70s FUNK

[ando]

Funk or Walk!

[ando]

Tumblack Tumblack (1978, Barclay)

[ando]

Infamous late 70s funk duo, Nile Rodgers and (the late) Bernard Edwards produced hits as/for CHIC, Sister Sledge and Diana Ross, among others. They wrote some of the funkiest hooks sampled by Hip Hop artists to this day. Rodgers did a Tiny Desk appearance a week or so ago. Nice spot.

[ando]

Curtis Mayfield's '72 band in Germany Part 1

Part 2

[KevinP]

Sly & the Family Stone doesn't seem to work for me. Years ago I tried it, but the feeling I get from the music is it lacks energy and drive. It is "lazy funk." It is possible I just haven't heard the right stuff.

If all the Sly Stone you heard was from There's a Riot Going On, I could see where the idea of 'lazy funk' comes from. That album is considered by many to be his masterpiece, though not quite everybody. It was definitely a change of direction for him, from high-energy optimism to...very very not that.

They're well-represented by their hits, and a good compilation would likely update your opinion one way or the other.

Their Greatest Hits album, released just prior to Riot (which I'm not intentionally avoiding.)

Remember: they weren't strictly a funk band. They were funk-pop-rock, basically the ones who made funk mainstream.

[KevinP]

Curtis Mayfield's '72 band in Germany Part 1

Part 2

Nice. On part 2 now.

[71 dB]

If all the Sly Stone you heard was from There's a Riot Going On, I could see where the idea of 'lazy funk' comes from. That album is considered by many to be his masterpiece, though not quite everybody. It was definitely a change of direction for him, from high-energy optimism to...very very not that.

They're well-represented by their hits, and a good compilation would likely update your opinion one way or the other.

Their Greatest Hits album, released just prior to Riot (which I'm not intentionally avoiding.)

Remember: they weren't strictly a funk band. They were funk-pop-rock, basically the ones who made funk mainstream.

I don't remember what I tried. Exploring new artists can be very difficult, because if you start with the wrong album, you lose your interest and stop there. From my perspective funk has NEVER been mainstream. At least in Finland it has always been very marginal music some weirdos listen to. All these funk artists mentioned here are quite unknown in Finland. This explains why I am so badly educated about this kind of music. I don't have the common knowledge for example Americans have.

Sly and the Family Stone discography:

A Whole New Thing (1967)
Dance to the Music (1968)
Life (1968)
Stand! (1969)
There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)
Fresh (1973)
Small Talk (1974)
Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (1976)
Back on the Right Track (1979)
Ain't but the One Way (1982)

Are you saying the 70's stuff is "lazy funk" and I should stay in the 60's?

Actually I was surprised how much rock the music has, so what you say makes sense. Maybe this band just isn't for me...

[AnotherSpin]

I don't remember what I tried. Exploring new artists can be very difficult, because if you start with the wrong album, you lose your interest and stop there. From my perspective funk has NEVER been mainstream. At least in Finland it has always been very marginal music some weirdos listen to. All these funk artists mentioned here are quite unknown in Finland.

It is very easy indeed. If you start with a new album. Prove the opposite.

[71 dB]

It is very easy indeed. If you start with a new album. Prove the opposite.

I listened to their last album Ain't but the One Way (1982) on Spotify. I didn't care about it much. However, it happened again: The least listened track on the album, "We Can Do It" with only about 90.000 listens was my favourite track by far.

[ando]

The Nite-Lighters ANALYSIS (1972, RCA)

[ando]

O'Donel Levy SIMBA (1974, Groove Merchant)

[BWV 1080]

[ando]

Classic. Think it was mentioned earlier in the thread but your post did inspire a search which led me to a live '74 Germany performance (a couple of years after the album's release) I'm about to enjoy. Thanks.

[KevinP]

Are you saying the 70's stuff is "lazy funk" and I should stay in the 60's?

'Lazy funk' is your term, not mine, so I'm reluctant to say, 'Yes, 70s Sly Stone is that lazy funk you don't like', especially as you use it so dismisively.

I will say that Riot was definitely sluggish (and downright drug-addled) in tempo, and the adjective 'lazy' is not entirely inappropriate, though most people would probably say that's what makes it work.

Honestly, don't even bother with Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back; Back on the Right Track; or Ain't but the One Way. Those are post-heyday attempts at a comeback that failed miserably. I'm a pretty dedicated fan but I very rarely listen to those, and when I do it's mostly to see if I still don't like them.

There is one album you didn't mention, Higher, credited to Sly Stone alone which I quite like.

As for the early albums, you can think of it this way:
A Whole New Thing: Sly Stone making the music he wanted to hear, but which didn't really sell
Dance to the Music: Sly Stone making the music he knew would sell. Massive success.
Life: If the first album was thesis, and the second, antithesis, this is the synthesis where it all comes together.
Stand!: Like the previous album but even better. If I had to pick a favourite album, it'd be this one.
There's a Riot Goin' On: Stone's optimistic hope that we could all live together in harmony came crashing down. A very different music emerges.
The next two albums, Fresh and Small Talk, extend from the previous one.

[ando]

Can't forget Tower of Power who were actually best experienced live -

Knock Yourself Out Live And In Living Color (1976, WB)

[ando]

Boots Collins on bass (tallest brother in back) on this live JB set. And, wow, it's been the source of a zillion samples -

[ando]

Earth, Wind & Fire live and in prime form, circa '74. Just wish it wish the clip was in better shape. Glad we have it, for all that.

[T. D.]

Plenty of funk can be found on "blaxploitation" sound tracks.

A brief example

[ando]

Plenty of funk can be found on "blaxploitation" sound tracks.

A brief example

Definitely. Most of it is fairly derivative stuff, though, let's admit it. I'd forgotten about this one. It's more than just the Bobby Womack title cut. Be interesting to compare 110th Street to Tarantino's Jackie Brown Soundrack, which re-uses the Womack track (Pam Grier lip-synchs it at the end).

[BWV 1080]