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Mega Soul
- Artist:
Various Artists - Release Date: October 02, 2006
- Type: Collection (various artists), Box set
- Genre: Rhythm & Blues
Review
A righteous undertaking of great magnitude, What It Is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves trawls through a decade-long stretch of the Warner-distributed archive -- taking in the catalogs of Warner Bros., Atlantic, Reprise, Atco, and smaller nodes like Cotillion, Curtom, Alston, and Jonie -- and pulls up 80 soul/funk truffles, almost all of which were left for dead shortly after release. While many of these cuts have been repurposed as vital ingredients of hip-hop tracks, which has in turn fostered a voracious collector's market (it would cost a fortune to collect these songs in their original formats of release), the box is a leagues-deep trawl through an otherwise forgotten past. There are few well-known names on these four discs, but even they tend to be represented by selections that are not obvious. Curtis Mayfield's "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go" is likely the best-known inclusion, and after a substantial number of cuts that can't be considered truly rare, there's a sudden drop into (sweet, sweet) oblivion -- unless you're of the small minority whose spines tingle at the sight of names like Grassella Oliphant and Rasputin's Stash. The chicken-scratch guitars, wild Hammond B-3 runs, group chants, and blaring horn punches are served by the dozens, but the box also illustrates an evolution that took place through the '70s. Since the sequencing is, for the most part, chronological, those changes are all the more perceptible. Funk Factory's "Rien Ne Va Plus" and Faze-O's "Riding High" churn and float slowly, steeped in synthesizers, electric pianos, and studio effects, while legions of artists have attempted to replicate the sound and spirit of Stanga's "Little Sister" and 6ix's "I'm Just Like You" -- two songs graced by the hands of Sly Stone in tripped-out, otherworldly There's a Riot Goin' On mode. It's not one big party, either. Check Baby Huey & the Baby Sitters' harrowing "Hard Times" (written and produced by Mayfield), where the poor and paranoid protagonist subsists on Spam and Oreos and keeps his curtains drawn so he won't see those who peer in on him. The themed playlists and imaginary compilations hiding within this compact box are innumerable, bound to take the average overthinking funk freak to new levels of nerd-dom. There are region-specific sets to be made, as well as sets with possible titles like Latin Funk and Flute Funk and The Early Arrangement and Production Work of the Late Arif Mardin, in addition to a remarkable batch of covers, a tight collection of instrumentals, and a not-very-exclusive list of tracks that have been sampled throughout the years. The accompanying booklet could be sold separately, as it contains scads of seldom-seen photos and scholarly track-by-track notes. Rhino also deserves applause for resisting the urge to house these discs in a massive synthetic afro or an oversized wah-wah pedal. You can snugly tuck this thing between your arm and chest and sense its power run through your whole body. Bring on a second set that extends past the disco era and involves the likes of Slave, Mass Production, Brides of Funkenstein, and Dinosaur. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Spreadin' Honey | The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band | (2:25) | |
| Soul Finger | The Bar-Kays | (2:21) | |
| The Shadow of Your Smile | Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster | Jack McDuff | (3:55) |
| Gangster of Love, Pts. 1 & 2 | (4:10) | ||
| The Memphis Train | Rufus Thomas, |
Rufus Thomas | (2:33) |
| Get out of My Life Woman | Allen Toussaint | (2:44) | |
| Live Right Now | Eddie Harris | Eddie Harris | (2:49) |
| Pig Snoots, Pt. 1 | Oliver Sain | (2:36) | |
| Soul Sound System | Wayne Henderson, |
(5:34) | |
| George Jackson | Clarence Carter | (2:41) | |
| Stoned Soul | (1:56) | ||
| Getting the Corners | (2:27) | ||
| Sexy Coffee Pot | (2:28) | ||
| Don't Come Around Here Anymore | (2:44) | ||
| Keep on Dancing | Alvin Cash, |
The Commodores | (2:39) |
| Right on Brother, Pt. 1 | South Shore Commission | (2:40) | |
