The Funkees: Dancing Time
Reviewed by Sadie O., 5/24/12
Afro-funk from the 70’s. One of Nigeria’s most popular dance bands, got lured to the brights lights of London and released some well-received records there before disbanding in 1977. They seem to have gotten odder and looser as they went along. No FCCs detected.
1. 4:28 *** hearty yells intro, then relaxed, swingy midtempo funk, call and response vocals. drum(s) solo!
2. 3:00 ***uptempo, keyboard driven, lots of makossa percussion. Something reminds me of Santana, a bit. Fine keyboard solo, too.
3. 5:54 ***downbeat and swingy funky groove, until the percussion kicks things up a bit, then solid midtempo dance-trance vibe.
4. 4:28 ***big chords intro, upbeat funk with lots of bass, keyboards and percussion. Definitely some Santana going on – I wonder if “Abraka” is their take on “Abraxas”?
5. 3:29 ****extra good! Super funky shuffle, great vocals in English. Cool bass, psychedelic guitar… Fantastic!
6. 7:31 ***jaunty, cute little keyboard intro, countered by some great yelling. Long song – gets trance-y.
7. 2:54 ****cool uptempo percussion intro, then midtempo relaxed funky groove with farfisa. Instrumental. Great wah wah guitar solo.
8. 3:01 ***slightly jazzy feel to the horns, kinda psychedelic guitar, midtempo w/cowbell. Mostly instrumental, a bit messy, a fine jam session.
9. 4:26 ***long bongo-laden intro, truly strange cover of the great hit. Hooray for truly strange!
10. 3:20 ***short spoken intro, then nice funky uptempo Afro-beat. Vocals in English Deeply gnarly farfisa, messy-ass sax.
11. 3:38 ***uptempo, groovy funk with cowbell, love song in English. Actually, more like a “let’s have sex” song, but in the nicest way.
12. 3:27 ****pulsating keyboards, wah wah guitar, strangely out of sync vocals – pretty psychedelic!
13. 5:07 ****fully funked up, very much in the 70’s political funk tradition, but with an accent. Gonzo guitar solo.
14. 5:25 ****back to the roots – fully African vocals, downtempo swingy dance groove. Drum(s) solo! Pretty jazzy piano and psychedelic electric guitar – what a confabulation!
15. 4:21 ****psychedelic Afro-Funk! What’s not to like? Production on the drums is clearly acid-influenced… Instrumental, gnarly.
16. 4:28 *****almost sounds like the Mothers of Invention in the intro. Fast chugging drums, vocals in English. Crazy stuff! Messy electric guitar solo, and frenzied percussion solo. Wowzers!
17. 5:36 ****slow fade-in, low chanting in English. Full band starts after 40 seconds, midtempo super-funky strut. Song vocals in African with bits of Arabic.
18. 4:00 ***slow super-funk, very Sly & the Family Stone-ish, or maybe some Kool & the Gang-itude. Rather odd vocals in English. Chorded bass – kool!