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"...Vibrations In The Street...Keep Us High..."
Sometime in the late Nineties, the UK branch of Warner Brothers (or WEA to us in the know) seemed to suddenly get hip to the public's needs. And WEA did this at the exact moment they also sheepishly realised they'd an abundance of riches in their glorious back catalogue to meet those cravings.
I recall the 3 sets of "Funk Drops", 3 more for Northern Soul in "After Hours", 2 for Philly in "Crème De La Creme", more Soul, Funk and Gospel rarities in "You Better Believe It" - and on it went.
Which brings us to here – the superlative "Right On!" series of compilations (on CD and 2LP VINYL Sets) that tapped the Funkier side of Jazz, Fusion and Rock albums issued on Atlantic, Atco, Cotillion, San Francisco, Reprise, Alston and of course Warner Bros between 1966 and 1975. So, September 1999 through to August 2004 saw Five Volumes of "Right On!" in all with a 4CD mop-up 'Box Set' in-between for Volumes 1 to 3 that contained a fourth Bonus Disc of 6 Rare Tracks.
Suddenly, underground names held in collector awe like Eugene McDaniels, David Axelrod, David Newman, Funk Factory, Black Heat, Young-Holt Unlimited, Memphis Horns, Shirley Scott, The Beginning of The End, Claudia Lennear, Tony Joe White, Cold Blood, Air, Yusef Lateef, Herb Geller (lyrics from his song title this review) and loads more got pride of place and new recognition. And much to the joy of collectors and album fetishists alike, the "Right On!" series was also backed up by 2LP VINYL sets, all of which boasted a lone Bonus Track over their CD counterpart (see Discography below).
Remastered and compiled with serious smarts by CHAS CHANDLER and STUART KIRKHAM (Comp Producer Florence Halfon) – these comps quickly became a way for cash-strapped fans and other genre-curious-types of getting rare and largely forgotten Funk and Soul for a decent price (I diligently pickled up each as they appeared). Frankly all five volumes are filled with Mr. Men and still relatively cheap too in 2025 (at least the first three are) - so let's get busy with a final highlight in the series - Door Number Five...to the details...
UK released 26 January 2004 - "Right On! Vol. 5 More Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Warner Strategic Marketing (WSM) 5046691472 (Barcode 5050466914729) is a 17-Track CD/18-Track 2LP compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (72:59 minutes - CD):
1. Freaks For The Festival – RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK (from the August 1975 US 2LP set "The Case Of The 3 Sided Dream In Audio Color" on Atlantic Records SD 1674 - featuring RR Kirk on Horns, Richard Tee on Keyboards, Cornell Dupree on Guitars and Steve Gadd on Drums – as Sampled by The Beastie Boys on the song "Finger Lickin' Good" from their 1992 album "Check Your Head")
2. Spanish Moon – LITTLE FEAT (from their fourth studio album "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" released August 1974 in the USA on Warner Bros BS 2784 – featuring Lowell George and Paul Barrere on Guitars (song written by LG), Bill Payne on Keyboards, Kenny Gradney on Bass and Richie Hayward on Drums with Backing Vocals from Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris – Produced by Van Dyke Parks)
3. Hi-Jack – HERBIE MANN (from his album "Discothèque" released April 1975 in the USA on Atlantic Records SD 1670 – Flute by Herbie Mann with Pat Rebillot on Keyboards, Hugh McCracken on Guitar, Steve Gadd on Drums with Backing Vocals from Cissy Houston)
4. I Just Want To Make Love To You – COLD BLOOD (from their November 1969 US Debut LP "Cold Blood" on Atlantic/San Francisco SD 200 in Stereo – written by Willie Dixon and made famous by Muddy Waters of Chess Records fame – Cold Blood featured Lydia Pense on Lead Vocals – Samples used by Jurassic 5 and Edan)
5. Feelin' Alright – WADE MARCUS (from the March 1971 US LP "A New Era" on Cotillion SD 9043 – a Traffic cover (written by Dave Mason) – this Instrumental Version by Motown and Stax Producer and Arranger Wade Marcus features Eric Gale and Richard Tee on Guitars with a Piano Solo from Paul Griffin)
