Funk my Soul

Mike James Kirkland may be a new name to some of you, and to many of you, only through a recent archaeological find in “Hang on in there”, a throwback to Marvin’s “What’s going on”, although made independently (and prior to) that particular milestone. Well here is his follow-up LP from 1973, “Doin’ It Right” the slightly scruffier partner to “Hang On In There”, but just as intensely satisfying.  Socially and romantically inclined mellow jellow from the top drawer.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original Bryan LP including covers

Tracks
A1 Got To Be Right 3.55
A2 It’s Too Late 4.10
A3 O Me O My (I’m A Fool For You Baby) 4.20
A4 You Put It On My Mind 3.50
B1 Doin’ It Right 8.15
B2 Love Is All We Need 4.15
B3 Love Insurance 2.57
B4 The Only Change 4.55

Review by Trakbuv

For me, one of the great discoveries of the 1990s was Mike James Kirkland’s “Hang on in there” - and the subsequent awesome CD. It was also significant in making me aware of the possibility of many musical losts being found by Indiana Jones wannabes - rescued from the catacombs of obscurity to finally reach the public spotlight. And sure enough, his follow-up LP from 1973 surfaced a few years later on 12cm of shiny joy. What I hadn’t realised was that Michael James Kirkland packed some pedigree in his punch. He had been lead singer for Mike & the Censations and had existed as Bo Kirkland as part of a duo that some may recall. But more on that later. Born 1949 in Yazoo City, Mississippi, his early gospel roots secured his part in the local gospel act, the Seven Seals, along with his two brothers, Walter and Robert (the latter would prove to be pivotal to his future musical career). They later moved to Los Angeles around ‘56, following an inter-racial incident with one of his brothers. In Mike’s own words, they were lured by the prospect of racial harmony, “a promise that has not been kept”. His early influences were the well-turned out ‘supper club’ jazz singers of the day (Dinah, Nancy, Brook, Nat, etc) before finding inspiration in Sam Cooke. Mike’s soft mellifluous tones are a clear and respectful nod to Sam’s exquisite style.

Mike’s first foray in a recording studio was a result of a wager by his brother Robert. While enduring the praises of Motown by a group of friends, he said he could cut a song every bit as good by Christmas. This was the August, but sure enough, as Santa stepped off his sleigh in the winter of ‘65, Mike & the Censations had recorded “Victim of circumstance” (a telling title) released on Robert’s Bryan label. A sombre, creative, almost doo-wop number, it made the top 50 of the R&B Charts.  The similarly slanted, yet more beautiful “There is nothing I can do about it” scored even higher whereupon they signed a brief deal with MCA records. Other significant cuts I’d urge you seek out are “Gonna try and get you back” and “The straw (that broke the camel’s back)”.

Pricked by the more politically conscious early seventies, Mike started to mix his tender romanticism with social commentary. The result was the adorable “Together” ballad A-side and “The prophet” message B-side single, again released on Bryan in 1971. It’s natural progression, the glorious “Hang on in there” LP followed in 1972.  Then came Bryan Records catalogue no. 9007 - “Doin’ It Right” was released in 1973. The recipe is pretty much the same as, if rawer than, its predecessor, with a similar line-up of musicians, and most tracks written by Mike. Mike has noted that there is a distinction between the way the two albums were produced, mirroring the two approaches to be found back in the day as he saw it. “Hang on” fell into the “refined, jazzy, well-produced” category, whereas “Doin’” adopted a “more earthy , natural sound” with both Mike and Robert wanting a more ‘live’ atmosphere.

Kicking off with the busy, streetfunk of “Got to do it right”, and its countering girl chorus - this opener is pure bliss. Then it’s a couple of covers (both apparently popular with his live act) - “Its too late” is given a slight boost in beat, but still a great revision. “O me O my” is very good as well, exposing the fragility in his voice appropriately, except for the fact that I’m soo smitten by Aretha’s version (and not forgetting Lulu’s original). Then its back to a Mike original, the mellow “You put it on my mind”. The eight minute breakdown on the title track earns and burns every second, the histrionics conveying a desperation in its message - a man trying to save a failing relationship. Stupendous. “Love is all we need” is a nice inclusion with a Southern Soul feel maybe reflecting his roots. “Love Insurance” is pleasant shaker, although lacking enough punch and direction to really qualify as one of the singles to be released off the album.

