Bay Area Funk 2
The San Francisco Bay Area, a legendary crucible of hipness that includes Berkeley, Oakland (the birthplace of the Black Panthers), and nearby communities, was a major hotbed of soul and funk during the sixties and seventies. Sly and the Family Stone and Tower of Power were only two of the local bands who went national. This second volume from the Luv N’Haight imprint was originally spawned out of the Groove Merchant retail shop and later led to the founding of the larger Ubiquity label. Despite a prevailing down-and-dirtyness, each of the tracks share a loosey-goosey, almost naive exuberance, with suave vocals, flashy horn sections, garishly psychedelic wah-wah guitars and obese, splattery bass lines. San Francisco T.K.O.’s "Acid Lady" is an amazing time capsule -- one can almost hear the afros wilting on a sweaty dance floor! Ray Comacho’s percussive, Latin-inflected "Si Se Puede" has a lot in common with early Carlos Santana while Faye Marshall’s cheeky pipes and extended, Hammond-organ-laced instrumental break on "Goin’ Home" could give any modern R&B; diva a run for her money. Journalist Lee Hildebrand, who was involved in nightclub PR when these bands were still extant, provides detailed and affectionate liner notes. --Christina Roden