Customer Reviews

What's Up Front That Counts

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this album based on Eddie P.'s recommendation and, while I'm not going to agree with anyone questioning the funkiness of The Meters, he's right in saying this is a funky album. It is mainly instrumental but they do sing some. Some of the songs are not that great, but if you are deep into funk and want to get your hands on as much as possible, you could do a lot worse than pick this one up. I wouldn't start with this one, though.

A few people have objected to me calling this the funkiest album ever... well o.k. yes I guess there were funkier albums made, but surely we'll agree that some of the baddest tripped out funk to come out of the '70s definitely oozed out of that funky Westbound Label... perhaps, overall the only label that could rival it was James Brown's PEOPLE label. This indeed is one HECK of a funky album though, especially for fans of sizzling B-3, mad percussion and biting guitar licks... It has been one of my all time faves since I started listening to funk in my '70s. If you dig Mandril, early Ohio Players (Pain and Pleasure), Kool & The Gang's "Spirit of the Boogie" and stuff like that... this album should be top pick !

Straight up refreshingly innovative, heavy, percussive, '71 Detroit funk, with a beautifully hypnotic guitar style, genie horns, & unparalleled Hammond-BASS!!! that bellows & rips to you through the floor! That's right, not bass guitar....... until recently I was unaware of how they had gotten that signature humming bass sound. This is funk music in it's real definition, earthy yet other worldly, with lots of feel. Heard through the grapevine that some of the band members may have been on some time altering thangs... but who wasn't, around 70-71?

Buy it alone for the masterpiece title track, one of only a few songs to give me that hair raising goose-bumps effect. Buy it alone for the ingeniously arranged knockout "Why not start all over again". The rest is just sauce on the ribs, lol!

Ideally it deserves to be on vinyl for that warm fidelity, but DO do yourself the favor of playing this on a decent sound system!!!

For those who can't get enough & seek more of these folks (under pseudonyms) there are: Bad Smoke - "Crawl Y'all". Lunar Funk - "Slip the Drummer One", "Mr. Penguin" & "Space Monster" as well. Also, founding members Mose Davis & Leroy Emmanuel went on to join & collaborate on Hamilton Bohannon's records, with lots of deservedly funky moments for the die hard funkster. More info at Discogs.... if you don't know. Enjoy!

Excellent early 1970s Westbound funk--same label as early Funkadelic--from the Counts.

This music is middle of the road: reletively driving, but the songs are well written with nice changes and the vocals are incredibly strong

Reccomended

Great sound, clear and concise. So good to hear songs from the past that you still can enjoy and party to.

Bubbly and cohesive CD which reminds me a bit of the Meters or the Neville Brothers stripped of a bit of their gumbo. Funky guitars, soulful organ, nice horns.... Once, while travelling by airplane in the late 70's, I happened to sit alongside a fellow collector who mentioned to me how hard this record was to find and how he kept missing out on grabbing a copy. He said "Man, listen to this someday if you can." My friend, wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying it now at last...as am I.

Funky Funky Funky !
With a subtile hint of Jazz.
Good tracks are Whats up front, thinking single and rhythm changes.

This ALBUM brings back memories of my days as a college DJ when this was a new "album". The groove is still as good in 2005 as in was back in the 70s. I read some of the other reviews that talked about weak lyrics. The funk is what is important not the lyrics. Listen to the Funkadelics, the Parliment or JAMES BROWN (all praises) - those lyrics make sense? It's the funk that matters. If yo toe don't tap or yo head don't bob, it ain't funky. Yep, I skip over some tracks but the ones that are funky - still got it.

This was a big leap forward musically for the Counts compared to their first album, Jan Jan (they called themselves the Fabulous Counts then). However, this album isn't nearly as consistent as the first one. The title track is an instant classic and the overlapped vocal rhythms are fantastic. However, as with so many funk bands, the lyrics, vocals and ballads slow these guys down. Thinking Single and Rhythm Changes are real good, but (and I am a fan) you might be better served picking up the Westbound compilation Gettin' It Off (which is amazing!)

I consider myself a funk enthusiast. These guys lay down a killer groove, but the songs go nowhere. The only song that makes it work, and happens to be a killer, is the title track. "Motor City" grooves too. I liked their stuff better when they were the "Fabulous Counts". One more thing.. funk is not a lyrical medium.. I know that.. but some of these lyrics were just stupid. Other bands have done this type of thing much better, and i'm at odds with all the fuss.