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defrogIt’s not often I get music recommendations from a label newsletter.
But it happened recently when I got an email from Yep Roc offering a special promotion for the new album from The Relatives (digital download for only $4.00!).
The Relatives, if you don’t know, are a funk gospel group from Dallas who cut a few records in the early 70s in the spirit of The Temptations (circa “Ball Of Confusion”), but never found a national audience. Then some influential hipsters rediscovered them a few years ago, and now they’re enjoying a comeback – or at least the remaining three original members who are still able to perform. And they’ve cut a new album produced by Jim Eno of Spoon.
Listening to it, the debt to The Temptations and The Four Tops is pretty obvious, but it’s also pretty authentic, since these guys come from that era. And they can still sing great. It helps too that they’re backed up by a couple of members of The Honeybears (Black Joe Lewis’ back-up band).
As for funk gospel – yes, there is such a thing. The “gospel” part might put some people off, but some of the best soul music is spiritual – and funk allows you to dance to it.
Listen.
Also available: psychedelic gospel.
Things are changing,
This is dF
But it happened recently when I got an email from Yep Roc offering a special promotion for the new album from The Relatives (digital download for only $4.00!).
The Relatives, if you don’t know, are a funk gospel group from Dallas who cut a few records in the early 70s in the spirit of The Temptations (circa “Ball Of Confusion”), but never found a national audience. Then some influential hipsters rediscovered them a few years ago, and now they’re enjoying a comeback – or at least the remaining three original members who are still able to perform. And they’ve cut a new album produced by Jim Eno of Spoon.
Listening to it, the debt to The Temptations and The Four Tops is pretty obvious, but it’s also pretty authentic, since these guys come from that era. And they can still sing great. It helps too that they’re backed up by a couple of members of The Honeybears (Black Joe Lewis’ back-up band).
As for funk gospel – yes, there is such a thing. The “gospel” part might put some people off, but some of the best soul music is spiritual – and funk allows you to dance to it.
Listen.
Also available: psychedelic gospel.
Things are changing,
This is dF
