What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)
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Customer Review
WHAT IT IS ?.....NOTHING BUT A NON STOP PARTY!
This set right here could very well be the holy grail of rare and hard to find grooves. This box set is funkier than a high school locker room! Every track on here is certified stank(aka funky). The most amazing thing about these tracks is that they capture the spirit of the times better than a lot of their more popular comtemporaries(at least in my opinion). "What it is" feels like an audio documentary of underdogs making the funkiest music and having a great time doing it. If you listen to how these tracks are sequenced, you'll feel like a story is being told - rather than just listening to another compliamation of vintage r&b music.I'm only 25 years old. Every time I play this set, I feel like I'm at a 70's block party, chillin' in a long black cadillac fleetwood and scoping out some foxy mamas with hot pants and thigh high leather boots(that's how good the music sounds). With 20 plus tracks each per disc, you can't help but be amazed with the consistent...
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Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about!!!
I counted - I had heard 5 of these songs previously. A couple, "Keep On Dancing" and "Sookie, Sookie" I'd heard as covers by garage bands. Many of the performers catalog I thought I knew. WRONG! This collection bubbles and percolates and keeps on keepin' on for the duration. If you love funky soul music, or music period, this is a very worthy collection. I fully intend on having the Curtis Mayfield song about seeing you in Hell played at my funeral. I know all my friends will be joining me there. Great job, Rhino, super songs. They're out there somewhere but they were nearly all missed by me.
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Product Description
91 tracks deep and five hours long, this multi-artist, 4CD set mines rare, renowned, legendary, and little-known grooves from the vaults of Atlantic, Atco, and Warner Bros Records! Top to learn more
Too many reissue compilations are content to merely slice 'n' dice familiar catalog choices in not particularly original ways. But this four-disc, 91-track trove of obscure '70s R&B and funk from Warner-distributed labels great and small argues there's still treasure to be gleaned from studio vaults--a five-hour groove-fest that's as interested in shaking booty as in opening ears. Even the genre's groundbreaking usual suspects (Wilson Pickett, the Bar-Kays, Curtis Mayfield, Earth, Wind & Fire, et al) are represented by selections that aren't immediately familiar, while Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin serves up a radically different, previously unreleased take of "Rock Steady." Still other stars contribute their sonic touches to some of the lesser-known cuts, as witnessed by the patent trippiness of Sly Stone alter-egos 6ix and Stanga on "I'm Just Like You" and "Little Sister," respectively; the stark, party-not-so-hearty contrast of the Mayfield-written-and-produced "Hard Times" by Baby Huey & Baby Sisters; and the Meters' version of "Tampin'," released under the moniker of the Rhine Oaks.Sequenced in rough chronological order, it's a savvy window into a musical evolution as well, with the rhythmic guitars, organ swells, and horn flourishes of traditional '60s R&B giving way to sinewy synths and increasingly chunky bass lines as the decade grooves on. While savvy hip-hoppers will note that many of the rarities here have already been repurposed by shrewd mixers, it's a revelation to hear them in their original form. A compelling deconstruction of an often clichéd and too-narrowly-defined genre, this is an anthology that showcases music that has influenced such contemporary artists as Tupac, the Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, and Kanye West, annotated by many of the original musicians who set the dance floor in motion. --Jerry McCulley Top to learn more
good stuff, but could be better
So, I was pretty excited about this box set, but I must admit, I'm a little disappointed, mainly with some horrible edits. I guess you run this risk with most box sets, but some of the edits just broke my heart. The worst of them all was the chop job they did with Curtis' "Don't Worry...". I don't really consider this song a "rare groove," considering it's the lead song on his greatest hits cd, which is very easy to find. The edit of Eddie Hazel's "California Dreamin'" was pretty bad too; "Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs" has been rereleased, pick it up. Please. Also, "Funky Nassau, pt. 2"? Why? It's not even 2 minutes long, and pales in comparison to Part 1. Not a good representation of Beginning of the End's work.All right, enough of my griping. I just love long, drawn-out jams, and absolutely loathe edits. But this box set does have some really awesome stuff going for it. Faze-O's "Riding High" is superb, as is "Stepping Stones" by Johnny Harris. "Cosmic...
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