True Groove Records (label)
26 February 2016 (released)
25 May 2016
‘Give Me a Groove’ the debut from Brooklyn’s Charlie Funk is dripping with 70's P-Funk and nouveau cosmopolitan soul.
The longtime staff writer for New York’s True Groove Records steps in to the spotlight to head up this 5 track (plus one remix) EP. Enlisting members of the legendary P-Funk All Stars, George Clinton’s backbone for Parliament-Funkadelic, Charlie Funk has put together a groovy slice of New York soul.
The title track comes in bangin’, demanding “Give me a groove to move/Need a groove that’s true/Makes me wanna dance ”. A shoulder popping bass line gets heavy backup from Mac Gallehon’s snappy brass. Whirring P-Funk synths play out the Soul Train Line Dance outro where they throw in everything but the kitchen sink. Gang vocals, hand claps, sultry chanteuse, big guitar lead, the works.
Lead single, ‘Sexy Cutie’ takes it down with an easy going slow jam. The backing track is slick and the rhymes come easy, maybe a little too easy. The accompanying video is equally as facile with five lovely ladies showing off their personality on a sound stage with the title emblazoned on the wall behind them. It might not be the best choice for a lead single, it’s solid but not overly remarkable.
The album’s stand out track is the star-studded ‘Lunch in Babylon’ where all Funk’s legendary friends contribute to this ominous, daring track. Marla Mase delivers all the quintessential diner waitress tropes in between the Caribbean infused, defiant lyrics. The dark allegory is spliced with a sharp chorus of female backups harkening back to Fuckadelic’s brilliant (Not Just) Knee Deep and a guitar solo that could get you strapped to the front of a hot rod in Mad Max.
Charlie Funk’s cover of Tom Jones’ ‘It’s Not Unusual’ brings the classic tune down from it’s original punchy pace to a slow cruise. The horns sail rather than stab over wah-wah guitar silky organ. The album finishes up with a tripped-out remix of ‘Sexy Cutie’.
Give Me a Groove delivers everything you need if you can’t get enough smooth funk. The music and production is tight and gets pretty inventive on ‘Lunch in Babylon’ but the vocals never really get out of second gear.
