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Funky 45's
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| That New Orleans Sound |
 | Benny Spellman – I Feel Good / The Word Game (Atlantic) – ‘I Feel Good’ is a tune I chased down for YEARS, never knowing who did the original version. I was familiar with the Artwoods’ version, and had guessed that the ‘N. Neville’ credit was in fact Allen Toussaint, but never saw any reference to who in New Orleans had done the song first. Earlier this year I stumbled on this 45 on E-Bay and made the connection. Spellman (one of the GREAT New Orleans performers) does a killer original. There’s a great horn section, and the tune has cool propulsive beat. The flip, ‘The Word Game’ sees Toussaint recycling himself. This is actually a new Spellman vocal on the musical track of the Stokes’ ‘Young Man Old Man’. Cool record both times. |
| Benny Spellman – Fortune Teller / Lipstick Traces (Minit) – And…speaking of Benny Spellman tunes that were big British Invasion numbers, here’s the king! Covered by the Rolling Stones, The Who, Tony Jackson, Downliners Sect and the Throb in Australia, ‘Fortune Teller’ was a fave with R&B’ers for good reason. Even in its raw form, it’s a menacing gem with pounding piano, wailing background vocals and a cool, cool lyric. Gotta love those maracas too (Mick Jagger sure did….). The flip is another story entirely. ‘Lipstick Traces’ inspired it’s own cover versions (the best by the O’Jays in 1965), but is a solid number illustrating the transition from old-school New Orleans R&B to 60’s pop. Check out the chorus where Spellman echoes the background vocals he did on Ernie K-Doe’s ‘Mother-In-Law’. |  |
 | Bobby
& The Heavyweights – Soul Train / Baby I Love You (Atlantic)
– This is a bona fide New Orleans rarity (released locally), so you can
imagine my surprise when I found a copy on Atlantic. This isn’t that
unusual (Eddie Bo had discs released on Capitol and Atlantic as well) but
I had never heard of it. The a-side ‘Soul Train’ (which was recently
included on the Soul Jazz comp ‘Saturday Night Fish Fry’) is an
outstanding slice of late-60’s soul, with a great vocal and horn chart.
‘Baby I Love You’ leans a little toward ‘frat-rock’ stylistically,
but is still pretty cool. Below is a recently scored copy of 'Soul Train' on the original New Orleans label, Mor. Soul. |
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| Lee Dorsey – Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) (Bell) - Man…if there was aver a 45 that stood as a manifesto of sorts, this is it. I can’t say that EVERYTHING Mr. Dorsey did from that point on WAS “funky”, but I can attest to the fact that a lot of what he did in that time period was (funky, that is). Much like the records of Betty Harris, Lee Dorsey’s 45’s took a wicked turn after Allen Toussaint invited the Meters into the studio. Herein we have some of that classic off-kilter New Orleans funk, the wick-wick-wickety bass of Mr. George Porter and the groovy vocals of Lee Dorsey himself. A must have for fans of the New Orleans funk, and a classic soul record under any circumstances. The Beastie Boys name-checked him and this record for a good reason. |  |
 | Lee Dorsey – Wonder Woman (Bell) – More groovy Lee Dor-seeee, but a little more soulful than funky. One of his better post-1967 tracks (45 only). Cool tune by Toussaint, and a nice driving beat. You can pick this one up as a bonus track on the Sundazed reissue of the ‘Ride Your Pony’ LP. |
| Bobby Marchan – Get Down With It (Dial) – The more I hear of Marchan’s mid-60’s soul records (as opposed to his earlier R&B discs with Huey Piano Smith and others) the more respect I have for the man. It’s a shame he didn’t hit it bigger (New Orleans seemed to be a big incubator of talent, but rarely let it get out to the rest of the world). He was a great singer, and had a tendency toward power-packed, danceable soul (which you get here). The tempo is on the slow side, but the momentum (edging just up to the earlier side of proto-funk, as is the case with many New Orleans records of the period) is powerful. |  |
 | Unemployed – They Won’t Let Me (Cotillion) – Recently comped on the Funky Delicacies collection ‘Wardell Quezerque’s Funky New Orleans’, ‘They Won’t Let Me’, and it’s b-side ‘Funky Rooster’ are perfect examples of early 70’s funky soul from the Big Easy. Though both sides feature vocals prominently, the influence of the Meters is always audible. ‘They Won’t Let Me’ has a great call and response lyric laid over funky organ and drums. ‘Funky Rooster’ is more of a novelty number, but still mighty funky. Keep your eyes out for their other Cotillion 45, ‘Funky Thing Pts 1&2’, which is also a killer. |
