A masterpiece of freeform funk from Mandrill – New York group at the start of the 70s, but one who work here with the best longform jamming styles of the Bay Area scene! The combo draw equal influence from jazz, funk, soul, and Latin – using all elements in a unique hybrid that's all their own – and which really favors instrumental passages more than vocal moments on this debut album – with searing lead guitar from Omar Mesa, next to plenty of organ lines, flute, trumpet, and tenor – all carried with heavy bass and percussion, and peppered with lots of surprises along the way! The whole thing's tremendous – a massively funky first statement from the group – with cuts that include the extended suite "Peace & Love", plus other funky goodies like "Symphonic Revolution", "Rollin' On", "Warning Blues", and "Mandrill". CD

Really tremendous work from Mandrill – an instant funky classic, and a set that has the group furthering the sublime sound they crafted on their seminal Composite Truth! The record has all these wonderful twists and turns – not just the usual 70s funky styles, but inflections from a globe's worth of influences – all filtered down and used here in fresh new ways to really keep the sound interesting – with a tightness that's never slick, and which instead has this really visionary approach that may well top some of Mandrill's higher-charting contemporaries! Instrumentation has plenty of jazz inflections, which really keeps things interesting – and the percussion has so many different styles going on, it's hard to keep track! Titles include the massive sample cut "Fat City Strut" – plus "Never Die", "Two Sisters Of Mystery", "She Ain't Lookin Too Tough", "Interlude", "Mango Meat", "Afrikus Retrospectus", and "Aspiration Flame". LP, Vinyl record album

A tasty set from Mandrill – one of their first records away from the Polydor label, but every bit as great as later efforts for that company, especially Mandrilland. The overall sound is a bit smoother than some of their full-out funky albums – but in a way that really helps blend together the band's unique mix of soul, Latin, and Afro-percussion grooves. Titles include "Stop & Go", "Yucca Jump", "Wind On Horseback", "Tee Vee", and "Peck Ya Neck". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard work from drummer Neftali Santiago – one of the founding forces of legendary funk group Mandrill – working here alone in the mid 70s, during a time when he was taking a break from the group! The music is fantastic – the best sort of 70s funk ensemble mode – maybe in the manner of Fatback Band on their earliest records, especially in the sharpness of the basslines and drums – mixed with some of that warmer, more spiritual glow that you'd find on the first two Mandrill albums for Polydor. Neftali sings on many cuts, but also really kicks it out of the park with his work on drums – heading up a few different groups here, with instrumentation that includes sax, flute, clavinet, and even a bit of minimoog. These are all unreleased tracks, but they've got a very fully-formed sound – and the whole album is a great testament to Santiago's genius, in a way that really has us underscoring his contributions to Mandrill! Titles include "Land Of The Leaping No No", "Feelin Good", "Bionic Funk", "Alone Together", "Freakin", "To & From Gamma 4", "Set It Free", "Let Out Your Beats", and "Everybody Hears But Nobody Listens". CD

Never-heard work from drummer Neftali Santiago – one of the founding forces of legendary funk group Mandrill – working here alone in the mid 70s, during a time when he was taking a break from the group! The music is fantastic – the best sort of 70s funk ensemble mode – maybe in the manner of Fatback Band on their earliest records, especially in the sharpness of the basslines and drums – mixed with some of that warmer, more spiritual glow that you'd find on the first two Mandrill albums for Polydor. Neftali sings on many cuts, but also really kicks it out of the park with his work on drums – heading up a few different groups here, with instrumentation that includes sax, flute, clavinet, and even a bit of minimoog. These are all unreleased tracks, but they've got a very fully-formed sound – and the whole album is a great testament to Santiago's genius, in a way that really has us underscoring his contributions to Mandrill! Titles include "Land Of The Leaping No No", "Feelin Good", "Bionic Funk", "Alone Together", "Freakin", "To & From Gamma 4", "Set It Free", "Let Out Your Beats", and "Everybody Hears But Nobody Listens". LP, Vinyl record album

The title certainly gets this one right – as the 12 track set is overflowing with classic funk all the way through – tracks that bubbled underground in the 70s, rocked the rare groove scene in the 80s, and which are still being appreciated today! Great stuff all around – and tracks include "NT" by Kool & The Gang, "Stone To The Bone" by James Brown, "Pick Up The Pieces" by Average White Band, "Fencewalk" by Mandrill, "Who Is He And What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Wicki Wacky" by Fatback, "For The Love Of Money" by the O'Jays, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Pusherman" by Curtis Mayfield, "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds, and "Gimme Some More" by The JBs. CD

The second volume of this series was even better than the first, and contains more hard funky stuff, like "Jungle Fever" by Chakachas, "Doin' It to Death" by the JB's, "Theme from Cleopatra Jones" by Joe Simon, "Fencewalk" by Mandrill, and 16 other funky cuts from the likes of James Brown, Lyn Collins, First Choice, O'Jays, Chi-Lites, Curtis Mayfield, etc. Have yourself a funky K-Tel record party! LP, Vinyl record album