The debut album by the soon-to-be venerable Fatback Band is a mostly
instrumental -- minus some "What's Going On"-style exclamations and raps
in the background -- collection of pure funk grooves. More in the
Curtis Mayfield vein of slick and nimble dancefloor fillers than loose
Parliament/
Funkadelic
jams, these nine tracks are concise -- only one track breaks the
four-minute barrier -- and tightly constructed, with little room for
exploratory soloing or aimless vamping. The key tracks, however, are the
three non-originals, cover choices that might surprise some folks who
have never heard, say,
Isaac Hayes'
Black Moses: the Fatback Band strips down any cheesy sentimentality from
Glen Campbell's
Jimmy Webb hit "Wichita Lineman,"
Bread's
wimp-rock classic "Baby I'm-A Want You," and even the moldy oldie
"Green Green Grass of Home," purifying the tunes down to their melodic
basics and transforming them into absolutely ravishing deep soul
ballads. These are the sort of songs that keep people eagerly snapping
up any '70s soul or funk album they can find, looking for just this kind
of effortless, slinky groove. Let's Do It Again is highly recommended
for the three covers alone, but the six originals, all powered by
drummer/bandleader
Bill Curtis, are equally fine.
Following up on its first successful R&B single, "Street Dance," the
Fatback Band released 1973's People Music (their second album on the
Perception label). While it doesn't include any hits or even near
misses, it does have a nice mix of the group's signature, in-the-pocket
funk-jazz jams. Combining the horn-driven soul of Stax with the tight
groove of the JB's (
James Brown's
early-'70s band), the band works through nine mostly solid tracks. The
influence of the JB's is readily heard on the fast-paced "Fatbackin'"
and "Kiba," while premonitions of the coming disco era are evident on
bumpin' cuts like "Nija Walk" and "Soul March." Supplying contrast to
these instrumentals, the band indulges in a few vocal cuts with various
band members taking the mike; although the after-hours jazz and flutes
cut "To Be With You" includes a regrettable vocal turn by bassist
Johnny Flippin, guitarist
Johnny King's
pleading and vulnerable performance on "Baby Doll" does comes off
nicely. And rounding out the group's impressive roster are other
original members like tenor saxophonist
George Adams, trumpeter
George Williams, and drummer
Bill Curtis. People Music is an enjoyable disc, but newcomers might want to check out one of the band's greatest hits packages first.
FEEL MY SOUL 1974
The Fatback Band didn't enjoy as much chart success with this mid-'70s
LP as most others from this period. There weren't any classic novelty
tunes or great dance or message tracks; it was simply a functional album
with decent horn charts, competent vocals and an occasionally
interesting bassline or horn solo. It's among their least remembered and
celebrated albums.
Fatback's first album outing of 1975 has pleasant grooves to spare but
lacks the consistent material or cohesive feel that would make it a
memorable album. The highlight is the title track, a relentless groove
built on a thick bassline that features the band trading lively
double-entendres about how "hungry" they are. The ballad "Feed Me With
Your Love" tackles similar lyrical territory, but uses a silky mid-tempo
groove layered with plenty of keyboards to powerful effect. Sadly, much
of the other material is too thin to sustain the album. Songs like "Put
the Funk on You" and "Boogie With the Fatback" have got a similar
party-hearty style and benefit from an engaging live-in-the-studio feel,
but lack the strong hooks and clever arrangement that characterize "Yum
Yum." The album is also saddled with weak tracks like "Trompin'" and
"Let the Drums Speak," songs that trudge along through endlessly
repeated chants as they run their central riff into the ground. While
Yum Yum shows the promise that would later be realized on albums like
Fired Up and Kickin',
it is too unfocused and tentative to please anyone except Fatback's
most devoted fans. Since the hit title track can easily be tracked down
on compilations, funk fanatics should think twice before getting this
album.
Fatback's second album of 1975 is a serious improvement over
Yum Yum:
the arrangements are tighter, the hooks are stronger, and the grooves
keep the listener riveted from start to finish. It downplays the live
feel of previous albums like
Keep on Steppin' in favor of a more carefully arranged feel that highlights the tasty keyboard and synthesizer work of
Gerry Thomas.
