Funky 45's — All Formats  

Wu Tang gets funky – as El Michels Affair serve up spare funky versions of two older classics – almost turning them back into the core samples from which they came! "Duel Of The Iron Mics" is totally great – slow-stepping drums, spare spooky piano, and flowing wave of sound that often carries dark little sounds and noises that shimmer at the bottom of the mix! "Bring The Ruckus" is more straightforwardly funky, but still keeps things slow – starting with a great drum break on the intro, then rolling into a very weird-sounding blend of instruments that has plenty of odd Eastern elements!

There's a nice little knock at the start of this one – kind of a snapping drum part that's not really a break, but which definitely gets the groove going – a massive blend of female vocals, organ, and funky guitar! "I Predict A Riot" follows with even more knocking on the drums – some great snapping parts that set the tune on fire, and seem to catch to the Hammond as well – really turning into an instrumental conflagration once the horns come into the mix!

Early work from Syl – very different than some of his later work! Both cuts were produced by Johnny Cameron – done with a hard bluesy groove, but also more of a jazz-based approach on the vocals. Syl's voice still sounds a lot like before, but there's less guitar in the grooves – and more of a hard-vamping band approach, with piano and horns pushing out in an Atlantic Records kind of sound. Still great – and "Straight No Chaser" is probably the best, not a cover of the jazz standard, but a hard romping groover!

Madly tripped-out grooves from the Menehan Street Band! "Wolf" is a number with a lot of Ethiopian elements in its groove – a cut that feels like it came from one of Mulatu's famous albums of the 70s – with lots of odd-stepping rhythms, offbeat horn parts, and this spacey bit of guitar and organ that really makes the tune sound spooky! "Bushwick Lullaby" is pretty sinister too – a bit more standard funk, but still pretty offbeat – and with some angular horn lines that would make Salah Ragab proud!

The Mocambo combo gets the Kenny Dope treatment – in a wicked cover of the hip hop classic "The Message"! The tune's an instrumental here, and the groove is played live – but it's got a nice similarity to the Grandmaster Flash original, complete with that vamping bit on the chorus! Drums are nice and hard – mixed up strongly by Kenny – and there's an extended break near the end!

Stormin Philly soul from The Orlons – a stepping groover that's got some great interplay between the female lead and the harmony vocals! There's a proud strut that makes the tune one of the Orlons' standout numbers – and "No Love But Your Love" has these great vibes that jingle around underneath the vocals!

2 funky sample classics - back to back on one 45! "EVA" is one of the greatest tracks ever by Jean Jacques Perry – a mad mix of snapping beats, spacey moog, and these cool bell tones – sampled famously by Gang Starr, but even funkier straight up in this original mix! "Take Yo Praise" is a great bit of work from righteous poetess Camille Yarbrough – starts with a spare vocal bit, then bubbles with a superdope bass part that snaps along with some heavy guitar and conga beats!

A mad mod number from Dee Dee Sharp – her own unique take on the Ben Tucker tune, and one of the most soulful tracks from her early years at Cameo Records! The cut's got that mod jazz vibe that always makes it great – but its Dee Dee's vocals that really send the whole thing soaring – stretching out with righteous undercurrents that are quite different than any other reading of the track we've heard! "Standing In The Need" is a nice one too – more grooving than standing, with a cool two-step Philly rhythm at the bottom!

Early Philly soul from Bunny Sigler – two Leon Huff tracks served up perfectly by the singer! "Girl Don't Make Me Wait" has these hard vibes that soar along with the groove – a whirling frenzy that really seems to bring out some great harmonies as Sigler's lead mixes with the backing group! "Follow Your Heart" is a burner too – even better than the main track, with some of the most hard-edged vocals we've ever heard from Bunny!