6. The Creeper – YOUNG-HOLT UNLIMITED (from their sixth album "Mellow Dreamin'" released September 1970 in the USA on Cotilion SD 18001 - featuring Bassist Eldee Young, Drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt with ex-Ramsey Lewis Keyboardist Kenneth Chaney and future Trumpeter with The Awakening (1972 and 1973 LPs) Frank Gordon – the instrumental is written by Kenneth Chaney – sample used on Dr. Octagon track "Dr. Octagon")
7. Voodoo Village – TONY JOE WHITE (from his fourth studio album "Tony Joe White" (debut for Warner Brothers) - released March 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 1900 – song by Lee Ann White – Michael Utley of The Dixie Flyers plays Keyboards - the song "Voodoo Village" was also issued February 1971 as a US 45-single on Warner Bros 7468, B-side of "The Daddy" – both tracks from the "Tony Joe White" LP)
8. Pick Up The Pieces – WILLIS JACKSON (from the August 1975 US LP "The Way We Were" on Atlantic SD 18145 – Willis Jackson on Tenor Saxophone - a cover version of the song from the 1974 film of the same name starring Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford)
9. 15° Capricorn Asc. – SAM SAMUDIO [aka Sam The Sham] (from his March 1971 US Debut Solo LP "Sam, Hard And Heavy" on Atlantic SD 8271 – real name Domingo Samudio - Backing Band is The Dixie Flyers (including Michael Utley and Jim Dickinson), Horns by The Memphis Horns (including Wayne Jackson) and Backing Singers by The Sweet Inspirations (led by Cissy Houston))
10. It's A Funky Thing To Do – HANK CRAWFORD (from the May 1971 US LP "It's A Funky Thing To Do" on Cotillion SD 18003 – Hank Crawford on Saxophone, Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree on Guitars, Richard Tee and Alfred 'Pee Wee' Ellis on Keyboards, Chuck Rainey and Ron Carter on Bass with Bernard Purdie on Drums)
11. Leroy The Magician – GARY BURTON (from the August 1970 US Studio LP "Good Vibes" on Atlantic SD 1560 in Stereo – Keyboards and Vibes by Gary Burton and Richard Tee, Eric Gale and Jerry Hahn on Guitars with Chuck Rainey on Bass and Bernard Purdie on Drums)
12. Jungle Eyes – GENE PAGE (from his second US LP "Hot City" released January 1975 on Atlantic SD 18111 – written by Billy and Gene Page –Keyboards by Gene Page, Guests Include Keyboards and Production by Barry White, Guitars by Dean Parks and Ray Parker, Jr. with Wilton Felder of The Crusaders on Bass)
13. It Ain't Easy - SWEETWATER (from their US Debut LP "Melon" released November 1971 on Reprise Records RS 6473 – featuring Albert Moore on Flute (also wrote the song) with Nanci Nevins on Vocals and Guitar and Alex Del Zoppo on Keyboards)
14. Prayer – YUSEF LATEEF (from the US LP "Hush 'N' Thunder" released March 1973 on Atlantic SD 1635 – a Kenny Barron cover version - features Yusef Lateef on Tenor Saxophonist, Cornell Dupree on Guitar with Alfred White on Organ and more)
15. Mr. Man – AIR (from their Debut and Only US LP "Air" released May 1971 on Embryo SD 733 in Stereo – features Herbie Mann on Flute and Googie on Vocals – Guests Randy and Mike Brecker on Trombone and Sax)
16. Hang Loose – THE DON RANDI TRIO (from the US LP ""Live" On The Sunset Strip!" released September 1967 on Reprise Records RS 6252 in Stereo – Original Song - Don Randi on Piano, Pat Smith on Bass and John Clauder on Drums)
17. Space A La Mode – HERB GELLER (from the studio album "Rhyme And Reason" released January 1976 on Atlantic SD 1681 in Stereo – featuring Herb Geller on Saxophone and Flutes, Philip Catherine on Guitar, Rob Franken on Keyboards and Mark Murphy on Vocals)
Graduating from the gatefold slips of paper that masqueraded as a booklet in earlier issues – Volume 5 offers the glory of 8-pages including very basic Discography info and track-by-track liner notes from the compilers (which are informative). Previous issues (namely Volumes 1, 2 and 3) barely showed the American album covers from whence all this Jazz-Funkiness came – here you get a collage of 12 album sleeves on the rear-page of the booklet (which is pretty). As there are no musician credits on any of the five volumes - I have endeavoured to fill out the correct release dates and personnel info where known for each entry – along with any other relevant info (cover versions etc).
