VoxPop45s are a new series of 7" singles aiming to unearth all manner of fine, funky gems from the vault, and with this flagship release they're buffing up precious stone that's been dormant since its' original release in 1971 on the American Saadia label.
Actually nothing to do with the equally elementally-monikered Earth, Wind & Fire, THUNDER, LIGHTNING & RAIN were nonetheless phonky mofos par excellence. I say 'were', but actually all three members - bassist Ron Bogdon, guitarist/ songwriter Willie "Little Beaver" Hale and drummer Robert Ferguson - are still musically active to this day, and indeed Hale recently played on Joss Stone's "Soul Sessions".
Back in the early '70s, though, the trio were really putting it about a bit, making like a Florida version of Booker T & The MGS and featuring on sessions for names such as Gwen McRae, Betty Wright and Benny Latimore. The trio were by no means studio bound neither, and were oftn found ripping it up in the Miami clubs of the day, playing alongside names like Ella Washington, Audrey Royal and Johnny K.
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"Super Funky" - here released as parts one and two over two sides @ 45RPM - came out of one of the trio's many studio jams and was written and produced by Frank Williams (of the Jackson Southernaires fame). It's track that hitches a ride on the Philly sould train, and comes on like a wicked cross between James Brown and Funkadelic as the feverish wah-wah guitars snake around the punchy horns and the rhythm section keep it mean and economical. It's still box fresh to this day and could happily grace the soundtrack to one of Quentin Tarantino's finest, should the man himself become aware of it.
Or, as the hookline so succinctly puts it: "Music can be played sweet and low, loud and funky." This is certainly the audio proof of that.
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