Mike later changed his name to Bo Kirkland to avoid confusion with Michael Jackson who had just turned solo. And the first single release under his new moniker, “Grandfather Clock”, was met with critical praise (great lyrics by the way) and reached #80 R&B in 1975. This was the prelude to him joining forces with ex-Ikette Ruth Davis and the release of “You’re gonna get next to me” in 1976 - and the rest, as they say, is history. Wow ! Please take the opportunity to check out some of his illustrious musical career, but in the meantime, savour some of this adaptable gents slick style right here.

There is an excellent biography available here

Buy it from Dusty Groove or Ebay or Groove Collector.

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Bonus

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Mr.Moo kindly offers us another Stax classic.

The Staple Singers enjoyed a brief spell when their popularity reached beyond the Soul fraternity and into the Pop charts and thus they are well known for a few classic singles. One of those appears here, “If You’re Ready(Come and Go with Me)” and it gives you an idea of the quality contained in this album.

With a resolutely Southern Soul feel, this represents the best album the Staples ever recorded. While it seemed the rest of the Stax roster were busy extending the boundaries of Black music, the Staples kept faith with the elements of the music which had elevated the label to pre-eminance in the 60’s. So you won’t find overblown orchestration, or proto-disco here. What you will find are magnificent lead vocals (Mavis Staples has few equals), superb harmonies, and production which lets those voices take centre stage.

The Staples also kept faith with their Gospel roots, and there are a couple of tracks here that fit that profile - “If you’re Ready” is essentially Gospel and “Heaven” has an ambiguous lyric which could be secular, but which in Mavis’ hands must be a hymn to her God.

Stand out tracks are many, their version of Grandma’s Hands for example is excellent and “the aformentioned “Heaven” is exactly that. But I would recommend this in it’s entirety as an example of Soul at it’s 70’s best and as a musical counterpoint to the way some of their contemporaries were developing Black music.

This is a @320 vinyl rip (supplied by Mr.Moo) of the original Stax Records LP including covers

Tracks
A1 Be What You Are 5:03
A2 If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me) 4:29
A3 Love Comes in All Colors / Tellin’ Lies 8:51
A4 Touch a Hand (Make a Friend) 4:04
A5 Drown Yourself 4:38
B1 I Ain’t Raisin’ No Sand 6:33
B2 Grandma’s Hands 2:43
B3 Bridges Instead of Walls 4:04
B4 I’m on Your Side 4:00
B5 That’s What Friends Are For 4:16
B6 Heaven 3:36

By Soulmakossa

The smash succes of ‘Be Altitude: Respect Yourself‘ gave The Staple Singers a blueprint from which to work: Muscle Shoals groovin’, gospelfide harmonies and political lyrics.

The optimistic title-track “Be What You Are” picks up where “Respect Yourself” left off: an anthemic, self-empowering song about taking pride in who and what you are; the magazine advertisement for the single showed a black construction worker smiling, staring proudly into the camera. A superb, gospel rock ‘n’ roller with some very Duane Allman-ish guitar hooks.

Reprising their super hit “I’ll Take You There”, “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me” is set to that same irresistible, lazy groove. What sets it apart from its predecessor is the use of folksy, acoustic guitars and simmering strings. A gem.

The scene gets a little more brooding with the 9-minute medley “Love Comes in All Colors/Tellin’ Lies“, a funky bit of testifyin’ wrapped in Alabama country soul. Great arrangements throughout that never get over the top.

Joyful sounds return with the sweet, uplifiting “Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)“, but that slightly menacing, hauntingly bluesy vibe reappears on the solid funker “Drown Yourself” and it reaches a climax on the super political “I Ain’t Raisin’ no Sand“, with its sober string arrangement and Pops’ understated lead vocal.

The overall message of the album remains strongly optimistic; the slightly Carribic “Bridges Instead of Walls” and the insanely funky “That’s What Friends Are For” (NOT the Dionne Warwick song!) are unabashed feel-good tunes.

