Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (1974)

The definitive psychedelic soul record, Shuggie Otis' nine tracks shuck and jive along, resulting in a trippy and funky output for this esoteric legend.  

"He released an album with Al Kooper, played on Frank Zappa's Hot Rats, turned down a chance to work with Quincy Jones, was approached to replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, mentioned in the same breath as both Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone as well as the blues greats and apparently inspired both Prince and Beck, but a bit like Terry Reid he chose to follow his own path which undeservedly led into relative obscurity." - oldrock, Rate Your Music
Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (1974; Epic Records)
Link also contains the album Wings of Love, re-released together in 2013

Black Nasty - Talking to the People (1973)

Raw integrated funk. Just straight up FONK.

The kinda funk make you wanna smack yo mama for not raising you up on this kinda funk.

The kinda funk that make you wanna visit Detroit.

Cut the shit and drop the needle on this.
Black Nasty - Talking to the People (1973; Enterprise Records)

Buddy Miles Express - Expressway to Your Skull (1968)

I've always held fast to my opinion that Jimi Hendrix's work with drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Billy Cox was far superior to that he did with the Experience; it's a funkier, more soulful incarnation of Jimi's music and it came along at a time when people were more or less doubting (or challenging) Hendrix's "blackness".

So Buddy's drumming gave everything a funkier, dancier swing (fresh off his work with blues rock band The Electric Flag) and Jimi's Band of Gypsys was born. In between being a sideman for Mike Bloomfield's project and Jimi's new thing, he had his own thing, the Buddy Miles Express, with Jim McCarty on guitar and Billy Rich on bass. This is a pretty cool album as far as being a period piece; not every song is a knock-out (the cover of Sam & Dave's Wrap it Up is actually kind of flat) but it's interesting to see on record how one of the first albums to attempt to blend hard rock with funk & soul works out- this basically presaged the whole Funkadelic movement; helping to spawn funk rock.

Anyway, give it a go; you shan't be disappointed (too much)...

Buddy Miles Express - Expressway to Your Skull (1968; Mercury Records)

The Golden Palominos - The Golden Palominos (1983)

I'm obviously drawn to things in the avant vein, so when I see an album that has a bunch of previously featured Out Sounds artists, I most definitely sit up and take notice. Two members of the early-80's downtown New York collective known as The Golden Palominos have already gotten their due; you may remember my Passover-related John Zorn post, or my tribute to prepared guitar wizard (and Oakland resident) Fred Frith. Those two musicians, along with drummer/composer (and former member of seminal new wave band The Feelies) Anton Fier, bassist Bill Laswell (who I learned of through his more recent work with Tabla Beat Science) and guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay (of No Wave-legends DNA) came together in 1981 to create an experimental funk-rock-jazz band that borrowed greatly from the No Wave movement as well as the avant-garde music and performance art of that whole downtown scene.

Conceptually; it's one piece of music that is broken up into its constituent parts; stylistically it flows pretty seamlessly from one track to the next- it sounds like a highly structured jam session where the bass and drum interlock perfectly with Laswell and Fier creating a pocket in which all the soloists improvise their respective parts; Frith and Lindsay weave guitars around each other, sounding at times like buzz saws and electric drills and other times hashing out intense riffs. Zorn's sax is either bubbling just below or comes at you full-force in the face, and "guests" like Jamaaladeen Tacuma on bass, Nicky Skopelitis on guitar and percussionist David Moss are all featured on various tracks. Knowing a little something about the nature of the musicians involved, I can almost guarantee that none of it is really "structured" per se; all the artists involved have carved out huge followings for their improvisational skills.

Now to the "why this record is important"; it features the first turntable scratching (from turntablist M.E. Mitchell) outside of a hip-hop record- and it doesn't sound the least bit out of place. Remember, rap music was still pretty new in 1983, so to hear this outside of a Grandmaster Flash or Rammellzee record might catch ears as strange.

The Golden Palominos - The Golden Palominos (1983; Celluloid Records)

Mandrill - Just Outside of Town (1973)

Funny story about this album; I used to have it. I used to have a lot more records actually, but during the "Big Move West '06" I realized that car/trunk space was insanely valuable, so a few hundred records didn't make it out here with me. Just one crate, I grabbed the best (and most salable) items and stuffed them between clothes and assorted memorabilia deemed "move worthy". My younger brother got the records.

