Customer Reviews

Funky Thide of Sings

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Billy Cobham scares me. He does. Every time I listen to this album it is so unbelievably funky that I get scared and have to sit down with a cool drink. I have the tunes and grooves going round my head right now - incredible, but frightening.

Since Spectrum was released in the early 90s, we have been waiting for the rest of Billy Cobham's early work to be issued on CD. At last we have one. It's hardly the best; after he reached his peak in the masterpiece "Total Eclipse" Cobham followed it up with "Funky Thide of Sings", which repeats much of the funk groove he had settled into at that point. Like much of Cobham's later material, most of these tracks are not especially memorable and the sound is very 70s; still, there's a freshness here that you won't find in his later work. "Moody Modes", written by the keyboard player Leviev, is the most interesting track, and his cover of Keith Jarrett's "Sorcery" displays the Cobham funk sound at its best. A must have for Cobham fans; let's hope we don't have to wait too much longer before "Crosswinds", "Total Eclipse", and "Life and Times" make their long-delayed appearance on compact disc.

I bought this album in 1976 and it, along with Total Eclipse, are two of the best fusion albums ever. Funny that Funky Thide of Sings and Total Eclipse are about the last two to make it to CD. No other albums by Cobham ever came close to the edge and balance that these two did. Great!!!

I just bought this on Amazon. I'm a huge funk jazz fan, but I always have a difficult time finding anything funky enough. I've resorted to only purchasing jazz from the 70s.

I'm listening to Billy Cobham for the first time right now and it's blowing my mind. Why doesn't this guy own FUNK.COM? I don't know, but he should.

If you like funky, if you watch CHiPS for the soundtrack, if you wear your collars large and in charge ....

BUY THIS CD! You'll love it. Guaranteed.

Cobhams's long been revered as one of the best drummers on the planet , a distinction shared by only but a few of the top tiered pounders who ever picked up the sticks. A devout fusioneer who cut his teeth playing with the likes of legendary
axmen John McLaughlin , John Abercrombie & John Scofield - anybody who appreciates guitar jam will know of whom i write. Cobham's also surrounded himself over the years with nothing but the best sidemen and studio players such as the late great Michael Brecker and the always inventive bass player and ex Passport member Wolfgang Schmid. Cobham's thunderous drumrolls and triple kick bass drums are his signature sound and to hear them is to realize you'll always recognize , and appreciate what a great drummer sounds like.

BILLY COBHAM WAS/IS A GREAT DRUMMER, AND HE CAME TO PROMINENCE IN THE 1970'S, WHEN THIS ALBUM WAS RECORDED (1976). AFTER LEAVING THE MILES DAVIS BAND, THEN THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, BILLY PUT OUT SOME GREAT SOLO ALBUMS (THIS ONE, SPECTRUM, TOTAL ECLIPSE, SHABAZZ, ETC), AND IT'S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO THIS ONE ALL OVER AGAIN. ANY JAZZ FUSION ALBUM FROM THE 70'S THAT HAS BILLY COBHAM, THE BRECKER BROTHERS, AND JOHN SCOFIELD HAS GOT BE TO GREAT! MY FAVORITE CUT IS THE FIRST ONE, "PANHANDLER", WHICH REALLY SHOWS YOU WHAT BILLY AND HIS DRUMMING IS ALL ABOUT. THEN THERE'S CUT #7, "A FUNKY KIND OF THING", WHICH IS AN EXTENDED DRUM SOLO WHERE BILLY REALLY GOES TO WORK. I SAW BILLY COBHAM PERFORM IN CENTRAL PARK WITH MAHAVISHNU IN 1972 OR 1973, AND SAW HIM PLAY A LOT AT THE BOTTOM LINE IN NYC WITH GEORGE DUKE MANY, MANY TIMES, WHICH WERE SOME OF THE BEST LIVE SHOWS I HAVE EVER SEEN. THE MAN HAS SO MUCH POWER IN HIS DRUMMING AND LAYS DOWN A REAL FAT, FUNKY BEAT.

Billy may be the funkiest man who ever lived! Okay, George Clinton and Lenny White are close. Funky Thide of Sings just arrived in the mail and it's a real winner. My favorites were Spectrum, Total Eclipse,and Life and Times. This one may become my all-time favorite from Billy because it contains the best features of Life and Times and Total Eclipse. You get Scofield's rocky edge and the Brecker Brothers tight ensemble playing and great solos in addition to Billy's technical flair. If you like Lenny White, Alphonse Mouzon, Mitch Mitchell etc., PICK THIS UP! -Eric

Just listen to "Thinking of You" (my favourite song of the album): you will be on your red Manta cabriolet driving across Miami Beach, with a green stretch jacket and funky glasses.

Anyway this album is near to perfection: it combines funk and sublime technique perfectly.
Listen to "Moody Modes": I love Brecker's trumpet solo, and Leviev's piano too.
Great music indeed. TC (Milan)

Yes, as everyone else has said, this is "well funky". I think what they are attempting to say is that it posesses a drive rarely seen in a band of this sort, ie. superstars all thrown together for a laugh by the uninformed record company execs. To find such huge names (namely, Cobham, Schofield, Alex Blake, and the Breckers) on a record together suggests it would be underprepared, underrehearsed and therefore have an air of underachievement. Unfortunately, whilst the drive is there, the quality of performance is not. For, me you'd be better to cut out the middle man, and just get it's predecessor, Spectrum. Then you'll want to "put on your green stretch jacket and sunglasses and hit the road..." very helpful mate.....