‘Be What You Are’ is completed with some very touching, gentle, ballad-styled, folksy soul pieces: Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands” fits the family like a glove; “I’m on Your Side” shows the most sensitive side of Mavis and the album’s grand finale, “Heaven“, is simply achingly beautiful, both in its vocal delivery as in its ethereal arrangements.
classic.

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A superb album finally gets a release.

Never mind crate digging, the new thing is archive digging, and soul is proving to be especially rewarding territory. These 1973 tracks, most previously unreleased, offer yet another sterling example. Amnesty was an Indianapolis band combining the vocal talents of the Embers and the instrumental skills of the Crimson Tide. Their mix of harmony-vocal soul with deep funk will please P-Funk fans, while occasional traces of Afrobeat recall Osibisa and Mandrill. There’s nothing about the thoroughly enjoyable music here that explains why it wasn’t released at the time, until the bit in the booklet notes that says the Lamp label for which they recorded specialized in rock. The 1970s’ loss is our gain now that this killer album has finally appeared.

This is a 320 CD rip of the Now-Again Records CD including covers.

Tracks
1 Can I Help You? 7:41
2 Love Fades 3:32
3 Mister President 4:19
4 Free Your Mind 5:51
5 We Have Love 4:32
6 Lord Help Me 3:38
7 Three Cheers for My Baby 4:10
8 Trouble Will Remain 2:34
9 We’ve Come a Long Way 1:54
10 Liberty 2:40

Fans of the exquisite, often never-before-released funk championed by Stones Throw’s reissue wing Now-Again Records are no stranger to Amnesty.

Based in Indianapolis in the early 1970s, the group released only two obscure 45s in their recording career. Birthed from the same scene as The Ebony Rhythm Band (Soul Heart Transplant - NWG 5011), Amnesty had a poltical edge similar to L.A. Carnival (Would Like To Pose A Question - NWG 5009) and the hardest brass section since The Kashmere Stage Band (Texas Thunder Soul - NWG 5023). Only one Amnesty song has ever been released on CD: “Free Your Mind” appeared on the most widely distributed Now-Again album to date - Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1968-1974, Vol. 1 (NWG 5017).

This previously unreleased anthology comes from the same sessions as “Free Your Mind.” In 1973, Amnesty recorded five hard, vocal funk numbers alongside some ballads and a handful of demos based around nothing more than guitar accompaniment. Only two songs were ever released. While Amnesty’s ting, difficult-to-categorize prog funk/soul/rock could potentially reach far beyond Indianpolis’s bounds, the band never found a label to take them to the next level.

Obviously influenced by, but by no means simply imitators of, the sound of early Parliament and Funkadelic, Amnesty also responds to the grooves of Earth Wind & Fire and Sly & The Family Stone in their own way.

Finally made available 33 years after they were recorded, these songs present a funk style arranged with dangerous complexity and performed with precision - arguably the most unique funk to originate from Naptown, and some of the best music of its kind. (www.undergroundhiphop.com)

Long relegated to various ‘rarity’ compilations, Indianapolis eight-piece Amnesty (meaning ‘second chance’) have finally been recognised in a collection of recordings kept by long-time band archivist, bassist, and keeper-of-the-faith James ‘Red’ Massie. The result is a melting pot of early ‘70s psychedelic funk, jazz, rock and vocal harmonies. A strange combination, it attempts to catalogue the group’s evolution as they seek satisfaction in their second stab at fame.

Although they originally released only one 7-inch for the Lamp label (home of other psychedelic funk acts such as The Ebony Rhythm Band and The Diplomatics), Amnesty found a home at Moe Whittemore’s 700 West Studio in 1973. Here, along with that fateful 7-inch, they taped five hard funk numbers and a string of ballads and demos. From these sessions, they released “Three Cheers for Baby” and “Lord Help Me” as the B-side. The former song showcases their vocal abilities and their love for Temptations-inspired harmonies. Similar to other tracks on this compilation such as “We’ve Come A Long Way“, the backing of these vocal tracks is incredibly gritty and real. Amnesty’s sophisticated sweep and flow of horns, wah-wah, and percussion produces an amazing intensity; one which transcends the boundaries of pop.

