While names like Funkadelic, Junie, Ohio Players, The Detroit Emeralds and Denise LaSalle will be familiar to most Soul lovers - especially those who treasure those 70ts grooves - obscuro-types like the James Brown excitable King Errisson and the flute driven bass pump-action of Pleasure Web will be new and most welcome. Same goes for Caesar Frazier - as the hip-cat singer chants "...I can feel the Funk!" at the beginning and end of the 5:05 minutes of his "Funk It Down" - it's the kind of fantastic brass and bass slow sexy groove you want to rave about and one that will drive most dancefloor shufflers into bottom-wiggling overdrive (look out ladies). The saucily titled "The Fuzz And Da Boog" by Fuzzy Haskins is pure instrumental Funk - all tight synths and brass jabs as it motors along. Then there's granny and the "Funky Worm" by The Detroit Emeralds - what fun (pictured in its label bag on Page 7 of the booklet). Spanky Wilson does a very cool Hammond keyboard-jabbing live cover of Bill Withers’ fab groove "Kissing my Love" (such a tender sender). The Detroit Emeralds show yet again why they’re a Soul Treasure amongst those in the know – the sexy, sexy shuffle of "Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)". And there's so much more where that came from... Ignore the rather naff artwork - this is another winner from Ace and after 40 years of hitting us with forgotten grooves that need to be rediscovered - you'd think they be slowing down by now. On the evidence of this rather groovy little Boogaloo - there's little chance of that...
By: Matt Barry