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What It Is!  Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)
 
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What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977) [Original recording remastered]

Various Artists Audio CD
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)

Price: $43.20 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
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Formats

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MP3 Download, 91 Songs, 2006 $39.99  
Audio CD, Original recording remastered, 2006 $43.20  

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song TitleArtist Time Price
listen  1. Spreadin' Honey (Album Version) (2006 Remastered)The Watts 103rd. Street Rhythm Band 2:24$0.99 Buy Track
listen  2. Soul Finger (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)The Bar-Kays 2:21$0.99 Buy Track
listen  3. The Shadow Of Your Smile (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Jack McDuff 3:55$0.99 Buy Track
listen  4. Gangster Of Love [Parts I & II]Jimmy Norman 4:09Album Only
listen  5. The Memphis Train (Single/LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Rufus Thomas 2:33$0.99 Buy Track
listen  6. Get Out Of My Life Woman (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Grassella Oliphant Quartet 2:42$0.99 Buy Track
listen  7. Live Right Now (7" Edit Version) (2006 Remastered Version)Eddie Harris 2:49$0.69 Buy Track
listen  8. Pig Snoots, Part I (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Natural Bridge Bunch 2:34$0.99 Buy Track
listen  9. Soul Sound System (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)The Freedom Sounds Featuring Wayne Henderson 5:32$0.99 Buy Track
listen10. Snatching It Back (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Clarence Carter 2:40$0.99 Buy Track
listen11. Stoned Soul (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Artie Christopher 1:56$0.99 Buy Track
listen12. Getting The Corners (2006 Remastered LP Version)The T.S.U. Toronadoes 2:27Album Only
listen13. Sexy Coffee Pot (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Tony Alvon & The Belairs 2:27$0.99 Buy Track
listen14. Don't Come Around Here Anymore (2006 Remastered LP Version)Mark Putney 2:42Album Only
listen15. Keep On Dancing (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Commodores 2:38$0.99 Buy Track
listen16. Right On Brother Part 1 (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Southshore Commission 2:38$0.99 Buy Track
listen17. Pop, Popcorn Children (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Eldridge Holmes 2:53$0.99 Buy Track
listen18. It's Your Thing (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Cold Grits 2:52$0.99 Buy Track
listen19. It's All In Your Mind (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Soul Angels 2:48Album Only
listen20. Funky John (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Johnny Cameron & The Camerons 2:46$0.99 Buy Track
listen21. Help Me Make Up My Mind (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Joyce Jones 2:44$0.99 Buy Track
listen22. Rock Me Baby (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Lou Johnson 2:13$0.99 Buy Track
listen23. Sing A Simple Song (Single/LP Version) (2006 Remastered)The Noble Knights 2:56$0.99 Buy Track
listen24. Do You Dig It (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Titus Turner 2:11Album Only
listen25. Funky Canyon (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Phil Moore, Jr. 2:37$0.99 Buy Track
listen26. Jan Jan (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)The Fabulous Counts 2:16$0.99 Buy Track
listen27. Tampin (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)The Rhine Oaks 3:02$0.99 Buy Track
listen28. Gossip (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Cyril Neville 2:36Album Only
listen29. Somebody In The World For You (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)The Mighty Hannibal 2:54$0.99 Buy Track
listen30. Stanga (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Little Sister 3:40$0.99 Buy Track
listen31. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Album Version) (2006 Remastered)Ananda Shankar 3:40$0.99 Buy Track
listen32. The Deacon (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Brute Force 4:30$0.99 Buy Track
listen33. Sookie, Sookie (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Don Covay 2:44$0.99 Buy Track
listen34. Right On (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Clarence Wheeler and the Enforcers 4:39$0.99 Buy Track
listen35. (Don't Worry) If There Is A Hell Below, We're All Going To Go (Single Edit) (2006 Remastered)Curtis Mayfield 3:28$0.99 Buy Track
listen36. Stepping Stones (From the Columbia Film 'Fragment Of Fear') (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Johnny Harris 5:22$0.99 Buy Track
listen37. I'm Just Like You (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)6ix 3:08$0.99 Buy Track
listen38. Funky Thing-Part I (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)The Unemployed 3:05$0.99 Buy Track
listen39. Messie Bessie (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Shirley Scott 4:18$0.99 Buy Track
listen40. Fairchild (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Willie West 3:20Album Only
listen41. Cold Bear (2006 Remastered LP Version)The Gaturs 2:55Album Only
