The Fatback Band - Raising Hell. 1975 USA-New York

I've said it before, and will continue to say it, I don't intrinsically have an issue with disco music. In the last year or so, I've managed to pick up free boxes of records - or bought collections for pennies on the dollar - that included many (far too many) such albums. Almost all of them not to my taste. And most of them were worth what I paid for them - nothing. Like all genres of music, what's popular doesn't always translate into what is interesting. Of course this argument always goes to personal taste, so that's not a discussion I want to enter into. Rather I can speak to what I like. Most disco tends to be soul music with a steady 4/4 beat and soaring strings. Not for me. But some disco comes out of funk, specifically hard rocking funk, with excellent tight horn charts and electric guitars. Now we're talking.

I'd not run into The Fatback Band before. No doubt having flipped by them for years without notice. Based on the sheer number of albums they've output, it would appear they enjoyed great success in their native New York City and worldwide. But the title of the album and the instrumentation told me this would probably be a good place for one dollar to go. And sure enough, it was. 'Do the Bus Stop', 'Spanish Hustle', and 'Party Time' are your dance floor movers. They're not particularly innovative, but certainly well done, and easy on the ears. 'Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)': OK, there's the expected soul ballad. Fine. 'I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)' is a crap song to begin with, and this is a crap arrangement. Skip it. That leaves the two brilliant tracks IMO. 'All Day' has everything I want in a thoughtful funk piece. Great instrumentation, lyrics, and composition. Reminds me of Mandrill actually (one of my fave funk groups). 'Groovy Kind of Day' is a real throwback - very much a 1968 styled psychedelic soul/funk piece that must have created a few confused looks in the mid 70s. For me, it adds a ray of sunshine to the proceedings. 2 great tracks, 3 good party dancers, one sweet soul ballad, and one tosser. That's a keeper.

Ownership: LP: 1975 Event. Recent pickup from a Catholic charity sale. Can't make that one up...