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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
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"...Pass The Peas..."
Touchy-feely and Funky-footy! Pass The Peas Baby!
When compact discs first hit the market - for almost a decade or more - Rhino of the USA were always the reissue company of go-getter choice for collectors when it came to Soul, R&B and Funk – especially as they had unfettered access to the mighty array of labels in the Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Records cannon. But spare a thought for the mail-order branch of Universal, Hip-O, later to become the more famous Hip-O Select. And especially for this long-forgotten and rarely seen American-only thing of swivel-hip-beauty - "The Funk Box". Four CDs chock full of primo bootyliciousness and all of it delivered in neighbour-concerning speaking-thumping glory. Talk about a proper blast from the past...and one that needs to be reappraised.
Released Stateside-only in late 2000 by Universal/Hip-O - its 55 stunningly-remastered tracks trace James Brown in July 1970 on King Records getting up and feeling like a Sex Machine all the way through to December 1982 on Capitol Records where Parliament's George Clinton was getting Atomic with his Dog (he could never leave that mutt alone). Woof-woof indeed!
You get a slew of rare 45-single cuts, uncompromising full album versions, cleverly chosen CD compilation rarities from the 80ts and 90ts and even the occasional Promo-Only 12-inch single mix making its digital debut. It is without doubt one of those vault-trawls that I cannot stop playing and admiring. There is a lot to shake our booties too, rubbers to burn and ounces to bounce - so let's get some jungle fever and tear the roof off of this brick house...
US released November 2000 - "The Funk Box" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Universal/Hip-O 314 541 789-2 (Barcode 731454178921) is a 55-Track 4CD Velvet-Covered Digibook Compilation featuring 45-Single A-sides and Full Album Tracks ranging from 1970 to 1982 (versions noted in text below) that plays out as follows:
CD1 (75:21 minutes):
1. Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine (Part 1 & 2) - JAMES BROWN (June 1970 US 45 on King 45-6318 - features The J.B.'s - Full Length Version, 5:15 minutes)
2. Express Yourself - CHARLES WRIGHT AND THE WATTS 103rd STREET RHYTHM BAND (August 1970 US 45 on Warner Brothers 7417, 3:51 minutes)
3. Give It Up Or Burnit A Loose - JAMES BROWN (unedited, undubbed mix first issued on the CD compilation "Funk Power - 1970: A Brand New Thang" in 1996 on Polydor/Chronicles 531 684-2 - features The J.B.'s, 6:23 minutes)
4. Rock Steady - ARETHA FRANKLIN (October 1971 US 45 on Atlantic 2838 and on the "Young, Gifted & Black" LP, 3:11 minutes)
5. Slippin' Into Darkness - WAR (from the November 1971 US LP "All Day Music" on United Artists UAS 5546, Full Album Version at 6:59 minutes)
6. I Know You Got Soul - BOBBY BYRD (Extended Version at 4:42 minutes, first issued on the 1988 LP/CD compilation "James Brown's Funky People (Part 2)" on Polydor 835 847)
7. Jungle Fever - THE CHAKACHAS (November 1971 US 45 on Polydor 15030, 4:21 minutes)
8. It's Just Begun - THE JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH (from the March 1972 US LP "It's Just Begun" on RCA Victor LSP-4640, 3:41 minutes)
9. Outa-Space - BILLY PRESTON (December 1971 US 45 on A&M Records AM-1320, B-side of "I Wrote A Simple Song", 4:07 minutes)
10. Think (About It) - LYN COLLINS (The Female Preacher) (May 1972 US 45 People 608, 3:19 minutes)
11. Goin' To See My Baby - FATBACK BAND (from the 1972 US LP "Let's Do It Again" on Perception Records PLP 28, 3:16 minutes)
12. Pass The Peas - J.B.'s (from the July 1972 US LP "Food For Thought" on People PE-5601, features James Brown and Fred Wesley, 3:28 minutes)
13. "T" Plays It Cool - MARVIN GAYE (from the December 1972 US Soundtrack LP "Trouble Man" on Tamla T 322L, Full album Version at 4:26 minutes)
14. The Message - CYMANDE (from the December 1972 US LP "Cymande" on Janus JLS 3044, Full Album Version at 4:15 minutes)
15. I Can Understand It - THE NEW BIRTH [featuring BOBBY WOMACK on Lead Vocals] (from the 1972 US debut album "Birth Day" on RCA Victor LSP-4797, Full Album Version at 6:21 minutes)
16. I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby - BARRY WHITE (from the April 1973 US LP "I've Got So Much To Give" on 20th Century T-407, Full Album Version at 7:10 minutes)
CD2 (77:30 minutes):
