Ace Records | BLACK GROOVES

Artist: Various 60’s R&B artists

Formats: CD

Release date: April 14, 2017

More From The Other Side Of The Trax: Stax-Volt 45rpm rarities is the second volume of its kind from the Kent Soul imprint. This new compilation offers entry points for both the novice and hardcore collector, bringing together selections that have not been together in any capacity on CD up until this time.

For the novice, this is a mix of great tracks from early ‘60s rhythm and blues vein, as beginners may be familiar with artists such as Rufus Thomas and the Mar-Keys, both featured in multiple tracks. For dedicated fans, the collection offers numerous B-sides from the Stax “Blue” period (so named for the color of the label on the 45s during this period) that surprisingly were not present on the Complete Stax Volt Singles volume released in the 1990s.

Highlights of the arrangement include Rufus Thomas’ cover of Billie Holiday’s “Fine and Mellow,” which illustrates Thomas’ proficiency as a jack of all trades. This track finds the artist, better known for his funky workouts, clearly in a blues mode but still giving a fantastic performance. The Mar-Keys, best known for their instrumental hit, “Last Night,” appear with a great set of tracks including “Grab This Thing Part 2”, which is as funky as they come.

William Bell, who is currently experiencing a renaissance in popularity, appears with a few tracks, as well. “Whatcha Gonna Do” hints at where Stax would go during its “Yellow” period with a funky soul orientation. Carla Thomas’ “Puppet” shows that contrary to popular belief, Stax was very much interested in pop appeal, as its string arrangement adds drama and “sweetening” to a great vocal performance by Ms. Thomas. Lesser-known early Stax acts such as Barbara and the Browns appear the tracks “I Don’t Want Trouble” and “You Make a Strong Girl Weak,” respectively sounding more like traditional rhythm and blues than the soul sound for which Stax would become known. On “Never Let You Go” by Carla & Rufus Thomas, you can almost hear the fun the father/daugher duo had performing together.

Rounded out with liner notes for each group written by Tony Rounce, More From The Other Side Of The Trax sheds some light on some great singles that have remained unavailable outside of their original vinyl release until now.

Reviewed by Levon Williams

Title: I Got My Thang Together: The Westbound Years

Artist: Fuzzy Haskins

Label: Westbound/Ace

Formats: CD, MP3

Release date: April 7, 2017

Ace Records has released the compilation I Got My Thang Together: The Westbound Years celebrating the music of one Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins. Who’s Fuzzy Haskins, you ask? Well, if you are even a casual fan of Parliament-Funkadelic, chances are you are already familiar with his brand of earthy, heavyweight funk (“Put Up Your Dukes”). Although amongst most popular culture George Clinton and Bootsy Collins are seen as the brand ambassadors for the P-Funk Mob, there were many, many players who made both bands what they were. Some of these players were even given their own chance to shine on various side projects that sprung up during the height of their popularity.

After growing up on Parliament (my Dad’s record collection is the core of my own collection), I was still amazed at how much material was out there to be discovered. During my personal “deep dive” into the Parliament-Funkadelic catalog, I came across A Whole Nother Thang and Radio Active, the aforementioned Fuzzy Haskins albums from 1976 and 1978 respectively. As with many of the side releases from P-Funk, Haskins is backed by other members of the band including Billy “Bass” Nelson, Tiki Fulwood, Bootsy Collins, Cordell “Boogie” Mosson and Bernie Worrell. Since the lion’s share of this compilation was pulled from these two albums, it definitely has a very familiar feel.

Haskins’ history with Parliament goes back to its very origins as part of the doo wop group known as “The Parliaments”—the original group that would later birth Funkadelic and Parliament. Haskins is credited with writing several songs on the early P-Funk records, but by the mid-1970s he was feeling a little disconnected (pun intended) from the Mothership and began stashing songs away for what would become his debut solo album: A Whole Nother Thang on Westbound Records (the label behind the first few Funkadelic releases). The most famous track from this first outing was “Cookie Jar.” The song has a great groove and was later covered with great results by P-Funk’s female group, Parlet. The version included on this compilation is not from the album, but an alternate that’s arguably better based solely off the hilarious conversational intro by Haskins. Another highlight is “Mr. Junk Man,” a funky lament for those addicted to drugs, and “The Fuz and Da Boog” which features Haskins on drums and Cordell Masson on bass.

This compilation also features tracks from Haskins’ second Westbound release, Radio Active, including the tracks “Sinderella” and “Not Yet,” which feature Haskins basking in his carnal desires. It is tracks like these that eventually stalled Radio Active from getting a solid push from the label. By this time Haskins had become disenfranchised with the P-Funk Mob and turned his life over to religion. Not wanting to sing “nasty” songs he was equally unenthusiastic about the record upon its completion. In the years since, Haskins has reunited with Parliament-Funkadelic on several occasions and was inducted with them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

I Got My Thang Together serves as a great introduction to Fuzzy Haskins’ solo work and fits right in with many of the other great P-Funk side projects. If you are a hardcore Funkateer, this one’s for you.

Reviewed by Levon Williams

Tag Archives: Ace Records

Various 60’s R&B artists – More From the Other Side of the Trax: 45rpm Rarities 1960-1968

Fuzzy Haskins – I Got My Thang Together