Super Funk Volume 1 – Various Artists 2X LP Vinyl (BGP)

There has been much talk of a funk revival in the last couple of years. DJ’s such as Snowboy and Keb Darge have rejected the same old rare groove classics and dug deeper and deeper to find the lost sound of the urban America of the late 60s and early 70s. The results have been varied as compilations, many good but so many more shoddy, have hit the shops. You may have wondered why BGP had kept clear of the field and the reason was simple – we were giving it our fullest attention. Not for us the quick cash-in, cavalier attitudes to licensing or acres of filler – a good compilation in these parts requires hours of research, digging for obscure singles and then matching that up with top quality unreleased gems. Super Funk is here at last, and to sound cliched it is the bomb.

What else can you say about the never-before released marvels of Larry and Tommy who kick Shorty Long’s original well into touch? Questions could probably be asked in the house about why the Houston Outlaws’ Soul Power never saw the light of day-.-and while it is obvious that Jackie Dee’s gorgeous Love You Wholeheartedly was only a demo, I for one am happy to be sharing it with the world. While we’re talking unreleased, if any of you spotters out there reckon you own I Love You by the Motivations you just don’t own this version an alternative funky mix from the vaults. To this you can add never-before heard gems from Marvin Holmes, Chico and Buddy and Dave Hamilton.

From the hard-to-find shelf we have Huck Daniels’ marvellous rare Kent single Foolish Man, the Buena Vistas’ Kick Back, Robert Lowe’s Back To Funk and the rather cheeky Abraham and the Casanovas’ Hook And Boogit. And on top of this we have groove-tastic Pace-Setters – Bootsy Collins and friends – the Pazant Brothers from their super rare LP, and, well, so much more.

So not just another funk compilation but crystal clear funkiness handed to you on a plate. – By Dean Rudland – Ace Records