Funk on Life

Grand Funk Railroad continued to move further into the pop/rock mainstream with this hit album. They are aided considerably in this aim by the ultra-slick production of Jimmy Ienner, a producer best known for his work with the Raspberries: songs like "Runnin'" and "Memories" boast rich yet punchy horn and string arrangements that beef up the group's sound without softening its energetic edge. The album's combination of high-gloss production and the band's energy resulted in some impressive hits: "Some Kind of Wonderful" is an exuberant, organ-drenched soul song that highlight's the group's strong harmonies while "Bad Time" mixes a delicate, string-laden melody with a pulsing beat from the rhythm section to create a one-of-a-kind power ballad.

Following the highly acclaimed Volume I, dig further into the Wamono sound - the cream of the Japanese jazz, funk, soul, rare groove and disco music developed throughout the years since the end of the sixties in Japan!

50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater captures Tower of Power’s storied career with no-holds-barred victory lap concerts in Oakland, CA on June 1 & 2, 2018, performing their full spectrum of life-affirming funk and soul hits…

Australia is not the first place you think of as a crate-digger's paradise. But these 20 slices from the country's early-Seventies season in commercial R&B and pop-jazz fusion are a lively lesson in the ingenious adaption of imported trends over an extreme distance. This is overwhelmingly white funk: "Back on the Street Again," an Etta James cover by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, and the ID's "Feel Awlright" are examples of hot shots from Australia's Sixties-beat and heavy-rock scenes finding their dance-floor feet; a track by the progressive-rock band Tamam Shud comes from the soundtrack to a 1971 surfing documentary. But it is all robust fun with intriguing sampling prospects.

Sonny Rollins - Reel Life (1982) {Milestone OJC-31335 rel 2009}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 248 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 8 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remastering
© 1982, 2009 Milestone / Concord / Original Jazz Classics | OJC-31335
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Jazz Funk / Saxophone

The cover art of Reel Life, with a tiny image of Sonny Rollins sitting on top of a giant tape reel, is a telling factor in this 1982 studio session. Rollins was one of the first beboppers, and one of the last remaining to record with magnetic audio tape in an analog format. This sterling band with Rollins featured two electric and distinctly different guitarists in Bobby Broom and Yoshiaki Masuo, longtime electric bass guitarist Bob Cranshaw, and the keen and vibrant drummer Jack DeJohnette. As the career of Rollins moved into fourth gear, his love for hard bop, Caribbean music, and funkier styles continued to appeal to die-hard fans and the urban crowd.

Reuben Wilson - The Sweet Life (1974) {Groove Merchant GM-511 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 203 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 79 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2006 Groove Merchant | GM-511
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Organ

After a series of sugary soul-jazz dates for Blue Note, Reuben Wilson resurfaced on Groove Merchant with The Sweet Life. The title notwithstanding, the session is his darkest and hardest-edged to date, complete with a physicality missing from previous efforts. Credit tenor saxophonist Ramon Morris, trumpeter Bill Hardman, guitarist Lloyd Davis, bassist Mickey Bass, and drummer Thomas Derrick, whose skin-tight grooves sand away the polished contours of Wilson's organ solos to reveal their diamond-sharp corners. The material, while predictable (i.e., standbys like "Inner City Blues" and "Never Can Say Goodbye"), is nevertheless well suited to the set's righteous funk sound.

Reuben Wilson - The Sweet Life (1972) {Groove Merchant GM-511 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 203 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 77 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2006 Unidisc Music / Groove Merchant | GM-511
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Hard Bop / Organ

After a series of sugary soul-jazz dates for Blue Note, Reuben Wilson resurfaced on Groove Merchant with The Sweet Life. The title notwithstanding, the session is his darkest and hardest-edged to date, complete with a physicality missing from previous efforts.