Like all the others "Right On! Vol. 5…" hammers where it matters – the Audio is fantastic. Compiled by Chas Chandler (also does the liner notes) and Stuart Kirkham - Florence Halfon is Compilation Producer and the mastering is by Giovanni Scatola at Heathmans Mastering. The Funk is most deaf-in-ite-ly in the ascendancy here (15 of the 17 dates from the 70ts) - so when you play this beast - the music (often instrumental) hits you with unapologetic breaks - Drums and Saxophones and Bass Lines getting high-ya - rattling out of your speakers like a show-off Reggae Stack in Notting Hill. Now - to the actual content...
Volume 5 opens with a clearly hyped-up Rahsaan Roland Kirk (two years before his sad passing at only 44) getting Vocal and Funky with his 4-minute "Freaks At The Festival" – his enthusiasm seeing him wandering in and out of microphone shot several times. The August 1975 US double-album the track comes from is called (delightfully) "The Case Of The 3 Sided Dream In Audio Color" and was a weird one even back then. Although it clearly announces it on the Atlantic Records label as just Cut Grooves - Side 4 of his (3 Sided) 2LP set is air-silence with a few telephone conversations throw in to confuse (ah them was the days)!
Up next is a gem – and I mean a gem. Common reviewer consensus tells punters looking for Little Feat's fab Rock-Funk grooves to go for the live variant of "Spanish Moon" on the 1978 "Waiting For Columbus" 2LP beast because it features a tight-as-space-capsule-nuts Tower Of Power with their Brass chops as part of the audio assault. The studio version here from 1974's fourth studio album "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" doesn't have that benefit. But make no mistake – the Force of the Funk is most definitely with Little Feat here because the Remaster is truly fantastic. And although the studio variant is shorter (the live cut stretches out the momentum and therefore the hip-swaying effect) – "Spanish Moon" is blindingly great – Lowell George and his band steaming in New Orleans mojo. A very smart inclusion.
Pre-Chic and the Saturday Night Fever vibe of The Tramps and their "Disco Inferno" – up comes fabulous Audio for Herbie Mann as he goes for your 1975 boot-ay and sash-ay with his "Hi-Jack". Flute jabs compliment a relentlessly Funky backbeat while breathy ladies sing of hi-jacking your love (good luck with that gals). Underrated US crossover band Cold Blood has the fantastic Janis Joplin-esque pipes of singer Lydia Pense at their disposal. Lydia slinks through a Brass and Organ funk-up of the Muddy Waters chestnut "I Just Want To Make To You" (written by the mighty Willie Dixon) which gradually goes full-on Blood, Sweat & Tears meets C.C.S. (fantastic stuff and another killer to include). Philly Strings, Fuzzed Up Guitars, precision Bass lines and a Clavinet that has seen to many Blaxploitation movies – Wade Marcus gives us a fab instrumental take on the Dave Mason gem from his days with Traffic - "Feelin' Alright". After five corkers in a row – what you would think would cement the Funky deal is a cut now from Young-Holt Unlimited – but their very Herb Alpert offering "The Creeper" in only OK - trying too hard despite some tasty piano-lines towards the end.