| Pop, Popcorn Children | Eldridge Holmes | Eldridge Holmes | (2:53) |
| It's Your Thing | O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, |
Cold Grits | (2:52) |
| It's All in Your Mind | (2:49) | ||
| Funky John | (2:48) | ||
| Help Me Make Up My Mind | (2:45) | ||
| Rock Me Baby | B.B. King, Joe Josea | Lou Johnson | (2:15) |
| Sing a Simple Song | Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart | (2:57) | |
| Do You Dig It | Titus Turner | Titus Turner | (2:13) |
| Funky Canyon | (2:38) | ||
| Jan Jan | Fabulous Counts | (2:17) | |
| Tampin | Allen Toussaint | (3:02) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Gossip | Leo Nocentelli | Cyril Neville | (2:38) |
| Somebody in the World for You | The Mighty Hannibal | (2:55) | |
| Stanga | Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart | Little Sister | (3:42) |
| Jumpin' Jack Flash | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards | Ananda Shankar | (3:40) |
| The Deacon | (4:32) | ||
| Sookie Sookie | Steve Cropper, Don Covay | (2:44) | |
| Right On | (4:41) | ||
| (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go | Curtis Mayfield | Curtis Mayfield | (3:28) |
| Stepping Stones | (5:24) | ||
| I'm Just Like You | Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart | (3:08) | |
| Funky Thing, Pt. 1 | (3:06) | ||
| Messie Bessie | Shirley Scott | Shirley Scott | (4:19) |
| Fairchild | Allen Toussaint | (3:20) | |
| Cold Bear | The Gaturs | (2:55) | |
| I Can't Get Next to You | Barrett Strong, Norman J. Whitfield | Mongo SantamarÃa | (2:44) |
| Feelin' Alright | Lulu | (3:02) | |
| Soul Bowel | The Memphis Horns | (3:21) | |
| Tuane | (3:07) | ||
| Take It Off, Pt. 2 | (3:17) | ||
| Seeds of Life | Eddie Palmieri | Eddie Palmieri, |
(5:09) |
| Engine Number 9 | Leon Huff, |
Wilson Pickett | (2:50) |
CD 3
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Hard Times | Curtis Mayfield | (3:21) | |
| What So Never the Dance, Pts. 1 & 2 | (3:59) | ||
| Headless Heroes | (3:34) | ||
| Spinning Wheel | David Clayton-Thomas | (3:58) | |
| Bad Tune | Maurice White, Wade Flemons, |
Earth, Wind & Fire | (4:42) |
| Mr. Cool | Rasputin's Stash | (3:34) | |
| Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' to Ya | Junior Mance | (5:09) | |
| Hang on in There | (3:16) | ||
| Funky Nassau, Pt. 2 | The Beginning of the End | (2:00) | |
| Whatever's Fair | (2:42) | ||
| Face It | (2:25) | ||
| Wah Wah Man | Young-Holt Unlimited | (3:47) | |
| Rock Steady [Alternate Mix][#] | Aretha Franklin | Aretha Franklin | (4:32) |
| Won't Nobody Listen | (4:17) | ||
| Goin' Down | Allen Toussaint | Allen Toussaint | (2:59) |
| Suavecito | Malo | (3:27) | |
| You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin' | Charles Wright | (3:58) | |
| Mo Jo Hanna | (3:26) | ||
| Ridin' Thumb | King Curtis | (3:10) | |
| Almendra | (3:46) | ||
| Nuki Suki | Little Richard | (5:30) |
CD 4
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Getting Uptown (To Get Down) | (2:46) | ||
| 8 Days on the Road | Howard Tate | (2:40) | |
| Moon Shadow | Cat Stevens | Labelle | (4:25) |
| Let It Crawl | Gene Page, Earl Nelson, |
(2:37) | |
| Wanaoh | Black Heat | (3:54) | |
| If It Was Good Enough for Daddy | Clarence Reid | Clarence Reid | (3:05) |
| Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky | Allen Toussaint | (3:46) | |
| Cosmic Sea | Mystic Moods Orchestra | (2:37) | |
| Kissing My Love | Bill Withers | Cold Blood | (6:06) |
| Flute Thing | Al Kooper | Seatrain | (3:23) |
| Chug Chug Chug-A-Lug (Push N' Shove), Pt. 2 | Ziggy Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli | The Meters | (3:29) |
| Funky to the Bone | (2:42) | ||
| Try It Again | Bobby Byrd | Bobby Byrd | (3:36) |
| Teasin' | Delaney Bramlett, |
Cornell Dupree | (3:55) |
| (Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away | Dr. John | (2:44) | |
| Chicken Heads | Bobby Rush, |
Oscar Brown, Jr. | (2:40) |
| Rien Ne Va Plus | (5:18) | ||
| Cajun Moon | J.J. Cale | Herbie Mann | (3:08) |
| Improve | Darrow Fletcher | (2:51) | |
| Riding High | Faze-O | (5:21) | |
| Four Play | Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns | (3:34) | |
| California Dreamin' | Michelle Phillips | Eddie Hazel | (4:04) |
