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Charles
Pryor and Power of Love "What They Doing (Funkie Junkie)
Double 07 Records
One of my first big finds, this 45 was sitting on a dealers
wall looking vaguely familiar about 4 years ago, when I got
it home and played it and realised what it was I thought I was
gonna wet my pants. A favourite funk 45 for hip hop and funk
dj's and much in-demand due to being comped by Keb Darge a few
years ago. Be aware that this 45 was released on 3 different
labels - I believe each was a different recording. According
to Mr Darge this Double 07 release is the one to
have.
Listen
to a snippet |
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Renaldo
Domino "Let Me Come Within" Twinight
Finding this piece of pure funk filth for two pounds and fifty pence has to rank as the most
heartstopping moment on any buying mission. I had spent hours
going through hundreds of dusty 45's not really finding much
at all, as I was getting to the end of the pile I was browsing
I decided to stop after that pile. The second from last 45 was
a red label Twinight, hoping it was going to be a good Syl Johnson
instead of all the crap I had previously pulled out I nearly
wet my pants when I saw the line of text reading "Let Me
Come Within". A monster of a 45 complete wth some of the
filthiest lyrics to be found on a funk 45, the tale of a poor
boy desperate to come inside his girlfriend. Complete with an
orgasmic finale. |
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Al
Foster Band "The Night Of The Wolf" Roulette
This is the kind of 45 you don't expect to find just sitting
around in a well known dealers shop for ten pounds. When you
do and you re-read the label again for the fifth time allowing
your self to let the information sink in then you know that
the time between getting it to the counter and out the door
is very critical. You have got to act natural and stay calm,
not to break down and offer more money or nerviously laugh when
you pay. When the 45 is packaged and handed back you have to
get out as soon as possible to nuetral safe ground. On the first
listen you could be excused for thinking this was a disco version
of a Sergio Leoni score but when the latin percussion and instrumentation
kicks in you know its a pure funk belter.
Listen
to a snippet |
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Innel
Young "What Do You See In Her" Libra
Having had the fortune to find a large collection of rare
funk 45s firstly locally and then later through a northern
soul collector who was selling his collection online through
a really bizarre swap and sale site that seemingly had only
10 members. I contacted the guy and bought his entire collection,
largely built of common records and complete crap. Amongst
them were some very dangerous 45's that I picked up at £5
each. Using these records as trading 45's about two years
ago I was offered this beautiful piece of new orleans sister
funk, I think Ian Wrights compilation Sister Funk on BBE was
either just about to come out or had just done. Without doubt
one of the finest soul 45's to ever come out of New Orleans
and certainly Inells best, played recently on G.P.'s Worldwide
so I am told? The most beautiful funk 45 ever? Incidently
this track was written and produced by Gus Lewis who also
cut the blistering funk classic "Let The Groove Move
You" on Tou-Sea (recently covered by The Boogaloo Investigators).
Listen
to a snippet |
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Al
Trahan "Can I Feel It" Spindletop
Picked up using the same 45's to trade with, I had been after
this for sooooo long having first heard it at my old night 'Skunk
Juice' via Bones, I was outbidded on Ebay for a year everytime
before eventully I decided to do a trade. Al Trahan cut one
other 45 on Spindletop "Funky Lu", while not being
quite the ass spanker that this one is it's certainly worth
a spin. He is still up to it a quick google search will take
you to his site where you can weep at how bad his new stuff
is.
Listen
to a snippet |
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Billy
Wade "I Can't Help It Baby" ABC
If you find this nugget of soulful gold and are expecting a
screaming funk classic in the same style as his other 45 "Tear
It Up" then you will be dissapointed. Instead of the raw
soul production this baby is as sweet as a spoonful of honey.
My favourite of the two 45's I have so far heard from Billy
Wade on this label, it never fails to rock my kitchen dance
sessions.
