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AVERAGE WHITE BAND: Does teh Strut Ride?

NateBizzoNateBizzo 2,328 Posts
edited June 2009 in Strut Central
I was digging deeeep into them cratez this weekend and gave AWB another spin.Is "Pick Up The Pieces" the most popular funk instrumental of all time?I ride hard for this song.Wher does teh Strut collective consiousness reside when it comes to AWB?I know this is more in alignment with but set your political hip-hop racial white jeans sneaker conversations aside for a moment to dwell on this dollar bin fodder and it's place in the land of funk staples.
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  Comments

  • GrafwritahGrafwritah 4,184 Posts
    I think they're ok. I think part of the non-excitement over them is simply that their records are so common. There's no top-secret-raer mystique about them.

    Still good tho.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Don't know why, but they never really resonated with me.

    I'd say "Cut The Cake" (and the flip side, "Person To Person") is the only AWB I could really get into.

    I'd be interested in hearing their first album on MCA. I'm wondering if it's rawer than their other records.
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    I dare anyone to sit down and listen to the Soul Searchin' album and front on it.

    IMO if you don't like that record you shouldn't even bother looking for the raer, it's better than 98.8% of the $300+ record's I own.
  • Lucious_FoxLucious_Fox 2,479 Posts
    I dare anyone to sit down and listen to the Soul Searchin' album and front on it.


  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I dare anyone to sit down and listen to the Soul Searchin' album and front on it.

    IMO if you don't like that record you shouldn't even bother looking for the raer, it's better than 98.8% of the $300+ record's I own.

    Release date: 1976.

    Oh shit, it might be all disco-ish or fusion-y!!

  • Phill_MostPhill_Most 4,594 Posts
    I dare anyone to sit down and listen to the Soul Searchin' album and front on it.

    IMO if you don't like that record you shouldn't even bother looking for the raer, it's better than 98.8% of the $300+ record's I own.

  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    Competent but not compelling.

    I'd be more down if they were Black.
  • Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
    Competent but not compelling.

    I'd be more down if they were Black.

    LOL! Perfect Soulstrut answer.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Of course I ride.
  • shawnald_reaganshawnald_reagan 318 Posts
    I rides. I try to pick up AWB rekkids and pass them to those who don't know in my crew. Essential for my crates.
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    HELL YES

    cosine on Soul Searchin

    soul strut and collectro dudes in general would be more down if they were raer
  • DigginDiggin 319 Posts


    IMHO, B-side wins again. Lots of good tunes

    1. "Why" (Ball, Stuart, Gorrie) ??? 3:57
    2. "High Flyin' Woman" (White, McIntyre, Gorrie) ??? 3:47
    3. "Cloudy" (Stuart, Gorrie) ??? 4:18
    4. "How Sweet Can You Get" (Ball, Stuart, Gorrie) ??? 3:57
    5. "When They Bring Down the Curtain" (Gorrie, Ball) ??? 4:42
  • Lucious_FoxLucious_Fox 2,479 Posts
    I dont understand. Who doesnt ride?

    Does anyone ever hear another "collectro" dismiss their music as wack?

    I dont see how you can score points on "Oh, if only little dudes knew".....

    Who doesnt know a slice of their catalog, especially if your of a certain age bracket.
  • sticky_dojahsticky_dojah New York City. 2,136 Posts
    T.L.C. is that joint. I ride. Stop the Rain is dope too. Common, but classic.
  • pacmanpacman 1,114 Posts
    Definitely ride for AWB. Soul Searchin' is hard as nails to me from front to back.
  • finelikewinefinelikewine "ONCE UPON A TIME, I HAD A VINYL." http://www.discogs.com/user/permabulker 1,416 Posts
    I dare to say it:

    MOR Funk at it's best.

    Even if their records would be more rare, they would still bore me to death.

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    HELL YES

    cosine on Soul Searchin

    soul strut and collectro dudes in general would be more down if they were raer

    That tired old common-vs.-raer argument ain't gonna work here.

    War, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Tower Of Power are "un-raer" too (mostly), yet they have a lot of fans on the Strut. So if we think AWB is mediocre, we're entitled to!
  • funky16cornersfunky16corners 7,175 Posts
    It's weird, I was just thinking about this yesterday. Anyone that says that 'Pick Up the Pieces' isn't kick ass is either fronting from the collectro POV or tone deaf. If that record was rare people would be sweating it to the ends of the earth.
  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    'Pick Up the Pieces' is one of those tunes I can't stand anymore, sorry.

    Not saying it's bad, just that I would be happy to never hear it again.
  • PABLOPABLO 1,921 Posts
    They're fantastic.
    Anyone that needs convincing needs to check the Live at Montreux 1977 DVD then promptly shut the F*ck up.
  • disco_chedisco_che 1,115 Posts
    Cosine on that "Pick Up The Pieces" comment, I can't stand it either because it's so played out. Many of their tracks are extremely boring in their funky mediocrity. But there are enough standout tracks not to underestimate AWB.
    I like to play out their version of "Work To Do" which is more forward than the Isleys version. Also "Stop The Rain" is a favorite. Some good ballads too.

    When it comes to dollar bin material in a AWB style I ride more for these guys:



    and that "New York Mary" record I can't find an photograph of on the internet.
  • barjesusbarjesus 872 Posts
    I saw them open up for War in DC like 15 years ago, they were really good. War, not so much.

    I ride.

    This is my jam:
  • OkemOkem 4,617 Posts
    They're fantastic.
    Anyone that needs convincing needs to check the Live at Montreux 1977 DVD then promptly shut the F*ck up.

    I remember in an interview with Questlove he was talking about how, when he was learning the drums, he loved this recording so much he'd memorized the drum solos. He then 'sang' one of them, and they edited the song into the background and he had it down perfect.
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    don;t be fooled by their self-deprecating name-"STOP THE RAIN" is a PERFECT song. the drum fill just before they go into the second verse is sick.

  • LokoOneLokoOne 1,823 Posts
    I aint ashamed to play my AWB loud! Even their later Lps like warmer Communication have some nice moments on them... Their first few ones are a must for the crates IMO

    Just by the amount they have been sampled in hip hop gives them top notch status in my books, and the fact you can still find their shit for cheap is a bonus.

    Plus isnt their drummer QuestLove's favourtie drummer of all time? Im sure thats what Iread in an interview.
  • CraigCraig 269 Posts
    'Pick Up the Pieces' is one of those tunes I can't stand anymore, sorry.

    Not saying it's bad, just that I would be happy to never hear it again.


    That's my take too......That said i'm not hating as they do have their moments.
  • Options
    Unknown
    I dare anyone to sit down and listen to the Soul Searchin' album and front on it.

    IMO if you don't like that record you shouldn't even bother looking for the raer, it's better than 98.8% of the $300+ record's I own.




    Good music is good music, regardless of its rarity.
  • Danno3000Danno3000 2,850 Posts




    Good music is good music, regardless of its rarity.

    Actually, that's not true. With raerity comes quality: a mediocre record that is also very raer will necessarily sound better than a very good record that's common. This is the way of the collectro.

  • Options
    Unknown




    Good music is good music, regardless of its rarity.

    Actually, that's not true. With raerity comes quality: a mediocre record that is also very raer will necessarily sound better than a very good record that's common. This is the way of the collectro.


  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    I prefer the Above Average Black Band version

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