk.

Though he got his start backing local artists like Frankie Avalon, Montana went on to be one of the core members of the Philly “house band” that would become better known as MFSB.

His vibes stand out on countless Philly soul records from the mid-60s on, and his arrangers credit appeared on many of those record’s labels.

Montana’s work is all over various and sundry smaller local labels (and recorded under various band names) as well as just about every major Philadelphia International session.

Montana was also key in the formation of the Salsoul Orchestra, and through the disco era recorded with his own groups the Montana Sextet and Goody Goody.

The tracks I’ve selected really just scratch the surface of Montana’s catalog, but all touch on some important point.

The first is one of the greatest 60s soul 45s to come out of Philadelphia, and the first place I ever noticed Vince Montana coming through the mix as a sideman. ‘Storm Warning’ by the Volcanos is beloved by fans of classic soul, and Vince Montana’s vibes have a lot to do with that. Vibes are – at least to my ears – one of the key sonic elements in Northern Soul, along with the baritone sax, and Montana’s playing on ‘Storm Warning’ manages to keep driving the song forward while adding bright accents.

The Ethics are another great Philly vocal group. ‘Think About Tomorrow’, arranged by Montana, was a local hit in 1968. Give this one a couple of close listens and dig how Montana uses the strings, horns and vibes to frame the rhythm section. It’s an exquisite example of the kind of classy record that would come to represent the Philly sound.

Georgie Woods “The Guy With the Goods’ was a Philadelphia radio legend, who decided in the late 60s (like so many of his radio brethren around the country) to dip his toe into the world of recording. ‘Potato Salad’ – also arranged by Vince Montana – is an ‘adaptation’ of vibraphone legend Lionel Hampton’s ‘Greasy Greens’. You not only get to hear Woods laying down his rap, but also plenty of Montana’s vibes working their way through the mix.

The players that would form the core of MFSB would make records under a number of different names in the late 60s and early 70s. If you collect funk 45s, you’ve heard bands like the Interpretations, Hidden Cost, Daley’s Diggers, the Alliance, the Electric Indian and many more, all basically played by the same set of brilliant musicians, including Vince Montana.

My favorite of these pseudonymous 45s is ‘Nickol Nickol’ by the Brothers of Hope. One of the great, mid-tempo funk 45s of all time, ‘Nickol Nickol’ features Montana’s vibes throughout, but especially at the end where he lays down the ‘Eleanor Rigby’ quote in the run-off groove. This one was slept on for a long time, but the price has gone up considerably in the last few years.

The Family – Family Affair, acetate and North Bay 45

Though I’m not featuring any MFSB ‘proper’ in this post, the Family’s cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Family Affair’, which was first released on the North Bay label, is basically an edited version of the track that would appear on the first MFSB LP.

Vince Montana was – for most fo his career – a ‘background’ player, working behind the scenes, but in 1982 he had a dance hit in the US and the UK with the track ‘Heavy Vibes’. ‘Heavy Vibes’ is a sophisticated, jazzy/funky bit of disco, with plenty of vibes (naturally…). Here you get to check out both the edit and the extended club mix – both worth hearing.

Vince Montana was a master, and though he was more involved than most, he was a very solid example of the importance of the unseen/unheralded musicians that provide the backing for the music we love. People will do lip service to the house bands of labels like Stax, ensembles like the Funk Brothers or the Muscle Shoals group, but only the people with their heads (and ears) deep in the game know who the individual components of those outfits were, and that’s a shame.

The next time you hear the vibes ring through one of those great Philly records, elbow the cat next to you and say ‘That’s Vince Montana.’

I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 18, 2013 11:19 am

Brenda and the Tabulations

Listen/Download Brenda and the Tabulations – God Only Knows

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, so I will once again remind you to spin the dial on your wireless sets to Viva Radio, this and every Friday night at 9PM so that you might dig the Funky16Corners Radio Show. If you can’t be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 at the blog.