Raising Hell also produced two major hits for the group: "(Are You
Ready) Do the Bus Stop" capitalizes on the dance craze of the title with
a steady bass-driven groove that works in layers of keyboards, guitars,
and horns to keep things interesting, and "Spanish Hustle" is a
propulsive dance jam that alternates synthesizer flights of fancy with
intense Latin percussion breaks guaranteed to make the listeners shake
their hips. The album tracks that back up these singles don't make their
presence felt as strongly, but none ever descend to the level of
filler: "Groovy Kind of Day" alternates smooth harmony vocals with jazzy
electric-piano riffs to create a smooth mid-tempo track and the group's
cover of
the Four Tops'
classic "I Can't Help Myself" is cleverly re-arranged to fit Fatback's
dancefloor format . The result is a fine collection of funky dance music
that helped Fatback solidify their reputation as one of New York's
foremost disco groups. It remains just as listenable and is worth a spin
for disco and funk fans alike.
This 1976 release from Fatback is an odd proposition: While nothing on
it is unlistenable, it is also lacks any memorable moments. The problems
begin with the title track: While it bounds out of the gate with a
forceful, funky energy, it also recycles riffs and structural ideas from
their previous big hit, "Spanish Hustle." The rest of Night Fever plays
out in a similarly uninspired fashion -- it has plenty of energy but
lacks the quality songs and carefully constructed arrangements necessary
to create a worthwhile dance music album. The result is an album that
tries hard but ends up chasing its own tail. A lot of the tracks drive
potentially exciting riffs into the ground because they lack an
effective arrangement ("The Joint [You and Me]"), while other songs
feature thegroup repeating a chant ad infinitum while the band performs
an uninspired vamp in the background ("Disco Crazy" and "No More Room on
the Dance Floor"). There is also an uninspired cover of
the Four Seasons'
hit "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)," which fails to add any new ideas
to the sound or style of this song. The one track that manages to stand
out is "If That's the Way You Want It": While this ballad is as
minimalist in style as most of the other tracks here, it benefits from a
solid arrangement, atmospheric synthesizer backing, and a truly lovely
group-harmony hook. Unfortunately, this bright spot can't make up for
the overwhelmingly lackluster quality of Night Fever. Even hardcore
Fatback fans may want to think twice before picking this album up.
NYCNYUSA is an improvement over 1976's lackluster
Night Fever,
but not by much. It suffers from the same problem that plagues many of
the albums in the Fatback catalog: While the group has no problem
generating solid grooves, they often have trouble translating them into
enough solid songs to sustain an album. Inconsistent material continues
to be a problem on NYCNYUSA: "Spank the Baby" layers a chant that is
inane even by disco standards over a repetitive jam while "Duke Walk"
sinks the pleasant quality of its pop-reggae feel with a dull
arrangement that lacks any interesting twists and turns. Another problem
track is "Cosmic Woman," which fails to make to good on the promise of
its interesting title due to uninspired lyrics and a humdrum groove.
Despite these inconsistencies, the album does manage to produce some
strong tracks: the title track pays affectionate tribute to the band's
birthplace with a nice combination of carefully layered harmony vocals
and a catchy tune full of pop hooks, while "Love Street" effectively
layers exuberant horns over a forceful bassline to create an effective
fusion of soul grooves and pop hooks. Fatback also scored an R&B
chart hit with "Double Dutch," which pits dance instructions against a
pulsating groove to create another in the group's long line of trademark
dance-craze songs. In short, NYCNYUSA is too inconsistent for the
casual track but offers a few worthwhile tracks that might please the
Fatback fanatic.
Man With the Band finds Fatback stylistically treading water: While they
are moving closer to the distinctive blend of funk and disco they would
perfect on albums like
Fired Up and Kickin' and
XII,
the tracks presented here lack the focus and distinctive hooks that
made those albums work. The result is an album that grooves along
without ever picking up a lot of steam. The epic title track that kicks
off the album represents these problems: While it contains some hypnotic
moments where the band's energy merges seamlessly with the song's
handful of hooks, it ends up dragging because these magical moments are
interspersed with too much aimless jamming. Other tracks are reasonably
energetic throughout but lack the distinctive riffs or creative
arrangements that would make them notable ("Master Booty" and "Funk
Backin'"). There are also a couple of throwaways, the most notable one
being "Zodiac Man," which tosses out some silly astrology-inspired
lyrics over a repetitive, lightweight groove. Despite these problems,
there are some moments that manage to gel in a memorable way: "Mile
High" blends high harmony vocals and spacy synthesizer lines to create
an engagingly jazzy dance tune and "Midnight Freak" carefully molds its
relentless groove into a tight arrangement that makes it a strong
mid-tempo jam with a memorably sultry atmosphere. In the end, Man With
the Band has enough strong moments to make it a worthwhile purchase for
disco fanatics but isn't consistent enough to keep the casual listener
interested.
