I’ve been away from home for a week visiting the kudzu jungle of North Carolina eating fried chicken and digging for funk records. Ok, I spent most of my time hanging out with the lady-friend’s family. I did manage to visit a few spots and found some fine disks worthy of posting here. From what I can tell North Carolina has far fewer disco nerds picking shops clean of early 80s black dance music cuz I found a lot of records I had never seen on a store shelf here in killa Cali.
Platypus is yet another excellent funk band from Dayton. They were big fans of Yes and other prog bands and despised the disco fad that was making good bands churn out run of the mill crap instead of playing their own style. Here is an interview with the band telling their story including the decline of Casablanca records that probably contributed to their obscurity. “love the way you funk” is my favorite track on their self titled 1979 LP. It has some trippy vocal effects, great keyboard riffs, and a great groove that was a bit ahead of its time and fits in with the sound of post-disco funk.
The Dramatics are a Detroit vocal group mainly known for their sweet soul sound beginning in the mid 60s. It seems like the majority of groups from this time period didn’t adapt very well to the modern soul boogie time period. There are always hidden gems out there in the dollar bins from names you might usually skip. The Spinners have LPs produced by Leon Sylvers III and Mtume. The Dramatics managed to cut this piece of pure boogie business without the help of L.J. Reynolds using veteran producer Don Davis whose experience spans decades of Detroit soul.
Louis Johnson was one half of the disco funk mega hit makers Brothers Johnson. He recorded prolifically as a session player on hundreds of tracks throughout his career collaborating with many of the biggest names during the late 70s and early 80s. Some of his most famous bass contributions are to Off The Wall and Thriller. Johnson recorded one solo album in 1985, here is the 12″ B side “She’s Kinky”. This track features some unconventional double time tempo changes and Johnson’s signature slap bass moves.
