California Funk (Jazzman comp)
Duderonomy
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It's not often I have an og track from a Jazzman comp. This looks quite tasty:
After several years of extensive work and painstaking research the latest in our explorations into regional US funk obscurities is finally here. Has the wait for California Funk been worth it? Well, let?s see what we have: 21 of the finest, rarest and most desirable funk recordings from the Sunshine state, put together for the first time with the personal blessing of each and every artist represented herein ? shoddy bootleg this is not! Both the LP and CD contain in-depth sleeve notes detailing the history of funk and R&B in California and the social conditions which led to the funk explosion of the late ?60s. In addition there are thoroughly researched notes for every individual track, revealing for the first time the hidden stories behind such revered and enigmatic artists as Leon Gardner, Arthur Monday and Delores Ealy, The double LP is presented on two pieces of 180g virgin vinyl, lavishly housed in a double gatefold sleeve with full colour inners, label scans and extensive liner notes featuring many previously unseen photos of the bands and musicians involved. The CD houses the same in a 24 page colour booklet. Whereas the musical profiles of cities such as Detroit and New Orleans are well established and much celebrated, the vast cities of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area have been mostly skimmed over and not given nearly enough attention. The black music from California of the ?60s and ?70s is especially under-appreciated, seemingly unable to stamp its own musical identity on the world.Yet during this time, many artists were busily plying their trade at a grass roots level in LA and the Bay, releasing 45s literally by hand or through small independents. Today many of those very 45s fetch hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds at online auction with lovers of real soul and funk desperate to get hold of them. Following on from our previous funk collections of Texas, Florida, the Midwest and the Carolinas, we applied ourselves to what proved to be our most ambitious and far-reaching project yet ? to source and compile the best vintage funk that California had to offer. From the rugged street funk of Arthur Monday to the Latino flavours of Enrique Olivarez, from the soulful jazz grooves of blues legend Johnny Heartsman to the aggressive politicising of King Solomon, there is real diversity on offer ? these aren?t mere JB sound-a-likes but talented individuals who brought their own voice to the funk sound.Putting together an album like this is no easy task. It has certainly taken a while to come to light, but we are confident that California Funk, with its divergent sounds and intriguing avenues, will not disappoint, and indeed we hope that it will help raise the standing of California in R&B, soul and funk circles from here on.? 21 of the rarest, hardest and most coveted funk sounds from California, recorded 1968-77? Deluxe double LP on thick 180g virgin vinyl with gatefold sleeve, full liner notes and colour printed inners.? 24 page CD booklet with photographs, label scans and liner notes from our own original research and interviews? RARE and FINE music reissued only with Jazzman ? all because WE DIG DEEPER!1 Water Color All Bundled into One2 Arthur Monday What Goes Around Comes Around3 Leon Gardner Farm Song4 Chucky Thurmon Turn it Over5 Delores Ealy Honeydripper6 Ray Frazier I Who Have Nothing7 Enrique Olivarez Arriba Tipo8 4th Coming Cruising Down Sunset9 King Solomon Political Rag10 JGD & the New Breed North Richmond Breakaway11 LA Bare Faxx Supercool Brother12 Apple & Three Oranges Curse Upon the World13 Lil' Lavair Cold Heat14 Rhon Silva Get it Right15 Billy Larkin Funky Fire16 California Gold Notes WB30217 John Heartsman & Circles Talking About my Baby18 Enrique Olivarez Al's Place19 Mr Clean What's Going On20 Edwards Generation Smokin' Tidbits21 Winter Bones
Comments
Druncle? Moi?
Has there been an official compilation of all the Apple & Three Oranges stuff? I'd definitely like to see that.
How many more of these Cali funk comps must come out before I'm put out of my misery? And you watch--when the shit finally comes out, it'll be the a-side, on some "Breaks, yo!"
Pfft.
F*ck... I would do dirty dirty things for this record. I'd be fine with just an mp3, but somebody won't give it to me! I only get to hear it on house visits.
BUT
FOR GODDAMMIT CALIFORNIA IS THE GOLDEN STATE[/b] NOT THE GODDAMN SUNSHINE STATE.
REMOVE YOUR MOUTH!
I thought "California Is for Lovers?"
I didn't catch that until now.
You'll have to get the Now Again version then.
Chucky Thurmon is E-40's uncle
For real? Why hadn't I heard about that before?
damn! st. charles????
But it's interesting: That record is, I think, about on par with Chucky Thurmon as far as rarity (somewhere in the three to five copies range?), and the Thurmon is pretty widely considered, like, thee California funk record. Yet and still, folks are far more protective of the Scorpio jernt. The only reason I can come up with--the reason that I would sit on it if I had one--is that to make it widely available would feel like knowingly spreading a disease. I mean, the Thurmon is a banger, but it's also relatively easy to get a handle on; it's basically a much better, much wilder version of things you've heard before. But the Scorpio really just seems like...like something else, something other. Maybe like a secret debt, a burden that must not be shared. I don't know. It pains me that no one has put that record out, but on some level, I believe I understand why it's being kept like it is.
My rationale in that is pretty abstract, though; I'm sure there's some more concrete reason why this isn't out there anywhere. If I thought anyone would answer, I would ask.
i don;t get this rationale one bit. good music needs to get out to the folks not be hoarded by uber collectros and kept under lock and key like some type of secret weapon. that said, i'm not a dj and maybe having those kind of secrets has some sort of meaning to certain people. but really, why would any of of 3 people who own a copy of this record really feel threatened by people being able to listen to it whenever on an mp3?
Dude... spot on! If I had to compare it to another track, I'd say it resembles the Fabulous Souls - Take Me, which we all know is a banger. Now imagine an unknown, better and heavier funk 45... okay, now you're about 10% there at comprehending how incredible the Scorpio is!
I totally get the rationale even though it totally pains me. To give an idea of the protectiveness... I offered for an mp3 $100 plus a signed agreement stating that I would never put said track in a mix or play it out in a live setting. No deal!
Yeah... he obviously likes you more than me! Where's the Sparkle Motion love?!
Dude... how about a Sparkle Motion reunion for Bay to Breakers?!?! May 16th... make it happen!
Call me crazy but isn't the answer to that sort of self-evident? For something *that* rare, you actually can control where and when the song is heard. That's a power that practically NEVER exists for something as generally mass mediated as music.
I would say that to keep it under wraps like that runs against what the intentions of most musicians is; they want their music heard. But there's no such thing as "listener entitlement" here either; just because I have something that I think is f*cking awesome but also incredibly obscure hardly means I'm obligated to have to share that with the world as a whole. I mean, this single has obviously been played to people in clubs; it's not like the owners are keeping it strictly to themselves. But if they don't feel like every half-wit with an MP3 player deserves to listen to it, I don't see what the problem is.
I'm currently revisiting the digital DJing survey I put out back in Feb and one of the main criticisms - actually THE main criticism - about digital DJing is that it means that no one has to put much time, labor or expense into acquiring music. And for some, there's something lost in that. I don't happen to fully agree with this following sentiment, but I hear it enough to think it's not an unusual one: "you have to earn the right to play a song out." I think if you extend that logic, it also applies to listening: you have to earn the right to hear certain songs; the content-on-demand model isn't always the correct one.