SOME RECENT BUYS

[QUINNY]

I bought 5 compilation CDs at the weekend.
FUNK ESSENTIALS - VARIOUS ARTISTS - 4 CD compilation
FUNK ESSENTIALS A further odyssey in Funk - VARIOUS ARTISTS - 4 CD compilation
FUNK ESSENTIALS - VARIOUS ARTISTS - single CD compilation
ATLANTIC SOUL - VARIOUS ARTISTS - single CD compilation
KENNY DOPE DISCO HEAT - VARIOUS ARTISTS - Triple CD compilation.

First things first. I'm truly amazed at how good some of the old 70's recordings actually were. There appears to have been a quantum leap in quality which coincided with the Disco boom, but even some of the stuff from before say '76 has some really good drum and bass sounds to them. Curtis Mayfield tracks especially, sound better than anything else from the same era.

I've only really started listening to the Kenny Dope triple CD so far and I'm both very happy and very disappointed with it.
The one big downer is that 2 tracks featured on his mix on the first CD ( Panache - Sweet Jazz Music and Ahazz - New York Moving ) are not to be found in their entirety on the other 2 CDs, and these are two tracks that sound more interesting than many of the others. Also, some tracks come in fairly lengthy versions and some are short 3 minute ones, even though the CDs clock in at about 59 minutes.
The mix on the first CD is fairly well done but ultimately boring to older ears, as Kenny Dope has concentrated on the instrumental breaks, made loops, EQ'd etc, so that older tracks end up in a modern sounding mix (which although clever doesn't appeal to me). Some edits are very poor and over obvious.

The featured tracks are quite a mixture.
e.g. Azymuth - Jazz Carnival, Dexter Wansel - Life On Mars, Francine McGee - Delerium, meets Cory Daye - Pow Wow, Gary's Gang - Keep On Dancin' meets Dinosaur L - Go Bang meets First Choice, Love Committee, Thelma Houston, Musique, Clyde Alexander, Sylvester meets Rhythm Makers - Soul On your Side (the blueprint for GQ's Disco NIghts etc, etc. Quite a mixture and some relatively rare on CD.

About $21 to buy in U.S.

[Nano]

Quinny: if the Atlantic record starts with "Sweet soul music" (Arthur Conley) and ends with "Sitting in the dock of the bay" (Otis R.), well, maybe we have a thing in common after all :) A great collection, indeed.
What label are those Funk Essentials CDs? Rhino? Charly? I wanna know.

[QUINNY]

Nano: Yes, the Atlantic Cd is the same one. I thought it was about time I got hold of a few of these on CD as my 7" records were played to death and sounding very tired. My faves just have to be Soul Man (such a great funky back beat), See Saw (a non formularised Atlantic record) and Tramp (because of the funky sound and fond memories of the original film/video footage that was used on Top Of The Pops).

The 2 4 CD compilations are both issued by Beechwood with material licensed from Charly. The single Funk Essentials Cd is released by Charly.
One of the 4 CD compilations I bought specifically for 1 track only ' Jackie Beavers - Mr. Bump Man', which was one of my fave raves back in '75 and luckily the more played instrumental side is the one included on the CD.
Both compilations are exceptional value for money and contain a few surprises like long versions of Jazz Carnival - Azymuth (10 minutes +), One Nation Under A Groove (7.25) - Funkadelic, The Bottle - Gil Scott Heron (5.15 ish).
All in all, although not the sort of CDs that would be in my player forever, most of the tracks are worthy additions.