Stone classic disco heaven; and a scarcely known, tripping, randy little Fuqua of an instrumental version of I Need Somebody, on the flip.
The first reissue of these two superb 7’ edits since back in the day.
Ace, freaky deaky boogie — dense, extrovert and synthy — originally out on Oil Capital.
Outstanding, spiritualised jazz-funk; keenly focussed but free and warm; steeped in post-bop and wide-open to r&b; somewhere between Lonnie Liston Smith’s Cosmic Echoes and Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity. Plenty here for dancers, chin-strokers and dreamers all.
The personnel discloses generous musical co-ordinates… Marvin Blackman from the Rashied Ali Quartet is here, and Ryo Kawasaki. James Mason and Justo Almario were later collaborators. Just a couple of years before this, Tarika Blue leader Phil Clendeninn was playing in a New York funk outfit alongside Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards…
Holy grail Detroit funk recorded in 1969 for Dave Hamilton; backed with a tape-find Northern dancer.
Funky mid-tempo sister soul, recorded at Dave Hamilton’s studio in Detroit. (Plus Little Ann’s tribute to the producer, on the flip.)
Stone killer jazz funk by the All Girls Band, from New Orleans.
Like prime Blackbyrds, but young women doing it to it for a change, with a rocket launcher.
‘Girl group greatness, courtesy of the Chicago-based Hutchinson Sisters (with Theresa Davis on this record) and co-producers Isaac Hayes, David Porter and Ronnie Williams. Recording at Muscle Shoals and Stax seems to have added a little grit to The Emotions’ sound, too; this 1971 classic on the Volt label offers the perfect blend of sweet and sassy. Show Me How was the hit, but it’s Blind Alley that made Untouched one of the most collectible albums of its kind: that track’s one of the most sampled in all of pop and hip hop, most notably by Big Daddy Kane (Ain’t No Half-Steppin’) and Mariah Carey (Dreamlover).’
Murderous southern funk from the dawn of the seventies, featuring brilliant fatback drumming by Freeman Brown and cooking organ by Clayton Ivey. Fittingly, producer Mickey Buckins lets off a siren on the flip.