Sunday Soul - H.O.E.

For those of you out there who are Light In the Attic Records fans, a couple of weeks past they put out a follow up volume to their 2004 release, Wheedle's Groove - Seattle's Finest in Funk & Soul 1965-75. The original volume collected twenty one cuts of prime northwest funk and soul, the majority of which were resurrected from dusty vinyl, with a few from modern day soul outfits. It was a smoking collection of cuts that you should definitely score one way or another if you don't already have it.

Fast forward to 2009, and the folks over at LITA have brought together some of the original artists from that first recording, artists who learned how to funk things up decades ago, and artists from the retro-soul outfits who also were included to record an album of brand new material. The album, titled Kearney Barton, is named after famed recording engineer who polished the new album, as well as some of the tracks on the old album. The album is a masterful stroke of funk and soul just like the original, but also an innovative contemporary product that shows it is possible to teach an old dog a new trick.

You'll find this out right from the first track Babyback, am instrumental funk number that feels like it should be from some futuristic blaxploitation flick. From there, the group gets a little more traditional with H.O.E. (House of Entertainment - which feelss a whole heck of a lot like a Solomon Burke tune), which you can hear below. The third track is perhaps the most inspired of the lot, a cover of Soundgarden's Jesus Christ Pose which just cooks with its choir-like vocals. Another futuristic instrumental rolls out next with Humpty Dumpty, and then the soaring Everything Good Is Bad, a rocker that feels like it could have been a hit at Woodstock. The entire album is like that, craftily switching from old to new and back again, and from instrumental jam to vocals. Through it all though, you'll find some incredible Hammond action that fills a crucial spot in the album's groove.

Wheedle's Groove - H.O.E. : Kearney Barton

and one from the original volume:

Black On White Affair - Bold Soul Sister, Bold Soul Brother : Wheedle's Groove - Seattle's Finest in Funk & Soul 1965-75

Visit the Light In the Attic Records website.