BROOKLYNโS TRUE GROOVE label reignites the halcyon days of the half-serious/half-fun political/sociological parties best exemplified by Princeโs New Power Generation (NPG) and the Parliament/Funkadelic collective. The extension is natural, as Charlie Funkโs Give Me A Groove features performances by former P-Funk All-Stars members Michael โKidd Funkadelicโ Hampton and Amp Fiddler, on guitars and keyboards respectively.
Produced by James Dellatacoma and Tomas Doncker (whose The Mess We Made I reviewed here), we are served up more superb arrangements and tight exposition of such that Iโve come to expect from the label self-described as global soul. Give Me A Groove being Charlieโs EP-length solo debut, comes across primarily as aimed more at a dance market, in contrast to Donckerโs politically savvy protest album. As a result the EP is lighter fare with apparent focus on song and more on getting butts off seats.
Thatโs not to say that tracks like โItโs Not A Jokeโ and โLunch In Babylonโ donโt point in a lyrically political direction, but the ideas are couched in less dominant funk grooves that allow the lyrics to make their subtle but non-laboured points. Technical treats tickle the fancy nevertheless, like the chord in โItโs Not A Jokeโ that fades in under the trombone solo at 2m:23s and hangs over the tri-tone modulation – An ear-pleasing transition of a high order.
The trackโs angular and ear-teasing horn lines help to delineate, as do โLunch In Babylonโโs chromatic chordal moves and crunchy lead guitar slices that bring to mind classic Parliament/Funkadelic anthems like โIโve Been Watching Youโ and โMiss Luciferโs Loveโ. Speaking of guitar, the title track opener with its Prince-like True Groove self-references features a solo that suggested I was being introduced to โMy little friend the Blue Angelโ. Now thereโs a deep reference for those that get it.
Towards the end, the inclusion of the Tom Jones chestnut โItโs Not Unusualโ confused me a tad, but added an unexpected dimension to an already sonically rich collection otherwise authored by Funk, Doncker and the east-side True Groove tribe. PETER KEARNS
Sound =4/5
Music = 3/5