RAY AGEE - THE MONKEY ON MY BACK

I know, I know...it's been a while! I've been very busy establishing my online record store among other things; however, I realized that I've been accumulating some more post- worthy 45's, and it was high time to get back into action.

I can think of no better record than this to return with - this side from Alabama born/ Los Angeles based vocalist Ray Agee (with an uncredited female vocalist who truly steals the show here) is by far the best recent discovery I've had in years. (Of course I would never make any claim on discovering a record - I mean in the sense that it's new to me; however, not many people 'in the know' seem to know about this one.)

Ray Agee made several records with West Coast guitarist Johnny Heartsman, and Johnny cranked out a superb arrangement for this haunting track. While the song itself (and Ray's vocal delivery) is undoubtedly influenced by Ray Charles, the raw vocals and downright frightening lyrics make any comparison inconsequential.

Fate definitely smiled down on me the day that I found this one - I had only 90m or so to spend in a store that had countless boxes of unsorted, filthy 45's. I didn't make it thru every box, but fortunately I did get to the box that had this one. I'd never heard it before, but I know Ray Agee and figured for 50c it would be worthwhile. I certainly was...

from c1963...

RAY AGEE - THE MONKEY ON MY BACK
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This record is a complete mystery; not only is it the only known release from this mysterious group called F B I, but it also seems to be the only release from the Oakland, CA based Daisy Records.

Whatever the back story, this is a FREAKY double sided psychedelic funk slab. It kinda goes without saying that this record is RARE (like, REALLY rare); however, I'm not one that freaks out on records just because they're 'grails'. There has to be something captivating in the grooves, and this one has IT. Drum breaks, fuzzed-out wah wah'ed guitar, a SUPER bad bass player, excellent group vocals, creative horn charts? Check. Both sides flat out COOK, and there's just no more words needed for these two jams. I'm taking a guess at the year; if you know more, please write.

I won't say how many exactly, but I traded off BOXES of 45's to score this record a few months back. No joke! Granted, they were mostly cheapies, but it helped stock up my pals Allen and Michael's store (Needle To The Groove, San Jose, CA) with 45's for a LONG time.

from c1971...

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