Various Artists - The Funky 16 Corners (2001)

WISH LIST WEEK* (AUGUST 10-16, 2015)

An excellent compilation of funk recordings by little-known performers during the late '60s and the first half of the '70s (plus a sample-filled more recent bonus track). I'm guessing many of these songs, which were usually released only on a few hundred 45 singles if at all, made their CD debut on this disc. Comparisons with The Meters and James Brown are readily available throughout. This had been on my wish list for years and I wanna slap myself for not picking it up earlier. All this funk and great liner liner notes to boot! If I was planning on getting anything done today, it's either not gonna get done or it will be done with this CD as an accompanying soundtrack.

The tracks were excavated by producers Egon and Peanut Butter Wolf after the two set out on a cross-country pilgrimage to meet these sixteen undiscovered funkateers. Their discoveries and interviews with the artists available at http://www.stonesthrow.com/funky16/corners.html

Rolling Stone gave it ★★★½, calling it "a victory for everyone looking to preserve America's precious funk resources." The title comes from track 5, in which the Highlighters count 16 "corners" in classic late '60s style: "hit me one time (X), hit me two times (XX)", etc. (it happens about 2:45 into the funk and is followed by a scorching sax solo).

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:  22 tracks, 16 American funk artists, 74 minutes.

Title	Artist	Year
Intro	Ebony Rhythm Band	1970
Dap Walk	Ernie & the Top Notes, Inc.	1972
Let's Go (It's Summertime)	James Reese & the Progressions	1969
Trespasser	Bad Medicine	1974
The Funky 16 Corners	The Highlighters	1969
The Kick	The Rhythm Machine	1970
What About You (In The World Today)	Co-Real Artists	1974
Interlude	Ebony Rhythm Band	1970
The Dump	Soul Vibrations	1973
Jody's Freeze	James Reese & the Progressions	1969
Kashmere	Kashmere Stage Band	1973
Fish Head	Slim & the Soulful Saints	1970
Tighten Up Tighter	Billy Ball & the Upsetters, feat. Roosevelt Matthews	1968
Southside Funk	Soul Seven	1969
Can We Rap	Carleen & the Groovers	1972
Beautiful Day	Spider Harrison	1970
Go To Work (Alternate Version)	Revolution Compared To What	1972
The Phantom	Bubbha Thomas & the Lightmen Plus One	1972
In The Rain	The Wooden Glass, feat. Billy Wooten	1972
Outro	Ebony Rhythm Band	1970
Bunky's Pick	Cut Chemist	2001
The Funky Buzzard	James Bell & the Turner Bros.	1971

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  None

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*My money earned for teaching summer school usually pays for the family summer vacation. This year, however, we decided to forgo the usual vacay and spend money updating things around the house (the wife has been watching a lot of HGTV). Anyway, there was a little money left over, so I went over to Amazon and bought every CD available on my wish list, some of which had been on said list for over four years. This week, I'll be featuring some of these new-to-me discs; listening to many of them for the first time.