This Review Along With 336 Others Is Available In My
SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites
HIGHER GROUND
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95 (2024 Update)
Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs
(No Cut and Paste Crap)
<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon®ion=GB&placement=B00MTCDTWS&asins=B00MTCDTWS&linkId=f95dca2244c8856012cccc3c6c25fff6&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>
"...Music Is The Way..."
What you get here is two CON
FUNK SHUN vinyl albums from the band's outset plus one 12" single as a
bonus track lumped together onto one remastered CD (for the first time). This
is the 1st release in Robinsongs complete catalogue reissue series for an
American Soul/Funk band that rivalled Earth Wind & Fire in terms of sheer
chart success and affection (see below). Here are the Ffun details...
UK released March 2013 - "Con Funk Shun/Secrets" by CON FUNK SHUN on Cherry Red/Robinsongs CDMRED 555 (Barcode 5013929155534) offers 2LPs from 1976 and 1977 Remastered onto 1CD plus One Bonus Track and pans out as follows
(76:43 minutes):
1. Music Is The Way [Side 1]
2. Tell Me That You Like Me
3. Never Be The Same
4. Owe It To Myself
5. Foley Park
6. Nothing To Lose By Trying
[Side 2]
7. Forever Just Ain't Long
Enough
8. Another World
9. Sho' Feels Good To Me
Tracks 1 to 9 are their
debut vinyl album "Con Funk Shun" - released 1976 in the USA on
Mercury SRM-1-1120 (no UK release).
10. DooWhaChaWannaDoo [Side 1]
11. Who Has The Time
12. Indian Summer Love
(Interlude)
13. Tears In My Eyes
14. Secrets [Side 2]
15. Ffun
16. ConFunkShunizeYa
17. I'll Set You Out O.K.
18. Indian Summer Love
(instrumental)
Tracks 10 to 18 are their
2nd vinyl album "Candy" - released September 1977 in the USA on
Mercury SRM-1-1180 and December 1977 in the UK on Mercury 9100 043. The album
rose to Number 6 on the USA R&B Album Charts.
BONUS TRACK:
19. Ffun (12" Version)
(1977 USA 12" Promo Single on Mercury)
The 16-page booklet pictures
rare American 7" singles on Mercury, album artwork, LP label repros and
also features a detailed and affectionate history of the band and their first
two albums by noted American writer and DJ - RICO WASHINGTON. Long-standing
remaster Engineer ALAN WILSON has done the transfers (as he did with other
issues) - and because the albums were superbly produced in the first place -
that has passed over to the remasters. These things boogie and sound just
great.
The emphasis is on Soul Funk
ala Earth, Wind & Fire, Graham Central Station, Kool & The Gang and
even The Commodores with smoochy ballads inbetween all that booty shuffling.
The debut album opens with the slap-bass of "Music Is The Way" - a
tune that tries hard but is just a little too fast and busy for its own good
(even if the audio is superb). Better is the slinky groove of "Tell Me
That You Like It" - a guitar groove that would fill dancefloors today.
"Owe It To Myself" is a very Hall & Oates groove while
"Nothing To Lose By Trying" is a very AWB and while the smoocher
"Another World" is loverman TP - it ends on the way forward - the
funkily cool "Sho' Feels Good To Me".
Their persistence paid off
as the second album was a massive leap forward - and the public thought so too
by putting it up to Number 6 on the American R&B album charts (an
impressive position for a new band). It helped that the single "Ffun"
went to Number 1 on the R&B charts in November 1977 - giving big funky
brassy tracks like "ConFunkShunize Ya" (the second single) a Number
31 showing on the charts. The instrumental "Indian Summer Love" is
very George Benson circa "Livin' Inside Your Love". Fans are also
going to love the 12" single of "Ffun" which extends the album
cut from 4:12 to 6:06 minutes - and in a really good way. To my knowledge the
12" was Promo-Only on Mercury Records and has been a long sought after
rarity by DJs - so its appearance here on CD fro the first time as a bonus
track is a welcome addition.
Packing great value for
money (mid-price, 2 albums on 1CD plus a 12") - fans should dive in -
especially given the really great upgraded sound...
Other Robinsongs CD
Remasters for CON FUNK SHUN include:
1. Loveshine/Candy (1978 and
1979 LPs onto 1CD - Robinsongs CDMRED 428)
2. Touch/Con Funk Shun 7/To
The Max (1980, 1981 and 1982 3 x LPs + 4 Bonus 12" Single Sides onto 2CDs
- Robinsongs CDBRED 519
3. Fever/Electric Lady (1983
and 1985 LPs onto 1CD - Robinsongs CDMRED 636)
