Stefan Wood Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 (edited) Hey, I love jazz, but I love funk and soul just as much. There has been a number of reissues that have come out this year that I wanted to share with you guys. Most of them can be bought at Dusty Groove or www.cduniverse.com . Mickey and the Soul Generation - Iron Leg (2 cds reissue, 1 of all their tunes, the 2nd a live date done in the early 70's) Funk reissue of the year, yet another amazing Texas funk band that took that Meters sound and pounded it into the ground. They were as tight as any band of that time -- their most well known tunes are the title track and "Football." They've been staples of a number of various funk compilations, but all the tracks here sound great, remastered and all. Most of them are instrumentals, though as the timeline goes further into the 70's, there is a vocal track or two. The live session on the second cd has a hollow sound (probably recorded by someone in the audience), but it shows a much more firey sound. I'm surprised these guys didn't get national attention. Well they have now! Excellent liner notes, as the compiler actually tracked down all the band members and got them together for a lunch, where they talk about their pride in their music and an anger that nothing ever came of it in terms of a career. Howard Tate - Rediscovered So a year or so ago Solomon Burke had his big comeback. This year it is the great Howard Tate, known only to diehard soul music lovers. If you can find the Verve reissue The Legendary Sessions that came out in the mid 90's, BUY IT. The man has a voice like no other, uplifting and sweet, yet can get down with the blues and even a funky track or two. Ain't Nobody Home and Lokk at Granny Run Run have been covered and sampled by artists like BB King, and Stop was covered by Jimi Hendrix. Here on this BMG cd that came out this past week, he is reunited with his original producer Jerry Ragovoy, and puts forth an excellent soul and blues cd. At worst, a couple of tracks sound uninspired, but it has to do with the material. Tate's voice sounds as good as ever, and on most of the tracks it sounds like vintage soul, as in Mama was Right, and Don't Compromise Yourself, and Organic Love. A GREAT cover of Prince's Kiss. The band plays in the 60's Memphis deep soul tradition, with the horns and bluesy piano. Great release. James Brown - Motherlode & In a Jungle Groove remasters I was wondering why these were reissued, especially since most of In a Jungle Groove came out as Funk Power, which itself was a redo of JB's Sex Machine, without the overdub audience. No matter, since the sound on these are better than all the other Polygram reissues of the 90's. These are party mixes, with Motherlode containing a lot of unissued tracks (at the time), and In a Jungle Groove being the reference point for all the samples that were happening in the 80's when this was first issued. Not much to add here, except that these do have bonus tracks not on the other cds (for JB completists only). Owwww! Temptations - Psychedelic Soul Okay, I had these albums and made a mix of exactly the same material, but my lps were beat, so when I saw this double cd set, I knew I had to buy it. All I can say is this is the Temptations I hold dear, the Funk Brothers finest hours, all long tracks of classic 60's and 70's funk. Ball of Confusion, Smiling Faces Sometimes, Cloud Nine, Psychedelic Shack, the great great track Runaway Child Running Wild, I Can't Get Next to You -- oh just buy the damn thing! It also sounds fantastic. Kelly Brothers - Sanctified Southern Soul I bought this excello records cd at Dusty Groove for 6.99, I highly recommend this to anyone who loves Otis Redding, James Carr, etc. etc. This is an amazing compilation (done in 1996 by AVI) of deep southern soul by a five brother vocal group who could and should have been on Atlantic with all the other superstars. But they weren't and fell into obscurity. Really, just comnine Otis and Sam & Dave and this is what they sound like. The back up band smokes!! Edited July 7, 2003 by Stefan Wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 (edited) Getcher Mickey samples here: http://www.sandboxautomatic.com/abstract/ct102.html Soundin' REAL good to me! Don't know if this one is out yet, but it makes for a good addition to this list, if that's ok with you... Edited July 6, 2003 by JSngry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soul Stream Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 Getcher Mickey samples here: http://www.sandboxautomatic.com/abstract/ct102.html Soundin' REAL good to me! Don't know if this one is out yet, but it makes for a good addition to this list, if that's ok with you... Hey Jsngry, when is this coming out? And from what label.... I mean, ANYTHING with Marchel Ivery needs to be in my collection. (P.S.- saw Marchel for a minute this weekend. Why he doesn't have a steady 5-6 night a week house gig in Dallas is beyond my comprehension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 First found here: http://www.stonesthrow.com/now-again/ a relation to Stonesthrow records, the label that reissued that trippy little Stark Reality set. http://www.stonesthrow.com Dusty Groove (the bastards!) has it listed as mid-July http://www.dustygroove.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap...&GO.x=16&GO.y=8 Also from Now Again/Stones Throw, Roger Boykin's on this one http://www.stonesthrow.com/funky16/artists...oulseven/1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 saw Marchel for a minute this weekend. Why he doesn't have a steady 5-6 night a week house gig in Dallas is beyond my comprehension. Life is not fair. And all that that implies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 First found here: http://www.stonesthrow.com/now-again/ a relation to Stonesthrow records, the label that reissued that trippy little Stark Reality set. http://www.stonesthrow.com Dusty Groove (the bastards!) has it listed as mid-July http://www.dustygroove.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap...&GO.x=16&GO.y=8 Might already be available! http://www.fatbeats.com/MUSIC/DETAILS.ASP?...D=3158&CATID=22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 I just had a chance to hear the new Howard Tate. Quite a nice comeback record. The voice is still there. But I still want to know just how, in the year 2003, Ragovoy could persuade Tate to sing something as utterly foul as "She May Be White (But She Be Funky)." That one is even too awful to work as parody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 12, 2003 Report Share Posted July 12, 2003 2003, like age, ain't nothin' but a number... I hope that song is a hard-hitting dissembling of the myth that all white people bathe regulary and never have body odor. But it's not, is it... Oh well, you can bet that when/if Tate does the number at his shows, there will some fired-up white chicks storming the stage, as well as some equally fired-up (but in a totally different way) sisters looking to take 'em out (and I don't mean for dinner). 2003, like age, ain't nothin' but a number... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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