Round 4

Codek: Me, Me, Me b/w Demo (MCA ) - Pretty dope Euro new wave disco 12". B-side kills it the flanged drums and OMD-esque vocals.

Sweet Apple: S/T (CBS 197?) - Call this a rock/jazz/blues/soul effort. Some of it is Sly Stone-derivative ("I Can't Find My Way" for example) but the jammy jam is "Sweet Apple Jam," which doesn't sound like anything else off the album and instead, comes off like the best Prestige soul-jazz song never recorded on that label.

Los Mitos - S/T (Hispa Vox, 196?) - Decent, vaguely psych-y Mexican rock album that includes an English language cover of the Turtles' Eleanor" and a Spanish version of "Mony Mony."

Undisputed Truth: Cosmic Truth (Motown 1975) - Quality post-P-funkalage. Rhythm section is rubberband tight on this whole LP, especially on "Spaced Out," "1990," and "Earthquake Shake." Add in some incisive politicizing ("1990") and a good cover ("Down By the River").

Mel Brown: Blues For We (Flying Dutchman 197?) - While not Brown's illest funky blues album, it does have a good cover of "Son of a Preacher Man," cooks up a lil something with "Freaky Zeke," and does a passable job with "Twist and Shout." Decent but not essential.

Joyride OST (UA 1977) - Apart from a few decent ELO songs ("Telephone Line" is my fave), it also boasts a loopy, strange instrumental number by Jimmie Haskell ("The Getaway") that sounds like something you'd hear on a Dusty Fingers comp.

The Butts Band: S/T (Blue Thumb 1973) - Truly unfortunately titled band but I really dig their two albums. This is the lesser of the two but it's still boasts some quality tunes that would be best described as funky country ska pop rock with some jazz and Afro-Cuban influences. The songwriting is forgettable but the players are solid, especially with the loping funk touches on "Love Your Brother."

Breakout: Nol (Muza 197?) - Well known Polish prog rock outfit (well, as well known as Polish prog rock outfits get) with one of their better albums - lots of cool little breaks and unannoying organ. Props to Andrezej Tylec who holds down the perjusja on this bad boy with quality stick work.

Chuck Vincent & Shuffle: Here and Now (Smoke House 1979) - Not nearly as good as an album that boasts Wah Wah Watson and Pee Wee Ellis should be but has a couple decent later era funk tunes. Best is the Afro-Latin flavored "Easy."

Larry Coryell: Coryell (Vanguard 1969) - Hmm...Larry Coryell backed up by Bernard Purdie, Ron Carter, Chuck Rainey and Mike Mandel? This is a like some prog jazz rock, something that Axelrod should have gotten onto and make that much better but I'm not complaining. I mean, Coryell lets Purdie do his thing on a few tracks which is already a bonus but "Elementary Guitar Solo #5" is just a butter composition which has some really nice acoustic piano touches by Mandel on it (uh yeah, it's not really a guitar solo after the first minute).

The Coasters: On Broadway (King 1973) - This may shock you but this Coasters LP regularly sells for around $100 which blows my mind since, you know, it's the Coasters. Yakkety Yak and all that. But hey, they hook up on King and drop some funky soul science laced with their classic doo wop stylings. "Down Home Girl," is the best known song off of here though "Soul Pad" is nice as are their covers of "Mustang Sally" and especially "Love Potion #9."

Michael Naura: Vanessa (ECM 1975) - This German jazz fusion album sounds like something Bobby Lytle might have recorded for MPS. Lots of warm electric piano tones by Naura but Wolfgnag Schluter's vibraphone is even more prominent. Best cut is the funky "Listen to Me" followed by "Black Pigeon." This album looks cheap but the music is worth a listen.

Les McCann Ltd.: Buckeet O' Grease (Limelight 196?) - Another good Latin jazz album by McCann though this one isn't quite as nicely produced as "McCanna." Most covers here, including Joe Cuba's "Bang Bang," the Beatles' "Yesterday," and Jimmy Castor's "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You." Playful tunes all around.

Albert Collins: Love Can Be Found ANywhere, Even In A Guitar (Imperial 197?) - Decent funky blues album feat. "Do the Sissy" and "Let's Get It Together Again."

Phil Upchurch: Upchurch (Cadet 1969) - One of Upchurch's harder to find titles. Jazz fusion album produced by Cadet legend Charles Stephney. Features sublime, soulful ballad "You Couldn't, You Wouldn't Be True." Also has some funky rock-influenced moments like "Cross Town Traffic," "Spinning Wheel," and a cover of Hendrix's "Chili Voodoo."

Dizzy Gillespie: The Source (America 1973) - Paris-recorded Dizzy Gillespie album with the funkiest version of "Manteca" I've ever heard. Reissued in the US on Prestige's double-LP "The Giant."

Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers: Heat! (Prestige 196?) - One of the best titles by this Latin soul crew. Compositions very but the title track is as good as its title and "Psychedelic Pucho" is ridiculously good, one of Pucho's all time dancefloor smashes.

Jan Jankeje: Mlada Muzika Sokol (Jazz Point 1979) - Obscure German fusion jazz album. Has good funky moments on the title track and "Elsa Marie" but the stand-out is the too-short "South Indian Line," some exotica-meets-ill-library style funkitude.

The Glass House: Inside the Glass House (Invictus 197?) - Holland-Dozier-Holland produced soul album. Most of the cuts are just ok, but there's a smoking version of "Crumbs Off the Table" (of Laura Lee's fame) on here that smokes.

The Overton Berry Trio: At Seattle's Doubletree Inn - T.O.B.E. only had two albums but they're both digger favorites. This is the lesser of the two but it does feature a really nice, slow, funky version of "Hey Jude" (one of the better instrumental versions of the song I know). "Guacamole Shuffle" is a pleasant straight ahead tune but avoid their cover of "Aquarius."

Janko Nilovic: Supra Pop Impressions 16 (Montparnasse 2000, 197?) - One of Nilovic's funkier library outings. Solid breakbeats on "Roses and Revolvers" and "Funky Stage" is well-named but the vocal cut "Tapatapa" is the real treat.

Lani Hall: Sun Down Lady (A&M 1972) - Two words: "Love Song." Hall's version is a spacey, funky and haunting. You can find this cheap - worth picking up.

Heath Bros.: In Motion (CBS 1979) - A common dollar bin LP, this jazz record might seem kind of quiet stormy to folks but I like the mellow vibe, especially on "The Voice of a Saxophone."

Richard "Groove" Holmes: Workin' On a Groovy Thing (World Pacific Jazz 197?) - This sucks less than most of Holmes' over-vamped B3 albums. Has a solid cover of Eddie Harris' "Listen Here."

Jackie Mittoo: Reggae Magic! (CTL 1972) - I wouldn't say this is his greatest album - MIttoo can get kind of muzacky at times here but other times, he's totally soulful and funky. Sick breakbeat on "Too Late to Turn Back Now" (and for such a cheesy song, Mittoo's cover is actually totally listenable).
He's also very solid on the title cut and "WIntergreen."

The Persuaders: S/T (ATCO 1973) - Debut sweet soul album by this quartet. One of the better production/arrangements is on "Trying Girls Out."