The tune I bring you todayis yet another one of those “right under my nose” surprises that I unearthed in the Funky16Corners record vault.

I was digging around, looking for something else (naturally) when I happened upon Brenda and the Tabulations 1967 LP “Dry Your Eyes’.

It occurred to me that I had wanted to record ‘The Wash’, which had oddly enough turned up in a TV advert in the last few months, but while I was looking over the jacket I realized (perhaps for the first time) that the group had also recorded a cover version of the Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’.

I flipped the disc onto the turntable, gave it a spin and realized that it was not only excellent but would make a much more interesting entry here at the blog, so I recorded it.

Originally recorded for the Beach Boys legendary 1966 LP ’Pet Sounds’, ‘God Only Knows’ is widely regarded (here as well) as one of the finest songs that Brian Wilson (with Tony Asher)every wrote.

There aren’t a great many soul versions of Beach Boys tunes – though Freddy McCoy’s soul jazz take on ‘Pet Sounds’ is transcendant – so when I saw that Brenda and the Tabulations had recorded it my interest was piqued.

The group had only come together and recorded for the first time in 1966, havin their first major hit, ‘Dry Your Eyes’ (Top 10 R&B/Top 20 Pop) in early 1967.

They went on to have 17 R&B chart hits over the next ten years, moving from Dionn records to Top & Bottom, Epic and Chocolate City.

Their version of ‘God Only Knows’ is a fairly reverent take, opening (like the original) with French horns, strings and a lovely lead vocal by Brenda Payton. The band does kick up the tempo a bit, and there are some really unusual – vaguely trippy – backing vocals.

It’s an unusual, and excellent version of a very well known song.

I hope you all dig it, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, April 16, 2013 11:39 am

The Meters

Listen/Download The Meters – Good Old Funky Music

Greetings all

How about something heavy from the Meters?

Now – and I agree completely – there are those among you that would say that there ain’t nothing un-heavy in the Meters bag, but I would also say that there’s heavy, and then there’s HEAVY, and the tune I bring you today is HEAVY.

Though amongst the world of funk 45 (and other formats, natch) collectors, the Meters are held up as one of the cornerstones of the sound, I think it would be safe to say that a lot of folks take these titans for granted.

On the outside, i.e. among the straights, the chart-riders and such, the Meters were just another instro band, akin to Booker T and the MGs, albeit with less chart success.

To the collectorati, the Meters are a veritable mountain of cheap 45s (and much more expensive LPs) that are encountered on any decent dig.

To those of us who revel in the sound of some of the most rhythmically innovative funk ever made, the Meters stand astride the landscape like giants.

No matter how many times I’m asked “what is the funkiest record ever made” I always find my way back to ‘Cardova’, four and a half minutes of bad-assitude that cuts many a multi-hundred-dollar disc to shreds with ease.

The law firm of Nocentelli, Neville, Porter and Modeliste were the very definition of unfuckwithable, and ‘Good old Funky Music’ is one of my personal favorites in their oeuvre.

Released in 1971 as a non-LP 45, ‘Good Old Funky Music’ sees our friends from New Orleans throwing down on the wah-wah pedal, whilst turning up the funk dial considerably.

‘Good Old Funky Music’ was the last 45 Josie released by the Meters before they moved to Reprise in early 1972.

I would end – as I often do – by hoping that you all dig the record as much as I do, but in this case at least, that ought to be a foregone conclusion.

See you on Friday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (7)

By Larry, April 14, 2013 10:03 am

Brian Auger (Top left) and the Trinity

Listen/Download Brian Auger and the Trinity – I Wanna Take You Higher

Listen/Download Brian Auger and the Trinity – Listen Here

Greetings all

Welcome to yet another week in which the digital artifacts of the analog age are unearthed and put on display for the edification (and edumacation) of all involved.

If you were following the coming and going hereabouts you will have noted that the Funky16Corners fam vacated for a short time, in which we went in search of rest, relaxation, and in my case, records.

