Far Out - The Hip Sound

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back again with a little something different for your listening pleasure...

Far Out - The Hip Sound - Limelight



This 45 is another recent addition to my collection, having been acquired during the same bit of Chicago digging as the Stanley Keeble & Voices of Triumph 45 posted a few weeks ago. While working my way through a stack of mostly trash, I came across a white label promo that begged to be placed upon the portable for further inspection*. Within seconds of dropping the needle on the record I heard a rather strange, electronic sound that I was sure I'd heard before. At the time I couldn't place exactly where I had heard this song before, but a quick perusal of the label helped push my further inquisition in the right direction. This particular track is credited to two individuals: musique concrete pioneer Pierre Henry and French composer Michel Colombier, who, as far as I was aware, had only worked together on one project, Maurice Bejart's ballet masterpiece, Messe Pour Le Temps Present**. I know what you're all thinking at this point, "how in the hell does a track off of a 'ballet masterpiece' fit into the Trunk of F.U.N.K.?", well luckily for you, this particular track takes some interesting off-kilter electronics typical of musique concrete pieces and applies them over some fairly standard 'freak-beat' fare, resulting in a great, dance floor-friendly 45.

Now back to my quest to figure out where I'd heard this record before. With the bit of insight that Henry and Colombier had only worked together on one occasion fresh in my mind, an important series of events needed to be worked through upon arriving home: get the family settled, grab something to eat, and check out the tracklist from Messe Pour Le Temps Present as soon as possible to determine if "Far Out" is included on the record. After a quick once over of the tracklist, it appeared as though today's selection may have been a similar sounding one-off recorded by Henry and Colombier that hadn't made it onto the record. However, a quick listen of Messe Pour Le Temps Present finally answered my questions once and for all. Today's selection does appear on that LP, although on the LP it is titled "Teen Tonic" and is at a slightly lower BPM. I'm still not sure why this track was re-named "Far Out" for this 45, or why Henry and Colombier chose to work under the moniker of The Hip Sound for this particular record only, so if anyone out there has any additional information, passing it along would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy, and I'll try to be back with a new mix for your listening pleasure in the not too distant future.

* Those that occupy their free time, however fleeting it may be, huddled over boxes in the dingy confines of a used record store can appreciate the sense of curiousity evoked by a 45 titled "Far Out" recorded by a group called The Hip Sound.

** Fans of Futurama will recognize the opening track off of this record, Psyche Rock, as this song was adapted for the opening credits of the show.

** For those curious, Michel Colombier is pictured first and Pierre Henry is pictured second

Masterpiece - Grover Washington, Jr.

I'm going to keep it short and sweet this week, as the job, the lecture I still need to prepare for tomorrow, family affairs, and upcoming travels this weekend are keeping me pretty busy.

Rarely does a song with a title as boastful as 'Masterpiece' live up to the hype. However, when that song happens to be a Norman Whitfield classic that has been 'jazzed up' by a Bob James arrangement, and includes killer players (e.g. Airto, Ron Carter, Richard Tee, and Idris Muhammad), the likelihood of living up to the hype increases significantly. Instead of simply taking my word for it though, why don't you go ahead and judge for yourself...

Masterpiece - Grover Washingon, Jr. - Kudu



Ultimately, Grover Washington, Jr. is credited alongside artists like George Benson, John Klemmer, and Herb Alpert as being responsible for developing the smooth jazz genre. Prior to helping move jazz to a more radio friendly format though, Washington recorded a handful of records with a much stronger soul-jazz vibe, as exemplified by today's selection. His break into the recording business was an extremely lucky one, resulting from Hank Crawford missing a Kudu records recording session in the early 1970s. Despite only playing in back-up roles prior to this point, Crawford's absence opened a door for Washington in a lead role. The result of the opportunity was Washington's first LP, Inner City Blues, released in 1971 on the Kudu label. Between 1971 and 1976, Washington recorded and released a total of 6 LPs for the Kudu label, with his most significant early commercial success resulting from the release of the album Mister Magic in 1974. After his time recording for Kudu records, Washington's recording career continued at a rather steady pace through the release of his final album, Aria in 2000.

Enjoy, and I'll try to be back in a few days with something new for your listening pleasure.

Can't You Love Him - Rev. Stanley Keeble & The Voices of Triumph

I am by no means a religious person. Unfortunately for my record collection, this choice has left me with a plebian knowledge of gospel music, a member of the musical specturm that often demonstrates serious funk and/or soul tendencies (a fine example: the Good God! collection compiled by the fine folks at the Numero Group a few years back). The addition of funky gospel sides to my record colleciton has been further limited by the lack of "funky tip-offs"* on gospel records. Fortunately, the aquisition of a portable turntable has made it a little bit easier for me to stumble on gospel finds as of late. One such example**, acquired just this last weekend during a dig at one of my favorite spots in Chicago, has been provided for you listening pleasure today...

