Artist : Various Artists
Album : Miami Sound
Source :
"Oh," Mom looked up for a moment to glance at the photograph I had unearthed, "that's me with Disco Duck. They'd bring out the bird every night around twelve, and we'd all get a chance to dance with it. Good times."
I'd agreed to help my parents clean house in an effort to amend the fact that I was living with them for the next few months while I got back on my feet. Like any gross turnover of an entire house full of memories there were always a few surprises to be discovered.
"I didn't know you went to discos, " I said, my tongue laced with derision. "Weren't they sort of... lame?"
"What?!" Shock was apparent in her tone, as she queried, "Aren't you the big 'music-guy'? I'm sure it was more of a party than the droning 'live-experiences' you always describe. Besides, I don't think you'd care to admit how many of those 'lame' disco-beats are found littered throughout the music that you're constantly waking your father and I up with every night. Son, you need to get in touch with your roots."
While I can't whole-heartedly support the majority of her comments, the latter-- regarding my need to understand the history of some of the music I unabashedly endorse-- is true enough. Luckily, Soul Jazz Records has done some of the legwork for me, collecting obscure classics from the masterful proto-disco Flahrda-based label TK Records onto a single disc entitled Miami Sound.
Prior to their stint as KC & The Sunshine Band, Rick Finch and Harry "KC" Casey were merely two songwriters among an entire staff of talented arrangers, producers, and musicians turning out hits for Henry Stone's TK label. While the compilation includes many tracks from such successful artists as George and Gwen McCrae (both of whom would go on to crossover from funk/soul into disco, George doing so with the touted first track of disco, "Rock Your Baby"), Timmy Thomas, and Betty Wright, there's also due respect to lesser known artists such as golden-voiced Helene Smith ("You Got to Be a Man"), R&B-crooner Joey Gilmore ("Somebody Done Took My Baby"), mid-period funk-ers All the People ("Cramp Your Style"), and lilting nymphet Della Humphrey ("Don't Make the Good Girls Go Bad").
Among the most prized gems recovered by the collection, though, are undoubtedly the multiple tracks featuring James Knight & The Butlers. One of the most obscure artists from the TK stable, Knight is also one of the self-described "funkiest cats ever to come out of Miami, Florida." "Save Me" sports one of the biggest hooks on the album with a chorus worthy of becoming an anthem, as Knight, surrounded by an entire room full of percussive warmth and undulating basslines, ushers in his plaintive and repetitive cries of "SAVE ME!" before bringing the song to a conclusion with the distant sound of clapping hands.
Changing this festive mood quite a bit is the still spectacular "Fantasy World". Beginning with a simple muted string rhythm, the track is fleshed out further by a heavy organ and some mellow horns before it takes a turn for the weird with a reverb-laden chorus and a distorted organ that's light years ahead of similar effects in fusion, funk, and even the Prince-indebted new wave of the early 1980s.
Other compositions sound equally fresh and unnerving, as is the case with Timmy Thomas' "Funky Me", a keyboard composition that utilizes an ancient drum program to breathe fresh life into the already aging genre, adumbrating the future of post-punk and industrial music as well. What makes it sound even more disturbing is the realization that the song was originally the B-side to the unbelievably commercial and popular track "Why Can't We Live Together", making it one of the oddest and most rewarding choices for inclusion on the compilation.
The only drawback to Miami Sound is that, due to the source material used for the majority of these tracks (more than likely a series of 45s), the bulk of them never have time to develop completely, tapering off just as a good groove is established. This is more than forgiven, though, as gratefulness for the compilation's existence outweighs the disappointment of not quite getting enough of a good thing. Besides, as the liner notes point out, this is only volume one in a series that threatens to exhaustively explore the connections between the final lingering golden days of soul music and the upstart genesis of dance and disco, thus bridging an unfairly maligned generational and musical gap. In regard to the recent resurgence of tinny guitars and funky breakbeats in dancepunk and indie rock, this compilation should be considered indispensable in gaining an understanding and appreciation for the roots of what will hopefully rise from obscurity as a viable element of the musical canon: that funky, funky Miami groove.
-Andrew Bryant, June 05, 2003
1. Cramp Your Style
2. You Got to Be a Man - Helene Smith
3. I Get Lifted - George McCrae
4. Funky Cat - The Butlers, James Knight
5. 90% of Me Is You - Gwen McCrae
6. Funkadelic Sound - Little Beaver
7. Save Me - The Butlers, James Knight
8. Do It to Me One More Time - Joey Gilmore
9. Woman Will Do Wrong - Helene Smith
10. Fantasy World - The Butlers, James Knight
11. Funky Me - Timmy Thomas
12. Cadillac Annie
13. Spanish Flyer - Rocketeers,
14. Don't Make the Good Girls Go Bad - Della Humphrey
15. You Got to Be a Man - Rocketeers, Rank Williams
16. Somebody Done Took My Baby and Gone - Joey Gilmore
17. I Love the Way You Love - Little Beaver