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Funky 45's
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Diplomats of Solid Sound - Bullfrog Boogaloo b/w Willies Theme
(Prescription) - Funky Iowa, People It's BAAAAAD! No, really! The D.O.S.S. are a Hammond led combo from the land of corn and cows with a real taste for the grooviest of sounds. 'Bullfrog Boogaloo' sounds like a soul meeting between Booker T. Jones and Art Neville, with a slow, greeeezy groove. There's also a nice tip of the hat to 'Hip Hug Her' at the end of the track. 'Willies Theme' funks things up a little with just the perfect hint of wah-wah, and some fantastic interplay between the guitar and the organ. It's nice to hear a band doing this stuff that actually has the chops to pull it off without getting boring. I'll look forward to a full length disc from these guys. Excellent. |
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| Beams
Presents the Keb Darge Experience – In deep funk circles, Keb Darge is the Godfather. One of the first to the table (after his years as a Northern Soul wax-slinger), and possessor of one of those top-dollar, rarity-rich crates, KD is as close to a trend-setter the funk world has (especially in the UK). He has comped before (to excellent results) but this one leaves something to be desired. Despite the fact that it’s worth having for BRILLIANT tunes like Leroy and the Drivers’ ‘The Sad Chiken’, and Herb Johnson’s Philly phunk classic ‘Damph F’aint’ (which you are NEVER going to find an original copy of), the last third of the disc (pressed for the Japanese market by Goldmine in the UK) is composed of stuff that creeps uncomfortably close to disco (not the good stuff either). I know that some of the folks in the UK dig that light-weight modern soul, but when you prop it up next to ‘Fish Head’ by Slim and the Soulful Saints, your sending lambs to the slaughter. There are a couple of groovy Northern numbers sandwiched in between the two extremes, but I hear that other stuff and I feel like the guy that ate three-quarters of the way through a hamburger and bit into a rat. Ugh. |
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| Detroit
Sex Machines - The Funky Crawl b/w Rap It Together (Soul Track / Soul Fire) Reissue disc from the Desco/Soul Fire funk farm, this, like most of their other releases is as tasty as can be. 'The Funky Crawl' has a solid groove with a great vocal, JB style guitar and some groovy horns. 'Rap It Together' turns down the heat a little, and sounds a little like the DSM's had a copy of 'Message From The Meters' on their Close'N'Play. Grab it if you can find it. |
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Soul President - Get It Right b/w Got To Have It (Big Mack /Soul Fire) Another "authentic" reissue (i.e. it looks like the 'real thing' minus 30 years of dust), from the folks at Soul Fire (nee Desco). Both sides of this 45 are KILLER funk, but my fave has to be 'Got To Have It' which starts out with a crazy beat and something in the background that sounds like a steel drum. There's a very cool late-60's psychedelic funk edge here (including references to the Haight-Ashbury), but make no mistake: this is JAMMING funk. There's a Watts 103rd St/Sound Explosion. vibe, and I dig it. The b-side is a little closer to the center, but still mighty funky. |  |
 | Various
Artists - Pow City! - I know this has been out for a while but I had been unable to score a copy. That is until my man Bill Luther dropped one into my Christmas stocking. Sub-titled 'Fabulous Shakers Soul Party', the disc has a buttload of great, wailing soul, but also a heaping helping of funk. In fact, the overall sound here is that of soul music morphing into funk. The beats are getting heavier, the butts shaking a little wilder and the processes are exploding into naturals. My faves here are Dottie Campbell's groovy distaff reworking of the Sir Douglas Quintet with 'He's About A Mover' (dig that crazy percolating organ), Johnnie Jones and the King Casuals smokin' 'It's Gonna Be Good' , Andre Williams appearing as himself and disguised as Jomo, and Phunkadelphia's own Interpretations score with 'Automatic Soul, Pt. 2'. A killer diller from start to finish. |
