Customer Reviews

Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1: 1968-1974

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If this 80 minute power house of rare and raw late 60s early 70s funk doesn't do something for you, something is wrong... It is the type of stuff that some funk searching DJs wet their pants for and do nothing but dream of... that one rare obscure ultra funky find that NO ONE ELSE has. Well, now this label has reissued it... can't say how long it will remain in print, but I can tell you this, unless you happen to be an expert of expert collector on EXTREMELY rare funk, odds are this collection is going to be a gem that will remind you that no, you haven't heard it all... and maybe more juice like this is hiding in yet other vaults waiting to surface!!!

Begining in the nasty James Brown "Mother Popcorn" era, the groups also reflect the influences of other funky soul powerhouses from the era including Archie Bell and The Drells, Dyke and the Blazers - - and of course the JBs themselves and the emerging Memphis sound. "Down Home" Funky drumming, driving bass, biting bluesy syncopated rhythm guitar and yes, quite a few Hammond organs epitomize the sound. Tunes range from horn driven instrumentals to hard core soul shouting.

Surprises include a funky James Brown Apollo melody as well as super funky version of War's SLIPPING INTO DARKNESS that actually outfunks the original ! My favorite includes the Lyn Collins sounding ultra bumpin' masterpiece DON'T GO, by the Aristocrats long before they were a really dirty joke...There's also a bit of ultra funky psychadelic soul in the form of the Ebony Rhythm Band and The Soul Seven. Finally its topped off with a real cool wa wa driven/early Kool and the Gang sounding STREET SCENE and a nice slick sounding version of SCORPIO.

All in all this is some ultra rare groove juice from the vaults that you definitely don't want to let pass you by !

A HUGE thank you to the people who rated this album. It is gold.
For non-funk-o-philes, which I am, all I can say is: imagine all of your favourite 70s shows and then amplify the theme songs by about 1000, and you'll get close to where this little beauty will take you.
I have bought a fair bit of stuff off Amazon, and this is the first CD that I really reckoned everyone else should know about.
Whoever it was that wrote that "if you want to pay a fistfull of bucks for funk" list knows what they are about. I have played this thing thrice over and it just gets better.
Do yourself a favour, buy it, whack it on your headphones and wander the city Shaft-style ... people will puzzle about your slightly odd head gyrations while you're cruising the vege aisle, but that's because they don't know better yet.
Don't ask me to describe the choons, I can't, all you need to know is that your life is lesser without them.

I`ve been looking forward gettin` my hands on this compilation for a looong time. I`m a HUGE fan of James Brown and Fela, and hoped for some real nasty funk, but even though the tail on this alligator is moving a lot, the musicians just doesn`t lock in on the groove. I think they are a little too eager to please, and their butter ain`t hot enough to melt the cheese! I think "Go for your self" by Kenny Smith & The Loveliters is the standout track here. Fantastic! Man, I like those rolling drums! 3 stars is maybe a bit harsh, you will find some funky drummers and tight bassplayers here, but compared to first rate compilations like "New Orleans Funk", "King Funk"; "Texas Funk" and the box set "What it is" this just doesn`t measure up. The sound quality is also rather poor on some cuts.

We've all heard enough Sly, PFunk, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with that...THEY ROCK. But, it's nice to know that there were so many funky people that didn't get on the Top 40. This CD compilation has a ton of very cool stuff. It's worth owning just for the Supersouls' Loaded To The Gills(though I wish I could hear the whole thing! A few of these tracks are edited, but not in a bad way). Put it on and DANCE.

Wow. I just picked this up, yesterday. This s__t is so hip! Collects many obscurites from around the country, all high energy, smokin' funk. You dig funk at all, this collection rules!

I heard "The Stretch" by the Detroit Sex Machines on KBCS in the Seattle area, and it blew me away. I couldn't believe I'd never heard it before. The version they have hear is a 5 minute "edit"; where on earth is the full length version? This disc is worth getting for that song alone.

There are some other good songs on this disc, especially "Drugs Ain't Cool." Some of the songs are mediocre, but overall, not bad.

Many eons ago, hard funk troupes roamed the land, supplying supertight musicianship and sinister grooves to underfunkdafied peoples. These are the cats you can totally imagine getting on up while opening local shows for James Brown or playing in seedy clubs with the early Funkadelic. Many record companies and producers are now collecting mega-rare singles by these forgotten funkateers. This particular compilation is not the definitive overview of rare underground funk from the golden age, but it's definitely a worthy sampler that could turn the knowledgeable funk fan into a serious crate-digging collector. It's surely just the tip of the iceberg, but the nasty funk herein offers a bootyshakin' taste of what was once an unheralded but oozing scene.

There are a few glimpses of real ambition and innovation here, particularly from Amnesty and Kashmere Stage Band (if their track "Scorpio" wasn't the theme song to a righteous blaxploitation flick, it should've been). Many of the acts here clearly embody, and sometimes outright imitate, the key influences on the early heavy funk -Lil' Javier & the Fabulous Jades aren't even trying to NOT sound like JB, L.A. Carnival try way too hard to sing like the Temptations, and Leon Mitchison supplies Superfly's twin brother in "Street Scene." But otherwise, like the best of no-nonsense early fongk, most of the tracks here deliver insistent grooves with no messing around. Faves include "The Stretch" by Detroit Sex MacHines and "Slipping into Darkness" by Dayton Sidewinders (in both these cases, the song titles and band names couldn't be more accurate). And there is a real collector's find in the Aristocrats, the members of whom should be tracked down and convinced to deliver that righteous groove once again (but sadly, slammin' foxy singer Linda Blakely is no longer with us). The rare hard funk collected here is surely outrageous, but you'll soon ask yourself how much is still out there and ready for worship. [~doomsdayer520~]

A treasure! A jem! The title says it all! Heavy funk rarities is an absolute must have purchase and listen to any one who: likes to party, is a musician, music historian or anyone who is just a plain old music fan. Really cool beats and melodies that you could dance, sing and hum to all day long!

This CD has some really funky garage-style to dancehall JAMS. The song 'Coldheat' really brings back memories from the old party days!

When I popped this Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities CD in my stereo, I thought "I bet this will be weak"..I love all kinds of music and 70's funk ranks up there with Joy Division in my book. WOW! was I surprised,this CD blew my head off! These are some of the tightest arrangements I have ever heard in my life... "Drugs Ain't Cool" is by far the best 2:45 funk instrumental I have heard. This entire CD is great.I can't say anymore,except just buy it!