The New York funk band's LP is divided into two segments, the Freak
Party and the Foot Stompin' sides. Foot Stompers first: you won't find a
better girl-watching song than "I Like the Girls," awhere an incessant
bass riff drives the funky anthem; some timely rim drumming and cowbells
embellish the beat along with well-placed horn riffs. "Snake" has a
Latin beat and relies heavily on salsa horns; it's pure jazz and shows
Fatback's versatility, with some tasty solos added for seasoning. The
side concludes with "Can't You See," a laid-back tune, real laid-back,
so laid-back you wonder why it's on the Foot Stompin' side. "I'm Fired
Up" kicks off the Freak Party side; the vocals are muddy and the words
(the few there are) are hard to distinguish, but so what?
Fatback
is about the beat, the rhythms and the musicianship. "Boogie Freak" has
a more infectious beat, and the lyrics are more interesting than
"Fired," though they ripped the girlish backing vocals from the
Ohio Players.
The weakest tune on the album is "Get Out On the Dance Floor"; it has
too many changes, weak lyrics, and uninspired vocals -- if I never heard
it again it wouldn't be too soon, 5:40 seconds of nothing. "At Last"
(yes, the old standard) concludes the Freak side. The classic is done in
straight-ahead lounge-club style; a better vocalist might have made
something of this, as the arrangement is superb, but the vocalist is
adequate at best. Like the Foot Stompin' side, the Freak Side failed to
live up to its name.
While it doesn't overflow with high points like Fired Up 'N' Kickin',
Brite Lites, Big City remains a solid album's worth of funky disco. The
hooks aren't as instantly catchy as the ones that propelled past hits
like "Spanish Hustle" or "I Like Girls," but songs like "Freak the Freak
the Funk (Rock)" sport nice big grooves that will keep the listener's
toes tapping. The album's big highlights are "Big City," a tribute to
New York driven by a surprisingly jazzy horn riff, and "Let Me Do It to
You," a percolating funk showcase that cleverly pits male and female
vocal sections against each other as it doubles its thumping bassline
with the chant mentioned in the title. "Wild Dreams" is another
highlight, an interesting tune that contrasts mellow female harmonies
against an insistent beat churned out by the rhythm section. Some of the
tunes get a bit repetitive at times, most notably "Hesitation" and its
reliance on an endlessly-reiterated chant, but the band's performance is
strong enough throughout the album to overshadow these moments of
weakness. The result is an album that isn't strong enough to win over
people who aren't already fans, but will definitely satisfy fans of the
Fatback sound.
Fatback maintained the same high standard of quality to produce another
impressive slab of funk-tinged disco. XII is notable to hip-hop
historians for the track "King Tim III (Personality Jock)," a song often
tagged as the first rap song (it was released as a single shortly
before the more popular "Rapper's Delight" by
the Sugarhill Gang).
"King Tim" remains a killer blast of hip-hop, seamlessly mixing a slick
old-school rap into the band's intensely funky blend of organ,
energetic horn blasts, and a relentless walking bassline. However, this
isn't all there is to XII: The album's other tracks present a consistent
mix of funky grit and disco slickness. Standout tracks include "Gimme
That Sweet, Sweet Lovin'," which layers a
Bee Gees-style
falsetto vocal with an addictive mid-tempo groove anchored by a
synthesizer bass, and "Disco Bass," which blends a catchy chant-along
chorus with the serpentine hook mentioned in the title. XII is also
notable for the high quality of its sound, which filters the energy of
their sound through a carefully crafted soundscape that brings out all
the details of their sound: a good example is how the huge drum sounds
that propel "You're My Candy Sweet" seem to leap out of the speakers.