listen42. I Can't Get Next To You (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Mongo Santamaria 2:42$0.99 Buy Track
listen43. Feelin' Alright (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Lulu 3:00$0.99 Buy Track
listen44. Soul Bowl (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)The Memphis Horns 3:20$0.99 Buy Track
listen45. Tuane (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Hammer 3:06$0.99 Buy Track
listen46. Take It Off - Part II (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Johnny Tolbert & De Thangs 3:15$0.99 Buy Track
listen47. Seeds Of Life (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Harlem River Drive feat. Eddie Palmieri & Jimmy Norman 5:09Album Only
listen48. Engine Number 9 (Single Edit) (2006 Remastered)Wilson Pickett 2:50$0.99 Buy Track
listen49. Hard Times (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Baby Huey & The Baby Sitters 3:19$0.99 Buy Track
listen50. What So Never The Dance - Pt. 1 & 2 (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Houseguests 3:59$0.99 Buy Track
listen51. Headless Heroes (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Eugene McDaniels 3:32$0.99 Buy Track
listen52. Spinning Wheel (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Wade Marcus 3:58$0.99 Buy Track
listen53. Bad Tune (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Earth, Wind & Fire 4:42$0.99 Buy Track
listen54. Mr. Cool (Album Version) (2006 Remastered)Rasputin's Stash 3:34$0.99 Buy Track
listen55. Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' To Ya (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Junior Mance 5:09$0.99 Buy Track
listen56. Hang On In There (2006 Remastered Single Version)The Stovall Sisters 3:16$0.99 Buy Track
listen57. Funky Nassau, Part 2 (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)The Beginning Of The End 1:58$0.99 Buy Track
listen58. Whatever's Fair (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Mark Holder & The Positives 2:41$0.99 Buy Track
listen59. Face It (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Ed Robinson 2:25$0.99 Buy Track
listen60. Wah Wah Man (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Young-Holt Unlimited 3:47$0.99 Buy Track
listen61. Rock Steady (Alternate Mix)Aretha Franklin 4:30$0.99 Buy Track
listen62. Won't Nobody Listen (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Black Haze Express 4:15Album Only
listen63. Goin' Down (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Allen Toussaint 2:56$0.99 Buy Track
listen64. Suavecito (Single Edit Version) (2006 Remastered)Malo 3:28$0.99 Buy Track
listen65. You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin' (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Charles Wright 3:58$0.69 Buy Track
listen66. Mojo Hannah (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Tami Lynn 3:24$0.99 Buy Track
listen67. Ridin' Thumb (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)King Curtis 3:10$0.99 Buy Track
listen68. Almendra (Album Version) (2006 Remastered)MacOndo 3:45$0.99 Buy Track
listen69. Nuki Suki (2006 Remastered Single Version)Little Richard 5:30$0.99 Buy Track
listen70. Getting Uptown To Get Down (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)United 8 2:47$0.99 Buy Track
listen71. 8 Days On The Road (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Howard Tate 2:40$0.99 Buy Track
listen72. Moon Shadow (Edit) (2006 Remastered)LaBelle 4:25$0.99 Buy Track
listen73. Let It Crawl (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Society's Bag 2:37$0.99 Buy Track
listen74. Wanaoh (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Black Heat 3:52$0.99 Buy Track
listen75. It Was Good Enough For Daddy (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Clarence Reid 3:03$0.99 Buy Track
listen76. Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (Album Version) (2006 Remastered)Claudia Lennear 3:42$0.99 Buy Track
listen77. Cosmic Sea (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Mystic Moods 2:37Album Only
listen78. Kissing My Love (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Cold Blood 6:04$0.99 Buy Track
listen79. Flute Thing (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Seatrain 3:23$0.99 Buy Track
listen80. Chug Chug Chug-A-Lug (Push 'N Shove) Part II (2006 Remastered Single Version)The Meters 3:29$0.99 Buy Track
listen81. Funky To The Bone (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Freddi Henchi & Soul Setters 2:41$0.99 Buy Track
listen82. Try It Again (Single Version) (2006 Remastered)Bobby Byrd 3:36Album Only
listen83. Teasin'Cornell Dupree 3:55$0.99 Buy Track
listen84. (Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away (2006 Remastered LP Version)Dr. John 2:45$0.99 Buy Track
listen85. Chicken Heads (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Oscar Brown, Jr. 2:40$0.99 Buy Track
listen86. Rien Ne Va Plus (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Funk Factory - Michael Urbaniak 5:17$0.99 Buy Track
listen87. Cajun Moon (Single Edit) (2006 Remastered)Herbie Mann feat. Cissy Housten 3:08$0.99 Buy Track
listen88. Improve (LP Version) (2006 Remastered)Darrow Fletcher 2:51$0.99 Buy Track
listen89. Riding HighFaze-O 5:19$0.99 Buy Track
listen90. Four Play (D.J. Promo 45 Edit Version) (2006 Remastered)Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns Featuring Maceo Parker 3:34$0.99 Buy Track
listen91. California Dreamin' (Single Edit) (2006 Remastered)Eddie Hazel 4:04$0.99 Buy Track


