In 1978, the Bar-Kays scorched the airwaves with their explosive funk hit "Holy Ghost." Funk doesn't get much better than this--forceful, unapologetic, and in your face. James Alexander's ferocious bass line propels this dynamic groove. His bass line is shadowed by a synthesized bass part, giving it a thick, mechanized funk sound. Lead singer Larry Dodson delivers a powerful and gritty vocal performance. And the tight horn arrangement puts an exclamation point on the funk. The lyrics describe a woman whose love is so potent that it's akin to a religious experience for the song's narrator when the two hit the sheets, giving him a sort of spiritual/sexual rebirth.
The 12" extended version of the track is nearly nine minutes of glorious uncut funk, which includes a great percussion-filled breakdown. This long version was played at clubs, parties, and discos back in the day and had folks burning up the dance floor.
"Holy Ghost" is a single from the Bar-Kays' 1978 album Money Talks. The track performed well on the U.S. R&B singles charts, peaking at #9. The album also saw some chart action, climbing to #21 on the U.S. Billboard Soul Album chart.
The track was written by Eddie Marion, Henderson Thigpen, and James Banks. It was produced by the late Allen A. Jones, who helmed all of Money Talks. The line-up for the Bar-Kays when they released "Holy Ghost" was the following: Larry Dodson (lead vocals), Lloyd Smith (Guitar), James Alexander (bass, vocals), Michael Beard (drums), Charles Allen (trumpet, vocals), Harvey Henderson (tenor sax), Winston Stewart (keyboards), and Frank Thompson (trombone). Multi-instrumentalist, composer, and engineer Paul Smith played the synth bass part on "Holy Ghost" but wasn't a member of the band.
"Holy Ghost" is a genuine funk classic and has been sampled by several prominent music acts, including Beastie Boys ("Hey Ladies"), Public Enemy ("Fear of a Black Planet"), Cee-Lo Green ("Glockappella"), and M/A/R/R/S ("Pump Up the Volume").
James Brown’s incredible life story will finally be brought to
the big screen in an upcoming biopic. Universal and Imagine Entertainment have
given the project the green light, and rising young actor Chadwick Boseman will
portray the highly influential funk innovator. Earlier this year, Boseman
captivated audiences with his moving portrayal of baseball legend Jackie
Robinson in the acclaimed film 42.
The biopic will be directed by Mississippi-born filmmaker Tate Taylor, who
helmed the Oscar-nominated film The Help(2011).
So the project has some quality talent on board. In an interview on Monday with
the Associated Press, Taylor said the film will be shot entirely in
Mississippi.“Every frame will be shot in Mississippi. We're even doing Paris,
France, in Mississippi. ... Vietnam, as well, in Mississippi," Taylor said
at the Mississippi Coliseum on the state fairgrounds in Jackson, where some
scenes will be shot.
The film’s producers include Academy Award winner Brian Grazer, rock titan Mick
Jagger, Erica Huggins and Victoria Pearman. British playwright brothers, Jez
and John-Henry Butterworth, wrote the screenplay. The title of the film has yet
to be announced.
According to Taylor, filming will take place in November and December in and
near Natchez, a Mississippi River town in the southwestern corner of the state,
and in January and February in the capital city of Jackson. The director said
the reason he chose Mississippi to film the biopic is that it provides a
similar look to the locations where the legendary singer/musician/performer was
born and raised. Brown was born in Barnwell, South Carolina and grew up in
Augusta, Georgia. Mississippi is “on the same line of latitude,” Taylor said.
The biopic will chronicle Brown’s life from the age of 5 through 60, where he
rose from extreme poverty to become a world-renowned cultural figure. He died
on December 25, 2006 at the age of 73, leaving a rich legacy of amazing music
and brilliant performances. Brown was one of the most influential
artists/performers of the 20th century, and his massive impact is felt in many
walks of music and entertainment today. Hopefully, this film is done right and
will successfully convey to audiences young and old just how important the
Godfather of Soul really was.
In 1982, Prince solidified his status as the most provocative
and innovative young artist on the music scene with his stunning double LP, 1999. Only Prince's fifth album, 1999, was his big
breakthrough and set the stage for the massive success of Purple Rain two years later.
1999 is an
important album for a few reasons. For
one thing, it helped Prince further expand his fan base with crossover hits
like “Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” and “Delirious.” It also showed that he
could reach a wide audience without watering down his unique sound or softening
his sometimes risqué themes and lyrics.
What set 1999 apart from Prince’s previous studio efforts is that he was pushing forward a more electronic-based sound. He was experimenting and creating a great deal with synthesizers and drum machines (specifically the Linn-LM1) while recording the album, and these experiments are reflected in the songs.