The only track that tends toward the filler that has marred past Fatback
albums is "Disco Queen," but even it is redeemed by its punchy horn
arrangement and some catchy background vocals. All in all, XII is one of
Fatback's finest albums and a treat for anyone who likes their disco
music especially funky.
-like
rap about the singer's need to score some cash to keep his head above
water. It further spices up its funky stew with an array of
vocal-harmony hooks and squiggly, ear-catching synthesizer flourishes to
create one of Fatback's finest hits. The album's other notable success
was "Backstrokin'," a tune that layered plenty of saucy double entendres
over a combination of elongated synthesizer lines and staccato horns.
Sadly, the rest of the album never quite captures the infectious yet
carefully controlled energy of these hits: the title track works hard
but never builds up the head of steam that would make it come to life
and "Come and Get the Love" sports a lovely group harmony hook but
suffers from humdrum lyrics that lack a fresh take on its very
traditional subject. The song that gets closest to the arresting quality
of the singles is "Love Spell," which triumphs over its uninteresting
rap-styled lead vocal thanks to a doubled group vocal/synthesizer hook
that digs deep into the listener's consciousness and takes hold.
Overall, Hot Box is a solid listen for Fatback fans but those interested
in the album's hits would probably be better off picking up a copy of
The Fattest of Fatback.
After storming the R&B charts in 1980 with the singles-spawning
Hot Box,
Fatback quickly capitalized on this success with another album's worth
of their funky disco stylings that same year. 14 Karat lacks the obvious
singles of the album that preceded it, but it is stronger overall as an
album. It starts strongly with the one-two punch of "Let's Do It Again"
and "Angel," the former being an invitation to partying driven by a
massive, thumping bassline and the latter being a ballad sweetened with
plenty of synthesizer and mellow harmony vocals. 14 Karat's other tracks
present a combination of strengths and weaknesses, with both sometimes
fighting it out on the same track. For instance, "Concrete Jungle" has
some unimaginative "life in the big city" lyrics but makes up for it
with a unique, percussion-driven melody and "Lady Groove" fails to
present a colorful character portrait that lives up to its intriguing
title but makes up for it with an arresting, synthesizer-dominated
melody. The one truly weak track is "Without Your Love," a pleasant but
unimaginative ballad that feels like filler. However, that song is
easily made up for by the killer synthesizer-based hooks of "Your Love
Is Strange" and the sharp, jazzy instrumental stylings of "Chillin'
Out." In short, 14 Karat is an album that will primarily appeal to
Fatback's fans but is strong enough to provide plenty of diversion for
those listeners.
By 1981, large-scale R&B bands like Fatback were being pushed to the
sidelines by smaller groups whose primarily electronic sounds excluded
traditional soul music frills like horn sections. Fatback was obviously
paying attention because Tasty Jam pares down the group's sound to push
synthesizers to the forefront. The resulting fusion of old-fashioned
grooves and up-to-date electronics resulted in the group's strongest,
most consistent album since
XII.
Tasty Jam simply presents six slices of dense, rhythmic electronic
funk. It lacks the catchy pop elements of past Fatback outings, but
compensates with tight arrangements and arresting rhythms: "Take It Any
Way You Want It" is built on a pulsating, polyrhythmic bed of electric
piano and synthesizer hooks and "Keep Your Fingers Out the Jams" pits
the effectively harmonized chant of the title against a rolling
synthesizer bassline guaranteed to induce some hip shaking. "High
Steppin' Lady" is another strong track that hooks in listeners with the
intriguing contrast between its Latin-flavored percussion and its
bubbly, percolating synthesizer lines. The album drags a bit in places,
most notably the repetitive grooves of "Kool Whip," but none of the
songs ever truly wear out their welcome and the group's compelling
mastery of their groove makes up for these occasional shortcomings. In
the end, Tasty Jam lacks the standout singles that would give it
crossover appeal but remains a solid listen for fans of
electronic-oriented dance music.
