Reviews

REVIEWS
Archive#2

Dr. John The Night Tripper – Gris Gris (Collectors Choice/Rhino) – This, the first LP by the good Doctor, is one of the darkest, trippiest discs of the late 60’s. Steeped DEEPLY in the voodoo culture of Nawlins, but recorded in Los Angeles (on some studio time left over from a Sonny & Cher session), ‘Gris Gris’ bears little resemblance to the good-timey Dr. John of ‘In The Right Place’. This album is like one of those abandoned plantations you see in horror movies. Way out in the bayou, covered with Spanish moss and all manner of decay. This is the Louisiana of Marie Laveux and les loups garou, filtered through the experimental West Coast psyche of LP’s like the Grateful Dead’s ‘Anthem of the Sun’. Mostly removed from the Nawlins R&B, soul and funk most people know, ‘Gris Gris’ is a melange of tribal chants and drumming, mandolins, pipe organ and clarinet.
The best cuts are the opener, ‘Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya’, in which Dr. John recites his menu of potions and elixirs, and the oft sampled ‘Walk On Gilded Splinters’, where he declares ‘Je suis un Grande Zombie’.Wild stuff.

Rufus Thomas – Do The Funky Something (Rhino) – Think about this…Rufus Thomas was 36 when he had is first hit in 1953. That would put him in his 50’s when he laid down the best material on this disc. How’s that for staying power?
Starting with ‘Bear Cat’ his answer record to Big Mama Thornton’s ‘Hound Dog’, the set moves quickly to the early 60’s when he did his classic series of ‘Dog’ records, ‘The Dog’, ‘Walking The Dog’ (done by everyone from the Rolling Stones and the Troggs to Hasil Adkins), and ‘Can Your Monkey Do The Dog’ (later perverted by the Cramps). Thomas, who started out as a radio personality, had a wild, gravelly voice and his delivery was more shouted than sung, but his records for Stax had a raw, funky energy and humor that had few equals.
The best stuff here picks up in the mid-60’s, when the Stax house band was laying down a stone solid variety of proto-funk. Cuts like ‘Sister’s Got a Boyfriend’, ‘Sophisticated Sissy’ and ‘Memphis Train’ are hard and funky years before anyone was talking about funk as a separate genre.
A few years later, Thomas started doing out and out funk, like the legendary ‘Do The Funky Chicken’, ‘(Do The) Push and Pull Pt.1’ and ‘Breakdown, Pt.1’. He’s certainly not the only guy to build his career on dance records, and he made some of the best, riding the R&B and pop charts for more than 20 years.

Preston Love – Preston Love’s Omaha Bar-B-Q (BGP) – A reissue of a late-60’s session on Kent by the sax player from the Johnny Otis show, ‘Omaha Bar-B-Q’ is a tasty collection of jazzy funk instrumentals. Featuring Love on sax and flute, Johnny Otis on drums and vibes and the 14 year old future cult figure Shuggie Otis on lead guitar, ‘Omaha Bar-B-Q’ rarely moves into gritty deep funk territory, but the sounds here are all very cool. Much of it has the laid back vibe of a funky soundtrack, with smooth horn sections, off-set by the bluesy guitar of young Shuggie. My fave here is the funny/funky ‘Cool Ade’ with Preston and Johnny trading wise-cracks between verses.

Freddy King – Hideaway (Rhino) - Freddy King was one of the best of the electric bluesmen that ruled in the 60’s. He had a solid command of his axe, and was quite a good singer as well. His playing was much imitated (see how many times you hear stuff Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan stole in these tunes), and tunes like ‘Hideaway’ became a blue print for British bluesmen of the the era.
His ‘You’ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling’ appears here in a slower, more thoughtful version than the raucous cover by Magic Sam. The highlights here though are his many hit instrumentals, like ‘San-Ho-Zay’, ‘Sen-Sa-Shun’, ‘The Stumble’ and the jazzy ‘Remington Ride’ many of which were top 10 R&B hits (and top 40 pop). Rhino has wisely included samples of King’s early 70’s tenure with Leon Russell’s Shelter Records. ‘Palace of the King’ and ‘Going Down’ both prove that King could rock with the best of them.

