"Party On Plastic (What's Bootsy Doin'?)" By Bootsy Collins

Here's a nasty chunk of funk that Bootsy dropped in 1988. It was cool to know that the legendary bass man was still keepin' things good and funky in the late '80s. The intro features a nice old school-style rap by female singing/rap duo Pretty Fatt. And Bootsy lays down a massive Space Bass solo. The song's intentionally cheesy video is a lot of fun and features a giant Bootzilla terrorizing Japan with his monster funk.

The track rose to #27 on Billboard's R&B singles chart. It was a single from Bootsy's album What's Bootsy Doin'? (1988). This was the ace funkster's first album after a six-year hiatus from the music scene. On this album, Bootsy reunites with fellow P-Funk alums Bernie Worrell, Fred Wesley and Gary "Mudbone" Cooper. The album also features newcomers such as Mico Wave and Godmoma. Bootsy's late brother, Catfish, also appears on the album.



Download Party On Plastic (What's Bootsy Doin'?) at Amazon

Thomas Dolby Brings The Funk On A Live Performance of "She Blinded Me With Science"

British new wave funkster Thomas Dolby performs his hit song "She Blinded Me With Science" live at Riverside Studios in London in 1983. This version of the song is even funkier than the studio version.

Dolby released "She Blinded Me With Science" along with its zany music video back in 1982. The track did extremely well on the charts, and the music video received heavy rotation on MTV, causing the eccentric synth wiz to blow up. Dolby was one of the vanguards of the synth-pop movement of the early '80s and has consistently recorded interesting and inventive music during his long musical career.

In addition to his solo work, Dolby has produced and written music for a number of distinguished artists. Some of the artists and bands with whom Dolby has collaborated include George Clinton, Joni Mitchell, Lene Lovich, David Byrne, Joan Armatrading, Foreigner, Andy Partridge, Whodini, Imogen Heap, Jerry Garcia, David Bowie and Bob Weir, among a slew of others.




Related blog entry: Hyperactive! by Thomas Dolby: New Wave At Its Funkiest

James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince Show Off Their Best Moves In Funky Dance Off

I've been watching this really dope compilation of three of the baddest performers to ever do it cuttin' loose in concert. The clip is appropriately set to James Brown's funk classic "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine." The video shows James Brown, Prince and Michael Jackson bustin' some of their best moves onstage. One of the cool things about this clip is that it shows what a tremendous influence James had on both MJ and Prince as performers. They both learned a lot from the Godfather of Soul, including the ability to completely mesmerize an audience.

It's interesting to watch the three performers distinct styles onstage. All three bring tons of charisma to their live shows, and of course incredible dancing. Also, they never disappoint their audiences, always giving it 110 percent for every show. There are very few current performers who can captivate an audience like MJ, Prince and James. Over the last several years, we lost probably the two of greatest performers in music history: James Brown and Michael Jackson. Fortunately, we still have His Royal Badness, who continues to electrify audiences with his high-voltage performances. The video also contains two brief dance segments of legendary entertainers Fred Astaire and Cab Calloway doin' their thing.

"Get Up Off Your Fat" by Rose Royce

"Get Up Off Your Fat" is a great underrated track by '70s R&B/funk band Rose Royce. The groove creeps along at a nice funky stroll and boasts a treacherous bass line. The song also has a cool Sly Stone-ish intro and bridge. It's super-smooth funk and quite irresistible.

This track is from Rose Royce's third album titled Rose Royce III: Strikes Again! (1978), but it wasn't released as a single. I always thought it should have been since it's such a hot track. The two singles from the album were "I'm in Love (And I Love the Feeling)" and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," which was a pretty big hit. The song reached #5 on the U.S. R&B charts and #32 on the U.S. pop charts. It also did extremely well across the pond, peaking at #2 on the UK charts. Norman Whitfield produced Rose Royce III: Strikes Again! and wrote most the album's tracks, including "Get Up Off Your Fat."

Rose Royce was formed in Los Angeles in 1973 and was comprised of lead vocalist Gwen Dickey (stage name Rose Norwalt ); Kenny Copeland (trumpet, lead vocals); Michael Moore (saxaphone); Kenji Brown (guitar, lead vocals); Henry Garner (drums); Terral "Terry" Santiel (congas); Lequeint "Duke" Jobe (bass); Freddie Dunn (trumpet); and Michael Nash (keyboards).

