The Budos Band -- III

  There I was, at a local downtown watering hole, gulping down copious amounts of beer and whiskey.  The owner pulls out this Ethio-esque Afro beat'd Jazzy Soul album by The Budos Band.  Needless to say my evening wasn't as successful as this killer record.  I made it home ok but totally puked in my sink, which left a barftastic odor in my apartment, luckily I cleaned 'er all up and have kept a great memory of this album!

Beastie Boys -- The In Sound From Way Out!

  So ... if you are getting wasted on a school night, or at my age a work night, with your buddy, and want something to play dueling djembes to, look no further than The Beastie Boys The In Sound From Way Out!  This Booker T and The Mg's-esque Soul/ Jazz instrumental compilation has tracks that range from very good, pretty ok and f*cking shit, but albums like these show their diversity and talent, who else could jump from Hip Hop to Hardcore Punk to mellow instrumentals in one fatal swoop!

Sharon Jones And the Dap-Kings -- 100 Days, 100 Nights

  I'd like to say that these guys are throwback Soul/ Funk revivalists, but goddamn their shtick is so real that they are rewriting R & B music, undoing all the damage that Disco had made over the years.  Sharon Jones And The Dap-kings definitely know how to throw it down with sweet Soul and deep Funk!

William Onyeabor -- Who Is ...

  Who Is William Onyeabor acts like a best of from 77-85.  This Nigerian oddity is like a Funky version of Kraftwerk.  Little is known about the artist but it'd be even less if David Byrne weren't scouring the African countryside discovering what he can! 

N.W.A. -- Straight Outta Compton

  The mega bad ass birth of gangster Rap!  Although I normally would negatively judge this genre harshly, but Straight Outta Compton is brutally honest, deadly funky and very f*cking real!  Too bad this marked the beginning of the end of Rap, overnight everyone became a gangster and quickly turned into a record company's fat bloated unoriginal greedy monster lobotomizing the masses with washed up ideas and lame-brain music! 

Sly And The Family Stone -- Fresh

  After clawing his way out of dark death dirge of There's A Riot Goin' On, Sly came back to life making a group efforted uplifting Funk tour de force that sounded like a Fresh start! 

Prince And The Revolution -- Around The World In A Day

  Ok yeah I sometimes have a soft spot for Prince, but it's either hit or miss ... and to be honest I didn't even listen to this album at all, I tried, not very hard mind you, but I couldn't get past the first five seconds of the putrid 80's funk stink of track one side one, and let's face it if you goof that the chances that I'm going to listen to the rest are slim to none!

Baby Huey -- The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend

  Yowzers!!!  What do you get when you mix Curtis Mayfield, who produced this album, and a Soul belter ... you guessed it, Baby Huey.  Unfortunately Huey died even before he had completely finished his influential debut album, but at least we have this testament from one, "bad ... shut your mouth!"    

Shuggie Otis -- Inspiration Information

  Shuggie Otis perches himself between Sly Stone's Funky Psychedelia and smooth Stevie Wonder'd tenderness.  

Sugarhill Gang

  Soul Funk drenched Hip Hop innovators The Sugarhill Gang.  I admittedly didn't hate this LP but for god sakes was it ever cheesy, case and point and I quote, "on and a on and a on and a on on on, I'm gonna rock you like a filet mignon ..."

New Orleans Funk

  Right on ... New Orleans, the city that defined what it is to be a Funk-ateer!  None of the tracks miss a beat (he..he) on this three LP set.  I have a hard time keeping count of how many times there has been some seriously hilarious drunken dance-off to Ernie K. Doe's Here Comes The Girls.  No matter how hard life can get this album will get you outta your Funk (HA!)!

