Funky 45's — All Formats  

Ahhhhhh . . . The genius of Fatback! "Groovy Kind Of Day" is a really sweet jazzy number from the group – laidback and breezy, with a skipping drum beat, a warm group vocal, and nice touches on flute and electric keys that really give the cut a unique feel! "Party Time" is back to the group's funkier style – but that's a-ok with us too! The track's got a wikki-wikki bit of electronics as the groove builds up – and lots of fierce vocals as it rolls on!

Eastern tinged jazzy funk rock from Dutch born Okko Bekker! "East Indian Traffic" has a totally wicked funky backbone and a spindly, dexterous sitar way out front. Some jazz funk horns kick in as it goes along, too. "Ganges Delta" as another gem, less sorta soundtrack pulpy styled as the A-side, still a great and genre straddling number. Groovy stuff that appeared on Okko's cool Sitar & Electronics LP.

A great lost single from Chess! The a-side, "Pennant Fever", features the 1969 Chicago Cubs, singing a version of "Fever" with vocals about their (soon to be aborted) run for the world series. The real treat, though, is the flipside, the instrumental "Slide", by the Chicago Cubs Clark St. Band – most likely a Chess/Cadet studio group, fronted by a hard-wailing organist. The organ player is great, and the instrumental track is a really nice groover – with great Hammond riffs and groovy guitar parts.

A landmark of Chicago soul! "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" was a huuuuuuge crossover track for Tyrone – and it mixed his roosty vocal style with the soaring Chisoul arrangements of Tom Tom in a very groovy way!

Romping drums and some heavy horns – a killer bit of southern funk with a really hard edge – almost a cross between New Orleans grooves and some of the deeper sounds of the Carolina scene, wrapped up with an undeniably groovy feel! The vocal number has some great shouted lyrics that really set the pace for the tune – and the instrumental flipside features some wicked guitar taking a long, laidback solo!

Sweet English vocals from this overlooked Dutch singer – a jazzy session recorded in the early 70s, but issued here for the very first time! The tracks have a great blend of jazz and groovy – in ways that recall some of the cooler singers on the Scandinavian scene of the time – or maybe work you might find on MPS from a few years before. Cees Schrama adds some great Fender Rhodes and Hammond to the backings – which also include the great Ferdinand Povel on tenor and flute. Titles include a killer funky version of "I Feel The Earth Move" – plus "The Fool On The Hill", "For Every Man There's A Woman", and "Mr Bojangles".

"One Eye Open" is a funky 45 classic! It's got a nice hard breakbeat on the intro, and then it leaps into a cool groover with a funny story that runs through the track. Nice stuff, and "Yaw'll" is pretty groovy, too.

A nice blend of gritty old school funk and breakbeat hip hop production on Cold Busted! "Blessing Da Funk" is a blessing, indeed – raw beats, irrepressive bass line, funky guitar grooves and sampled bits of party rockin' vocals. "Mr Scream" is another winner – with similar elements to the other side, plus some groovy organ and succinct funky brass blasts. Nice stuff – and funky!

Two of the funkiest cuts from Ohio's legendary Kenny Smith! "Skunkie" is a wicked little groove that's every bit as great as you might guess from the title – an instrumental that's filled with heavy snapping drum bits, as well as a mad triplet piano bit that really gives the tune a fantastic edge – lots of hard piano that gets all dark and sinister before the other instruments start doing their thing! "Everybody Knows" is more of a soul track, but still plenty darn great – soaring and groovy, with a really catchy vocal bit!

Funky soul from South America – groovy stuff from Usje Sukatma of Surinam! "Waiting For Your Love" is one of the rare few recordings he's sung in English, a sweet little stripped down disco styled number with guitar, bass, keys, drums, congas and more percussion – plus some groovy vocoder! "Pepundenku" is just as sweet, and feels a bit more tropically inflected.

A sweet Okeh rarity from the Seven Souls – a cut that bounces along with a groove that's right up there with the bigger Chicago soul issued by the label – that gentle swing that always played big in the Windy City soul scene of the 60s, topped with great harmony vocals from the group! "I'm No Stranger" is a bit more jaunty – almost funky, if we say so ourselves – with this guitar that gets great and groovy right at the start, before launching the tune's great vocals off on a tightly soaring riff.