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Mugo
"Organize" United World Records
I had this slab of heavy breakbeat groove in my collection
for a few years and had never ever played it as I considered
it too disco for my liking, realising its value I decided
to play it again in rush, hmmmm "definately too disco"
I thought, "sell it". So I promtly put it online
and sold it immediately, when it came to packing it a few
days later I decided to give it one last play, obviously in
a better frame of mind my heart sank when the opening drum
break came in and then the bass and guitars and vocal, an
amazing 45, I heard it then for the first time. Quickly I
put it back in the envelope and walked very fast to the post
office trying to think of the accumulated profit! A lesson
to be learned there somewhere. Never seen another copy since! |
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Chris
Miller & The Soul Brothers "Let's Get A Little Thing
Going" Exchange
Recomended to me as a 'funk record' by a very good uk dealer,
I promtly bought it blind from Ebay (as I like to do once in
a while to see what you can turn up) and then waited patiently
for it to be delivered. Upon playing it I found that while it
is by no stretch of the imagination a 'funk record' it is to
a mod n' RnB dancefloor what curry sauce is to chips. Not sure
what's known about this guy but definately worth checking out
if you like a bit of the groovy stuff.
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Dede
Soul and the Spidells "Soul Chills" Julmar
Dede Soul for seventy five pence!? Ok so in truth I didn't pay a penny for this. About 11 years
ago I was going through a newly opened charity shop and having
always been a sucker for records since I was a kid I picked
up a wierd looking soul record by someone called The Jimmy Castor
Bunch, the LP was "It's Just Begun". Being a complete
psych freak at the time I digged the funky description of the
cover art and figured it was worth the 75 pence for that cover
alone. Jump forward to a year ago and this had become a very
priced possession being my first ever soul/funk good find, but
then my homie flip one did have a Dede Soul 45 and was looking
to get my Jimmy Lp offa me, thus a deal was done. I immediately
freaked out having lost my priced LP and sent missionaries into
all 4 corners of the world to find a replacement. One was located
in even better nick a month later and I only had to trade my
ass for an evening to secure the deal. Oomph, Soul chills? Yes
sir!
Listen
to a snippet |
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Harolyn
Montgomery "Gotta Get Away" Ronn
I know so little about this, the only other person I know with
a copy is DJ Midnight Cowboy from North Carolina who also has
only a demo copy. Was this ever fully released? Is it rare?
I was recently about to sell it but had to retract it last minute
as I like it way too much. I suppose it is what
we would term sisterfunk but with very a northern leaning, one
of those great 45's that really do transcend obvious definition,
which is a good thing surely?
UPDATE: Yep this had an issue!
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Cecil
Garrett & The Fascinations "Bearcat" calla
Top RnB tittyshaker in full effect, if it is possible to tire
of it which I think is most unlikely then you could always flip
it over to receive some organ tomfoolery on part 2 where it
all goes a little bit kinky. Everytime I hear this I think of
Mr finewine and his gogo girls. |
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Dale
Dennard "If You can Live With Yourself" Coach
Two great sides, bullet is the funk side while "If you can live with yourself" is the cool and classic jazz groove side. Highly recommended.
Listen to a snippet of "Bullet" |
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Ray
Johnson "Funky Way" / "I heard it Through The
Grapevine" In Arts
Found this way before I had even heard the original Calvin Arnold
version or any of the other multitudes of covers. This it has
to be said is THE version, super funky piano freakout, but flip
it over for an even better side - a totally funked up instrumental
barely recognisable as the Marvin Gaye classic "I heard
it Through The Grapevine".
Listen
to a snippet |
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Chick
Willis "It Aint Right" LaVal Records
It seems amongst funk and soul collectors this guys stuff is
largely ignored aside from the cheekily titled "Mother
Fuyer" and that's a great shame as he put out some great
45's and Lp's. This soulful blues funk balad reminds me of the
Syl Johnson classic "Is It Because I'm Black", it
shares the same territory in the vivid picture it paints of
the oppressive hardship's and suffering in racist America. Chick
really does pack a powerful punch in speaking his mind leaving
nothing to the imagination. |
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Danny
freeman "Jungle Walk" W.S.J. Sound
Kicking of like a thunderous Sky Saxon's soul brother this one
screams out of the speakers like a monkey with a badger biting
its tail, UM GOWA indeed. I don't know much about this other
than it was pressed in New York from the same plant as the Dede
Soul45. Big heavy deepfunk sound with a great break 3/4 of the
way in complete with monkey chanting.
