MASS PRODUCTION - WELCOME TO OUR WORLD / BELIEVE
A pair
of gems from this great 70s funk ensemble! The group may be named Mass
Production, but on Welcome To Our World, their sound is anything but – a really
special fusion of key instrumental talents and vocal elements – all brought
together in one of the tightest ensemble funk grooves of the time! Mass
Production draw a bit from an Earth Wind & Fire tradition – especially some
spiritual undercurrents to hold themselves together – but they've also got some
of the fuller funk elements of the best dancefloor combos of the time – like
Fatback, Cameo, or Con Funk Shun – all of whom would be a great comparison with
this smoking debut. The instrumentation is razor-sharp, and never dips into any
disco cliches at all – and at times, the guitars alone leave us breathless – as
they chug forcefully over the rhythms, and really propel the tunes into the
skies. Two of the best groovers include "I Like To Dance" and
"Fun In The Sun" – and other titles include "Magic",
"Wine-flow Disco", "Our Thought (To The World)", and
"Just A Song". Believe is a massive stormer from Mass Production – a
set that has the group's full, funky sound hitting right on the money for most
of the cuts – then stepping back to let in a few mellower moments too! These
guys were definitely at the top of their game at this point – moving in
territory that rivals the tightness of other big funk groups, like Brass
Construction or T-Connection – but with some occasional deeper soul sides that
show up nicely on the slower cuts. Titles include the sweet moogy number
"Cosmic Lust", which we really love – plus "Free &
Happy", "I Believe In Music", "We Love You",
"Superlative" and "People Get Up". ~ Dusty Groove
CANVAS DO BRASIL (VARIOUS ARTISTS)
An
insanely big collection of tracks from Brazil – a 4CD collection that features
a wonderful run of tracks from the key bossa years of the 60s to the explosion
of MPB, samba soul, and other styles in the 70s! The format's is very
wide-ranging – no real structure or order to the tracks – but we can say that
the 81-track collection is filled with grooves we've loved for years, including
a fair bit of the kinds of Brazilian music that first got us started digging
many years ago! If you're new to Brazilian music, the set's a great place to
start – especially if you want to get past the hits – and if you already have
some bossa or samba at home, there's probably other cuts here you haven't heard
at all. Titles include "Glorioso Santo Antonio" by Antonio Carlos E
Jocafi, "Vento Bravo" by Edu Lobo, "Comanche" by Jorge Ben,
"Vatapa" by Gal Costa, "Melo Da Cuica" by Azymuth,
"Garra" by Marcos Valle, "Me Libertei" by Toni Tornado,
"Nem Vem Que Nao Tem" by Wilson Simonal, "Escadas Da Penha"
by Joao Bosco, "Fibra" by Paulo Moura, "Mas Que Nada" by
Elza Soares, "Primitivo" by Milton Banana Trio, "Feminina"
by Joyce, "Preta Pretinha" by Novos Baianos, "Black Soul
Brothers" by Miguel De Deus, "Reza Brava" by Piri, "Roda"
by Elis Regina, "Na Baixa Do Sapateiro" by Band Black Rio, and "Samblues"
by Sambalanco Trio. ~ Dusty
Groove.
LOOSE JOINTS - POP YOUR FUNK
The
complete West End singles of Loose Joints – one of the funkiest projects to
ever come from the legendary Arthur Russell – and a set of tracks that also
features a fair bit of work from the funky Ingram Family too! The grooves are
definitely some of the most offbeat to ever come from the mostly-disco West End
label – and do a great job of crossing the space between the NYC downtown art
world and club worlds of the early 80s – thanks to Russell's inventive
leadership, and his wicked sounds on electric cello and keyboards too! There
was never a full album issued under the Loose Joints name, but this set nicely
corrects that fact by bringing together a host of different singles and lots of
great remixes too – most of which get really weird and play with the original
tracks a lot. Titles include "Is It All Over My Face (orig 12"
mix)", "Is It All Over My Face (orig 12" Larry Levan
female)", "Is It All Over My Face (Masters At Work rmx)",
"Is It All Over My Face (unreleased orig full length)", "Pop
Your Funk (orig 12")", "Pop Your Funk (orig single voc)",
"Tell You (orig 12")", "Tell You (orig 12" new shoes
edit)", and "Tell You (orig 12" inst)". ~ Dusty Groove
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