On the released B-side, “Lord Help Me” dishes out a hot serving of supergroovalistic-parliament-thang. While the brass arrangement doesn’t sit with the likes of Fred Wesley, the call/response idiom familiar to gospel and the scathing proto-political/economic musings (‘the price of meat/almost higher than dope in the streets’) are a fine slice of funk. This particular track sheds real light on the group’s potential.

Elsewhere, the opener “Can I Help You?” and “Mister President” seem to combine the rhythms of Cymande with the psychedelic contemplations of Indianapolis brothers-in-arms Ebony Rhythm Band - a combination which seems to flavour many of the featured recordings. Love Fades is also steeped in funkadelic flavours that wouldn’t be out of place on Cosmic Slop.

Not only does Free Your Mind showcase the talent of a greatly overlooked funk act, it is also a damn fine record for your average funk listener. (Tom Noonan)

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The Manhattans were one of those classic R&B vocal groups who manage to achieve incredible career longevity by adapting their style to fit changing times. Formed in the ’60s as a doo wop-influenced R&B quintet, the Manhattans reinvented themselves as sweet smooth soul balladeers during the ’70s. In doing so, they somehow overcame the death of lead singer George Smith, and with new frontman Gerald Alston became more popular than they’d ever been, landing an across-the-board number one hit in 1976 with “Kiss and Say Goodbye“. Influenced by :  The Moonglows, the Dells, the Flamingos, Sam Cooke and Johnnie Taylor, they also influenced groups like Boyz II Men.

The Manhattans recorded two LP’s for Deluxe, a subsidiary of Starday-King of Nashville, between their Carnival and Columbia recordings.
•    [With These Hands] (Deluxe, 1970, prod. Buddy Scott)  was George Smith’s last LP with the group, and includes such uncharacteristic material as “Georgia on My Mind” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”.
•    [A Million to One] (Deluxe, 1972, prod. Various)  was the first LP with Alston. “One Life to Live,” from this LP, was one of their best.

This is a @320 vinyl rip of the original Deluxe Records LP including covers

Tracks
A1 Can’t Take My Eyes Off You 3:35
A2 Loneliness 2:55
A3 By The Time I Get To Phoenix 3:05
A4 Straight From My Heart 2:46
A5 It’s Gonne Take A Lot To Bring Me Back 2:59
B1 If My Heart Could Speak 3:52
B2 With These Hands 4:05
B3 Georgia On My Mind 2:55
B4 Give Him Up 2:37
B5 People Get Ready 2:36

Life after Carnival Records finds the Manhattans recording for the Deluxe label, where they cut some charmers. George “Smitty” Smith had polished his God-given, captivating, crying tenor into an instrument that ranked with the greats. With These Hands is the closest the Manhattans came to recording an album of standards or pop material. The album’s ten songs consist of five standards and five cold-blooded originals. You can’t help but feel the aching pain in “It’s Gonna Take a Lot to Bring Me Back“, a minor R&B hit that had major potential; the slow weeper oozes soul. “Give Him Up” displays the quintet’s lovely uptempo harmony; the shuffler unfortunately got lost as a B-side. The tear jerking “If My Heart Could Speak” is a slow, tenderly sung ballad and one of their best. Winnie Lovett, Kenny Kelly, Ernest Bivens and Richard Taylor provides splendid backing to Smitty’s lead on “People Get Ready“, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You“, “Georgia on My Mind,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and the title track, all ably arranged by Chico O’Farrill. (Andrew Hamilton - AMG)

Five pairs of white gloves appear in the spotlite, accompanied an orchestra in a latin-soulful groove. Five voices in perfect harmony glide into “Can’t take my eyes of you“  and you’ve met the fantastic Manhattans. Smitty, Blue, Dip, Kenny and Richie - five groovy multi-talented  people.
Listen to their change of mood from “Georgia“, with that haunting harmonica and violin background to “Loneliness” which is a soulful as it wants to be. Compare to tender reading of “If my heart could speak” to the moving rendition of “With these hands“. Follow Blue Lovett as he moans his way to “Phoenix“.

Yes, these are the Manhattans as big as life and as full of excitement as the big town that is their namesake.

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Buy it from Ebay or CDandLP or MusicStack

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Bonus

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