Rose Royce blew up big upon the release of their soundtrack for the hit comedy Car Wash in 1976. The soundtrack spawned three top ten hits ("I'm Going Down," "Car Wash," and "I Wanna Get Next To You"). "Car Wash" topped both the pop and R&B singles charts. The band still performs today with a few lineup changes and has a strong following in the UK.



Download track at Amazon

The 2012 Soul Rebel Festival Is Set For September 8th

The Mighty Diamonds

The 11th Annual Soul Rebel Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 8th. The festival will take place at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont, Colorado. The all-day event will run from 1:00 pm to 10:00 p.m.

According to their website, the Soul Rebel Festival is a grassroots reggae, Afro Pop, world, American roots music festival. The festival’s mission is to "provide cultural harmony, understanding and awareness through the positive medium of music and the arts."

The event will feature a great lineup of musical talent. Some of the musical acts scheduled to perform at the festival include the Mighty Diamonds, the Melodians, Yami Bolo, the Yellow Wall Dub Squad, Frankie Paul, DUTONIC KRU, Selasee and Lion SoulJahs, among others.

For more festival info, visit their website.

The Commodores Perform Funk Hit "Fancy Dancer" Live On The Midnight Special

Here's a great clip of the Commodores performing their bodacious funk hit "Fancy Dancer" live on the late-night music variety show The Midnight Special back in 1976. The band was at its funk pinnacle here. The performance is incredibly tight: The bass, horns, drums, vocals, keyboards and guitar are all clicking like a well-oiled funk motor. The groove has an almost seductive flow. You can envision the fancy dancer in the song doing her thing on the dance floor.

I've always felt that "Fancy Dancer" was kind of underrated. I think it's significantly funkier than their signature dance smash "Brick House," another one of the band's funky odes to a sexy woman. The funk is just nastier and rawer on "Fancy Dancer" in my opinion. It's a sick track, and the power of its funk can't be denied.

And it's cool to see Lionel Richie getting waist-deep in the funk with a gritty, sweat-stained performance. People sometimes forget that Richie could funk with the best of them before he left the Commodores in 1982 to embark on an incredibly successful solo career as a polished pop/soul balladeer. In his solo career, he left the funk far behind, which was probably the savvy thing to do from a business standpoint. The genre's popularity was on the decline around that  time, so he utilized his considerable gifts as a ballad writer. That gift shot him from stardom to superstardom. Nonetheless, I still missed him as the Commodore's front man. Richie and the crew made a great unit.

However, I do like a lot of the stuff that Richie recorded as a solo artist, but I still prefer his work with the Commodores. Plus, in addition to the funk tracks, he recorded some pretty amazing ballads while he was a member of the band, including "Easy," "Sail On" and "Three Times a Lady."

"Fancy Dancer" is from the Commodore's fourth studio album Hot on the Tracks (1976). It was written by Richie and Ronald LaPread, who was the bassist for the Commodores. The track had a strong showing on the charts. It reached #9 on the R&B charts, #39 on the pop charts, and #33 on the dance charts.



Downlad Studio Version Fancy Dancer at Amazon

Eurythmics Perform "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" Live With Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder joins Eurythmics onstage for a beautiful rendition of the British duo's hit "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)." The performance is from the 1999 Brit Awards. Stevie delivers a brilliant harmonica solo, and Annie Lennox's voice sounds amazing as usual. Stevie also contributes a few vocals himself and lets loose with a couple of soulful runs. I really dig the song's arrangement here. It's more organic and less synth-driven than the original recording, with Dave Stewart playing the acoustic guitar instead of keyboards. The studio version is great too, but this live performance really brings out the soul of the song in my opinion. 

"There Must an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" is from Eurythmics' fifth album Be Yourself Tonight (1985). The Motown-inspired love song was penned by Lennox and Stewart, who also produced it. The track has a great gospel-tinged bridge and an angelic chorus. And Stevie Wonder's soul-stirring harmonica solo adds to the track immensely. The song was a big hit across the globe, charting in the top ten in many countries. It reached #1 in the UK, Ireland, Norway, Brazil and Poland. The song was also a modest hit in the U.S., climbing to #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The track has been covered by several musical artists, including Kylie Minogue, Brittany Murphy, Fantastic Plastic Machine and Jessica Pilnäs. Eurythmics also performed the song live with the late opera legend Luciano Pavarotti during the concert Pavarotti and Friends in 2000.



Related blog entries:

Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This): New Wave Soul

"This City Never Sleeps" by Eurythmics