And this seminal album also helped introduce the Minneapolis
sound to a larger audience. Many credit Purple
Rain with putting the Minneapolis sound on the map, but 1999 also played a huge part in getting the sound
out there.
On this collection, Prince
again displayed his great versatility in the recording studio. All of the album's tracks were written, arranged, and produced solely by Prince, who also played most of the instruments. This albumshowed his continued growth as a musician, songwriter, and producer.
And as he had done on previous records, Prince
cross-pollinated different music stylesto
create a singular sound for the tracks on 1999.
His genius at melding genres is evident on “Little Red Corvette,” a brilliant
soul/pop/rock amalgam. The song is a torrid tale about Prince’s sexual
encounter with a promiscuous young woman, in which he gets more than he bargained
for. He shows his skill at writing clever sexual metaphors and
double entendres on this track. And he sonically creates a sexually charged atmosphere with
sensual, slow-building synth lines.The
song also has an irresistible chorus, and Revolution guitarist Dez Dickerson serves
up a majestic solo.
“Delirious” is a song that only Prince could have dreamed up.
It sounds like 1950s-era Carl Perkins hopped into a time machine and transported himself
25 years into the future and had a jam session with Devo. It’s new
wave/rockabilly with some soul and gospel thrown in the mix.
“Let’s Pretend We’re Married” is a propulsive electro-funk groove
in which Prince sings about the joys of wild, no-holds-barred sex marathons to
help him forget about his former lover. The track gradually builds to a sonic
climax that matches the ribald lyrics.
His Royal Badness delivers some ferocious funk on “D.M.S.R.”
This powerful groove will make even the shiest wallflowers get up and work
their backsides. The track boasts a wicked bass line, some dirty guitar licks
and funkified synth vamps.
The apocalyptic title track is an infectious, high-energy dance
groove. The lyrics reflect on the pervasive sense of fear and anxiety many felt in light of the heated arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union taking place at the time. Prince sings that he’s going to party 'til the wheels fall off, because nuclear Armageddon could be near. On this track, he shares
lead vocals with Dickerson, Revolution keyboardist/vocalist Lisa Coleman and
background singer Jill Jones. Their vocal trade-offs work really well here and add
some extra punch to the track. And the indelible main synth line is a great
hook.
“Automatic” is a superb new wave/funk hybrid.Prince fills the nearly ten-minute track with
heaps of joyful noise. The synth lines here are amazing, and The Purple One
delivers a scorching guitar solo, as well as some super-funky bass poppin’. This
is one of Prince’s most underrated songs.
“Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)” is a bizarre but
intriguing track about Prince’s frustration and confusion that his strong attraction
for a girl is unreciprocated. He creates a creepy and
ominous mood with this outré electronic groove.And he sings the lyrics in a low-key but soulful fashion and breaks out
with some bone-chilling banshee screams near the end of the song to express his
frustration, yearning and desire. This is the weirdest track on the album, but you
can’t deny its inventiveness.
“Free” is a beautiful ballad that stands out from most of the other tracks on the album due to its conventional sound. The
song has a stately quality about it. Prince sings most of the lyrics in a soothing
falsetto and ends the song with some gospel-infused wailing.
“Lady Cab Driver” is an innovative funk cut where Prince shows
off his studio wizardry and incredible chops as a multi-instrumentalist. The
track has a nasty slap bass line and some quality drumming, both courtesy of
Prince. He also delivers a blistering guitar solo and some great synth parts.
The lyrics express Prince’s desire to escape from all the hate, intolerance, discrimination,
greed and insanity in the world. During the bridge, he recites a litany of
grievances he has with the world, while exacting his revenge through rough, angry sex.
“All the Critics Love U in New York” is an experimental
track where Prince has a go at smug hipsters. The track has some terrific guitar work by
Prince and a percolating electronic groove.
“International Lover” shows that The Purple One is a master
of the slow jam. The song brings to mind the sensual soul of R&B greats
like Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Teddy Pendergrass but done in Prince’s own
inimitable fashion.
1999 was Prince’s
most successful album to date. It was his first album to
make the top ten on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 album chart, peaking at #9. The
album went on to become the fifth best-selling album of 1983. Due to this album,
more pop and rock stations began playing Prince’s music. Additionally,
this was Prince’s first album to feature his band the Revolution.
This album has had
a significant impact on popular music. You can hear its influence in many genres today, including R&B, pop, hip-hop, electronic and
alternative.