This 1981 outing is probably the slickest album in the Fatback catalog,
and that's not necessarily a good thing. Although the instrumentation
still has a familiar earthiness to it, the album employs a new set of
different, slicker vocalists and just as many engineers to create an
album that appears designed to appeal to as many different segments of
the R&B market as possible. Gigolo is professional enough to live up
to this ambition, but its attempts to be all things to all people cause
it end up as an album that is neither fish nor fowl. It also robs the
band of the distinctive personality that characterized past albums like
Raising Hell and
XII. Case in point: The slick but lifeless cover of
the Chi-Lites'
classic "Oh Girl," which sounds like it could have been recorded by any
second-tier soul band. That said, Gigolo still offers enough high
points to appeal to the Fatback fan. Knockout tracks on this album
include "Higher," a barnstorming track about an addictive love that
sports a surprisingly rock-oriented beat, and the title track, an
electronic opus with plenty of
Zapp-styled
synthesizer hooks. There is also an inspired cover of "Na Na, Hey Hey,
Kiss Him Goodbye," which transforms that song from a lightweight
bubblegum tune into a full-blooded funk outing dressed up with
Parliament-style
cartoon vocals and synthesizer squiggles. All in all, Gigolo probably
won't take pop or soul fans by storm but remains an interesting curio
with enough solid tracks for the hardcore Fatback devotee.
On this 1982 album, Fatback continues in the funky electronic vein they established with
Tasty Jam.
This time out, the songs are paired off into two distinct suites: "Hot
Funk" and "Mellow Madness." The songs in the "Hot Funk" arena are the
ones that fare best. Each tune from this side smoothly integrates a
steady stream of carefully orchestrated hooks with plenty of tasty
synthesizer riffing: "On the Floor" keeps the listener hooked with its
effective combination of a spacy electronic soundscape with a catchy
chorus, while "U.F.O. (Unidentified Funk Object)" turns what could have
been a silly and cartoonish space funk outing into a diverting slice of
cosmic fun that is full of intriguing synthesizer sound effects. The
songs on the "Mellow Madness" side go for a more straightforward R&B
approach and come off as less interesting as a result. For instance,
the slickness of "She's My Shining Star" cannot overcome the song's
mundane, clichéd love song lyrics and the mellow atmosphere of "Do It to
Me Now" is undone by a lead vocal that is too forceful for its relaxed
musical surroundings. "Hip So Slick" is the only song from this side
that truly shines, yet it feels misplaced because its danceable beat and
forceful bassline make it sound like it belongs on the "Hot Funk" side.
Despite these problems, On the Floor With Fatback serves up enough
potent funk tunes to make it a worthwhile purchase for the Fatback
collector.
Fatback was always well aware of where the future lay. Keeping their
eyes and their funk firmly on the pulse of R&B, Fatback (aka Fatback
Band) took their audiences on a two-decade journey of perpetual
evolution, wrapping their roots in psychedelic R&B, pop, soul,
disco, and on into hip-hop, as that genre was formulated as well. By
1983, the musical pulse was firmly in the hands of the new wave -- both
in soul and pop. Michael Jackson, Prince, and Cameo ruled the R&B
roost, while a thousand bubblegum wannabes beat at the door behind them.
Fatback absorbed all this excitement, and once again proved that they
could match anyone. Is This the Future? is eminently danceable, light
funk infused with synthesizers and '80s bass to create a vital brew.
Fatback recorded one of the first rap records in 1979, and they repeat
the form here. This time, Gerry Bledsoe takes the mic, with a DJ rap
through the title track which gives the band a Top 50 R&B hit.
"Spread Love," meanwhile, was a strong, effusive slab of danceable pop
-- and, alongside "The Girl Is Fine (So Fine)" and "Up Against the
Wall," really kept the pace flowing. In fact, only " "Funky Aerobics
(Body Movement)" really lets the side down, a weak presentation of not
very well-placed sexual innuendo, and little more than wasted space. On
the whole, Is This the Future succeeds. It's not the driving funk of
earlier renown -- in places, it's not even really that funky, and was
never intended to be so. It is, however, extremely entertaining, infused
with bright energy and further evidence of just what remarkable
chameleons Fatback were -- changing with the musical tide while keeping
their essence intact.
WITH LOVE 1983
PHOENIX 1984
SO DELICIOUS 1985
TONITES AN ALL NITE PARTY 1988
SECOND GENERATION 2004