Those Shocking Shaking Days

  70's Indonesian compilation, all influenced by Western sounds.  Most of this three record set just sounds like passable variations of Can, and there were a couple real surprises ... otherwise ... let's face it ... the only reason I bought this record was to save on shipping because I was dying to get myself a copy of Trout Mask Replica, which was a complete disappointment.  It sounded like the insane ramblings of a madman, schizophrenia on vinyl, four goddamn sides of bee doo boop boop, rah la la la, bing, bang, skweek bah doo beh deh bah doo beh dah ... you get the point.  How in the f*ck did they rehearse this sh*t twelve hour a day for months?  No wonder Beefheart had to torture and brainwash them to play this crap.  Even the entire next day I was in this Trout Mask fog, not entirely sure what the hell I just put myself through, confused as to why this album is so highly acclaimed and sought after ... all and all I feel cheated -- I want my 32 bux back ... but this comp was pretty good!

Parliament -- Mothership Connection

  What do you get when some pimp talkin' funkateers take over the airwaves from outer-space?  One helluva great record -- Mothership Connection!  

James Brown -- Cold Sweat

  James Brown's Cold Sweat is a mish-mash of kick ass Funk and run of the mill R & B covers.  This album marked a new start of Brown's legacy, some say he's the Godfather of Soul, forget that man ... he's the High Priest of FUNK!

Billy Preston -- Organ Transplant

  A mix of originals and covers specially arranged by Sly Stone.  Although you'd think it'd be good, Preston and Stone working together, unfortunately it is not, it's basically elevator Muzak, I couldn't believe my ears -- what a disappointment.  Plus it's one of those hunk of junk Pickwick compilations, which they re-worked an old album, Wildest Organ In Town!, dropped a couple tunes and gave it a new name!  Oh well that's how it goes ... sometimes ...

Sly And The Family Stone -- There's a Riot Goin' On

  Sly's answer to Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On.  Unlike the happy party time Soul sounds of his previous efforts, Sly slips into a dark lonely place, playing some deep Funk.  The album itself sounds muffled due to so many dub, over-dubs and re-dubs, making it clear that Sly preferred to work alone, otherwise it has a Brian Wilson quality to the production, the sounds of a man figuring it out with his own wits, politically charged, making his own flag, telling it like it is, the TRUTH .... RUTH!

The Meters -- Struttin'

  Super Funking Soul brotha outfit The Meters are pioneers in their genre.  Struttin' is mostly, with the exception of three tunes, an instrumental album, the riffs and rhythms are so intricate you get the impression that this is a musicians only release.  The three vocal numbers sung by Art Neville are great Soul numbers, and are not meant to be forgotten just because they have vocals, for these Funking instrumental snobs.  These guys have worked with a slew of luminaries, including doing back-up on Dr. John's most famous albums and tracks.  Get your Chicken Strut on!  And have a Funkin' good time!

Prince -- 1999

  This guy is one of the greatest rock star alien's since Bowie, bringing the mainstream to the dirty underground .... It all starts off with apocalyptic party tune 1999 and follow suit from there with his Minneapolis Pop sound.  The fourth side depicts Prince's best musical innovation, minimalist synth funk, these tracks are always his best work.  But "don't worry, I won't hurt, I only want you to have some fun," because, "life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last," so, "tonight I'm going to party like it's 1999," ... well not really ... those days for me are long gone, thank god!

Michael Jackson -- Off The Wall

  Funky Soul Disco, like a squarebait watered down version of Prince, but still a pretty good album, Off The Wall.  Jackson has an array of superstars to help him on this record, producer Quincy Jones, writers, Sevie Wonder, Paul McCarney ... the list goes on.  I was never a huge fan, well maybe when I was 7 or something.  But in all honesty f*ck Michael Jackson, you have to play this album at the right place and at the right time, and then even I can dig it, so "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" ...

Dr. John -- In The Right Place

  New Orleans's (unofficial) ambassador Dr. John has had a long standing career in the scene before he started releasing his own material.  In The Right Place is his sixth studio release, this record is a perfect fusion of Funk and Americana.  Produced by Allen Toussaint and accompanied by his classic funksters the Meters, which makes this record an all local effort!  The hit chart topper Right Place Wrong Time kick starts the record with a unignorable charismatic burst of right place right time, which follows through until the lp's denouement Cold Cold Cold that will knocks your socks off.  This is the kinda prescription I like to hear from the good hoodoo doctor!