EDNA WRIGHT – OOOPS! HERE I GO AGAIN
A stunner of a solo set from Edna Wright – once the lead
singer for Honey Cone, but almost even better on this smooth soul masterpiece
from the 70s! The album's got an immediately recognizeable moment in the
leadoff cut "Oops Here I Go" – sampled famously by De La Soul and
others – but the whole thing's amazing, a killer bit of warm, modern soul put
together by the legendary Greg Perry – who makes the whole thing shine every
bit as much as his own great Smokin album of the time! Edna's vocals are
wonderful – more mature than before, and really stepping out with a proud,
sophisticated sort of groove – almost in territory of Jean Carn or Gloria
Scott, particularly the latter on some of the album's more grooving cuts. In
addition to "Oops Here I Go", other cuts include "Come On
Down", "You Can't See the Forest", "Nothing Comes to a
Sleeper", "If The Price Is Right", and "Spend the Nights
With Me". ~ Dusty Groove
SONNY KNIGHT & THE LAKERS – SOONER OR LATER
Fantastic funk from Sonny Knight & The Lakers – one of
the few cases where an older soul singer can really find a fresh new vibe with
a younger group! Knight may well be on his way to hitting the same sort of heights
that Lee Fields has reached in recent years – and he definitely works in a
Daptone-like groove here with the younger instrumentalists – a sharp combo who
give Sonny a perfect blend of deep funk and deeper soul – with more than enough
Memphis currents to make things sound a lot more classic than you might expect.
Production is right on the money – handled by the same Secret Stash folks
who've given us reissues of so much old school soul music – and titles include
"Sooner Or Later", "It's Over", "The Cry",
"It Had To Change", "Oh Mary", "I Could Never Get
Tired", and "Help Me". ~ Dusty Groove
THE OLYMPIANS
One of the coolest new groups we've heard on Daptone in a
long time – an instrumental combo that's definitely funky, but which has some
of the exotic touches you might expect from their name! There's a nice current
of strings that slide in alongside more familiar funk instrumentation – some
violins, cellos, and even a harp – used to give the groove this expansive vibe
that's partly blacksploitation soundtrack, but much more than that as well!
Both Leon Michels and Neal Sugarman are in the group on tenor sax – but the
real brainchild here seems to be Toby Panzer, who produced and arranged, and
who plays a range of sublime sounds on organ, clavinet, harpsichord, vibes, and
percussion! Titles include "Sirens Of Jupiter", "Saturn",
"Pluto's Lament", "Mercury's Odyssey", "Europa &
The Bull", "Sagittarius By Moonlight", "Neptune", "Mars",
and "Diana By My Side". ~ Dusty Groove
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