The Goat Pen

Man, I remember those hip huggers and those dance moves

Shalamar
[youtube]ixo7R7E3Vc0[/youtube]

So many of the groups believed themselves as musicians and put out instrumentals:

The Commodores: Machine Gun
[youtube]vVoMJSMgsUM[/youtube]

The Bar Kay's

[youtube]AfK1IPLpcqs[/youtube]

Kool & The Gang (prior to JT) put out a lot of cool instrumental stuff. Most notable, obviously, is the oft-sampled Summer Madness but they've got some other nice, rhytmic instrumentals as well. "Open Sesame" isn't exclusively instrumental but the only vocals are the chorus as well as some benign Parliament-style commentary. Whiting H.& G. (off the same Lp as Summer Madness) is another nice little instrumental.

EWF and Parliament both started off playing jazz, IIRC. Brazilian Rhyme, Sun Goddess (which is really Ramsey Lewis, but EWF backed it plus Maurice White played drums for Ramsey early in his career) and Runnin are my absolute favorites.

Parliament started off as doo-wop of all things (I think that's the case. Were they in jazz before that?).
One of my favorite jams: Ohio Players Sweet Sticky Thing
not an instumental but more about the music than the words or vocals
[youtube]Ta-F4NAVURs[/youtube]

Brother's Johnson instrumental
Thunder Thumbs And Lightning Licks
[youtube]_OeoU9pRoRc[/youtube]

Owlman wrote:Parliament started off as doo-wop of all things (I think that's the case. Were they in jazz before that?).
One of my favorite jams: Ohio Players Sweet Sticky Thing
not an instumental but more about the music than the words or vocals
[youtube]Ta-F4NAVURs[/youtube]

I used to stare at that album cover for hours as a child. I kept trying to find ways to see juuuuust two more inches of the image of the model outside of the frame...

Hizzy III wrote:Kool & The Gang (prior to JT) put out a lot of cool instrumental stuff. Most notable, obviously, is the oft-sampled Summer Madness but they've got some other nice, rhytmic instrumentals as well. "Open Sesame" isn't exclusively instrumental but the only vocals are the chorus as well as some benign Parliament-style commentary. Whiting H.& G. (off the same Lp as Summer Madness) is another nice little instrumental.

[Pulls out soapbox] Mrs. JD has heard me wax lound and long on the topic of James "JT" Taylor (AKA "The Man Who Killed Kool & The Gang"].

Jungle Boogie, Hollywood Swinging, Spirit of the Boogie, Open Sesame, et. al., were raw expressions of the best in Funk music in the 70s. Once they added JT, the pop/disco crap ("Ladies Night," "Celebration") and the group - which had been around for 15 years - was essentially dead-in-the-water four years after JT became a member.

Or JT extended their life.

Don't sleep on the death of the band after 1978. I've pounded that theory into the ground in the old WC Music forums. Bands were more creative (and diverse) in the 70s. Then, over-production and synthesizing everything killed that era.

Remember this one from Parliament(s)?

[youtube]YAR6BBQO8-k[/youtube]

That's their original incarnation...then it morphed into the mask-wearing, diaper-donning, spaceship-riding, canibus-haze-inducing group that reached its height in the 70s.

I still remember trying to spell psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadooloop as a small kid, who was not quite in school yet.

Bklyn wrote:That's their original incarnation...then it morphed into the mask-wearing, diaper-donning, spaceship-riding, canibus-haze-inducing group that reached its height in the 70s.

I still remember trying to spell psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadooloop as a small kid, who was not quite in school yet.

First concert I ever went to: Parliament-Funkadelic, 1981, St. Louis, MO. I was not quite 18. Smoked a fattie in the car w/ my partner and two honeys before the concert, then acted a fool inside. When homeboy took his diaper off, every [adult male negro] in the crowd yelled "put it back on, you li'l dick motherfucker!"

Bklyn wrote:Or JT extended their life.

Don't sleep on the death of the band after 1978. I've pounded that theory into the ground in the old WC Music forums. Bands were more creative (and diverse) in the 70s. Then, over-production and synthesizing everything killed that era.

Rod Temperton, Greg Phillinganes and Prince Rogers Nelson effectively murdered the R&B/Funk era. All three of them, however, were badass musician/composers.

Rod Temperton is the guy on the keyboards.

[youtube]htNIKiiiXsE[/youtube]

Give up da funk...

[youtube]jJvjWh2Vhu4[/youtube]

Dennis Coffey's (white member of the Funk Brothers of Motown)
SCOPIO 1972
The famous base lick is by Funk Brother supreme James Jamerson
[youtube]_Ry1acAPgaE[/youtube]

Heh.

I was just listening to this the other day along with MC ADE's "Bass Rock Express" and MC Shy D's "Gotta Be Tough".

Hmph, seems like little man grew a good 3 inches over the last two years. Good thing, because I was becoming convinced he'd never grow...

http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/new ... e-gridiron

Wassup Fellas....just wanted to pop in and holla. Hope all is well with everyone. Peace and Blessings!