Review: Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and his Playboys were an iconic funk group of the late 70s who had big hits with the likes of Gil Scott Heron on his seminal 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' single. A year later on the same label, Flying Dutchman, they served up the 'Heavy Soul Slinger' single which gets reissued here. It's driven by big drum breaks and funky hits, with plenty of lush chords and rolling basslines all taking you on a high class and sophisticated trip. On the a-side is Harold Alexander 's 'Mama Soul' from the same era, but with a much more experimental sound rooted in wordless ad libs and frantic flutes.
Review: It was Dave Godin including this lush bit of aching Louisiana deep soul on the first Deep Soul Treasures CD that renewed interest in it. Now, original copies are pricey and hard to find and last year a nice cover version was served up by Lady Blackbird. The good folk at Beat Goes Public aka BGP have decide to reissue the original. It's an impossible to ignore track laden with heartbreak. On the flip side is another bluesy soul gem in the form of 'Hummin' A Sad Song.'
Review: Two powerful soul sessions from Alice Clark's eponymous debut 1972 album. "Don't You Care" is a hard-hitting soul standard (that became very popular in acid jazz scene in the early 90s) where Alice opens her heart for all to see while her incredible band ebb and flow with Clark's emotions. "Never Did I Stop Loving You", meanwhile, languishes in sentiment at a slightly lower tempo that allows her to really dig deep for those low notes. The real fun happens as we reach momentum towards the end and every band member brings out their A-game and bounces off each other - backing up Alice every step of the way. You will care about this.
Johnny King & Fatback Band - "Keep On Brother Keep On" (2:05)
Review: Bill Curtis' Fatback Band is known around the world for its soul and disco hits but their roots actually lay in funk. They were one of the most impressive outfits around in that particular genre and so they have, for those who are willing to dig deep enough, plenty of rare funk gems to call upon from their earliest days. Here we get a couple of them with 'Dance Girl' - the last tune they released in 1974 before signing to Event/Spring. It was a real classic at block parties back in the day and on the flip is a tune that will cost you over L1000 if you can find an original, namely 'Keep On Brother Keep On' - the group's second single on Curtis BC Projects II label.
Review: 51 years have now passed since Funkadelic dropped their first two albums, Funkadelic and Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow. The latter album's numerous highlights included 'Funky Dollar Bill', a flash-fried funk-rock masterpiece that's as bonkers as it is low-slung and floor friendly. This anniversary edition of the song, which was released as part of a double A-side single in 1971, combines the pioneering Detroit crew's original vocal version (side A), with a never-before-heard instrumental take from the original recording sessions (B). This is particularly revelatory, as it offers a chance to hear everything that was going on below George Clinton's singing - and trust us, that's a lot! It's genuinely refreshing to hear an alternate take on a such a fantastic funk-rock gem, so we'd recommend giving it a listen.
Review: Released in 1971 and written and recorded by Dave Hamilton (one of Motown's most prolific and influential session players), Sugar Billy Garner plays the consummate band leader over a relentless groove that rolls with drama. Billy gets sweatier, the guitars get busier, the dynamic gets heavier and heavier... So heavy it rolls into a second part. Primed for the floor, it still hits hard 44 years after its release.
Review: Detroit musician and producer Dave Hamilton hears two fantastic early emissions of his reissued via BGP. Known originally as a guitarist and an early member of the Motown house band, Hamilton's influence on music, especially the later Northern soul firestorm in the UK, is perhaps understated. His guitar contributions to the likes of Marvin Gaye's 'Stubborn Kind Of Fellow' and John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom' are indeed cherished additions to the Michigan funk and r&b canon, but perhaps it's his later outings as Dave Hamilton and the Peppers - and later founding of the labels Demoristic and TCB - that house the real trinkets. 'The Deacons' and 'Pisces Place' both came out via the TCB label, and brought vibraphonic blues and astrologic easy listens respectively to wax.
Review: Defiant, spruce and intractable, Hodges James Smith & Crawford's 'Nobody' marks this brilliant new funk reissue with a caustic grip-quip after at the slippery satins of love: "nobody's gonna tell me that you don't love me, baby. They just don't know that you're an angel..." Walking a universal tightrope of ambivalence - this is a situation that we'd wager everyone of one stripe or another is familiar with - this record could function either as a tell of blind infatuation with a ne'er-do-well, or a real statement of loving intention for a misunderstood penitent. 'It Cracks Me Up' backs up the B with an ensouled, ensemble-armoured musing on "girls with shiny faces" and "superdudes", resolving on a tonic note of equal sexual charge. The West Coast vocal group outdid themselves back in 1971, so much that original copies of this fetch unholily exorbitant prices; high time for a repress!
