Daniel Salinas - Atlantis (1974)

Daniel Salinas, from Sao Paolo, released only two albums. "Paz Amor E Samba," from 1972, was a collection of samba and other Brazilian styles. In 1974, "Atlantis" - a jazz-funk masterpiece in a Blaxploitation soundtrack style - was released. The ambitious album is a mix of electric grooves, Baroque instrumentations, horns, conga, flute, and Fender Rhodes, sometimes dance-funky and other times classical-mellow. The album features a killer funk version of Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra," here named "Straussmania" (a song made popular as the theme to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey," and recorded two years earlier by another Brazilian, keyboard maestro Deodato).

Album info. on Discogs:

Atlantis

CD available on Amazon:

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Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - Winter In America (1974)

For all that Brian Jackson played a large part in his first 3 albums, Gil Scott Heron's 4th album, "Winter In America," was the first to be released with both musicians' names on the cover. Like "Pieces Of A Man," this is a solid, cohesive effort, with not a weak track to be found. The two standout tracks are "H2Ogate Blues," a stinging commentary on Tricky Dick Nixon's second term as president, and the stellar "The Bottle," a grooving, lyrical and powerful anti-alcohol warning. This is another highlight of Heron's ouvre, and together with "Pieces Of A Man," a great place to start a collection of his works.

Album info. from Discogs:

Winter In America

CD available from Amazon:

(amazon.com) Winter In America

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Tom Scott & The L.A. Express - Tom Scott & The L.A. Express (1974)

Saxophonist Tom Scott is probably best known for his TV series compositions, including the theme songs for "Starsky & Hutch" and "The Streets of San Francisco." As a teen, Tom led a jazz ensemble called the Neoteric Trio. He was also a "first-call" (high demand) session musician. Over the course of his career, on top of his own solo and lead work, he played back-up to the likes of the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Quincy Jones, among others. In 1973, the L.A. Express formed as Tom's backing band. The original lineup featured Max Bennett, John Guerin, Larry Carlton and Joe Sample. This group was short-lived, recording the album "Tom Scott & The L.A. Express" and playing back-up on a number of tracks on Joni Mitchell's "Court And Spark" album. By the time the group's second album "Tom Cat" was recorded, Carlton and Sample had left. The songs on "Tom Scott & The L.A. Express" are all jazz funk instrumentals, with a heavy sax emphasis. Highlights include "L.A. Express," "Strut Your Stuff" and "Sneakin' In The Back" (from which the opening bass riff was sampled by Massive Attack for the song "Blue Lines").

Album info. available on Discogs:

Tom Scott & The L.A. Express

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The Counts - Funk Pump (1974)

The Counts began life in Detroit in 1968 as the Fabulous Counts. In their original incarnation, they were well know for their instrumental prowess, and for backing up solo artists visiting the Detroit area. After releasing the album "Jan, Jan" with Cotillion in 1969, the group moved to Westbound Records, dropping the "Fabulous" from their name, but not from their music. They only released one album with Westbound before moving on again to Aware Records in Atlanta (Westbound chose to focus on Ohio Players and Funkadelic at their expense). None of the three funk albums released by the Counts in the early 70's sold spectacularly, but all charted. The group split up in 1976. The Counts' sound is full-on funky groove - part blaxploitation, part Fatback, part Kool And The Gang - with toe tapping basslines, wa-wa guitars and soaring horns. The slow, jazzy groover "Tecalli" is worth the price of admission all by itself, while the title track, "Magic Ride" and "Flies Over Watermelon" are also strong efforts.

Album info. on Discogs:

Funk Pump

George McCrae - Rock Your Baby (1974)

When George McCrae recorded "Rock Your Baby," he had been in the music business off and on for over a decade. He was about to give up on music, with plans to return to college to study law enforcement, when the opportunity to do vocals for the track arose out of the blue. Richard Finch and Harry Wayne Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band had recorded "Rock Your Baby" for their own group, but they couldn't hit the high notes. They were going to have Gwen McCrae, George's wife, sing it, but she was late for the session and George recorded it instead. The song became one of the first hits of the disco era, reaching #1 on both the Black and Billboard Pop singles charts in the US. The follow-up single, "I Can't Leave You Alone," also did relatively well, making it into the Top 10 on the Black Singles chart. The ensuing album, also titled "Rock Your Baby" and no doubt helped along by the first single, was a success, reaching #7 on the Black Album chart.

Album info. at Discogs:

Rock Your Baby

Available as part of 2-for-1 CD on Amazon:

(amazon.com) Rock Your Baby & George McCrae

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Brother To Brother - In The Bottle (1974)

Brother To Brother was formed in St. Louis in the early 70's by Michael Burton and a group of studio musicians. "In The Bottle" was the band's debut album, and they would go on to release two others on Turbo Records. The head of Turbo was Sylvia Robinson, founder of Sugar Hill records later in the decade, so the group was in good hands musically. "In The Bottle" is a fairly typical album for this period - funky, with some nifty jazzy touches and a club groove feel. Wood, Brass & Steel (also with Turbo) provided back-up. Highlights of the set include the title track (a fantastic cover of the Gil Scott-Heron original) and Norman Whitfield's "I Wish It Would Rain," along with "Big Brother" and "Mother Earth."

