Counts And Collards

What's Up Front That Counts Review by Andrew Hamilton
Shortchanged by Westbound records in favor of the Ohio Players and Funkadelic, the Counts were a good band that didn't hang around long enough to sniff gold. "Rhythm Changes" dropped as a single while this LP, their first, incubated. The credit read "the Fabulous Counts," but by time the album emerged, they were simply the Counts. "Thinking Single" was the first 45 from the completed album, but "What's Up Front," a studio monster comprising eight minutes of stoner funk; the staccato-ish "Rock of Lies"; and "What's It All About," a lurching beat-ballad, were better choices. Style-wise, the Counts exhibited shades of the Ohio Players but were nowhere near as identifiable. Like the Barkays, but to a much greater degree, the Counts didn't have a definitive style. But that hardly kept them from jamming their butts off, as they do on this disk.

In 1971, after dropping "Fabulous" from their moniker, The Counts delivered their first full-length platter for Westbound Records. What's Up Front That-Counts is indisputably one of the funkiest albums of all time. The conga-led grooves, impassioned vocals and strutting in-the-pocket arrangements are as infectious as they are groovy. The release of this funk classic marks the second installment in Org Music's Westbound Records reissue series, complete with three previously unissued tracks. Working with the original Westbound master tapes at the iconic 54 Sound studio in Detroit, these legendary recordings have been remastered by award winning engineer Dave Gardner with restoration and tape transfers by archival specialist Catherine Vericolli, and additional engineering assistance from in-house 54 Sound engineer Nick King.

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