The Soul Rebels add some New Orleans flavor to Eurythmics’ 1983
smash “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” The band does a superb job with their urgent,
brass-driven overhaul of the synth-pop classic and make it their own—which is no
mean feat with such an iconic, highly recognized song. It’s just an amazing
cover, with the band infusing new life and energy into the track.
The Soul Rebels are a brass ensemble that incorporates
elements of funk, rock, hip hop, jazz and pop music with a traditional New
Orleans brass band sound. The band was formed in 1991 by bass drummer Derrick
Moss and Lumar DeBlanc (snare drums). The two musicians met while members of
Harold Dejan’s Olympia Brass Band. They
shared a mutual desire to play contemporary music that they heard on the radio
but within the framework of the traditional New Orleans brass sound that they
had grown up on.With this aim in mind,
they formed the Soul Rebels, which consisted of eight highly talented players. In
addition to DeBlanc and Moss, the other members of the ensemble are Julian
Gosin (trumpet), Corey Peyton (trombone), Erion Williams (saxophone), Paul
Robertson (trombone), Edward Lee, Jr. (sousaphone) and Marcus Hubbard
(trumpet).
The Soul Rebels first made a name for themselves as the
house band for New Orleans bar Le Bon Temps Roule, where they played every
Thursday night. The band still plays there when they’re not on tour. The New
Orleans octet now have a dedicated international following. They have toured
extensively across the U.S. as well as Europe, Canada, South Africa and Brazil.
Also, the band has played at a number of well-known festivals and prestigious
venues worldwide, including The Fillmore, Hollywood Bowl, Playboy Jazz
Festival, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, the
Highline Ballroom, and the WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) Festival.
The band is known for their rousing live performances in which they
create a festive and funky party-like atmosphere.
And the band has played with a plethora of celebrated artists and bands from
a wide cross section of musical genres. Some of the notable musical acts that
the band has shared the stage with include Counting Crows, Snoop Dogg, Suzanne
Vega, Allen Toussaint, the Gap Band, Seal, George Clinton, Better than Ezra, Marco Benevento, Metallica, Kanye West, Green
Day, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Arcade Fire, Maceo Parker and the Neville
Brothers. It was Neville Brother, Cyril Neville, who dubbed the band the Soul
Rebels. When the two acts performed together in ’93, Cyril said, “Hey,
you're a brass band, but y'all got funk and soul. Y'all are like soul rebels."
The name stuck and the band has been calling themselves the Soul Rebels ever
since.
The band has been getting
a lot of television exposure of late. In 2010, they appeared on the HBO series Treme where they performed Grayson Capps' song "Drink a Little Poison (4 U Die)" for the finale episode of season one.
They were also the official house band for the Annual NFL Honors Awards show,
which aired on CBS prime time on February 22, 2013 and was hosted by Alec
Baldwin. And in December of 2011, the octet performed “Sweet
Dreams (Are Made of This)” on Later... with Jools Holland, a British late-night music television show. Metallica and Lou Reed
appeared on the same episode. The members of Metallica were so impressed with
the Soul Rebels that they invited them to open and share the stage with them for all four of their 30th
anniversary-week concerts at The Fillmore in San Francisco. And last year, the
Soul Rebels appeared and performed on the Conan show on TBS
The Soul Rebels released
several albums on various independent labels before signing with Rounder
Records (Concord) in 2011. Under the Rounder label, the band released their
first nationally distributed album, Unlock
Your Mind, on January 31, 2012. The album was produced by Scott Billington, who’s a Grammy-winningproducer, songwriter and blues musician. The band’s cover of “Sweet
Dreams (Are Made of This)” is included on the album. Their cover of Stevie
Wonder’s epic classic “Living for the City” is also on the album.
The Soul Rebels have
garnered a lot of critical acclaim for their music and performances over the
years. They won the New Orleans’ Big Easy award in 2010, 2008 and in 1999, as
well as nominations in 2012, 2011 and in 2009. And they have been nominated for
Best Of The Beat: Off Beat Awards in 2011, 2010, 2009 and in 2008.They
were also nominated for four 2012 Best Of The Beat Awards: Best Artist Of The Year,
Best Album Of The Year, Best Brass Band Of The Year and Best Brass Band Album
Of The Year. They won Best Brass Band Album Of The Year for Unlock Your Mind.
The band is set to
embark on a European tour, which will kick off tomorrow at La Défense Festival in Paris, France. The
tour will also include stops in London and Copenhagen, Denmark.
The musical legacy of Sly & the Family Stone will be celebrated in style with the
comprehensive four-CD box set, Higher!,
which is scheduled for release on August 27th through Epic/Legacy, a division
of Sony Music Entertainment.The
career-spanning retrospective features 77 tracks by the innovative
soul/funk/rock band, 17 of which were previously unreleased.