Review: 'Foolish Man Part 1' and 'Part 2' by The Huck Daniels Co is one of several 45rpms the BGP label is dropping at the moment and weirdly many of them are also in two parts. This one features guitarist Daniels who was a key part of the B.B. King band ahead of later setting in Los Angeles and becoming a respected leader in his own right. He wrote just one for Kent Records and that was in 1973 as the label headed into its final days. 'Part 1' on the A-side is a driving funk cut aimed squarely at the club and heavy on inspiration from James Brown and the version on the flip levels up with organ playing from Earl Foster.
Review: Americans Hank Jacobs and Don Malone cooked up a bona fide political soul anthem when they crafted 'The World Needs Changin' back in 1970. It is now hard to find so naturally these days it fetches a very handsome fee on second hand markets so has rightly been reissued here by BGP. The a-side is a tune that cuts deep, with pained vocals over a simple but devastating soul rhythm. On the flip is another gem in the form of 'Getting On Down' making this a crucial cut.
Billy Hawks - "(O Baby) I Do Believe I'm Losing You" (3:03)
Review: This Juno colour vinyl exclusive finds Linda Lyndell serve up her own majestic cover of the classic "What A Man." Her vocal is smooth and buttery but also laden with gravitas, while the sweeping horns and jazzy keys all around her help to lift the spirits. On the flip is an ice cold slice of funk from Billy Hawks in the form of his "(O Baby) I Do Believe I'm Losing You". It's raw soul that glides at high speed with plenty of hip swinging claps. This is a much sought after reissue that will shift quick, so make sure you do too.
Review: Gil Scott-Heron's 'Pieces Of A Man' was the first LP recorded by the poet and musician, made and released in 1971. Owing to the album's importance, BGP have released two of its most standout tracks, the title track and 'Think I'll Call It Morning', on a limited 7" that will doubtess prove exceptionallyy handy for DJs who need to get straight down to business.
Review: Originally written by Richard Evans, instrumental track ''Burning Spear'' was subsequently covered by S.O.U.L, turning up as a standout on their debut album What Is It? in 1971; with its funky flute and heady bass it is nothing less than a bonefide golden classic. On the B-Side we're treated to the breakbeat heavy, vocal led "Do Whatever You Want To Do" from S.O.U.L's second long player Can You Feel It ?
Review: Sylvester has too many hits to count, but 'Over And Over' has to be up there. Originally released in 1977, the timeless slice of uptempo disco funk was a mighty meeting of minds - any track penned by Ashford & Simpson is set for iconic status, and with Sylvester up front it's even more of a sure thing. Quite simply eternal. Of course, Sylvester's most famous collaborator was Patrick Cowley, whose magic touch is all over the wriggling, brooding synth boogie of 'I Need Somebody To Love Tonight', presented here as a compact 7" edit for a short sharp blast of perfection.
Review: BGP's 33rpm 7" release features two sought-after cuts by Leon Thomas, both full-length versions that have become favorites among DJs. From his 1973 Flying Dutchman LP Full Circle, 'It's My Life I'm Fighting For' is a standout track featuring top New York session players like Pee Wee Ellis, Joe Farrell and Neal Creque. Clocking in at ten minutes, it's a funky jazz classic with an apocalyptic feel. The second track, 'Shape Your Mind To Die,' is a dramatic five-minute piece also penned by Thomas and Creque. Originally appearing on Thomas' Blues And The Soulful Truth album in 1972, this track is fueled by Pee Wee Ellis' amazing soprano saxophone.
Review: First released back in 1973, Flying Dutchman aver their grand standing on the parapet that is the New York jazz scene with a timely new reissue of Leon Thomas' 'Just In Time To See The Sun', which now appears with a different B-side counterpart. Shaker-uppers, these sonic sailers are! Where As 'Just In Time...' itself first surfaced as the B-side to a stirring album cut 'Never Let Me Go' - which also graced the pimpin' Tennessee blues-jazz musician's later record Full Circle - it now comes paired with the pentatonic skiffle 'China Doll'. FD's new curative duopoly on Thomas' bellowing sound flaunts the singer and musician's deep range, contrasting the styptic funk explosions of the titular Santana cover on the A with the shaker-laden Orientalist groove on the B.
Review: A whole host of crucial funk reissues are landing right now courtesy of the good folks at BGP and up there with the nest of them is this one from Chester Randle's Soul Senders, an ensemble featuring a rotating vests of musicians from America that were active in the 60s onwards. Their 'Soul Brother's Testify' came in two parts, both of which take up one side each of this 7", and were mainstays of the deep funk movement that rose up around the late 90s and early 2000s. They still do a job now with their hard hitting breaks and funky ass riffs.
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