Back to swamp-chaps with no teeth-gaps - and no one (but no one) is better than Tony Joe White during his post-Monument sides on Warner Brothers. His thumping and snorting "Voodoo Village" is a sexy 1971 Rock chugger about ladies with ways and moves you need to stay away from (or in his case, run towards). Willie Jackson goes after the Average White Band instrumental classic from 1974 "Pick Up The Pieces" (a contender for one of the greatest songs ever in my book) - but despite the efforts of his 1975 Sax and Funky Strings – you heart and posterior will always remain with the Scottish Soul Boys and their original on Atlantic Records. You might need to give the curiously titled Sam The Sham track "15° Capricorn Asc." breathing space – but as the Wooly Bully man shouts "Push!" - his team of ace musicians hammer a relentless electric guitar whig-out and "15° Capricorn Asc." from 1971 becomes infectious and utterly brilliant (you can see why Soul Boys looking for a Funky tip dig it so). Two hooky instrumentals from Hank Crawford and Gary Burton introduce flick-guitars, soloing Saxophones and pinging Vibes for "It's A Funky Thing To Do" and "Leroy The Magician" – both equally tasty in their neck-jerking neck of the 1970 and 1971 woods.
Home run gives you two long-standing Funk-Rock-Soul nuggets by Air and Sweetwater – great grooves in "Mr. Man" and "It Ain't Easy". Sweetwater find it hard to deal with the pills and bills of the Rock and Roll lifestyle in their stop-and-start "It Ain't Easy" – but in terms of LP finds – it is second-fiddle to Air and their fab "Mr. Man" on Embryo Records n 1971. This slithering and a-sliding sleezy piano and vocals shouter has turned up on quite a few Funky-Funky compilations and Box Sets – Herbie Mann's touring band fronted by singer Googie hitting a genre winner. Amongst the other four is the hard-hitting Funk of Yusef Lateef strangling his horn on "Prayer" – better for me Don Randi handclapping his Sixties way through "Hang Loose" – even if it does feel a tad out of place after all the Seventies soundscapes that preceded it.
So, to sum up, like its four cheapish predecessors (listed on the rear cover artwork - see photo) - "Right On! Volume 5…" is the fifth and last in a brilliant CD and VINYL series - and like its illustrious forebears - will make you want to own the whole shebang (see list below accurate to January 2025).
In the late Sixties and especially into the first half of the Seventies - Funk, Soul, Latin, Jazz and Fusion from across the cultural pond was at its fabulous and inventive best. Check em out and "Right On!" indeed...
RIGHT ON!
CD and Vinyl 2LP Series by Warners UK
A List of Releases
1. Right On! Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults 1967-1975
CD, 17-Tracks: released 27 September 1999 UK on Warner/ESP Warner/Atlantic/Reprise 9548378052 (Barcode 095483780525) - 67:23 minutes
VINYL, 18-Track 2LP-set: released September 1999 UK on Warner/Atlantic Reprise 9548-378041 (Barcode 95483780401) – Bonus is "North Carolina" by Les McCann, last track on Side 4 – playing time 9:20 minutes
CD, 17-Tracks: released 27 September 1999 UK on Warner/ESP Warner/Atlantic/Reprise 9548378052 (Barcode 095483780525) - 67:23 minutes
VINYL, 18-Track 2LP-set: released September 1999 UK on Warner/Atlantic Reprise 9548-378041 (Barcode 95483780401) – Bonus is "North Carolina" by Les McCann, last track on Side 4 – playing time 9:20 minutes
2. Right On! Vol.2: More Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults
CD, 19-Tracks: released Monday, 29 May 2000 UK on Warner/Atlantic/Reprise 9548384002 (Barcode 095483840021) - 69:30 minutes