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Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this album with Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1: 1968-1974 $11.82

What It Is!  Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977) + Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1: 1968-1974
  • This item: What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)

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    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1: 1968-1974

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (October 3, 2006)
  • Original Release Date: 2006
  • Number of Discs: 4
  • Format: Original recording remastered
  • Label: Rhino
  • ASIN: B000GIWS4W
  • In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,435 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

Product Description

Funk emerged in the 1960s, a scorching sound that amped up the legacy of R&B and doo-wop in spirit and sonic intensity, and became the precursor of hip-hop which in fact revived funk for a new generation via sampling. While major artists topped the charts with funk hits throughout the '60 s & '70s, there were, hundreds of smaller songs, notes music journalist Oliver Wang in his liners, for whom `airplay' rarely got better than hissing out of a rusted jukebox or crackling through the static on AM radio.WHAT IT IS! celebrates this heady, groove-heavy strain of gut bucket funk that remains a major force in American music. A 4-disccompendium that would take incalculable hours to collect in dusty bins at disappearing record shops, this box is culled mostly from the treasure-filled vaults of Atlantic, Atco, and Warner Bros. Records. It's an unprecedented shadow history of funk, pulling together rare sides from well-known artists and definitive funk grooves from lesser-known but supremely gifted masters of the art form alike.

 

Customer Reviews

34 Reviews
5 star:
 (23)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars good stuff, but could be better, January 2, 2007
This review is from: What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977) (Audio CD)
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 Sea" by the Mystic Moods is really great too. I'll admit that I've never heard of 90% of this stuff, and most of it is reall good. I just have to skip over those edits...

But in my own opinion, if you want more bang for your buck, go with the Superfly Soul series. You can get all 3 2-cd sets for less than you'll pay for this 4-cd set, and I think the music choice is superior. And they actually have some rare, unedited Curtis, like "Billy Jack" and "Big Mac."
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32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT IT IS ?.....NOTHING BUT A NON STOP PARTY!, February 9, 2007
This review is from: What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977) (Audio CD)
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 quality of the music.

All I gotta say is buy this set and let the funk be your guide to love, happiness, and your rites of passage to throw it on down and dance your
a-- off!!! If you ain't diggin on this, you're diggin a hole for yourself!

Long live the funk baby!

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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about!!!, December 22, 2006
By 
Katherine McCarthy "kath e. miller" (Forest Hills, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977) (Audio CD)
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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