1. Future Shock - CURTIS MAYFIELD (from the June 1973 US LP "Back In The World" on Curtom CRS 8015, Full Album Version at 3:36 minutes)
2. The Bottle - GIL SCOTT-HERON and BRIAN JACKSON (from the May 1974 US LP "Winter in America" on Strata-East SES-19742, Full Album Version at 5:05 minutes)
3. What Is Hip? - TOWER OF POWER (from the May 1973 US Debut LP "Tower Of Power" on Warner Brothers BS 2681, Full Album Version at 5:04 minutes)
4. The Payback - JAMES BROWN (from the December 1973 US 2LP-set "The Payback" on Polydor PD 2-3007 (April 1974 in the UK), Full Album Version at 7:25 minutes)
5. For The Love Of Money - THE O'JAYS (from the October 1973 US LP "Ship Ahoy" on Philadelphia International KZ 32408, Full Album Version at 7:20 minutes)
6. Hollywood Swinging - KOOL & THE GANG (from the October 1973 US LP "Wild And Peaceful" on De-Lite DEP 2013, Full Album Version at 4:35 minutes)
7. Tell Me Something Good - RUFUS featuring CHAKA KHAN (from the June 1974 US LP "Rags To Rufus" on ABC Records ABCX-809, Full Album Version at 4:36 minutes)
8. Do It, Fluid - THE BLACKBYRDS (from the June 1974 US LP "The Blackbyrds" on Fantasy F-9444, Full Album Version at 5:25 minutes)
9. Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) - B.T. EXPRESS (from the November 1974 US LP "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)" on Scepter Records SPS 5117, Full Album Version at 5:51 minutes)
10. Just Kissed My Baby - THE METERS (from the October 1974 US LP "Rejuvenation" on Reprise MS 2200, Full Album Version at 4:42 minutes)
11. Skin Tight - OHIO PLAYERS (from the April 1974 US LP "Skin Tight" on Mercury SRM-1 705, Full Album Version at 7:54 minutes)
12. I Get Lifted - GEORGE McCRAE (October 1974 US 45 on T.K. Records TK 1007, B-side to "I Can't Leave You Alone", 2:46 minutes)
13. Shakey Ground - THE TEMPTATIONS (February 1975 US 45 on Gordy G 7142F, 4:02 minutes)
14. School Boy Crush - AVERAGE WHITE BAND (October 1975 US 45 on Atlantic 45-3304, 4:58 minutes)
15. Erucu - JERMAINE JACKSON (from the October 1975 US Soundtrack LP "Mahogany" on Motown M6-858S1, 3:29 minutes)
CD3 (78:45 minutes):
1. Fight The Power Parts 1 & 2 - THE ISLEY BROTHERS (from the June 1975 US LP "The Heat Is On" on T-Neck PZ 33536, Full Album Version at 5:20 minutes)
2. The Jam - GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION (from the August 1975 US LP "Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It" on Warner Brothers BS 2876, Full Album Version at 3:38 minutes)
3. Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) - PARLIAMENT (from the February 1976 US LP "Mothership Connection" on Casablanca NBLP 7022, Full Album Version at 5:46 minutes)
4. Get The Funk Out Ma Face - BROTHERS JOHNSON (August 1976 US 45 on A&M Records 1851-S, Full Album Version at 5:57 minutes)
5. Changin' - BRASS CONSTRUCTION (from the December 1975 US Debut LP "Brass Construction" on United Artists UA-LA545-G - charted February 1976, Full Album Version at 8:12 minutes)
6. Dazz - BRICK (September 1976 US 45 on Bang B-727, Full Album Version at 5:35 minutes)
7. Superman Lover - JOHNNY GUITAR WTSON (from the 1976 US LP "Ain't That A Bitch" on DJM Records DJLPA-3, Full Album Version at 5:42 minutes)
8. The Pinocchio Theory - BOOTSY'S RUBBER BAND (February 1977 US 45 on Warner Brothers WBS 8328, Full Album Version at 6:07 minutes)
9. Slide - SLAVE (from the March 1977 US LP "Slave" on Cotillion SD 9914, Full Album Version at 6:49 minutes)
10. The Hump - PATRICE RUSHEN (from the March 1977 US LP "Shout It Out" on Prestige P-10101, Full Album Version at 6:08 minutes)
11. Running Away (12" Mix) - ROY AYERS (August 1977 US 12" Single on Polydor PD D502, 6:54 minutes)
12. Brick House (12" Mix, A Special Length Disco Version) - THE COMMODORES (August 1977 US 12" Single on Motown M00007D1, 6:11 minutes)
13. Let's Have Some Fun - BAR-KAYS (from the November 1977 US LP "Flying High On Your Love" on Mercury SRM-1-1181, Full Album Version at 6:02 minutes)
CD4 (75:39 minutes):
1. You And I – RICK JAMES (from the May 1978 US LP "Come Get It!" on Gordy G7-981R1, Full Album Version at 8:04 minutes)
2. I Like Girls – FATBACK (from the June 1978 US LP "Fired Up 'N' Kickin'" on Spring Records SP-1-6718, Full Album Version at 7:37 minutes)
3. Let's Start The Dance - BOHANNON (from the June 1978 US LP "Summertime Groove" on Mercury SRM-1-3728, Full Album Version at 5:53 minutes)
4. One Nation Under A Groove - FUNKADELIC (from the September 1978 US LP "One Nation Under A Groove" on Warner Brothers BSK 3209, Full Album version at 7:27 minutes)
5. Bustin' Loose - CHUCK BROWN & THE SOUL SEARCHERS (from the January 1979 US LP "Bustin' Loose" on Source Records SOR-076, Full Album Version at 7:41 minutes)