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The
Capreez "Soulsation" S Sound
This saucy little number sat in my to trade 45's for a good
few years with luckily no claims on it, it wasn't until I heard
the soul sister Miss Shingaling spin it at the Botanica, New
York that I figured it might be worth a re-listen. A great vocal
track that slides like raspberry jelly on a wet plate over the
music.
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Jeanette
White "No Sunshine" A&M
This flipside to the northern classic "Music"
remained undiscovered by myself for a whole year before I dropped
it on the turntable out of curiosity. Jeanette sings her heart
out on this one, she wont go down in history as one of the greatest
soul singers ever, but I think it's the imperfections in her
delivery that make this one a pure groover.
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James
Booker "Big Nick" Peacock
Everyone knows the groovy, mod-floorfiller "Gonzo"
but this lesser known New Orleans flute groover takes that sound to a completely other level. A prime tittyshaker that's slinkier than any other pussycat.
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Little
Richard III with Raw Soul "She Broke Down" DPG
A great
big heap of raw funky soul just what the doctor ordered. The
flip is a dirty little instrumental "The Gig" which
was apparently quite big on the late 70's northern scene. Should
be of interest to those who covet the breaks as it pretty much
is just one big break from start to end.
Listen
to a snippet |
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The
Family Affair "I Had A Friend" Authentic
My old DJ buddy Flip One had been spinning this catchy 45 for a while
and my attention was drawn to it's low soulful vocals
and steady funk groove, unable to get it out of my head I had
to get a few copies for myself to tuck away and covet in private.
Latin lovers will love the last quarter when the music stops
and the singer announces the death of his friend followed by
a tasty latin rhythm building up out of the silence to a funky
latin climax. |
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David
Camon "I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing" Moonsong
Possibly the best of the wave of "I Ate The Whole Thing"
records, full of big fat dirty breaks and sample-friendly lyrics.
A woeful tale of a greedy brother who ate too much pie last
night and is suffering for it the next day. Nice bit of call
and response between him and his lady towards the end which
always goes down nice. |
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Johnny
Thompson "Mainsqueeze" New Miss
Apperently he has another one on this label to look out for
that gets rare soul collectors a bit hot and bothered and would
possibly get you a couple of "Baby Don't Cry's" in
a trade. This is a pretty good soul screamer, I would reluctantly
call it funk but certainly it would appeal to funk collectors |
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Lee
Moses "Time And Place" Front Page
Verging on a kiiler funk 45 but let down when
the sound seems to all collide for a moment on the chorus and
jumble up into a bit of a sticky mess. I love the "Uh huhs"
in it The king would have been proud. |
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Explosion
"Hip Drop" Gold Cup
This gold
treasure was quite humbly found in a soul dealers marked up
as northern soul classic before I decided to give it a new lease
of life as a New Orleans funk classic. An amazing Eddie Bo composition
with full on James Black style drumming and classic Eddie Bo
melodies. As soon as the intro vocals kicks in with "Hip
drop come on and hip drop" you know it's a winner definately
amongst Eddie's funkiest moments.
Listen to a snippet |
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Van
Harris & The Vanguards "Hey, Hey Feel Alright"
ABC
The second ABC 45 featured, all the right ingredients are in
this mid-sixties RnB groover; funky breakbeats, spazzed out
hammond, howling vocals. I am surprised it's not more well known
than it is. Part two is even funkier, pure samplers delight
with a stripped down funky drum sound. |
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Tony
Clark "Ain't Love Good - Ain't Love Proud" Chess
Like the ABC label I do try to keep a look out for Chess 45's
to discover nuggets like this one, you can find amazing records
at next to nothing prices quite easily (look out for Jackie
Ross "I've Got The Skills" ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
fave ever soul 45? Well maybe one of them). The sheer scale
of releases on this label was incredible, so naturally you are
going to have to weed out the shite. Click
here for a Chess discography. This
is a excellent raucous soul-party 45, sounds like it was recorded
live or in front of a studio audience, the flip side is possibly
even better "Coming Back strong". Never really been
a big fan of Tony Clark so this was a bit of surprise. |