Can't You Love Him - Rev. Stanley Keeble & The Voices of Triumph - Sounds of Soul



Stanley Keeble was born in Chicago in 1937. His musical career started in 1952 with the Fellowship Bible Church choir, a group he directed, as well as accompanied on the piano and organ. His career in gospel music was continued through connections with artists like Inez Andrews and Jesse Dixon. In 1968, he decided to start his own gospel choir, The Voices of Triumph***, who back him on today's selection. Although I'm not sure how long the group was active, I do know that he worked with the group through at least 1974, as that is the publishing date stamped on the 45 label. More recently, he is credited with establishing the Chicago Gospel Music Heritage Museum, as well as hosting a weekly radio program on WKKC.

*Examples include, but are not limited to, the word "funky" in the song title or an artist name like, "(insert first name here) and the (insert object here)".

**There's no use in denying that I was initially drawn to this record by the imprint name, Sounds of Soul. Luckily, as has happened a great many times in the past, the imprint name tip-off didn't fail to impress.

***The Voices of Triumph are also featured on the Good God! collection released by Numero Group.

Philly Barracuda pt. 1 - Holly Maxwell

Hello again. Most of the regulars in these parts probably noticed that there wasn't much action around here last week. The onslaught of dirty diapers coupled with getting back to the daily grind full time left me wiped out to the point that it felt like I couldn't keep my thoughts straight, let alone write anything worth reading. Luckily things have been a sailing a bit more smoothly over the last few days, so I figured it was high time to get back here and provide you with a nice slice of dance craze 45 action...

Philly Barracuda pt. 1 - Holly Maxwell - Star



Interestingly, despite the reference to Philly in the title, this single was actually a Windy City product, as publication and production credits are given to Monk Higgins' Special Agent company, which he started during his time working in Chicago. Higgins, who shares writing credits with Holly Maxwell for this single, was a staple in the Chicago R&B and soul scene throughout the 1960s*. Despite the absence of a date on the 45 label, it's safe to assume that this single was recorded during or before 1969, as Higgins left Chicago for L.A. in that year to begin working with a number of west coast labels, including United Artists. Holly Maxwell was born and raised in Chicago, spending a significant part of her life trying to break into the music scene there. She got her start in the music business singing with the group the Tourjourettes during her high school years. She later attended Chicago Musical College in 1965, where she pursued studies in classical music. Her collegiate career ended early, however, after signing a deal with Constellation records, where she would record two singles that sold well locally, but never really picked up steam regionally or nationally. At least two more singles were recorded for the Star label in the mid- to late-60s, including today's selection. In 1969, Maxwell landed a deal with Curtom records that resulted in the release of one single, while in 1970 she cut a single for Smit-Whit records. With only limited success achieved in Chicago, Maxwell headed west for L.A. sometime in the early 1970s. During her time in L.A. she was managed by Monk Higgins' cousin Barbara Acklin who landed her a gig working with Ike Turner as Tina Turner's fill-in. Holly remained in L.A. until 1985, at which point she relocated back to Chicago. Despite never really amassing a level of critical acclaim in the states, Holly had/has a steady gig at Maxwell's Cafe (which is of no relation to her) in Paris, France.

With fingers crossed, but no promises, I hope to be back in a few days with the next volume in the Trunk of F.U.N.K. mix series.

*Monk Higgins is also credited with a single entitled "Barracuda" that was recorded by Alvin Cash and the Registers for the Mar-V-Lus label sometime during the 1960s. Despite the similar name, the two singles share very little, if any, musical qualities in common.

Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries

Hello again. Although my time's been pretty well occupied with all things related to caring for a child, it looks like we're starting to develop a bit of a schedule. Luckily for me, the change of pace has afforded a bit of free time to pull out a nice little Latin side for your listening pleasure.

Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries - Willie Bobo - Verve




A little while back I stumbled across this box set from Verve records that I couldn't reasonably pass up*. A big part of my inability to avoid it's purchase stemmed from the great cover art (see the photograph above). However, what really sealed the deal was a "nice price" opportunity to hone in my knowledge of a jazz percussionist that was effectively unknown to my ears at the time. Luckily for me, this was a wise choice as the set includes five 45s containing tracks from each of Willie's three Verve LPs (Spanish Grease, Uno Dos Tres/1,2,3, and Feelin' So Good). Also included was a one-page info sheet which, aside from giving a fair bit of biographical information, identifies jazz pianist (and digger's dream) Mary Lou Williams as the party responsible for breaking Willie into the scene**. The insert also mentions that after his work with Williams, Willie played with Cal Tjader for 4 years and was a featured player with Tito Puente before deciding to start doing his own thing in 1961. While recording under his own name he released sixteen albums, including a staggering seven LPs for the Verve label between 1965-1968 and the funky classic Do What You Want To Do, Tomorrow Is Here for Sussex in 1971. Unfortunately for the music world, Willie passed away at the age of 49 after complications from illness.