6. I Just Want To Be (12" Extended Mix) - CAMEO (June 1979 US Promo-Only 12" Single on Chocolate City CCD-20016, 6:21 minutes)
7. Glide - PLEASURE (from the 1979 US LP "Future Now" on Fantasy F-9578, Full Album Version at 6:28 minutes)
8. Behind The Groove – TEENA MARIE (from the March 1980 US LP "Lady T" on Gordy G7-992R1, Full Album Version at 6:03 minutes)
9. More Bounce To The Ounce – ZAPP (from the September 1980 US Debut LP "Zapp" on Warner Brothers BSK 3463, Full Album Version at 9:27 minutes)
10. Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) – GAP BAND (from the January 1981 US album "Gap Band III" on Mercury SRM-1-4003, Full Album Version at 5:16 minutes)
11. Atomic Dog – GEORGE CLINTON (December 1982 US 45 on Capitol B-5201, Instrumental B-side Single Version at 4:44 minutes)
The digibook is covered in blood-red velvet with a sort of plastic embossed THE FUNK BOX logo attached on the front and a card track list on the rear. One tiny irritating thing about the otherwise completely exemplary 60-page booklet attached inside is that none of the inside entries tell the song’s actual playing time – you have to refer to the sheet on the back of the box. So you can’t easily tell which is a single edit and which is an album cut (I’ve provided this info in each entry above). But what is brill are the STEPHEN IVORY intro and song-by-song history/explanations – each entry with just that right touch of discography detail, scene-setting background and lingo-wit. 2 Live Crew and Public Enemy have sampled the sex-pot moaning of "Jungle Fever" by The Chakachas while everyone from Heavy D to Pharcyde have plundered the J.B.s doing "Pass The Peas” – info like that which brings this genre into today.
A huge draw is going to be the stunning Remastered Audio by a fave Engineer whose name I actually seek out – SUHA GUR. He's had his name on loads of Universal and Hip-O Select quality reissues including swathes of the Motown catalogue and the "Gold" 2CD compilations. When you clap ears on say the seven-minute album cut of Barry White giving it some Walrus of Love in his "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby" song – the Audio will blow you away – clear, ballsy, none too amped for the sake of it – just full-on and thrillingly present. Time and time again as you remember stuff you’d forgotten, the audio just keeps on whomping you with its quality.
But it's also the clever choices - take the Bobby Byrd cut which an extended variant of 4:42 minutes that turned up on a now long-forgotten James Brown-related CD compilation in 1988 - instead of giving you the dated false live roaring voices of the single - you get an undubbed cut that is quite literally the definition of Funky Nirvana. The Marvin Gaye cut from his hugely influential "Trouble Man" soundtrack is ""T" Plays It Cool" - probably the best instrumental cut on the album. Speaking of influential non-vocal sides, DJs quickly flipped the rather ordinary "I Wrote A Simple Song" by former Let It Be Beatles and Sticky Fingers Stones sidekick Billy Preston, only to find gold on the flipside - a 4:07-minute piece of clavinet synth Funk called "Outa-Space". It's the link between Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" Funk and all the way back "Green Onions" almost.
The Cymande track "The Message" had its positivity featured on the premier US R&B TV program "Soul Train" where it became an anthem for the times and deep in the second side of a sappy "Mahogany" soundtrack was Jermaine Jackson's deeply cool "Erucu" - another DJ find - like that of Jimmy Castor. And those full-on album versions are fabulous - Bobby Womack with The New Birth on "I Can Understand It", JB giving it seven-minutes of "The Payback", Aaron Neville with The Meters and Chaka with Rufus telling us to "Get Into Something Good". I've reviewed the Patrice Rushen album "Shout It Out" where "The Hump" resides - her still only 24 and playing like a brother twice her years. Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, Bar-Kays, Funkadelic, The Gap Band and Bohannon – great choices and it just keeps on keeping on like that, to the butt-waddling finish...
"The Funk Box" has been deleted years now, as is every title on Hip-O and Hip-O Select - all sought after and pricey into the bargain. But sometimes, these reissue company’s just get it 'so right'. And this smooth operator is one of those.
You may have to pay for it, but I'd say, it's worth a shell out just to get that 'More Bounce To Your Ounce" sounding and looking this good...
