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Soul Searchers
Blow Your Whistle (Original Old School Breaks & Classic Funk Bombs) |
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CD Digipack. Barcode: 84350088-61414
LP 180 Gram. Barcode: 84350088-61407
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Original Old School Breaks & Classic Funk Bombs
The Soul Searchers married funk with live hip-hop creating a new breed, the go-go, an inimitable style mix of semi-rapped deliveries, irresistible beats, conga breakdowns and one hell of a lot of swing. This compilation focuses exclusively on those cracking LP's for Sussex Records, "We the people" (1972) and "Salt Of The Earth"
1974). Discover the 12 dance bombs featured here, 12 songs that have been sampled by multiple hip-hop acts such as Run DMC or Public Enemy.
Very much a son of Washington DC, Chuck Brown emerged nationally and internationally as the Godfather Of Go-Go in the late ‘70’s and 1980’s with classic dance bombs like “Bustin’ Loose” and “We Need Some Money (‘Bout Money).” Chuck was the man who married funk with live hip-hop to create this new go-go breed. Although he wasn’t a spring chicken when it broke, but an experienced veteran of the Washington DC music scene since the mid-1960’s.
As principal member (guitarist/vocalist) of the Soul Searchers, he cut 2 albums with that group in the early 1970’s – 1972’s “We The People” and 1974’s “Salt Of The Earth”. Both were recorded for Sussex, the label which Bill Withers experienced huge triumphs with at the same time. This compilation focuses exclusively on those 2 cracking LPs by the Soul Searchers. The music is pre-go-go, but Chuck Brown’s inimitable funk style is very much in the mix: semi-rapped deliveries, irresistible beats, conga breakdowns and one hell of lot of swing.
Brown’s first professional experience on stage was supporting Jerry Butler and the Earls Of Rhythm. Then he joined Los Latinos, a group who didn’t have a drummer, but several percussionists who indulged in plenty of soloing on stage. When Chuck formed the Soul Searchers in 1966, he decided to stretch out the percussion breakdowns that peppered the Los Latinos shows. The young Soul Searchers often played medleys of top 40 soul hits – which included, of course, plenty of James Brown tracks. During these medleys, they cut each song short and broke out intodrum/conga beats & call-and-response shouts before segueing into the next top 40 hit. It was these breaks that became the hot attraction - particularly for dancers. Throughout the late ‘60’s, the Soul Searchers tightened up their act and built an impressive regional rep, playing a myriad of nights at Washington DC venues like the Ambassador Hotel. By the early ‘70’s, they were the hottest R&B act in the city and cut a deal with Sussex Records in 1972.
This compilation pulls 6 tracks from their first Sussex album, “We The People.” The title track, with Chuck’s semi-rapped vocals, its percussion breakdowns and atmospheric flute blowing, is archetypal Soul Searchers material and was their first R&B hit, climbing to number 40. A second single, the cracking cover of James Brown’s “Think,” which JB himself actually recorded twice, stalled at number 43 in the R&B charts. This track also includes great verbal interjections by Chuck and a trombone solo that feels like a conscious homage to JB’s master musician, Fred Wesley. Again, the cut bounces with breaks. The 2 songs that illustrate the group really stretching out of the R&B/funk bag are “It’s All In Your Mind” and “1993.” The former is a Mighty Ryeders-style cosmic funk jam that highlights Chuck’s, often overlooked, vocal prowess. The latter, “1993,” is a spacey, social message track that wouldn’t have felt incongruous on a Strata-East album of the period. Remember - Chuck’s a big jazz fan and that’s why his recordings often have such a rhythmic swing.
The Soul Searchers’ second and last album for Sussex, 1974’s “Salt Of The Earth,” is better known, in part because of the tracks that have been heavily sampled. Certainly, “Ashley’s Roachclip” is now considered one of the finest – and most pillaged - breakbeat cuts. A myriad of hip hop acts, from Eric B & Rakim to LL Cool J and Run DMC, have broken down and reconstructed the drums and brass of this song. Written by the Soul Searchers’ flautist/saxophonist, Lloyd Pinchback, “Ashley’s Roachclip” pulses with an irresistible rhythm that just won’t quit. Elements of “Blow Your Whistle,” one of the singles from their second album, have also surfaced in hip hop tracks, including Public Enemy’s “Who Stole The Soul?” “Blow…” is a party dance bomb that hints at the go-go sound Chuck will investigate further later in the decade. Indeed, there are undoubtedly traces of what will become go-go in some of these earlier recordings, including “If It Ain’t Funky,” which was re-recorded by Brown for his classic 1979 album, “Bustin’ Loose.”
But between their second Sussex album from 1974 and the release of “Bustin’ Loose” in 1979, disco fever swept the nation. The careers of most soul & funk acts from the 1960’s and ‘70’s were devastated. Chuck, very much a funk man, was deeply unimpressed with the music’s flat 4/4 beat. In fact, he was known to exclaim, “dis – got – ta – go”! Yet, against formidable odds, Brown created an alternative to disco with go-go. In 1979, now called Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, their single, “Bustin’ Loose” was a massive hit which sat at the top spot of the R&B charts for a number of weeks.
Throughout the 1980’s, Chuck continued to record and perform. And he’s still active today. Like James Brown, Chuck’s age is something of an enigma. But there is, unquestionably, a youthful spirit and agelessness to Chuck.
James Maycock
London, 2007
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| Tracks list |
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 1. Blow Your Whistle
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2. It’s All In Your Mind
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3. Think
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4. We The People
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5. Ain’t It Heavy
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6. If It Ain’t Funky
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7. I Rolled It, You Hold It
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8. Funk To The Folks
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9. Ashley’s Roachclip
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10. 1993
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11. Soul To The People
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12. Blowout
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