The Funky 16 Corners
by: Various Artists
List Price: $15.98
Prices subject to change.
Your Price: $10.97
You Save: $5.01 (31%)Prices subject to change.
Average Rating: 
Sales Rank: 34529
Sales Rank: 34529
|
Music : The Funky 16 Corners |
|
|
see more
Rating:  - * Super Rare Street Funk ! ! ! ... Groups like this may at one time have been a dime a dozen (JBs/Archie Bell/Jr. Walker/Fatback Band type copy funk acts with slick rhythm guitar, punchy horns, funky fatback drums and very big afros I'm sure) but now they ain't a dime a dozen - - and odds are you've never heard most the stuff on this album. I suspect a lot of these groups may have had a hit or two on their (very) local scenes,then faded into obscurity... before doing so, collectively they did make magic... The KICKER on the album definitey has to be the LAST POETS-ish ultra jivey "jump rope" type rhyme "But What About You" thang... And while some of the recordings might sound a bit lo-fi on the surface, I have to say, this compilation is well worth it... Its raw STREET FUNK like you've never heard... As an example take THE KASHMERE STAGE BAND or ERNIE AND THE TOP NOTES... I'm sure they offered no threat to Archie Bell OR JBs - - but then again, you gotta admit, who did? The stuff is kicking nonetheless... And there are plenty of other tunes that are ultra, slick, Jazzy, jivey and funky... almost something you'd expect to hear in one of those clubs that would pop up in those old Rudy Ray Moore films. All in all, more and more compilations like this are showing up. You might argue that they all sound the same, but you know something... I think a lot of these compilation reissues are SPOILING us funkahaulics... because there was a time that ALL funk (including most The Meters, Funkadelic and even most of JB's stuff from the 70s) was virtually lost and out of print. Well not only are they back, but people are hunting down the 45's too. My answer... keep 'em comin' bro's... I'm game. (P.S. Correction... Fish Head by Slim and The Soulful Saints may have made Maceo sweat a bit... *just* a bit...) Rating:  - * Yeah, Yeah Funky ... No question that this is a dope funk outing from a certified crate-digger. Somehow this Peanut Butter Wolf collection got (relatively) massive distribution on Stones Throw records a few years ago and every cat who recognizes the beat from "Funky Drummer" is all up in this compilation. Listen, I'm giving it an easily earned four stars (would do 3.5, if possible) and ya can't knock PB Wolf for keepin things real and giving this stuff it's due. However, there are literally hundreds of like-minded funk comps out there nowadays. So however you rap, whatever you dig, if you liked the 16 Corners don't be a lazy pud - get out there and do the rest of your homework. This is only a small chip off the iceberg, folks. Rating: - * Makes you wanna do the Dap Walk! ... This is one of those wonderful collections of Little-known soul that the Brits at Kent records usually do a good job of compiling, but this time some Americans knew what time it was and dug up some regional and unknown goodies in their own back yards. "Dap Walk" is a wonderfully funky and catchy tune (reminds one a little of SOULFUL STRUT by Young Holt Unlimited) that one could imagine as background music to a soul Dj rapping (in the old sense of the term) or reading announcements on a Black radio station in the late 60s or early 70s. Speaking of Rap, we get some early examples of that in the title cut, which is percisely that- a person talking in semi-rhyme on the mike at what appears to be a live party, and "What About You in the Wolrd Today," a positive motivational rap 5 years before the Sugarhill Gang. "Go To Work" is funky and amusing, and "Tighten Up Tighter" could be dismissed as a copy of the Archie Bell and the Drells Classic, but is actually quite good on its own and truly captures the more positive spirit of Black America in 1968. In fact, I know Cary Butler, who wrote and song on one of these tunes. He's a preacher now, so I have to tell him I heard this! Rap producers would die to sample some of the grooves here, and these tunes could still pack dance floors even if most audiences aren't familiar with this songs. Get it and love it! Rating: - * 20 seconds ... That's all it took. Let's make this album platinum or some other precious metal. Every song is margarine. Rating: - * Sick ... While this may not be the best funk album out there (there seems to be some disagreement in the reviews below), I think it's a must-own for anyone that's looking for some funk they haven't heard before. The songs are a little lo-fi, and their structures tend to be slightly looser and jazzier than the prototype set forth by James Brown, without ever losing vitality or becoming needlessly long or repetitive like the Meters and Maceo Parker sometimes do. Make no mistake, this is rump-shakin' stuff that will have people at your next party asking you what's playing. Also, the liner notes, which detail the process of uncovering these lost classics, are priceless. The only reason I give this four stars instead of five is that many of the songs lack strong hooks. They more than make up for it with deep grooves, but those who like sing-alongs (like "I Feel Good") might feel a little short-changed. |
