The song above, "Chip's Funk" by Black Heat, remains one of the strongest offerings to come out of the '70s Atlantic Records' catalog sample ready and was produced by none other than Joel Dorn (1942-2007).
Dorn's name might not be readily identifiable to the passing music fan, but during the '60s and '70s he helmed a slew of funk, soul and jazz recording sessions, including Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly." That alone isn't reason enough to remember Dorn. But his subsequent contributions enriched America's musical landscape.
Regardless, Black Heat was able to release three long players between '72 and '75 - each doused in funky backings and occasionally rewarding vocals. The downward trajectory in quality isn't really an issue seeing as the first, self titled album (at least its instrumentals) were all slinky funk and dance ready grooves.
Much of the vocal stuff here, like "Street of Tears" and "You'll Never Know" might not be too pleasurable to funk aficionados, but each is still passable despite sounding more than dated at this point.
A Meters' styled soul jam in the form of "Honey Love" might be the most successful vocal number here. Coming off as a New Orleans inflected dance track, the band's able to move around within the funk and soul genres to good effect. What people need out of Black Heat, though, are the instrumental numbers.
"The Jungle" is some tough funk stuff getting worked out at a pretty quick tempo. Hand-drums push the track forward as the organ kicks up and group vocals proclaim that all involved are tired of living in the jungle. It's a recycled sentiment, but in the hands of these players, it comes off as something more than a trite saying.
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What do you think? Create a profile and comment!
~ Dave Cantor
Dorn's name might not be readily identifiable to the passing music fan, but during the '60s and '70s he helmed a slew of funk, soul and jazz recording sessions, including Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly." That alone isn't reason enough to remember Dorn. But his subsequent contributions enriched America's musical landscape.
Regardless, Black Heat was able to release three long players between '72 and '75 - each doused in funky backings and occasionally rewarding vocals. The downward trajectory in quality isn't really an issue seeing as the first, self titled album (at least its instrumentals) were all slinky funk and dance ready grooves.
Much of the vocal stuff here, like "Street of Tears" and "You'll Never Know" might not be too pleasurable to funk aficionados, but each is still passable despite sounding more than dated at this point.
A Meters' styled soul jam in the form of "Honey Love" might be the most successful vocal number here. Coming off as a New Orleans inflected dance track, the band's able to move around within the funk and soul genres to good effect. What people need out of Black Heat, though, are the instrumental numbers.
"The Jungle" is some tough funk stuff getting worked out at a pretty quick tempo. Hand-drums push the track forward as the organ kicks up and group vocals proclaim that all involved are tired of living in the jungle. It's a recycled sentiment, but in the hands of these players, it comes off as something more than a trite saying.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think? Create a profile and comment!
~ Dave Cantor
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