45's

Issue 3 1, 2, 3, 4

	Shells - Whiplash b/w When I'm Blue (Conlo) Wow! Big ups to my man Haim Kenig for bringing this little slice of heaven to my attention. Two sides of killer mid-60’s Chi-town soul that are among the best I’ve ever heard. Produced by Jerry Butler (who also did their other 45, released as the Four Shells on Stax), ‘Whiplash’ is a dance craze cooker with great harmony vocals and a guitar track that sounds like Dick Taylor of the Pretty Things was sitting in on the session. The flip, ‘When I’m Blue’ is a fantastic moody cut. This is just amazing…incredible. NEW! - I recently tracked down what appears to be a nationally distributed issue of the Shells 45 (see above). Click to hear a sample of 'Whiplash'
	Cash McCall - You Ain't Too Cool (Thomas) Cool instrumental on the b-side of McCall’s first single for Thomas. As this is a Monk Higgins joint I suspect that it is in fact the big man on the organ here. Listening to this it’s hard to believe that this was 1966 (it sounds much later). Kind of slow and moody, with some cool sax, but the keyboards (sounds like a combo organ) are very cool and the subdued guitar is excellent. Dig that craaaazy label too Click to hear a sample of 'You Ain't Too Cool'
	Hear a sample	Cold Blood - You Got Me Hummin' (San Francisco) – Wicked cover of Sam & Dave from late-60’s, racially mixed Frisco horn band (with a twin brother horn section!). Led by Lydia Pense (a slightly more tasteful Janis Joplin type) Cold Blood recorded for Bill Graham’s Atlantic-distributed ‘boutique’ label San Francisco. ‘You Got Me Hummin’ has some great funky bass and a razor sharp horn section. The version on the LP is waaay too long, so stick with the 45. The track to check out on the LP is their version of ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You’, which opens with a super funky drum and bass riff that has since been sampled by Jurassic 5 among others.
	Wayne Cochran - Chopper 70 (King) – You just have to love Wayne Cochran. Big, fat country boy thinks he’s James Brown, and occasionally pulling off a fairly passable imitation of the master. The a-side of this disc, a bellowing take on ‘The Harlem Shuffle’ is OK, but this instro is the better of the two. Opening with motorcycle sound effects, it kicks into an almost latin groove with a tight horn section, ending up sounding like a slightly more soulful version of the Ides Of March.
	Hear a sample	BT Express - Do It ('Til You’re Satisfied) Pt1 & Pt2 (Roadshow/Scepter) Even though I’ve heard some folks refer to BT Express as a ‘disco’ band (just cuz a disc got played in discos doesn’t make it a disco record) , ‘Do It…’ is one of the great funky records ever to rise up out of NYC. Featuring a solid backbeat (gotta love those congas), a horn section that sounds like it was borrowed from Manu Dibango, a wicked fuzz guitar and some cheesy organ, the track is a masterpiece of sophisticated layering that still manages to sound gritty. Produced by Jeff Lane and Tom Moulton (who went on to become a master of dance record production and mixing), the record is a hypnotic, funky masterpiece. It stands proudly alongside contemporaries like the Temps ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’ (they both manage to make adding a harp on a soul record sound like a stroke of genius). If you can’t find a sample here, unplug your decks and go home.
	Ba-Roz - Mocking Bird Instrumental (Pisces) – Cool early-70’s funk on the Ohio, Pisces label, aided by Funkadelics Bernie Worrell and Calvin Simon. The instro version on the b-side has some nice fat organ and is considerably less far-out than the Parliament-Funkadelic material from the same era. The vocal side is OK, and it sure beats the stuffing out of James Taylor (serial killer of R&B songs) and Carly Simon.	Hear a sample
	Hear a sample	Gene Dozier & The Brotherhood - Hunk Of Funk (Minit) Classic, slow-burn funk instrumental. Opens up with a nice drum snap, and you gotta love the piano rolling under everything and the soul guitar playing on top. The flip side, ‘One For Bess’ has some great sax work. I hear their version of ‘Funky Broadway’ is a killer too.