The Meters – Struttin’ (Sundazed) One of the new reissues of the Meter’s Josie and Warner Brothers LP’s, ‘Struttin’ sees the Meters at the top of their game.
Sundazed, mainly known for their meticulous reissue work with 60’s garage, surf and psychedelic rarities has recently turned their attention to New Orleans R&B. This reissue of the 1970 LP ‘Struttin’ in addition to many of the Meters’ best tracks, sports beautifully remastered sound.
Though they are often referred to as a New Orleans version of Booker T & The MG’s, the Meters were much, much more. While the MG’s were a fantastic band, the Meters built their sound on Nawlins second-line funk. Drummer Ziggy Modeliste was carrying on the tradition of drummers like Smokey Johnson, Earl Palmer and James Black, and added his own unique rhythmic sensibility. With Leo Nocentelli on guitar, George Porter on bass and Nawlins vet Art Neville on organ and vocals, the Meters played like they were sharing a single mind. Like the JB’s and Eddie Bo’s Soul Finders, the Meters managed to take what seem like disparate elements and weave them into a deeply funky polyrhythm.
In addition to better known Meters classics like ‘Chicken Strut’ and the funky ‘Hand Clapping Song’ the disc features a mellow take on ‘Wichita Lineman’ and the great (and previously unreleased) ‘Funky Meters Soul’.

Highlighters Band - Poppin' Popcorn b/w Funky 16 Corners (Stones Throw)
Soul Seven - South Side Funk Pt1 & Pt2 (Stones Throw)
If you weren't aware what a serious contribution the turntablists of the world were making to Deep Funk, these sweet little biscuits will set you right. The folks at Stones Throw, home of Peanut Butter Wolf and Cut Chemist, have resurrected the music on these records from long forgotten, but still mighty Texas (this month's cover boys, Soul Seven) and Indiana (Highlighters) funk bands of the 60's. The Highlighters Band b-side 'Funky 16 Corners (edit) - the tune that blew my mind so bad that I had to name my zine after it - is really what the funk revival is all about. Thirty or so years ago, the Highlighters created as solid a slice of funk as has ever been - as tight as James Brown and wilder than about 95% of all recorded funk. Jazzman records has also released a 45 of the full, unedited version of 'Funky 16 Corners' as well. 'Poppin' Popcorn' is a pretty solid groove but pales in comparison.
On the Texas tip, Soul Seven's 'South Side Funk Pts 1&2' is a smokin' instrumental with some very nice guitar and a great horn section (check out the sax solo on Pt.1).
Word is that Stones Throw is going to branch out into a full 12" comp of this kind of stuff. Groovy!

Various Artists - The Minit / Instant Story (Charly) – Better titled the Minit / Instant / Alon / Seven B story, this two CD set compiles some of the best tracks from Joe Banashak’s many New Orleans R&B labels. Another apt subtitle would be the Allen Toussaint story, because from their earliest days, many of the hits for these labels were written/arranged/produced (and sometimes performed) by Toussaint.
Featuring a who’s who of Nawlins R&B, soul and funk, the set features a few big national hits, most notably Ernie K-Doe’s ‘Mother In Law’ and Chris Kenner’s ‘I Like It Like That’. The rest of the set is composed of records that (despite their obvious quality) were never more than regional hits. Fans will recognize the original versions of tunes like Kenner’s ‘Land Of 1,000 Dances’, Benny Spellman’s ‘Fortune Teller’, Ernie K-Doe’s ‘A Certain Girl’ and Jessie Hill’s ‘Ooh Poo Pah Doo’.
The real finds here are tunes like ‘Diamond’ Joe Maryland’s ‘Moanin’ And Screamin Pts 1&2’, one of the darkest, loneliest soul ballads ever committed to wax. There’s a bunch of mid-period Eddie Bo like ‘Fence Of Love’ and ‘S.G.B. (Stone Graveyard Business)’ which show him well passing through a James Brown influence on the way to his own unique funk. There’s also Eddie Bo related tracks like ‘Lover And a Friend’ (his duet with Inez Cheatham aka Mary Jane Hooper) , Oliver Morgan’s ‘La La Man’ and Roger & The Gypsies’ mighty ‘Pass The Hatchet’.This is officially out of print, but I was able to find mail order outfits on the internet that still had copies. Well worth the investment.