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| The very first R&B group signed to Warner Bros., Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band streaked forward with a solid run of hit records that have all but faded into obscurity. "Express Yourself," their best known hit (included on this disc), peaked at #3 on the R&B and #12 on the Pop charts. In the Jungle and Express Yourself represented two important steps forward from the 60s soul sound and into the raw funk of the 1970s. In the Jungle features originally re-worked covers of Wilson Picket's "I'm a Midnight Mover," Sly & The Family Stone's "Everyday People," and the Doors' "Light My Fire," a jazzed up burst of soulfulness that builds with slow determination to its climax. The album's high point comes with the eminently funky instrumental, "Oh Happy Gabe (Sometimes Blue)," which just begs to be sampled. Songs like "Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers)" and "Love Land" sound a bit dated today in their Hippy-Dippy message, but were set down with total sincerity in that free-loving year of 1969. Express Yourself contains one of the most ecstatic heavy-funk love-songs in existence, "I Got Love," which you absolutely must hear. Another moment of greatness is attained in the two-part gospel-funk-psychedelic epic, "High as Apple Pie," presented in two tasty slices. Fun, funky, and ahead of his time, Charles Wright brought the highest levels of intensity and musicianship to these tightly jamming recordings of the late 60s and early 70s. Get it if you can, as it unfortunately has slipped out of print. ---John Ballon (email)
Tracks: IN THE JUNGLE: 1. Till You Get Enough (5:08) 2. I'm a Midnight Mover (2:12) 3. Light My Fire (3: 41) 4. Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers) (5:57) 5. Everyday People (2:33) 6. Must Be Your Thing (3:41) 7. Love Land (3:05) 8. Oh Happy Gabe (Sometimes Blue) (2:53) 9. Twenty-Five Miles (3:06) 10. The Joker (On a Trip Through The Jungle) (3:04) EXPRESS YOURSELF: 11. Road Without An End (3:10) 12. I Got Love (3:39) 13. High As Apple Pie-Slice 1 (7:25) 14. Express Yourself (3:53) 15. I'm Aware (3:47) 16. Tell Me What You Want Me To Do (5:46) 17. High As Apple Pie-Slice 2 (9:30) Players: Charles Wright: Vocals Gabriel Flemings: Trumpet Joe Banks: Trumpet Big John Rayford: Sax Bill Cannon: Sax Ray Jackson: Trombone Al McKay: Guitar Melvin Dunlap: Bass James Gadson: Drums |