I was very lucky indeed, having been tipped off to an excellent digging spot or two by a friend.

Though I had never visited Pittsburgh before (odd, I know) I was aware that the good people of the region had excellent taste in music, especially where R&B and soul were concerned. I figured that it must follow (and it did) that records of that ilk must be available thereabouts.

The first spot I hit gave up the goods (if only I’d had 10 or 15 more hours, and the cash that would have required), with yours truly exiting the store with a nice fat stack of funk, soul and all kinds of Iron Leg ish (the popsike and what not).

One of the disks I was most pleased to have encountered is the one you see before you today.

I have had the ‘Befour’ LP (1970) by Brian Auger and the Trinity for years, but had no idea that there were any 45s (or the edits there-on) released from the album, which is why finding the 7” with versions of ‘I Wanna Take You Higher’ and ‘Listen Here’ was such a groove.

Auger was in the top rank of UK Hammond wranglers, first in the Steampacket, then alongside the mighty Julie Driscoll , then onward with the Trinity and the Oblivion Express, getting progressively jazz-funkier as he went on.

I dig both his earlier and later stuff, and ‘Befour’ is an excellent example of the latter, as well as being fairly easy to find on the cheap.

The excellent version of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘I Wanna Take You Higher’ runs the same 5:00 on the 45 as on the album, with some excellent organ and guitar.

The version of ‘Listen Here’ is what makes this 45 worth grabbing.

‘Listen Here’, written and originally recorded by the great Eddie Harris is one of the true ‘standards’ of the soul jazz genre, recorded in many ways, by many people and having appeared in this space a time or two over the years.

The LP version of ‘Listen Here’ runs almost nine and a half minutes, substantial portion of which is devoted to a long (way too long) drum solo by Clive Thacker. It’s not that old Clive wasn’t up to the task, but – and I say this as a drummer – the hippie era drum solo was one of the more unfortunate musical traditions, thankfully gone by the wayside.

The 45 edit of the song truncates the percussion breakdown to a tasteful 27 seconds, keeping the forward momentum of the musical enterprise intact, while also giving the drummer his oft requested “some”.

It is a groovy disc indeed, and well worth grabbing should you come across a copy of your own.

I hope you dig it and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 11, 2013 12:28 pm

Earl Cosby aka Jackie Lee aka Earl Nelson

Listen/Download Earl Cosby – Ooh Honey Baby

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and that means it’s Funky16Corners Radio Show time again. We take to the airwaves of the interwebs every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If your ears aren’t available then, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, or grab an MP3 out of the archive here at the blog.

The tune I bring you today is yet another example of the talents of the mighty Earl Nelson, aka Jackie Lee, aka Earl Cosby.

While I have never gotten to the bottom of why Nelson recorded in so many guises during the 60s, I can say with confidence that the sounds he made were always very groovy.

If West Coast Northern Soul is your bag, you already know that Nelson recorded certified classics as part of Bob and Earl (‘Harlem Shuffle’) and as Jackie Lee (‘The Duck’).

The tune I bring you today is a fairy recent addition to my crates. I knew of the Earl Nelson recordings for years, but only found a copy of this particular 45 in the last few months.

‘Ooh Honey Baby’ b/w ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ was released in 1965 on the storied Mira label, then again (with the sides reversed, on Mirwood this time) in 1966.

Despite the record’s obvious charms – it’s a hard charging dance floor killer – it failed to make a mark on the charts either time. It’s got all the hallmarks of top quality Northern Soul, from the driving beat, vibes, classy horns and hooks a plenty.

Released under the name Jackie Lee, ‘The Duck’ was a Top 10 R&B hit in 1965, and it’s possible that the ‘Earl Cosby’ persona fell by the wayside as a result.

That said, both side of this disc are excellent, and well worth seeking out to add to your crates.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back on Monday.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.