Press Reviews:

TRAMP RECORDS: Feeling Nice Vol. 3

Pulling up at the jukebox pit stop with another salivating treasure trove from the funk trunk, Tramp keep the Feeling Nice vibe going with another volume of deep soul cuts. Procured from both near and far and from choice rare collections, Tramp selects 16 tracks of hot-footing, shoe-shuffling exuberance and at times highly enthusiastic break-neck R&B and funky soul for your aural pleasure.

Either too raw, unsophisticated and rowdy, or just lacking that essential spark of quality – a riff, melody or perhaps that defining break – that keeps if from the Billboard charts and instead resigns it to relative obscurity, the common cause of these chosen records is that they all remained undersold and on the peripheral. Certainly some are feverish and arguably more bedded in soul than their commercial counterparts: the edges are rougher; something you can’t always quite put your finger on but can hear why it failed to leap out and grab the public. Many were themselves influenced by titans of the scene – the J.B.’s being one obvious looming inspiration. Others though were merely trials; end of the session run outs, an excuse to let off steam. Some of these artists lacked the funds, contacts or nerve to get any further.

A Nuggets of deep soul then, though enthusiasts and collectors will already know of or even own many of the 45s on offer, it is still a handy compilation to have. Rare curiosities and rave-ups include the driving 1977 (horns over the San Francisco harbor) “funk masterpiece” from Nadine Brown ‘Leave Me Alone’, and the, picked up in Jamaica, supernatural saxophone nuzzling, reverb heavy Oladepo Ogomodede cover of The Isley’s ‘It’s Your Thing’. Produced, dashed off, in the dyeing minutes of their 30 minute recording session, Leroy & The Drivers slick Bar-Keys flavored funk-frizzled funeral organ work out boosts a detuned breakdown, and the no-hit wonders (with scarcely enough material it seems to fill an EP) Jack & The Mods’ (ages ranging from 6 to 18) self-titled James Brown party boogaloo riot was found by accident in a rundown shack in rural Virginia. For the Northern soul crowd there’s a furnace blast of “ahhhhh, good God!’” strutting funk from Clarence Reid, his ‘I Get My Kicks’ a renowned rarity on the Alston label, and the super soul opener ‘Your Soul Searching Heart’ from William Cummings. But a real highlight for your humble reviewer, is the thumping breakbeat shortnin’ Bread ‘Ghetto Boogie’ from Ellen Jackson. What a track! You’re very lucky indeed if you have one of these in your collection.

With the usual diligent linear notes, photos, and the first 400 of the 1000 vinyl editions being pressed featuring a bonus 7” from William Cummings – his now very expensive 45 ‘Make My Love A Hurting Thing’, pushed up to eye-watering sums by the Northern soul community – Feeling Nice Volume 3 sits in a congruous position alongside previous editions. A groove-heavy selection, raucous and often raw, Tramp’s jukebox prompts infectious breakouts of unadulterated dancing.

Words: Dominic Valvona, https://monolithcocktail.com/ (2015)

TRAMP RECORDS: Feeling Nice Vol. 4

If you thought there was only time for one more big-ass rare groove retrospective from Tramp Records before the end of the year with their Countdown To Soul you are sorely (but also happily) mistaken for that honour goes to this – Feeling Nice Vol. 4– the latest instalment in one of the label’s longest running series. As always, the focus is on the funk and, as always, the chances of you having heard the majority of the stuff on this (unless your surname is Darge or Wright) is slim indeed. MB readers will know by now however, that the fact that there are so many old funk cuts out there that have been languishing in dusty crates is not a reflection of a skill deficit on the part of the artists (as the work of Tramp and other labels continually reveals) but an indication of both the socio-economic circumstances of the context of production and a measure of just how fertile the golden era of funk and soul was.

Any doubts as to the groovy accessibility of this compilation are put to bed with the opener – the laid back psych-funk of Combined Forces take on the ‘much-covered by funk and soul acts’ Traffic song Feeling Alright – arguably one of the best covers of the track in existence. Another thing the album offers is a wider variety of early funky sub-genres this time around. That ol’ ‘titty-shaker’ sound for one is represented by the Big Bear Review’s squalling guitar and sax-heavy instrumental Big Bear though elements of the same sound can also be found in Jim Pipkin & The Boss Five’s pounding brass-heavy Walkin’ The Duck. Think along the lines of Roger & The Gypsies’ better known Pass The Hatchet and you’re ball park. Shingaling soul is also represented by Donnie Sanders & The Don Juans’ Shing-A-Ling Baby, while Living Funk’s Silver Black Summer Day leans towards latin boogaloo. Also of note are the martial arts-themed 70s groover Karate by Mr Clean & The Cleanser, the super-catchy uptempo riot of Little Caesar & The Euterpeans’ It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way How You Do It and the stank funky soul of Donald Ray & His Revue’s Strut Your Stuff. This latter – sampled for the first time just last year for Mako & The Hawk’s boomp-bap party bump of the same name – was released years ago as a Tramp 45 re-issue but has never previously featured on a compilation. It is noteworthy not only for channelling a similar vibe to Charles Wright’s Express Yourself and Jean Knight’s Mr Big Stuff but is also unusual in providing a male-vocal anthem for soul sisters everywhere. Enough to have you feeling nice all on it’s own in other words. Add in everything else on here and there’s every chance you’ll be grinning like a Cheshire cat – or possibly a 70s knitwear model.

https://monkeyboxing.com/ (2017)