Studio One Funk

When I bought this anthology, I didn't realize that it was composed of vintage reggae. Instead, I mistakenly thought it was a collection of vintage, obscure soul music. Generally, I'm not much of a reggae fan. I do not intentionally admit any carbon into my lungs, if you get my drift. However, I've sometimes enjoyed vintage reggae, like "The Harder They Come" soundtrack by Jimmy Cliff. That is actually some interesting, funky, and thoughtfully arranged music. Well, the same is true for most of the vintage reggae on this anthology. It's all very tasty, and very enjoyable stuff. Maybe I really am a reggae lover, and just didn't know it? Probably, it depends on some combination of the funkiness and the thoughtful craftsmanship involved. That's the ticket! I'm happy that I bought it, and so.... I'm officially recommending these grooves.

Funk? Uh, not by my definition. Despite the proclamation in the liner notes that this is "non-stop Reggae Funk from start to finish", the sound is more reggae-soul than anything else. But labels aside, this is delightfully good stuff anyway you want to brand it, played by some of the biggest and best names on the Studio One label. The song selection is a combination of original material, covers of soul hits (the theme from "Shaft", "Funky Broadway", "It's a Shame", etc.), and versions of stuff from Studio One." Think of Booker T. & the MGs done reggae style and that pretty much describes the vibe of many of these fine songs. Plenty of groovy organ and choppy guitar riffs to keep you dancing and swaying. While the music is first-rate, and will appeal to any fans of this golden age of reggae (1960s and 1970s), the compilers really missed the boat in giving us details about these vintage recordings. The scant liner notes (each page in the booklet is divided in half; a blurry photo and part of the essay) offer only superficial information about some of the artists and songs. Except for the list on the back cover, the full track listings are buried under the plastic CD tray, offering songwriting credits and recording dates, but no song times. Not sure why this information wasn't included in the CD booklet; it's annoying to have to lift the CD out and attempt to read/focus on the tiny print underneath the plastic tray!

I wasn't looking for funk, per se. I was looking for some funky reggae music, and boy did it it pay off. These killer numbers are funken groovin tunes with great horns, organ, piano, drumming, vocals, and most importantly to me- good melodies. This music has great movement, and very unique in the influences that are played in a reggae format, be they jazz, funk, rock, or whatever- I would say that the forms don't matter compared to the ESSENCE of musical creativity of the players and singers. Great production sound from '69-'72.

A+++

I bought this cd because the cover said "studio one funk"; and Jamaican funk is something I wanted to hear, as it is so rare. They had better called it "Some Studio One Funk and Lots of Plain Reggae". No that it's not good, but be warned. Okay, the tunes - "Shaft" is an instrumental remake of the classic Isaac Hayes tune; very good; "African Descendants" has nothing to do with funk, but is a very solid chant like cut with great backing vocals; "Poco Tempo" is the best track - a very mysterious sounding Augustus Pablo take on the Woman of the Ghetto/Sidewalk Doctor rhythm (which can maybe be described as "funky reggae") ; "Reggae Feet" is a hybrid between funk and reggae with Lloyd Williams shouting things like "Lord have mercy" and stuff; "Hang Em High" is pure early seventies funk, with the great organ sound of Jackie Mittoo; "Idleberg" is a solid saxophone instrumental over Horace Andy's "Skylarking" rhythm (again not much to do with funk, though it is "funky"); "Beat Down Babylon" is an early dj tune; "Now" is funk - reggae from the early seventies or late sixties, instrumental; "007" is an instrumental ska tune; "See A Man's Face" is a dj take on the Horace Andy tune; "Love Jah" is more reggae than funk; "Do Your Thing" is Leroy Sibbles' impersonation of US soul; good tune; "Music Answer" is a dub tune from the late seventies, not so great sound quality but a nice bassline; "Melting Pot" is almost identical to the Booker T & MG's track; "You Found Heaven" is reggae with soulful vocals; "Steady Beat" a rocksteady instrumental; "It's A Shame" is a cover of I think an old motown tune; "Another Thing" is two minutes long and not funk; "Funky Broadway" is a not so good cover of Stevie Wonder's "Uptight" Only about 3 or 4 tracks that could be described as funk; and a lot of filler, in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend this album . I just bought "Studio One Discomixes" and that's a much better compilation.