The funny thing about this actual record, is that while I owned it, I never knew how it got into my possession. It was either a) my parents (extremely doubtful), b) a leftover item in a garage sale-binge (I used to be able to buy a whole box/crate back in the Philly suburbs at a yard sale for like $10) or c) it magically appeared in my collection (it didn't even have a jacket, just the actual vinyl record slipped into that thin paper sleeve insert). Option b seems to be the most reliable choice.

First time I listened to it; however, there was no doubt in my mind that this was some of the funkiest stuff ever recorded by man. Sure, there's some ballads and whatnot, but mostly just pure funk/rock fusion going on here. I never got another copy of it (I've run into a few of the more recent re-issues at local record stores but I'm holding out for an original- I want to buy someone's history, like the history I passed on by passing this record on).

But I've learned my lesson; next time I move, every last record is coming with me...

Mandrill - Just Outside Of Town (1973; Polydor Records)

Arnie Lawrence - Unobstructed Universe (1976)

I found this a few weeks ago on a blog I like to frequent (Prog Not Frog), and all I can say is that it's absolutely amazing. Funky-ass rhythms that melt away into some free jazz/space jam stuff and then back again- and that's just during the 30-minute title track.

I don't know a whole lot about this release except that it's listed under both Arnie Lawrence as leader and credited to Unobstructed Universe as the band. I read in an interview with Lawrence that it was his intention to call the band and record Unobstructed Universe but for contractual reasons it's listed under him. Go figure.

Either way, it's some funky ass fusion shit from the mid-1970's...

Arnie Lawrence - Unobstructed Universe (1976; Adamo Records)
-link opens to YouTube video-

ESG - Come Away With Me (1983)

I wonder if the Bronx-born Scroggins sisters knew they were gonna be so influential when they put these records out. Or did they just wanna be funky? These basslines and beats have been sampled by everyone: Wu-Tang, Beasties Boys, Gang Starr, Dilla, Big Daddy Kane, trip-hopper Tricky, R&B stars TLC, the list goes on and on.

Their records are so obscure to mainstream ears that they've been sampled so much without people realizing who they are; they aren't punk (but their cold and spacey recordings share an aesthetic with post-punk bands like Joy Division and Wire) they aren't exactly funk (but you can dance to it); it was literally the first incarnation of "dance punk", paving the way for bands like Le Tigre, !!!, Liars and James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem.

Check this one out, you shan't be disappointed...

ESG - Come Away With Me (1983; 99 Records)

Fela Kuti - Expensive Shit (1975)

This is some serious funk straight from the Motherland. Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a pioneer in what we now call "world music" (a term I always thought sounded a bit exclusionary; after all, don't we all live in the same world?), bridging the gap between western jazz and funk and West African highlife music (a form of horn and guitar driven pop).

Although it's only about twenty-four minutes long, Kuti and his band Africa 70 cut a wide swath in the decade's ever-growing field of funk; if this doesn't make you get up and dance you just might not have a soul...

Fela Kuti - Expensive Shit (1975; Editions Makossa)

Donny Hathaway - Live (1972)

I used to love live music; something inexplicable happened in the last few years that has switched my focus to the supreme worship of the album as ultimate artistic statement- I think it's one too many shitty concert experiences. You know what I'm talking about- some places have really bad acoustics or are cramped or too hot, but the one I hate the most is the inattentive crowd busy chatting away or texting it up. I guess any number of things serve as deterrents from an awesome live music experience. Oh well.

This record, however; is one of the best live albums of all-time, judging from the crowd's response. Donny Hathaway was like a man possessed these two nights back in '72 (side one is from The Troubador in Hollywood and side two is from The Bitter End in Greenwich Village). The cover versions of John Lennon's Jealous Guy and Carole King's You've Got A Friend are as good (if not better) than the originals, Hathaway's soulful voice gives them a warmth that they're missing.

I gotta give a shot-out to J.D. for introducing me to this album a long time ago; we used to listen to his parents' vinyl copy on the good stereo in his living room. Listen to this now, people...

Donny Hathaway - Live (1972; Atco Records)

John Scofield - A Go Go (1998)

Jazz guitarist John Scofield with John Medeski, Billy Martin & Chris Wood; one of the best studio jazz records of the '90s- there's some really funky shit on this album (everything revolves around the "groove", kids...). 

Medeski Martin & Wood bring their avant-garde background to Sco's modal and hard bop leanings to create one of the most rewarding listens from a jazz guitarist ever.

A must-have for any fans of fusion and/or funk...

John Scofield - A Go Go (1998; Verve Records)