Customer Reviews

Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974

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I heard a preview on NPR for a story they would be airing during All Things Considered that evening. It was about the Kashmere Stage Band. I only heard the teaser, but it was enough to get me to go online and find the CD on Amazon. I immediately sent the link to my husband, and he bought the CD as soon as he checked it out.

Well it's been about 4 days with our discovery, and let me tell you, the NPR teaser didn't begin to do these kids any justice. Every time I listen to a song I marvel at the technical skill, musicality, and emotion of the KSB. If you like jazz, funk, or soul then you will be hooked as well.

I just heard a feature on the Kashmere Stage Band on NPR/KCLU. The music is absolutely amazing, a definite must-have!

I just heard cuts from this album on NPR tonight, and I HAD to own it! This album selection is absolutely the best thing I've heard in years. In fact, it's in music, one of the few things I've been excited about it years! Thank you, Conrad, for re-releasing these brilliant pieces and for dedicating your life to teaching music to kids, and an adult now (me).

I listened to the segment about the Kashemere Stage Band on NPR and was definitely amazed...

Listening to many of their tracks if no one told you would you believe that this was... high school band club???
Think... band clubs - - you know really bad big band arrangements with drummers who hit the high hat on the one and three and sometimes knocking over the crash cymbal, the note flubbing brass section and the greasy haired music teacher with the horn rimmed glasses named Mr. So and So always sending you to the office for sleeping or making fake f*rting sounds in class to relieve the bordom - - But what a minute, this is the deep south, late 60's/early 70's... enter an inspired bandleader who played with the greats, got inspired by the new sounds (Otis Redding, JB, etc.) and had a dream and vision to unite these guys, create timeless music that people would be listening to down the line, give them something to work hard on and be proud of... and KICK BUTT - - first in BAND competitions around the world, but then in record stores and on the radio. Alas, Conrad Johnson did it... creating a band feared as an undefeatably tight funk unit... and with a rhythm section so strong, long after the group fell into obscurity, rap DJs were sampling it.

On this record you'll hear the sounds behind the story (*Somebody needs to make Kashmere's story into a movie - - talk about a man inpsiring young kids to do their best !!) - - Johnson not only took his guys into the studio but recorded just about every performance (and apparently put a lot of work into his charts too - - amazing, considering that now-a-days most band directors just order them over the net.) You'll also hear ample space for members going off, powerhouse originals, and tunes demonstrating inspiration - - and remarkable hipness in an age when music teachers were anything but! No wonder the band always took the prize wherever they competed... In addition, while the band may not have been as tight as the JBs (hey they were just kids), trust me... they could have opened up for him and NO one would have complained...

As a sidenote, if you dig KASHMERE, check out the VOICES OF EAST HARLEM... a group with a similarly inspiring as well as funky story... and the PROPOSITION'S AFRICANA, another youth group of the era who were insanely bumping.

All in all rare funk... and a window into the long lost time and sound. Like the song says... they were SUPER BAD !

This is how I remember the original material....I previously owned the original releases of this music. I am a former student of Kashmere and purchased these albums as they were released. I'm not disappointed in the re-releases.

I read about this recording in a review in the Wall Street Journal and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. End to end this recording is phenomenal. You would not know that these are high school students with the level of musicianship demonstrated on tracks such as Boss City, SuperBad (would make James Brown proud), Headwiggle, and $$ Kash Register $$. It is definitely a musical delight!

this is a happening Collection right here. collections like this is the reason why Schools have to save the Music because this is a Slamming Collection of Jams. Funky Drum breaks,Bass&Horns that are slamming. so many styles are covered here,but the Funk is front&Center. the Funk is timeless&never gets old. even 30 plus years later this Collection is still rocking a House party. Props to these brothers for bringing the Funk.

Let's face it. Reissues like this ("found" records, local obscurities, etc.) rarely live up to the wishful thinking/novelty that inspires the purchase to begin with. "Lost" "classics" may well have much to recommend them, but ultimately, they're curios, something that record geeks use to pass an afternoon. They don't really become MEANINGFUL, beyond the interested parties and a small handful of collectors.

Then...there's this thing.

There is not one thing wrong with this. Not one. The music is shockingly tight and played with what can be best described as ecstatic fury. The relative lo-fi sound of 70s independent studios only adds to the edge.

Let me put it this way. If I could go back in time and was given a choice between seeing either Funkadelic or the Kashmere Stage Band, I'd have to think long and hard. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but this really is that good.

If you meet someone that hears this CD and doesn't like it, just walk away. You'll be better off.

As a child I would sit on the floor next to the "jukebox" and listen to the selections ... music has always been one of the most fulfilling and memorable experiences of my life ... this CD makes a clear case for why I feel this way ... great charts, fantastic musicians, a visionary band leader, and heartfelt "right on" funk played by teenagers inspired and excited by a chance to do it their way under the guidance of Conrad Johnson. He has left a legacy like none other by recording these award winning renditions from the popular music of the day. His students and their music represent the highest achievement possible, a rhythmic and percussive testimonial and tribute to the groove of the 1960s and 1970s. One listen will convince you that everyone who contributed to these recordings lived up to their potential ... a riff-oriented A+ listening experience!

Where the hell did these kids come from? These high school musicians are just as good as probably any pro or studio band of the day. Great big energetic funky grooves and horns. These guys seriously kick it. The world needs more musicians and more music like this. [...].