A never-issued album by funky guitar legend Melvin S
parks – recorded right after his final record for the Westbound label, and appearing here for the first time ever! S
parks first rose to fame via funky work with Lonnie Smith and Lou Donaldson in the late 60s, the cut some killer albums of his own and with organist Leon Spencer in the 60s – before disappearing a bit until a great revival in more recent years! This set represents S
parks right before he dropped off the map – a session that's done with a sweet jazz funk vibe that shows the way that labels like Westbound were picking up some of the style of the successful CTI/
Kudu imprint – mixing some larger charts with the leader's solo strengths – allowing maybe some more soulful influences in the rhythms, while still going for a jazz funk approach overall. The set's much more instrumental than S
parks' last record for Westbound, which had more vocals – and although a few tracks have an upbeat clubby style, most of the music is more in a midtempo mode. Titles include "Love Tones", "I'm Funky Now", "I'm Gonna Funk You Up", "You're Gonna Make It", "The Truth Hurts", "Make It Good", and "Disco Booty".
(Jazz, Soul)