There's
more to Jamaica than reggae music....
Motion Records is proud to present this collection of rare funk, soul
and soulful reggae cuts
put together by some of Jamaica's finest musicians, with a little help
from their friends. The album includes some hugely collectable rarities,
much sought after by DJs.
The majority of the tracks were recorded at Kingston's legendary
Randy's
Studio, some produced by the late Vincent
Chin and the
rest by Clive Chin. The Lynn Taitt cuts were 
produced
by Victor Chin in New York.
Clive trawled the Randy's Studios archives to come up with several of
the rare unreleased tracks here.
Motion's 'Funky Trip' project consists of two 10-inch EPs, a
CD album, plus a special collector's LP pressed on 180gm vinyl with
a gatefold sleeve, which is available now. There are slight differences
in the tracklists of the CD and LP. Full details can be found here.
Although reggae was the dominant force in Jamaican music at the
time, there was still a demand for covers of the soul, funk and disco
tunes heard at dances and on the radio. But with the 1973 release of
the stunning Lynn Taitt 7-inch 'Stepping Up' backed with 'Out On A Funky
Trip', Taitt broke the mould by coming up with two compositions of his
own that bear comparison with any American funksters like The Meters
or The JBs.
Also
included on the album are Jablonski's 'Soul Makossa', possibly the
wildest and most dancefloor-friendly version of the Manu Dibangu classic.
Generation Gap offer their take on Edwin Starr's 'War', funk fans Skin,
Flesh & Bones provide three of their trademark floor fillers, and Barry
Waite & Ltd's 'Funky Sting' (Parts 1 & 2) are sparse wah wah funk gems,
from a 7-inch much sought after by collectors. There are also soulful
cuts from The Maytals, Tommy McCook, King Cole and Eric Frater.
Whereas a couple of recent compilations have featured reggae
covers of soul tunes, this set primarily features funk and soul, many
of the tunes sounding more New York than Jamaica.
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Out
on a Funky Trip - The Full Tracklists
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CD
album...FAST
CD016 LP...FAST
LP016 |
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The
Stepping Up EP |
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The
Funky Trip EP (10-inch Vinyl) FAST10EP015 1. Out On A Funky Trip (Lynn Taitt) 2. Having A Party (Skin, Flesh & Bones) 3. War (Generation Gap) 4. Knock Three Times (King Cole) |
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Extracts
from reviews of the album
Copyright of all original authors
is acknowledged
Re-releasing
some of the funky dance-floor reggae jams cut at Kingston's legendary
Randy's Studio during the mid-70s peak years seems like a smashing idea
that's confirmed by the fab 'Stepping Up' EP, the first 10-inch sampler
from the Motion label's forthcoming 'Out On A Funky Trip – Funk & Soul
From Randy's 1970-75'. Along with Lynn Taitt 's head-nodding title track
(the b-side of his 'Out On A Funky Trip' single), you get Jimmy London
's charming stab at the Everlys' 'Cathy's Clown'; but the big winner
is Jablonski 's nutty revision of Manu Dibango's 'Soul Makossa', which
easily tops the other reggae-ised versions by Byron Lee and Brent Dowe.
Bring on Volume 2!
http://www.nowtoronto.com.
Reggae-funk fusions - you can't live without them really can
you? The tracks on this 'Stepping Up' EP really did it for me this week
- the production on the Lynn Taitt track is amazing!
Piccadilly
Records soul/funk release of the week
Jamaican Funk: The real deal! The past few years have seen a
massive rise in what once was a deeply naff genre: reggae artists covering
American soul and funk songs. Most collections are reggae versions of
US hits - which were popular in Jamaica - but Motion dive into the fray
with a CD that sees the musicians going the whole hog. The Kingston
scene in the early 1970s was heavily influenced by the radical Black
movements in the States clearly seen in the fashions of the time.
Motion picks up on the musical vibe of the era through the sessions
that were driven by the godfather of the ‘Rock Steady’ era: Lynnn Taitt.
The Trinidadian guitarist, who helped Johnny Nash to international success,
had spent time in New York following his departure from Jamaica in 1968.The
sessions, which featured many top musicians who weren’t part of the
reggae scene, produced a fine series of funky tunes that make for a
really new listening experience. ****
Record
Collector (Jeremy Collingwood)
Put simply and succinctly,
if you love Blue Note grooves, Oneness of Ju Ju, the JBs and Living
Funk as well as Glen Brown, this will be up your street.... Unmissable,
if funk is your thing!
Reggae News website