VINYL, 20-Track 2LP-set: Warner/Atlantic/Reprise 9548-38401-1 (Barcode 095483840113) – Bonus is "Harlem Buck Dance Strut" by Les McCann, last track on Side 4 – playing time 5:55 minutes
CD, 19-Tracks: released Monday, 29 May 2000 UK on Warner/Atlantic/Reprise 9548384002 (Barcode 095483840021) - 69:30 minutes
VINYL, 20-Track 2LP-set: Warner/Atlantic/Reprise 9548-38401-1 (Barcode 095483840113) – Bonus is "Harlem Buck Dance Strut" by Les McCann, last track on Side 4 – playing time 5:55 minutes
3. Right On! Vol.3: More Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults
CD, 18-Tracks: released Monday, 11 June 2001 on Warner Music UK 9548392072 (Barcode 095483920723) - 71:33 minutes
VINYL, 19-Track 2LP-set: Warner Music UK 9548392061 (Barcode 095483920617) – Bonus Track is "Can you Dig It?" by Herbie Mann, last track on Side 4 – 5:51 minutes
CD, 18-Tracks: released Monday, 11 June 2001 on Warner Music UK 9548392072 (Barcode 095483920723) - 71:33 minutes
VINYL, 19-Track 2LP-set: Warner Music UK 9548392061 (Barcode 095483920617) – Bonus Track is "Can you Dig It?" by Herbie Mann, last track on Side 4 – 5:51 minutes
4. Right On! Vol.4: More Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults
CD, 19-Tracks: 26 August 2002 UK Warner Strategic Marketing UK 0927425672 (Barcode 809274256720) - 69:42 minutes
VINYL, 20-Tracks 2LP set: Warner Strategic Marketing 9274-6388-1 - Bonus Track is "Respect Yourself" by Herbie Mann, last track on Side 4 – 6:50 minutes
CD, 19-Tracks: 26 August 2002 UK Warner Strategic Marketing UK 0927425672 (Barcode 809274256720) - 69:42 minutes
VINYL, 20-Tracks 2LP set: Warner Strategic Marketing 9274-6388-1 - Bonus Track is "Respect Yourself" by Herbie Mann, last track on Side 4 – 6:50 minutes
5. Right On! Vol. 5 More Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults
CD: 17-Tracks: 26 January 2004 UK Warner Strategic Marketing 5046691472 (Barcode 5050466914729) – 72:59 minutes
VINYL, 18-Track 2LP-set: Warner Strategic Marketing 5046696401 (Barcode 5050466964014) – Bonus Track is "Schirokko" by Passport, last track on Side 4 – 5:44 minutes
CD: 17-Tracks: 26 January 2004 UK Warner Strategic Marketing 5046691472 (Barcode 5050466914729) – 72:59 minutes
VINYL, 18-Track 2LP-set: Warner Strategic Marketing 5046696401 (Barcode 5050466964014) – Bonus Track is "Schirokko" by Passport, last track on Side 4 – 5:44 minutes
6. Right On! Box Set: Break Beats And Grooves From The Atlantic And Warner Vaults
2001 UK Warner Strategic Marketing 092 740477 2 (Barcode 809274047724)
4CD 67-Track Box Set housed in Book Packaging containing CD Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of the Series (61 Tracks) with a further fourth Bonus CD of Six Tracks.
2001 UK Warner Strategic Marketing 092 740477 2 (Barcode 809274047724)
4CD 67-Track Box Set housed in Book Packaging containing CD Volumes 1, 2 and 3 of the Series (61 Tracks) with a further fourth Bonus CD of Six Tracks.
The six bonuses for the Box Set are (1) "People Say" by The Meters, (2) "Fried Okra" by The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, (3) "Can You Dig It?" by Herbie Mann, (4) "Harlem Buck Dance Strut" by Les McCann, (5) "People" by Graham Central Station and (6) "North Carolina" by Les McCann.
Three of the six Book Set CD Bonuses appeared only on the VINYL 2LP variants of Volumes 1 to 3 (Tracks 3, 4 and 6) – the other three (Tracks 1, 2 and 5) are new to the series here and do not appear on the CD variants of Volumes 4 and 5
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