Info. on the album from Discogs:

In The Bottle

Lou Courtney - I'm In Need Of Love (1974)

It's sometimes hard to say why some great records become hits, and others hardly register. "I'm In Need Of Love" should have been a hit. It compares favourably with works of the time by Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson, Mike James Kirkland, and others of that Soul/R&B school, with a strong mix of mellow groovers and ballads. Maybe it didn't get marketed well enough. Perhaps there was just too much good music coming out at the same time that stole attention. Who knows? That said, this one should have done better. Highlights include the title track, along with "Somebody New Is Lovin' On You," "What Do You Want Me To Do" and "The Common Broken Heart." Definitely worth at least a listen... and then decide for yourself whether the album's obscurity is deserved or not.

Info. at Discogs:

I'm In Need Of Love

CD available on Amazon:

(amazon.com) I'm In Need Of Love

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Patrice Rushen - Prelusion (1974) and Before The Dawn (1975)

Patrice Rushen was 20 when she recorded her debut album, "Prelusion." At this stage in her career she was very much an instrumental jazz artist, and it would have been hard to predict the R&B vocalist she would become a half decade later. On "Prelusion", she plays straight ahead soul-jazz, with occasional fusion references. Rushen plays a variety of keyboards, and is backed up by the likes of Joe Henderson on sax and Oscar Brashear on trumpet. "Before The Dawn," released a year later, featured flautist Hubert Laws and guitarist Lee Ritenour. Here Rushen gets into a fuller exploration of fusion, with references to R&B, rock and pop. The only track with vocals, "What's The Story," features singer Josie James in a song highly predictive of the style Rushen herself would adopt when she switched labels and made the musical move to R&B in '78. Both these albums are available on a "twofer" CD, so these covers are for the purist who wants original covers for each set.

Album info. on Discogs:

Prelusion

Before The Dawn

2-for-1 CD available on Amazon:

(amazon.com) Prelusion & Before the Dawn

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Shirley Brown - Woman To Woman (1974)

Shirley Brown was discovered by Albert King singing at a club in Brooklyn, Illinois at the age of 14, and she spent the next 9 years on the road performing with him. She cut her first record in 1972, and was signed by Stax in 1974. "Woman To Woman," Brown's debut album, was released on the Stax subsidiary, Truth, that same year. The album - a collection of intimate, emotional songs focusing on the goods and not-so-goods of love and relationships - was a strong seller. The title track - a love-triangle melodrama - outdid the album, and spent 2 weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, eventually selling a million copies and earning a gold disc. The follow-up single, "It Ain't No Fun," didn't sell well, possibly due to Stax's financial difficulties and inability to market the song adequately. Stax closed it's doors in 1975, and Brown moved on to Arista.

Album info. here:

Woman To Woman

CD available on Amazon:

(amazon.com) Woman To Woman

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Oscar Brown, Jr. - Fresh (1974)

When Oscar Brown, Jr. signed for Atlantic in the early 70's, he had already been in the music business for over a decade. His debut album, "Sin & Soul," released in 1960, was a success, combining instrumental jazz standards with his own lyrics. Much of his early work showed a high level of social consciousness and focused on the experiences of black Americans. This continued on his three Atlantic albums, "Movin' On" (1972), "Fresh" and "Brother Where Are You" (1974), all of which maintained his jazz sensibilities, though with more of a funky backdrop. After the release of "Brother Where Are You," Brown dropped out of the music business to become a full time activist.

Info. from Discogs:

Fresh

Album available on Amazon:

(amazon.com) Fresh

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Gwen McCrae - Rockin' Chair (1974)

Gwen McCrae's debut album, "Rockin' Chair" wasn't originally conceived of as an album. McCrae recorded a number of singles with the Cat label, a subsidiary of TK Records, the giant disco label. This material was collected together and released as an album, with a mix of smooth soul and gutsy funk numbers. Surprisingly, everything hangs together nicely. The highlight of the album is "Rockin' Chair," a huge crossover hit which reached #1 on the R&B chart, and also made it into the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Link to Discogs for Album info:

Rockin' Chair

Available on 2-for-1 CD from Amazon:

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The Soul Children - Genesis (1972) and Friction (1974)

After Sam & Dave left Stax, there was a hole to fill at the label. Isaac Hayes and David Porter put this group together to fill it. The group were together for 10 years, from 1968 to 1978, during which time they scored 15 R&B hits. "Genesis" and "Friction" are the 3rd and 4th of 7 albums. These are available on a 2-for-1 CD, but I for one am not a big fan of the "two-fer" covers, hence the post of these originals.

Info. at Discogs:

Genesis and Friction

2-for-1 CD available on Amazon:

(amazon.com) Genesis & Friction

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William DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got (1974)

William DeVaughn was a draftsman with the government when he cut this album. The title track, recorded with members of MFSB, sold nearly 2 million copies and went to #1 on the US R&B charts. Two other singles, "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" and "Give The Little Man A Great Big Hand" also sold relatively well. Much of the rest of the album has a strong religious bent (DeVaughn was also a Jehovah's Witness). This album is available on CD, but with a rather ugly cover. This is the original.

Info. at Discogs:

Be Thankful For What You Got

Album available (with different cover) on Amazon:

(amazon.com) Be Thankful For What You Got

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