Strut (label)
10 May 2010 (released)
15 May 2010
This is the second volume of material that has been trawled from the dusty cabinets and cupboards and like the first album it features some absolutely magical performances – I don’t understand how this much good music has been ignored all these years.
The album subtitle is ‘Soul, Funk & Organd Grooves From The Townships 1969 - 1976’ and that, in a nutshell, is what you get – 22 gems laden with all sorts of Soul, Jazz, Funk and dance music.
Some of it is approaching psychedelic and the occasional bum note that seems to fiut perfectly into the continuous groove.
The wonderful Mahotella Queens are the first real find with the Queens vocals set behind an acid-tinged guitar and the gruffest lead vocal imaginable setting up the chorus. The Heroes start off sounding like Isaac Hayes and move into Impressions territory while The Monks ‘Blockhead’ would sound perfect on a Mod Classics album – if the name was The Artwoods or The Thunderbirds you could have heard this down in the 100 Club in ’65.
There are influences from all sorts of Western music in most of the numbers here but everything is loaded with danceability and a brilliant rough edge that sets it apart from the New York and California influences – then when you add in the African vocal styles and lyrics the result is simply wonderful.
If you put this album on at the start of a party you could pretty well guarantee a heaving dancefloor for the duration of the 22 tracks – great music and a great find.