A jazzy dancefloor classic from Pal Joey! During the late 80s, lots of UK producers and groups were working in a nu jazz mode – mixing older jazz styles with newer rhythms and production, in a mode that often was called acid jazz, but which also moved into other camps. In the US, though, few groups were making such a stab at a nu style – save for Soho, whose "Hot Music" was one of the first new American underground cuts to really bring back that classic jazz flavor. The cut's a totally catchy one, worked around riffing hi-hit and snare fills, looped over and over, in a mode that's certainly been copped a lot lately by French producers! "Dance" is another number from the Pal Joey universe – a bit more familiar house overall, but still filled with lots of funky touches the give things a very classic feel!

A jazzy dancefloor classic from Pal Joey! During the late 80s, lots of UK producers and groups were working in a nu jazz mode – mixing older jazz styles with newer rhythms and production, in a mode that often was called acid jazz, but which also moved into other camps. In the US, though, few groups were making such a stab at a nu style – save for Soho, whose "Hot Music" was one of the first new American underground cuts to really bring back that classic jazz flavor. The cut's a totally catchy one, worked around riffing hi-hit and snare fills, looped over and over, in a mode that's certainly been copped a lot lately by French producers! "Dance" is another number from the Pal Joey universe – a bit more familiar house overall, but still filled with lots of funky touches the give things a very classic feel!

14 smoking analog dubs from the mighty King Tubby – a killer 7 X 7 inch box set from the Dubmaster – culled from the version sides of Bunny Striker Lee's original 70s 7-inch releases and bonus cuts from the first four King Tubby albums! Benchmark dubs sourced from classic tracks by Cornell Campbell & The Eternals, Linval Thompson, Horace Andy, Johnny Clarke, Cornell Campbell, Jackie Edwards and others in nice box set from Jamaican Recordings. Includes "Roots Of Dub/Dream Locks Dub", "A Better Version/A Good Version", "Declaration Of Dub/A Truthful Dub", "The Jahovah Version/Conversation Dub", "Waltzing Mathilda/Weeping Dub", "Natty Dub/Move Out Of Babylon Dub" and Don't Cut Off Your Dreadlocks/A Rougher Version".

Two rare Philly grooves – both from the Cameo/Parkway family of labels! "You Didn't Say A Word" is a lasting treasure from Yvonne Baker – a Northern Soul groover that soars with this great horn-heavy lead – and gets this cool crackling vocal from Yvonne that's mighty nice! Hattie Winston slows it down a bit on the flip – sounding amazing on "Pictures Don't Lie", a tune that's almost got a New York uptown sort of vibe!

Another great funky single from the Truth & Soul camp – from the Afro-funky Bama & The Family & Asiko! "Feeling Good" is by Bama & The Family is a great little hybrid of the tried-and-true funky 45 style, with just a touch of Fela expansiveness. It's a groover, with long sax notes stretched over some lumbering funky drums, and some called vocal vamps. "Drums Of Asiko" by Asiko is quite appropriately named – nothing but percussion here, with clicking and thumping bongos and other slapped acoustic beats – making this one a bit more Africa-derived than the A-side!

A Cameo cooker from Bobby Paris – the kind of single that makes us wish we could hear a full album from the singer! "Night Owl" has this perfection right from the start – that rare Northern Soul mix of vocals, instrumentation, and rhythms that are all right on the money – soaring out with an upbeat, grooving sound that never lets up! "Tears On My Pillow" isn't nearly as weepy as it might sound – thanks to a vamping rhythm that hits a sock-soul groove at the start – and really offsets the sad theme of the lyrics.

A jazzy dancefloor classic from Pal Joey! During the late 80s, lots of UK producers and groups were working in a nu jazz mode – mixing older jazz styles with newer rhythms and production, in a mode that often was called acid jazz, but which also moved into other camps. In the US, though, few groups were making such a stab at a nu style – save for Soho, whose "Hot Music" was one of the first new American underground cuts to really bring back that classic jazz flavor. The cut's a totally catchy one, worked around riffing hi-hit and snare fills, looped over and over, in a mode that's certainly been copped a lot lately by French producers! "Dance" is another number from the Pal Joey universe – a bit more familiar house overall, but still filled with lots of funky touches the give things a very classic feel!