Higher! was put together in celebration of Sly Stone’s 70th
birthday, which was on March 15. The funk pioneer was the band’s mastermind and
guiding light. His massive influence on music spans more than four decades and
can be heard in numerous genres today, including R&B, pop, rock, hip hop,
and alternative, among others.
The
anthology tracks the evolution of the band’s groundbreaking sound, and it also
shows how Sly’s outlook had drastically changed within a short period of time. He
went from idealistic counterculture champion on Stand! (1969) to the disillusioned creator of the dark, cynical funk masterpiece There’s a Riot Goin’ On
(1971).
In
addition, the deluxe box set features a 104-page book, which includes a liner
notes essay by Jeff Kaliss, author of I
Want To take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone,the band’s only authorized biography;
track-by-track annotations by original band members including Sly himself; rare and
uncirculated photography; an illustrated timeline of the band's career; 45 rpm label
and picture sleeve repros; vintage concert posters; and ticket stubs from Sly
& The Family Stone concerts; and more.
The package also includes rare pre-Epic Records solo tracks by Sly during his tenure as A&R-producer-songwriter-staff musician at San Francisco's Autumn records, circa 1964-'65.
And in
homage to the era of transistor radios, the package features rare mono masters
ofthe band’s signature hits, including
“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again),” “Everyday People,” “Hot Fun in the
Summertime,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” and “Sing a Simple Song.” The box set
also features rare recordings of some of the band’s legendary live performances.
So
there’s enough here to sate the appetite of even the most voracious Sly &
the Family Stone fan, as well as funk aficionados and music lovers in general.
“Hey music lover
Music for the human race
I'm gonna add some funky bass”
"Just Funnin'" is an irresistible funk nugget by R&B/funk
band Mtume. The 1978 release is a rollicking, bumpin’ groove with a little
P-Funk flavor thrown in for good measure. I love the little piano
intro that kicks the track off and continues to percolate beneath the groove
throughout the main part of the song, very cool. The track also has some sweet guitar
licks, a phat bass line, and some funky horn work. Befitting its title, "Just Funnin'" has a light-hearted, goofy charm. Whenever I hear this song, I envision
a funky circus rolling through town.
Mtume was formed in 1973 by songwriter, arranger, producer, and multi-instrumentalist James Mtume, a Philadelphia native and son of acclaimed jazz
saxophonist Jimmy Heath. James also worked as a percussionist for Miles
Davis between 1971 and 1975.
The band Mtume had several hits, but they’re most remembered
for their much-sampled R&B chart-topper “Juicy Fruit” (1983)."Just Funnin'" is a single from their 1978 album Kiss This World Goodbye, released on Epic Records. The song
didn’t have a strong showing on the charts, only climbing to number 93 on the R&B
charts. It’s surprising that it charted so low, because it’s such a great cut.
The lineup for Kiss This World Goodbye was James Mtume
(lead and backing vocals, congas, percussion), Tawatha Agee (lead vocals,
percussion), Basil Fearrington
(bass), Hubert Eaves III (keyboards), Howard
King (drums), and guitarist Reggie Lucas, who also played in Miles Davis’s band
in the ‘70s. “Just Funnin” was written by James Mtume, Lucas, and King.
In addition to their work with Mtume, Reggie Lucas and James Mtume were a
successful and much sought-after production team. The duo formed the production
company Mtume/Lucas Productions and wrote and produced tracks for notable artists such as Lou Rawls, Jennifer Holliday, Roberta Flack, and Phyllis Hyman. They won a Grammy in 1981 for their composition “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” which was recorded by popular R&B artist Stephanie Mills and became her biggest hit.
"Before I Ever Met You” is a mesmerizing track by Banks, a Los Angeles-based
singer-songwriter. The song captured my imagination a few months ago
while I was switching stations in my car. I stopped cold when I landed on this
track and was hooked. Banks’ sultry voice meshes well with the hauntingly
seductive trip-hop groove. This is one of those tracks that creeps into your
consciousness and stays with you. And Banks delivers an understated yet
powerful vocal performance. “Before I Ever Met You” was Banks’ debut single released in
early February of this year. She dropped her equally impressive second single, “Fall Over,”
in March. Banks is a self-taught pianist, vocalist and songwriter, and she cites Fiona Apple and
Lauryn Hill as influences. She had previously collaborated with UK DJ and
producer Lil Silva on the club banger “Work.” Banks is signed to LA-based independent label
IAMSOUND Records. I’m keeping an eye out for this emerging new talent and looking
forward to her next release.
