FUNKY FORTY FIVES – Vols. 8, 11 & 12 – 2008 – 10” review

FUNKY FORTY FIVES – Vols. 8, 11 & 12 – 2008 – 10” review
HIGHLIGHTS: Eva (Vol. 11) – Egg Roll (Vol. 12)
RATING: 3/5 (Vol. 8), 4/5 (Vol. 11), 4.5/5 (Vol. 12)
TRACKS:
Vol 8: Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (John Schroeder) - The Dap Walk (Earnie & The Top Notes) - Venus (Bloo Hand Gang)
Vol. 11: Mathar - (Dave Pike) - Eva - (Jean Jacques Perry) - Soul Sitar (Sohail Rhana)
Vol 12: Can We Rap – (Carlene & The Groovers) - Egg Roll (The M&S Band) - I Believe In Miracles (The Jackson Sisters)
The Funky Forty Fives label are regular as those on a high fibre diet when it comes to dropping classic funk re-issues (if a little non-chronological about it – volumes 9 and 10 were released sometime ago) and this time they’ve let three go at once and as usual they’re pretty much the real shit (That’s enough scatological imagery son – find a new theme. Good taste Ed.). Volume 8 is the weakest of a solid bunch – I just can’t be arsed with a cover of Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (some originals cannot be beaten), Dap Walk has already appeared on a few compilations and I’ve never been able to listen to Venus without my brain summoning memories of Banarama to spoil it. Volume 11 goes the funky sitar route for two tracks but heads will probably dig it more for Jean Jacques Perry’s psychedelic classic Eva, famously chopped up by Premier for Gang Starr’s Just To Get A Rep. And that leaves Volume 12 which is arguably the most eclectic. Carlene & The Groovers Can We Rap is a fast slice of deep funk that I suspect The Bamboos might have listened to more than once and I Believe In Miracles is The Jackson Sisters’ disco classic – and we all know the ladies love a bit of disco on the dancefloor – but the stand out is the M&S band’s Egg Roll. In the words of the teacher on The Breakfast Club - ‘Don’t mess with the bull young man. You’ll get the horns.’ Egg Roll is what he was talking about. Last heard in slowed down form as the basis of the (unsurprisingly) named Egg Roll remix of Percee P’s The Hand That Leads 7”, this is a bass-heavy funk horns extravaganza that’ll send a shockwave through a dancing crowd. In fact – damn! Makes me want to get down right now.
Out now.
RELATED LINKS
Listen to Funky Forty Fives Volume 8
Listen to Funky Forty Fives Volume 11
Listen to Funky Forty Fives Volume 12

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