Funky 45's — All Formats  

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".

Timeless Detroit hip hop from Fatt Father on this limited single for Funk Night – featuring Guilty Simpson & Phat Kat and tight production by Black Milk! On one side is tight, beat heavy contempory Detroit underground hip hop gem – led strongly by Fatt Father and supported by Motor City mainstays guilty and Phat Kat – plus stellar Black Milk production. That last facet gets the spotlight on the B-side instrumental.

A pair of great gritty groovers! "So Good" has this vamping guitar/sax line right at the start – a groove that sets things going wonderfully – so that the tune really soars when Ruben's rough-edged vocals come in over the top! "Bossman" has a twangy twangy start – a guitar that vamps along bold and loud – with vocals from Deane Hawley that match that energy beautifully!

Cali funk revivalists The Incredible Say Whats! pay tribute to a rare late 60s treasure by Leon Haywood's group The Soul Machine – covering both sides of funky 45 from 1968! Each demonstrates real love for the original versions, ably replicating the vibe, without mimicking it – a tricky thing to pull off, but the fresh funky life breathed into these too little heard gems is, well. . .kinda incredible! "Twitchie Feet" is built around a stable, funky drummer and wicked guitar and bass sound, nicely cooking organ and really great use of a solid horn section – that latter element may be even a bit more prominent than the version that inspired it! "Bag Of Goodies" is, natch, another goodie – again with some great use of jazz funk organs, guitar and horns. Recorded in San Francisco with vintage mic & amps, giving it the wholly classic vibe the group was shooting for. Direct hit!

A funky treasure! The single features alternate versions of two funky funky tunes by the great Galt MacDermot – recorded in the late 60s with Idris Muhammad on drums! Side one features the sublime "Ripped Open By Metal Explosions", one of Galt's most sampled funky tracks – presented here in an edited version which really pumps up the drums! "Let the Sunshine In" is done here in one of the funkiest versions you'll ever hear – drums and bass vamping along with a tight little groove, as horns come in over the top and give the track a weird little edge!

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".

2 nice ones from Marvin! Both tracks are lesser-known than some of his bigger hits of the 60s, but they both have strong production – "Little Darling" by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, and "Hey Diddle" by the great Harvey Fuqua. Gaye's voice is great, as always, and the Motown hit sound is firmly in place.

An early stunner from Black Ivory – a great groover, done with kind of a bouncy lilting groove that has lots of bass, and a good mix with the group's harmony vocals! One of the funkiest from Fatback – "Goin' to See My Baby" is especially tough, and starts out with a massive breakbeat on the intro, then jumps into wicky-wacky basslines.

Acoustic guitar vamps strongly along with the groove – setting up a mighty hip rhythm for the vocals and harmonica of Sonny Boy Williamson! "Polly" is one of those numbers that perfectly shows Sonny's influence on 60s rockers – especially in the UK – and the "Mellow Chick" flipside has a similar bad-strutting groove!

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 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 sweet sweet boogie groove from Arnie Love & The Lovettes – a tune that bumps along with tight bass right from the start – then gets tight horns, a soaring keyboard line, and a hell of a lot of energy – even before the vocals come into the mix! Arnie's singing has a slightly rough edge – offset by the girls' voices – which gives the tune a really multi-faceted sort of charm. "Invisible Wind" is darker and a bit more urgent – but an equally appealing groover too!

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!

Bass bumps beautifully at the start of "Rasklad" – spare and funky in a space all its own – then slowly layered with riffing guitar and some mighty sweet breaking drums! The groove sets the stage perfectly for a sweet Hammond line in the middle – cooking the tune up and down, and three times sideways – all with the raw, gritty feel of a vintage funk instrumental! "Girl From Sao Paulo" is a completely different groove – piano instead of organ, and played with this soulful left hand style that's almost Chicago 1965 – set to funky bass and drums that would have made Young and Holt plenty proud!

Tremendous! "Boss Lady" struts and vamps like some lost JBs number – and Coko's vocals are right up there with the best work from Lyn Collins or Marva Whitney – a sound that blows away even the best of today's funky singers! Plus, the production is totally rock-solid – even more on the money for a funky 45 groove than most other labels – and just right for the flipside too!