A damn funky record – way more so than you might expect from the "string" in the title! The group's kind of an answer to the Soulful Strings ensemble headed by Richard Evans for Cadet/Concept in Chicago – and like that group, it mixes up funky rhythms with some sweet large orchestrations – in a style that's almost a precursor of blacksploitation funk to come in the 70s! Paul Riser handles arrangements – very much in the same spirit of Evans – and he picks up a hip Motown groove that bridges sweeping soul and gritty funk – all played to perfection by an ensemble led by Gordon Staples, and featuring players from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra! There's lots of funky nuggets in the set – and titles include excellent originals like "Strung Out", "Toonie", and "Sounds of the Zodiac" – plus "The April Fools", "The Look Of Love", "Get Down", "If Your Love Were Mine", "Someday We'll Be Together", and "From A Heart That's True To Only You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest club records ever cut – and one with a great gimmick too! That gimmick is the "hotel sheet" – an instrument created by percussionist Jack Ashford, which is a light piece of metal that's snapped back and worth to create these cool wibbly, wobbly waves of sound – almost like a moog at times, which gives some of these tracks a bit of a P&P Records vibe! Ashford was a member of The Funk Brothers – and a percussionist on countless classic Motown sessions – but this album was recorded in LA with a sweet electric groove, and a mix of strings and funk that almost rivals Jack's only other full album – a rare blacksploitation soundtrack. The set features full arrangements from Paul Riser, orchestrations from Gordon Staples, and the whole thing was recorded at the Marvin Gaye studios – which you can almost hear in Ashford's surprisingly great vocals. The title cut "Hotel Sheet" has this wonderful popping moogy sound that's very nice – and other tracks include "Funky Disco Party", "Shar", "Hi Mom, Hi Al", and "Get Right On Top". CD