Category Archives: Funk

SOUL EMISSARIES-SUPERFUNK.

SOUL EMISSARIES-SUPERFUNK. Over the last ten years, I’ve watched as many record companies, especially small, independent labels, release a compilation that catches the record buying public’s imagination. For these record companies, they’ve hit the jackpot. Sometimes, they even hit the jackpot twice, when another compilation series proves popular. So, every year,  as they’re working out …

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CHOCOLATE MILK-ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS.

CHOCOLATE MILK-ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS. During their career, Chocolate Milk recorded with both Allen Toussaint and Paul McCartney and released eight albums. Of these eight albums, their debut album Action Speaks Louder Than Words is probably the best known. Released in 1975, Action Speaks Louder Than Words is a mixture of funk and soul. …

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AXEL KRYGIER-HOMBRE DE PIEDRA.

AXEL KRYGIER-HOMBRE DE PIEDRA. Axel Krygier’s career began thirty years ago, back in 1985. Since then, the Buenos Aries’ born multi-instrumentalist has established a reputation as a musical maverick, who continually, has pushed musical boundaries to their limits, and sometimes, beyond. That’s apparent on Axel Krygier’s genre-melting fifth album, Hombre De Piedra, (Man Of Stone), …

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NEXT STOP SOWETO-ZULU ROCK, AFRO DISCO AND MBQANGA 1975-1985.

NEXT STOP SOWETO-ZULU ROCK, AFRO DISCO AND MBQANGA 1975-1985. Back in October 2014, Strut Records released the latest volume in their critically acclaimed Next Stop Soweto series, Next Stop Soweto Presents Spirit of Malombo: Malombo, Jabula, Jazz Afrika 1966-1984. It was released to widespread critical acclaim, and lauded as the finest instalment in the Next …

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ATA KAK-OBAA SIMA.

ATA KAK-OBAA SIMA. Twenty-one years ago, back in 1994, Ata Kak originally released his debut album Obaa Sima. It was no ordinary album. Obaa Sima was released with the help of his college professor and Ata’s twin brother. His brother designed the artwork for the cassette, and Professor O.A. DeGraft Johnson, helped release Obaa Sima …

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THE BEST FIFTEEN BOX SETS OF 2014.

THE BEST FIFTEEN BOX SETS OF 2014. As anyone with a penchant for box sets knows, that box shapes come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, the CDs or vinyl comes in a basic box, other times, the box set is luxurious and lovingly compiled. Examples of both feature in my list of the fifteen …

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THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 1.

THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 1. 2014 is almost over. So it’s that time again, time for me to choose my fifty best reissues of 2014. To do that, I’ve listened to a mountain of music. Eventually, I came up with fifty albums. Here they are. GATO BARBIERI-THE THIRD WORLD.  Bob Thiele signed Gato …

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THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 3.

THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 3. ELTON JOHN-GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. Although critical acclaim and commercial success were constant companions for Elton John between 1970 and 1978, one year stood out, 1973. During 1973, Elton released two of his most successful albums. The first of these two albums was Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only …

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THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 4.

THE FIFTY BEST REISSUES OF 2014-PART 4. TERRY REID-RIVER. By 1973, Terry Reid’s contract with Mickie Most was over. Now Terry’s career could resume. He signed to Atlantic Records and began work on his third solo album, River, which was rereleased by BGO Records during 2014. Produced by Yes’ Eddy Offord and Tom Dowd, River …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 1.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 1. As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time to compile my fifty best compilations of 2014. So, here goes. A BLUES TRIBUTE TO CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL. A Blues Tribute To Creedence Clearwater Revival was the third instalment in Cleopatra Records’ Tribute To series.  Twelve tracks from Creedence Clearwater …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 2.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 2. DISCO: A FINE SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT DISCO, MODERN SOUL AND BOOGIE 1978-82. After the death of disco in 1979, boogie and Modern Soul provided the soundtrack to dance-floors. This includes the music on Soul Jazz Records’ compilation Disco: A Fine Selection of Independent Disco, Modern Soul and Boogie …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 3.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 3. KENT’S CELLAR OF SOUL VOLUME 3. Eight years after the release of Kent’s Cellar Of Soul Volume 2, Kent Soul have belatedly released the followup, Kent’s Cellar Of Soul Volume 3. It’s been well worth the wait. The Kent’s Cellar Of Soul seems to mature like a fine …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 4.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 4. NEW ORLEANS SOUL: THE ORIGINAL SOUND OF NEW ORLEANS SOUL 1960-1976. Over the past ten years, Soul Jazz Records have been documenting the history of New Orleans’ funk. They’ve released a number of lovingly compiled, and critically acclaimed compilations. These compilations were some of the best compilations of …

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THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 5.

THE FIFTY BEST COMPILATIONS OF 2014-PART 5. STRANGE BREAKS AND MR. THING III. One of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed compilation series made a welcome return in May 2014. That’s Strange Breaks and Mr. Thing III. It’s been a long time coming. Five years in fact. So, after a five year back, Mr. …

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THE GRITS-MAKE A SOUND.

THE GRITS-MAKE A SOUND. Five long years have passed since The Grits released their debut eponymous debut album. Recently, however, The Grits have released their long awaited sophomore album, Make A Sound. It essentially, is The Grits’ comeback album. As comeback albums go, Make A Sound which was recently released on BBE Music, is like …

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CRYSTAL WINGS-FIRST FLIGHT.

CRYSTAL WINGS-FIRST FLIGHT. For many people, their introduction to the music of Crystal Wings was on BBE Music’s 2011 compilation, The Real Sound Of Chicago and Beyond: Underground Disco and Boogie. It featured It Ain’t Easy, a track from Crystal Wings one and only album, First Flight, which was a private pressing released back in …

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CRAIG PEYTON GROUP-PYRAMID LOVE.

CRAIG PEYTON GROUP-PYRAMID LOVE. For Craig Peyton, the founder member of Band X, 1976 was the most important year of his nascent musical career. It was the year Band X released their debut album The Best Of Band X. However, The Best Of Band X a private pressing, wasn’t a commercial success. Instead, this innovative, …

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BAND X-THE BEST OF BAND X.

BAND X-THE BEST OF BAND X. Back in 1976, musical maverick, Craig Peyton, was an up-and-coming musician, songwriter, arranger and producer. His latest musical vehicle was Band X, which he founded with Alan Grzyb, Victor Preston and Joey Bellomo. However, originally, Craig was a jazz drummer and vibraphonist. Then when synths started making inroads into …

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VERCKYS ET L’ORCHESTRE VEVE-CONGOLESE FUNK, AFROBEAT AND PSYCHEDELIC RUMBA 1969-1978.

VERCKYS ET L’ORCHESTRE VEVE-CONGOLESE FUNK, AFROBEAT AND PSYCHEDELIC RUMBA 1969-1978. There’s a very good reason Georges Mateta Kiamuangana a.k.a Verckys, can remember the 5th of April 1969. It was the exact date he founded Orchestre Vévé. He’d just returned from Paris, where he suffered a life-threatening illness. At the time, Georges was a member of …

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BOMBAY DISCO VOLUME 2.

BOMBAY DISCO VOLUME 2. 1979 was a landmark year in the history of disco. Suddenly, after being the musical flavour of the month for several years, disco sucked. In the space of a year, disco went from hero to zero. Disco’s downfall started on Christmas Eve 1978,  That’s when Steve Dahl was fired by Chicago …

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