Mode Golden Classics * by Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul NEUF

Tracks:
(I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind
Thanks Dad
I Made a Promise
Get Down Baby
Live Now Brothers
Trouble With Trouble, The
Seems to Me
Youre Driving Me
Way They Do My Life, The
Let Me Be What I Am
Find Yourself
How High
Gonna Get Me a Friend
Im Gonna Get You
You Know Its True
Give Me Back My Freedom
This Girl of Mine (Shes Good to Me)
Im a Young Man

Performer Notes:

• Personnel: Willie Parker (guitar).
• Golden Classics compiles the entirety of Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Souls only album, along with several non-LP singles recorded for both GSF and Mercury. Its a definitive package -- but whos keeping track? The answer is, a cult of fanatical funk collectors who rediscovered Quartermans extremely hard-to-find, small-label LP, and hailed it as a lost classic. Is it? Well, classic might be stretching it, but its pretty damn good. Theres some excellent straight-ahead dance music, but Quartermans real specialty is urgent message tracks; he takes on a host of social ills, burning with righteous indignation all the while. Theres some uplifting positivity, too, as on the heartfelt tribute "Thanks Dad," but for the most part Quarterman simply sounds as though his frustration is about to boil over. Hes a master of the impassioned, roaring vocal style of James Brown, but his range is a bit higher and his timbre smoother. Meanwhile, the razor-sharp backing by Free Soul is somewhere between the J.B.s and a lower-budget version of Gamble & Huffs plush Philly soul creations. Its deeply and aggressively funky, but layers of keyboards, horns, and wah-wah guitars adorn even the hardest tracks. Quarterman and some of his bandmembers were jazz-trained musicians, so theres more sophistication and know-how here than you might expect from such a small-scale project. Perhaps thats why the longer tracks tend to be the most exciting ones here: the minor hit single "(I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind"; the stunningly constructed, eight-minute opus "Thanks Dad"; and the expertly paced buildups of "You Know Its True" and "Youre Driving Me." In the end, this material doesnt redefine funk or soul, but its superbly executed, and not as easy to pigeonhole as it first may seem. The best funk album ever by a guy youve never heard of. ~ Steve Huey

Format: CD (1 Disc); Mixed

Country: USA

Studio/Live: Studio

Release Date: 14 March, 2006

Label: Collectables Records

Dimensions: 12.7 x 14.1 x 0.9 centimeters (0.06 kg)