Relying only on an echo-ey chorus singing the title over and over, some fairly simple percussion, and a smooth, slinky horn line, Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries burns along at a nice slow pace. In reality, I think it's the simplicity of this song that really makes it so great, as there's no unnecessary filler muddying things up. This track has always been the standout of the box set for me, as it creates a vibe that reminds of warm summer nights. Enjoy, and I'll try to be back in the next few days with something new for your listening pleasure.

*This box set is from the "Verve Celebrity Scene" series, which also features boxes from Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery.

**I've since read that Willie Bobo (born William Correa) was given the nickname "Bobo" by Mary Lou Williams during his time playing with her.

Get It Together

Hello again. A few weeks back Ava from Jemsite sent me an e-mail asking if I'd be interested in putting together a guest post for her blog. For those not in the know, Jemsite is a community dedicated to guitars, rock and roll, and the music industry as a whole. Her invitation indicated that she was particularly interested in a post on the collaboration between rock and funk. While I wouldn't consider myself foremost expert, I figured I could put something interesting together. So, with notion of the marriage between funk and rock fresh in my mind, I dug through my collection and hand-picked a dozen or so tracks that fall under one of three categories: 1) rock songs influenced by funk, 2) covers of funk songs by rock artists, or 3) covers of rock songs by funk/soul/jazz artists. The result is available on the Jemsite blog by following the link below.

Get It Together - Trunk of F.U.N.K. vol. 015 - Jemsite Guest Mix

Tracklist

Title - Aritst - LP Title (if applicable) - Label

Prelude – The Millenium – Begin – Columbia
Black Dog – Deodato – First Cuckoo – MCA
Train – The Buddy Miles Express – Expressway to Your Skull – Mercury
As I Lay Dying – Melting Pot – Ampex
(I Know) I'm Losing You – Rare Earth – Rare Earth
Funk-In-Wagnall – Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds – Dunhill/ABC
Go On Home – Gee Gee Shin – La Louisianne
Taurus – Dennis Coffey – Goin' For Myself – Sussex
Let A Woman Be A Woman – Roy Head – Same People – Dunhill/ABC
Get It Together – The Grass Roots – Dunhill/ABC
Season of The Witch – Al Kooper, Steven Stills, Mike Bloomfield - Super Session – CBS

And now for some really important news.... I was a bit slow in putting up this post as this has been a huge weekend for myself and my family. My wife and I welcomed our first daughter, Isabel Jane (photo at left), into the world late Friday night. We're finally home again, as mom and baby are both doing quite well (we've all actually had a reasonable amount of sleep over the last few nights, which is a nice surprise). I'd like to say that I hope things won't change too much around here, but there's really no way of knowing how busy the little bugger is going to keep us over the coming weeks. Hopefully I'll be back in a few days with a new single, but until then, enjoy.

The Bushman - The Tenth Dymentions

Hello again. I hope that this last weekend has treated you well, as it did me, instilling a renewed sense of energy to approach the upcoming week with a full head of steam. I've got some huge news on the horizon (more on that in a few days), which, coupled with the time to finally sit back and relax a little bit, has left me feeling a lot better about things on the whole. It was with these feelings of excitement and energy that I chose today's single, a track that storms out of the gate from the first note and doesn't even consider quitting until the final note is played...

The Bushman - The Tenth Dymentions - Sapphire




We seem to have stumbled upon a trend here in the last few weeks, as this single is yet another example of a side that I've held onto for a bit in the hopes of being able to dig up any relevant information on the group. What I can tell you is that the Tenth Dymentions were a Chicago group, that this single was produced by Joe Savage, an individual with a reasonably long track record in Chicago indie productions in the late 60's and early 70's, and that writing credits on this single are given to Vern Ryan, who is presumably a member of the band. This band may in fact be the same group (or at least similar to) the Fantastic Dimensions who released a Northern mover on the Sapphire label (also credited to Vern Ryan). Other than that, there aren't a whole lot of other specifics out there on the band or the label.

The Bushman, a dance whose steps are not very well explained in vocals, relies on a full horn section that's blasting away throughout most of the song, a choppy guitar line that's really similar to the sound of Alvin Cash's Keep on Dancing, a fairly subtle organ line to round out the sound, and some hand drumming to help set the groove right for getting bodies moving on the dance floor.

Enjoy, and I'll be back in a few days with another guest mix.